Search

Baryon number conservation is not guaranteed by any fundamental symmetry within the Standard Model, and therefore has been a subject of experimental and theoretical scrutiny for decades. So far, no evidence for baryon number violation has been observed. Large underground detectors have long been used for both neutrino detection and searches for baryon number violating processes. The next generation of large neutrino detectors will seek to improve upon the limits set by past and current experiments and will cover a range of lifetimes predicted by several Grand Unified Theories. In this White Paper, we summarize theoretical motivations and experimental aspects of searches for baryon number violation in neutrino experiments., Comment: 73 pages, 19 figures

We suggest here a method to detect gravitational waves (GW) different from the interferometric approach. It is based on two critical steps: conversion of the GW action into rotational motion and subsequent conversion into electric current. The ability to detect extremely tiny currents empowers this suggested approach in which the gravitational wave moves charges around closed loops. This new method may allow detection of gravitational waves with strain sensitivities beyond the reach of the interferometric approaches., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

We have recently suggested a new approach and design of an ultra-sensitive gravity wave detector antenna based on superconductivity. The idea was described in a short paper [1]: http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/507/4/042013, in entries on the arXiv [2]: arXiv:1111.2655, and at various conferences. Here we would like to explain in a more detailed manner the motivation for and the advantages of our approach.

Decoherence effects at finite temperature (T) are examined for two manifestly quantum systems: (i) Casimir forces between parallel plates that conduct along different directions, and (ii) a topological Aharonov-Bohm (AB) type force between fluxons in a superconductor. As we illustrate, standard path integral calculations suggest that thermal effects may remove the angular dependence of the Casimir force in case (i) with a decoherence time set by h/(k_{B} T) where h is Plank's constant and k_{B} is the Boltzmann constant. This prediction may be tested. The effect in case (ii) is due a phase shift picked by unpaired electrons upon encircling an odd number of fluxons. In principle, this effect may lead to small modifications in Abrikosov lattices. While the AB forces exist at extremely low temperatures, we find that thermal decoherence may strongly suppress the topological force at experimentally pertinent finite temperatures. It is suggested that both cases (i) and (ii) (as well as other examples briefly sketched) are related to a quantum version of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem., Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures

We consider the implications of fermionic asymmetric dark matter for a "mixed neutron star" composed of ordinary baryons and dark fermions. We find examples, where for a certain range of dark fermion mass -- when it is less than that of ordinary baryons -- such systems can reach higher masses than the maximal values allowed for ordinary ("pure") neutron stars. This is shown both within a simplified, heuristic Newtonian analytic framework with non-interacting particles and via a general relativistic numerical calculation, under certain assumptions for the dark matter equation of state. Our work applies to various dark fermion models such as mirror matter models and to other models where the dark fermions have self interactions., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures

Cosmic rays are the highest energy particles available for our study and as such serve as excellent probes of the effects of Lorentz Invariance Violations, which are expected to increase with energy. This general paradigm is investigated in this paper by studying the effects of such violations within the Coleman-Glashow model in which each particle species may have its own maximum attainable velocity, even exceeding that of light \textit{in vacuo}. The particular focus here is that the muon neutrino may have the maximum speed exceeding that of light. We show that such an assumption leads to the elongation of the decay lifetime of the pion that increases with energy over and above the time dilation effects. We provide a transparent analytical derivation of the spectral intensities of muon neutrinos and muons generated in the Earth's atmosphere by cosmic rays. In this derivation we not only account for elongation of the pion lifetime, but also for the loss of energy by the neutrinos by radiation of the electron-positron pairs through the Cohen-Glashow process, during their propagation. We then compare the theoretical spectra with observations of neutrinos and muons from large instruments like IceCube and BUST to set a limit of $\sim10^{-13}$ on the fractional excess speed of neutrinos over that of light. We also show that the ratio of the spectral intensities of downward and upward moving neutrinos at various angles constitute a diagnostic exclusively for the Cohen-Glashow process, which may be searched for in the IceCube data set. We conclude the paper with several comments, including those related to improvements of these tests when definite signals of GZK neutrinos will be observed., Comment: version 2, 28 pages, 10 figures

We present an idea for detecting gravitational waves (GWs) by measuring the current induced in a superconducting loop by the rotation of a frame to which it is attached. The frame experiences a torque caused by a GW propagating perpendicular to it because it is made of materials of different density in adjacent quadrants. Superconducting Cooper pair system responds symmetrically to the wave and stays at rest, while the ions of the superconductor are being accelerated by the moving frame. This generates an electric current in the loop which can be measured precisely by sensitive electronics. For that task the antenna consists of two superconducting loops parallel to each other. One of them, the primary loop, rotationally oscillates because of the described reasons, while the second stays at rest. In the oscillating loop the current creates an oscillating magnetic flux. This flux should be compensated due to fluxoid quantization, by the oppositely directed current in the non-moving, secondary loop, in which the ions are at rest, and the Cooper pairs move. We estimate the resulting signal/noise ratio and discuss the signal detectability. Several designs are envisioned, both for terrestrial and for orbital arrangements of the antenna., Comment: This version of our antenna concept is more easy for practical implementations and is more robust

Violation of Lorentz invariance (VLI) has been suggested as an explanation of the superluminal velocities of muon neutrinos reported by OPERA. In this note we show that the amount of VLI required to explain this result poses severe difficulties with the kinematics of the pion decay, extending its lifetime and reducing the momentum carried away by the neutrinos. We show that the OPERA experiment limits $\alpha = (v_\nu - c)/c < 4 \times 10^{-6}$. We then take recourse to cosmic ray data on the spectrum of muons and neutrinos generated in the earth's atmosphere to provide a stronger bound on VLI: $(v-c)/c < 10^{-12}$., Comment: 4 pages

A "strongly" interacting, and entangling, heavy, non recoiling, external particle effects a significant change of the environment. Described locally, the corresponding entanglement event is a generalized electric Aharonov Bohm effect, that differs from the original one in a crucial way. We propose a gedanken interference experiment. The predicted shift of the interference pattern is due to a self induced or "private" potential difference experienced while the particle is in vacuum. We show that all non trivial Born Oppenheimer potentials are "private" potentials. We apply the Born Oppenheimer approximation to interference states. Using our approach we calculate the relative phase of the external heavy particle as well as its uncertainty throughout an interference experiment /entanglement event. We thus complement the Born Oppenheimer approximation for interference states., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Physical Review A

We consider possible experimental tests of recent hypotheses suggesting that TeV photons survive the pair production interaction with extragalactic background light over cosmological distances by converting to axion-like particles (ALPs) in galactic magnetic fields. We show that proposed giant ultra-low background scintillation detectors will even have a difficult time reaching the present CAST sensitivity, which is one to two orders of magnitude less sensitive than necessary for a meaningful test of the ALP-photon oscillation hypothesis. Potential alternative tests are briefly discussed., Comment: 4 pages, no figures

This paper has been withdrawn by the author., Comment: This paper has been withdrawn by the author. 10 pages, 3 figures

This paper has been withdrawn by the author., Comment: This paper has been withdrawn by the author. 11 pages, 4 figures

Solar-axion interaction rates in NaI, CsI and Xe scintillators via the axio-electric effect were calculated. A table is presented with photoelectric and axioelectric cross sections, solar-axion fluxes, and the interaction rates from 2.0 to 10.0 keV. The results imply that annual-modulation data of large NaI and CsI arrays, and large Xe scintillation chambers, might be made sensitive enough to probe coupling to photons at levels required to explain axion-photon oscillation phenomena proposed to explain the survival of high-energy photons traveling cosmological distances. The DAMAA/LIBRA data are used to demonstrate the power of the model-independent annual modulation due to the seasonal variation in the earth sun distance., Comment: 7 pages and no figures

The effects of absorption in the gas, and of density variations on the sensitivity of gas-filled solar-axion helioscopes are theoretically investigated. It is concluded that the 10-meter long CAST helioscope, the most sensitive experiment to date is near the limit of sensitivity in axion mass. Increasing the length, gas density, or tilt angle all have negative influences, and will not improve the sensitivity., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures

We discuss the consequences of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in setups involving several charged particles, wherein none of the charged particles encloses a closed loop around the magnetic flux. We show that in such setups, the AB phase is encoded either in the relative phase of a bi-partite or multi-partite entangled photons states, or alternatively, gives rise to an overall AB phase that can be measured relative to another reference system. These setups involve processes of annihilation or creation of electron/hole pairs. We discuss the relevance of such effects in "vacuum Birefringence" in QED, and comment on their connection to other known effects., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

We comment on a recently discussed possibility of oscillations between neutrons and degenerate mirror neutrons in the context of mirror models for particles and forces. It has been noted by Bento and Berezhiani that if these oscillations occurred at a rate of $\tau^{-1}_{NN'}\sim sec^{-1}$, it would help explain putative super GKZ cosmic ray events provided the temperature of the mirror radiation is $\sim 0.3-0.4$ times that of familiar cosmic microwave background radiation. We discuss how such oscillation time scales can be realized in mirror models and find that the simplest nonsupersymmetric model for this idea requires the existence of a low mass (30-3000 GeV) color triplet scalar or vector boson. A supersymmetric model, where this constraint can be avoided is severely constrained by the requirement of maintaining a cooler mirror sector. We also find that the reheat temperature after inflation in generic models that give fast $n-n'$ oscillation be less than about 300 GeV in order to maintain the required relative coolness of the mirror sector., Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures; minor changes in the text; accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.B

We try to motivate from QCD a pattern of production in various reactions of (non)exotic resonances. A higher penalty for extra q\bar{q} production in e^+ e^- collisions than in collisions with a nucleon target may explain the absence of exotic multi-quark states in e^+ e^- . We also briefly address the doubly-charmed baryons and the utilization of QCD inequalities in connection with possible new hadronic states., Comment: 11 pages

We argue that the lightest isospin 1/2 partners of the Z^+(1530) s(bar)uudd penta-quark predicted by Diakonov, Petrov and Polyakov are not the N(1710) mixed anti-decuplet states, but the pure non-strange u(bar)(ud)(ud) and d(bar)(ud)(ud) penta-quark states which may lie as low as 1200 MeV. The expected low width of a few MeV of such a putative state may explain why it was missed in phase shift analyzes of pion-nucleon scattering., Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure

We suggest the possibility that in ADD type brane-world scenarios, the higher KK excitations of the graviton may decay to lower ones owing to a breakdown of the conservation of extra dimensional ``momenta'' and study its implications for astrophysics and cosmology. We give an explicit realization of this idea with a bulk scalar field $\Phi$, whose nonzero KK modes acquire vacuum expectation values. This scenario helps to avoid constraints on large extra dimensions that come from gamma ray flux bounds in the direction of nearby supernovae as well as those coming from diffuse cosmological gamma ray background. It also relaxes the very stringent limits on reheat temperature of the universe in ADD models., Comment: 16 pages, latex

We point out that existing $K^+d$ scattering data available in the PDG (Particle Data Group compilation) suggest some fluctuations in those momentum bins where the (Fermi motion broadened) $\Theta^+$[1543] resonance recently indicated in many gamma nuclear reactions and predicted six years ago by Diakonv Petrov and Polyakov might have shown up. The I=0, $J^P={1/2}^+$ P-wave channel should have a universal peak cross section of $\sim 37$ mb at resonance. The smallness of the effect seen in $K^+d$ with the $\delta \sigma $ fluctuations being less than 4 mb imply an indirect bound $\Gamma_{\Theta^+} < 6$ MeV, far stronger than the direct gamma-d measurements. This renders the theoretical interpretation of the new state very difficult., Comment: 10 pages, no figures, RevTex 4

We discuss the new state $D_{sJ}(2317)$ discovered by BaBar and demonstrate using QCD inequalities that if indeed the $f_0(980)$ and the new $D_{sJ}(2317)$ ($0^+$) are primarilly made of four quarks that a new I=0 ``$\bar DD$ bound state'' at a mass smaller than 3660 MeV must exist. Observation of such a state will constitute definitive evidence for four-quark states.

It has been argued that the observed core density profile of galaxies is inconsistent with having a dark matter particle that is collisionless and alternative dark matter candidates which are self interacting may explain observations better. One new class of self interacting dark matter that has been proposed in the context mirror universe models of particle physics is the mirror hydrogen atom whose stability is guaranteed by the conservation of mirror baryon number. We show that the effective transport cross section for mirror hydrogen atoms, has the right order of magnitude for solving the ``cuspy'' halo problem. Furthermore, the suppression of dissipation effects for mirror atoms due to higher mirror mass scale prevents the mirror halo matter from collapsing into a disk strengthening the argument for mirror matter as galactic dark matter., Comment: 6 pages; some references added

In this paper we discuss some aspects of inclusive decays of charmed mesons and also decays of the $\tau$ lepton into $\nu_\tau + 7\pi$. We find that phase space effects are likely to explain the observed lifetime ratio $\tau(D_s^+) / \tau(D^0)$ = 1.17. In particular one need not appeal to a large annihilation contribution in the inclusive $D^0$ decay which, being absent in $D_s^+$ decays could also contribute to the enhanced $D^0$ decay rate relative to that of the $D_s^+$. Examining a separate problem, we find that the rate for $\tau\to \nu_\tau + 7\pi$ is almost completely dominated by the tiny phase space for the final eight particle state. Using an effective chiral Lagrangian to estimate the matrix element yields a branching ratio into the channel of interest far smaller than the present upper bound., Comment: No figures

We consider models that generate hierarchies via the separation of fermion wavefunctions in higher-dimensional spaces. We calculate the effects of gauge interactions between fermions and show that these are important and could help to explain (i) why the heaviest known fermion is a charge 2/3 quark, rather than a charge -1/3 quark or a lepton, (ii) why this fermion has a mass $m_t$ comparable to the electroweak symmetry breaking scale $M_{ew}$, (iii) the patterns $m_t >> m_b > m_\tau$ and $m_c >> m_s > m_\mu$, and (iv) the smallness of neutrino masses., Comment: 9 pages, latex

In this short note we show that (I) in a QCD-like theory with four (rather than two) degenerate flavors $ud u'd'$, the $\pi\pi'$ scattering length is positive (attractive); and (II) in QCD with only two (u,d) degenerate flavors the I=2 (say, $\pi^+\pi^+$ hadronic) scattering length is, in the large $N_C$ limit, repulsive. $\pi(\pi')$ are the lowest physical states coupling to $J^p = \bar{u}(x)\gamma_5d(x)$ and $J^{p'} = \bar{u}'(x)\gamma_5d'(x),$ respectively., Comment: 8 pages, latex with one postscript figure

We prove that the Fourier transform of the exponential $e^{-\b V(R)}$ of the {\bf static} interquark potential in QCD is positive. It has been shown by Eliott Lieb some time ago that this property allows in the same limit of static spin independent potential proving certain mass relation between baryons with different quark flavors., Comment: 6 pages, latex with one postscript figure

We suggest the study of events in the SuperKamiokande neutrino data due to charged- and neutral-current neutrino reactions followed by weak and/or electromagnetic decays of struck nuclei and fragments thereof. This study could improve the prospects of obtaining evidence for $\tau$ production from $\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau$ oscillations and could augment the data sample used to disfavor $\nu_\mu \to \nu_{sterile}$ oscillations., Comment: 7 pages, latex, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett

We suggest a new correlation in diffractive production of 2 ``clusters'' $A+B\to A^\ast B^\ast$ with large intrinsic angular momenta for each $A^\ast$ and $B^\ast$ cluster. These correlations are expected in the context of the ``color dipole picture'' for high energy collision and reflect the approximate conservation of dipole direction during the collision. This conservation is in particular manifest when the two dipoles, $\vec d_A$, $\vec d_B$ and the impact vector $\undtilb$ are all parallel. The predicted positive triple correlation is between the momentum transfer $\undtildel$ and the planes of the $A^\ast$ and $B^\ast$ clusters., Comment: 8 pages, latex

Simple "unitarity inspired" relations between two- and three-body lepton flavor violating decays are noted and discussed. In the absence of cancellations, the existing strong bounds on $\mu \to 3e$ and $ \mu\to e\gamma\gamma$ severly constrain two-body lepton flavor violating decays., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We argue that the exactly computable, angle dependent, Casimir force between parallel plates with different directions of conductivity can be measured., Comment: One Figure, 11 pages

We show a simple way of deriving the Casimir Polder interaction, present some general arguments on the finiteness and sign of mutual Casimir interactions and finally we derive a simple expression for Casimir radiation from small accelerated objects., Comment: 13 pages, latex

We show, that SN1987A can serve as an astrophysical laboratory for testing the viability of the assertion that a new massive neutral fermion is implied by the KARMEN data. We show that a wide range of the parameters characterizing the proposed particle is ruled out by the above constraints making this interpretation very unlikely., Comment: 12 pages, 1 eps figure embedded, to appear in Phys. Lett. B

Mirror matter models have been suggested recently as an explanation of neutrino puzzles and microlensing anomalies. We show that mirror supernovae can be a copious source of energetic gamma rays if one assumes that the quantum gravity scale is in the TeV range. We show that under certain assumptions plausible in the mirror models, the gamma energies could be degraded to the 10 MeV range (and perhaps even further) so as to provide an explanation of observed gamma ray bursts. This mechanism for the origin of the gamma ray bursts has the advantage that it neatly avoids the ``baryon load problem''., Comment: Latex 8 pages; no figures; UMD-PP-00-024

We show that the bimaximal neutrino mixing pattern suggested by the solar and atmospheric neutrino data can be derived from the maximal, symmetric, four neutrino mixing in the limit that one of the neutrinos is made heavy. Imposing the constraints of no neutrinoless double beta decay and a 20% hot dark matter component of the universe leads to a three neutrino mass matrix recently suggested by Georgi and Glashow. Our result can be useful in constructing theoretical models for the bimaximal pattern. We illustrate this by a simple example., Comment: New material strengthening the argument of the paper added; 10 pages latex; UMD-PP-99-20

The recently announced Super-Kamiokande data on atmospheric neutrino oscillation seems to require a maximal mixing between the $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\nu_{\tau}$ within the conventional three neutrino picture. It is then tempting to suggest as has been done in literature, that the solar neutrino deficit be also understood as resulting from a maximal mixing between $\nu_e$ and $\nu_{\mu}$. In this letter, we propose a left-right symmetric extension of the standard model where permutation symmetry leads to one of the maximal mixing patterns in a technically natural manner. The double seesaw mechanism gives small Majorana masses for neutrinos needed to understand the atmospheric as well as the solar neutrino puzzles., Comment: 6 pages, one figure; References fixed

The 8.4 Tesla, 10 m long transverse magnetic field of a twin aperture LHC bending magnet can be utilized as a macroscopic coherent solar axion-to-photon converter. Numerical calculations show that the integrated time of alignment with the Sun would be 33 days per year with the magnet on a tracking table capable of $\pm 5^o$ in the vertical direction and $\pm 40^o$ in the horizontal direction. The existing lower bound on the axion-to-photon coupling constant can be improved by a factor between 50 and 100 in 3 years, i.e., $g_{a\gamma\gamma} \lesssim 9\cdot 10^{-11} GeV^{-1}$ for axion masses $\lesssim$ 1 eV. This value falls within the existing open axion mass window. The same set-up can simultaneously search for low- and high-energy celestial axions, or axion-like particles, scanning the sky as the Earth rotates and orbits the Sun., Comment: Final version, accepted for publication in Nucl. Instr. Meth. A. More information can be found at http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/~collar/SATAN/alvaro.html

A new technique has been used to search for solar axions using a single crystal germanium detector. It exploits the coherent conversion of axions into photons when their angle of incidence satisfies a Bragg condition with a crystalline plane. The analysis of approximately 1.94 kg.yr of data from the 1-kg DEMOS detector in Sierra Grande, Argentina, yields a new laboratory bound on axion-photon coupling of g_{a,\gamma\gamma}<2.7\times 10^{-9} GeV^{-1} independent of axion mass up to \sim 1 keV., Comment: List of authors now complete. 5 pages (A4), LaTex, 4 PS figures, uses epsf and espcrc2(included) macros. Talk at the 5th International Workshop on ``Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics'' (TAUP97), Gran Sasso, Italy, 7-11 September, 1997, to appear in the Proceedings, Nucl. Phys. B(PS), A. Bottino, A. di Credico and P. Monacelli (eds.)

We discuss the cosmological implications as well as possible observability of massive, stable, colored particles which often appear in the discussion of physics beyond the standard model. We argue that if their masses are more than a few hundred GeV and if they saturate the halo density and/or occur with closure density of the universe, they are ruled out by the present WIMP search experiments as well as the searches for anomalous heavy isotopes of ordinary nuclei. We then comment on the possibility that these particles as well as the monopoles could be responsible for the ultra high energy cosmic rays with energy $\geq 10^{20}$ eV and point out that their low inelasticity argues against this., Comment: 9 pages; UMD-PP-98-17

It is assumed that axions exist and are created in the Sun by Primakoff conversion of photons in the Coulomb fields of nuclei. Detection rates are calculated in germanium detectors due to the coherent conversion of axions to photons in the lattice when the incident angle fulfills the Bragg condition for a given crystalline plane. The rates are correlated with the relative positions of the Sun and detector, yielding a characteristic recognizable sub-diurnal temporal pattern. A major experiment is proposed based on a large detector array., Comment: gzipped postscript file from Microsoft Word, 8 pages. Figures can be obtained by fax from Juan.Collar@cern.ch. Submitted to Phys. Lett. B

Results are reported of an experimental search for the unique, rapidly varying temporal pattern of solar axions coherently converting into photons via the Primakoff effect in a single crystal germanium detector. This conversion is predicted when axions are incident at a Bragg angle with a crystalline plane. The analysis of approximately 1.94 kg.yr of data from the 1 kg DEMOS detector in Sierra Grande, Argentina, yields a new laboratory bound on axion-photon coupling of $g_{a\gamma \gamma} < 2.7\cdot 10^{-9}$ GeV$^{-1}$, independent of axion mass up to ~ 1 keV., Comment: RevTeX, 11 pages, figures can be obtained by fax from Juan.Collar@cern.ch. Submitted to Phys. Lett. B

We present an estimate of certain higher order corrections to the contribution of the charm triangle loop in the inclusive B -> X_s gamma decay rate, recently discussed by Voloshin. We find that these corrections are minute and hence the result found by Voloshin, although small, is quite robust., Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, two references added

We suggest scattering experiments which implement the concept of ``protective measurements'' allowing the measurement of the complete wave function even when only one quantum system (rather than an ensemble) is available. Such scattering experiments require massive, slow, projectiles with kinetic energies lower than the first excitation of the system in question. The results of such experiments can have a (probabilistic) distribution (as is the case when the Born approximation for the scattering is valid) or be deterministic (in a semi-classical limit)., Comment: LaTeX, 19 pages, 1 epsfig

The inability to achieve in the present universe, via electromagnetic or gravitational acceleration, Planck energies for elementary particles is suggested on the basis of several, some relatively sophisticated, failed attempts. This failure is essential for schemes were the superplanckian regime for the energies of elementary particles is ``Unphysical''. The basic observation is that this failure to achieve superplanckian energies naturally occurs in our universe of finite age and horizon. It does tie up in a mysterious fashion these cosmological quantities and elementary physics parameters such as the masses of the lightest charged fermions., Comment: 11 pages, latex, 4 figures. For ALL CORRESPONDENCE contact nussinov@ccsg.tau.ac.il

We consider versions of the Casimir effect where the force can be controlled by changing the angle between two Casimir ``plates'' or the temperature of two nearby rings. We also present simple arguments for the sign of Casimir forces., Comment: 3 pages of double column revtex, + 4 figures. For correspondence use Tel Aviv address, or nussinov@ccsg.tau.ac.il

Forces related to A-B phases between fluxons with $\Phi=\alpha\Phi_0\ \ \ $ $\alpha\ne integer$ are discussed. We find a $\alpha^2\ln(r)$ type interaction screened on a scale $\lambda_s$. The forces exist only when the fluxons are actually immersed in the region with non vanishing charge density and are periodic in $\alpha$. We briefly comment on the problem of observing such forces., Comment: 10 pages, latex, no fig

The $D_s \rightarrow n \pi$ measured branching could lead to information on $u, d$ quark masses if it is dominated by the (helicity suppressed) $D_s \rightarrow u \bar d$ annihilation channel. The data would then suggest anomalously high $m_u \approx m_d \approx 30$MeV masses. We find however that $D_s \rightarrow u {\bar d} g$ can explain $\sum Br(D_s \rightarrow n \pi)$ with zero up and down quark masses. We also argue that the present $D_s \rightarrow n \pi$ data may not even convincingly imply any annihilation process whatsoever., Comment: 4 double-column pages, revtex, 3 figures

If the upper limit on the effective (Majorana) neutrino mass from neutrinoless double beta decay experiments is confirmed to be much less than an electron-volt, then one way to reconcile it with the degenerate neutrino mass pattern suggested recently to explain the observed deficit of solar and atmospheric neutrinos as well as neutrinos as HDM is to postulate that there be maximal mixing among the three light (or two) neutrinos. This suggestion is advanced in this paper and is analysed., Comment: University of Maryland Preprint UMD-PP-95-61; 10 pages, Latex file

We discuss experimental signatures capable of nearly immediate study that would discern/constrain new physics manifested via enhanced gluonic penguin decays of the $b$., Comment: 19 pages + 4 figures, UMPP \#94--033

We examine the implications of the hypothesis that the decays of the b-quark occur via pure right-handed couplings. We show that the existing lower limits on neutrinoless double beta decay imply that any gauge model realizing this idea must have either an $L_e-L_\mu$ or $L_e-L_\tau$ symmetry. We then show that constraints of cosmology together with observations from SN1987A imply that the right-handed neutrinos in this model must be heavier than about 100 MeV in general. In one special case with the $L_e-L_\mu$ symmetry, the $\nu_{\tau_R}$ is heavier than 2 GeV so that this particular version of the model is already ruled out., Comment: UMD-PP-95-31; 13 pages,Latex file