Finite Energy Instantons in the O(3) Non-Linear Sigma Model
We consider winding number transitions in the two dimensional O(3) non-linear sigma model, modified by a suitable conformal symmetry breaking term. We discuss the general properties of the relevant instanton solutions which dominate the transition amplitudes at finite energy, and find the solutions numerically. The Euclidean period of the solution increases with energy, contrary to the behavior found in the abelian Higgs model or simple one dimensional systems. This indicates that there is a sharp crossover from instanton dominated tunneling to sphaleron dominated thermal activation at a certain critical temperature in this model. We argue that the electroweak theory in four dimensions should exhibit a similar behavior.

title: Joint Efficient Dark-energy Investigation (JEDI): a Candidate Implementation of the NASA-DOE Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM)
abstract: JEDI will probe dark energy in three independent ways by measuring the expansion history of the universe: (1) using type Ia supernovae as cosmological standard candles over a range of distances, (2) using baryon oscillations as a cosmological standard ruler over a range of cosmic epochs, (3) mapping the weak gravitational lensing distortion by foreground galaxies of the images of background galaxies at different distances. JEDI will unravel the nature of dark energy with accuracy and precision. 
JEDI is a 2m-class space telescope with the unique ability of simultaneous wide-field imaging (0.8-4.2 micron in five bands) and multi-slit spectroscopy (0.8-3.2 micron) with a field of view of 1 square degree. What makes JEDI efficient is its ability to simultaneously obtain high signal-to-noise ratio, moderate resolution slit spectra for all supernovae and ~ 5000 galaxies in its wide field of view, and to combine imaging and spectroscopy so that the appropriate balance of time is devoted to each. 
JEDI will measure the cosmic expansion history H(z) as a free function to 10^9 galaxies to H \~ 25.

title: CHAOS IN TIME-DEPENDENT VARIATIONAL APPROXIMATIONS TO QUANTUM DYNAMICS
abstract: Dynamical chaos has recently been shown to exist in the Gaussian approximation in quan-tum mechanics and in the self-consistent mean ﬁeld approach to studying the dynamics ofquantum ﬁelds. In this study, we ﬁrst show that any variationalapproximationto the dynam-ics of a quantum system based on the Dirac action principle leads to a classical Hamiltoniandynamics for the variational parameters. Since this Hamiltonian is generically nonlinearand nonintegrable, the dynamics thus generated can be chaotic, in distinction to the exactquantum evolution. We then restrict attention to a system of two biquadratically coupledquantum oscillators and study two variational schemes, the leading order large N (fourcanonical variables) and Hartree (six canonical variables) approximations. The chaos seenin the approximate dynamics is an artifact of the approximations: this is demonstrated bythe fact that its onset occurs on the same characteristic time scale as the breakdown of theapproximations when compared to numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schr¨odingerequation.PACS numbers: 05.45. +b, 03.65. Sq, 2.30 Wd,

title: DARK MATTER HALO PROFILES OF MASSIVE CLUSTERS: THEORY VERSUS OBSERVATIONS
abstract: Dark-matter-dominated cluster-scale halos act as an important cosmological probe and provide a key testing ground for structure formation theory. Focusing on their mass profiles, we have carried out (gravity-only) simulations of the concordance ΛCDM cosmology, covering a mass range of 2 × 1012 to 2 × 1015 h –1 M ☉ and a redshift range of z = 0-2, while satisfying the associated requirements of resolution and statistical control. When fitting to the Navarro-Frenk-White profile, our concentration-mass (c-M) relation differs in normalization and shape in comparison to previous studies that have limited statistics in the upper end of the mass range. We show that the flattening of the c-M relation with redshift is naturally expressed if c is viewed as a function of the peak height parameter, ν. Unlike the c-M relation, the slope of the c-ν relation is effectively constant over the redshift range z = 0-2, while the amplitude varies by ~30% for massive clusters. This relation is, however, not universal: using a simulation suite covering the allowed wCDM parameter space, we show that the c-ν relation varies by about ±20% as cosmological parameters are varied. At fixed mass, the c(M) distribution is well fit by a Gaussian with σ c /c 1/3, independent of the radius at which the concentration is defined, the halo dynamical state, and the underlying cosmology. We compare the ΛCDM predictions with observations of halo concentrations from strong lensing, weak lensing, galaxy kinematics, and X-ray data, finding good agreement for massive clusters (M vir > 4 × 1014 h –1 M ☉), but with some disagreements at lower masses. Because of uncertainty in observational systematics and modeling of baryonic physics, the significance of these discrepancies remains unclear.

title: COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGES IN HIGH INTENSITY ION BEAM PHYSICS

title: COSMIC EMULATION: THE CONCENTRATION-MASS RELATION FOR wCDM UNIVERSES
abstract: The concentration-mass relation for dark matter-dominated halos is one of the essential results expected from a theory of structure formation. We present a simple prediction scheme, a cosmic emulator, for the concentration-mass (c-M) relation as a function of cosmological parameters for wCDM models. The emulator is constructed from 37 individual models, with three nested N-body gravity-only simulations carried out for each model. The mass range covered by the emulator is 2 × 1012 M ☉ < M < 1015 M ☉ with a corresponding redshift range of z = 0-1. Over this range of mass and redshift, as well as the variation of cosmological parameters studied, the mean halo concentration varies from c ~ 2 to c ~ 8. The distribution of the concentration at fixed mass is Gaussian with a standard deviation of one-third of the mean value, almost independent of cosmology, mass, and redshift over the ranges probed by the simulations. We compare results from the emulator with previously derived heuristic analytic fits for the c-M relation, finding that they underestimate the halo concentration at high masses. Using the emulator to investigate the cosmology dependence of the c-M relation over the currently allowable range of values, we find—not surprisingly—that σ8 and ω m influence it considerably, but also that the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w has a substantial effect. In general, the concentration of lower-mass halos is more sensitive to changes in cosmological parameters as compared to cluster mass halos. The c-M emulator is publicly available from http://www.hep.anl.gov/cosmology/CosmicEmu.

title: Search for supersymmetry in events with b-quark jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at 7 TeV
abstract: Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model based on events with large missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one, two, or three b-quark jets. The study is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011, with the missing transverse energy distribution as the principal search variable. The integrated luminosity of the sample is 4.98 inverse femtobarns. The observed number of events is found to be consistent with the standard model expectation, which is evaluated using control samples in the data. The results are used to constrain cross sections for the production of supersymmetric particles decaying to b-quark-enriched final states in the context of simplified model spectra.

title: Search for new physics in events with photons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV
abstract: A bstractA search for physics beyond the standard model involving events with one or more photons, jets, and missing transverse energy has been performed by the CMS experiment. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.93 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV, produced at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess of events with large missing transverse energy is observed beyond expectations from standard model processes, and upper limits on the signal production cross sections for new physics processes are set at the 95% confidence level. The results of this search are interpreted in the context of three models of new physics: a general model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking, Simplified Models, and a theory involving universal extra dimensions. In the absence of evidence for new physics, exclusion regions are derived in the parameter spaces of the respective models.

title: Measurement of the inclusive ep scattering cross section at low Q2 and x at HERA
abstract: A measurement of the inclusive ep scattering cross section is presented in the region of low momentum transfers, 0.2 GeV2 ≤Q2≤12 GeV2, and low Bjorken x, 5⋅10−6≤x≤0.02. The result is based on two data sets collected in dedicated runs by the H1 Collaboration at HERA at beam energies of 27.6 GeV and 920 GeV for positrons and protons, respectively. A combination with data previously published by H1 leads to a cross section measurement of a few percent accuracy. A kinematic reconstruction method exploiting radiative ep events extends the measurement to lower Q2 and larger x. The data are compared with theoretical models which apply to the transition region from photoproduction to deep inelastic scattering.

title: Determination of the integrated luminosity at HERA using elastic QED Compton events
abstract: A measurement of the integrated luminosity at the ep collider HERA is presented, exploiting the elastic QED Compton process ep→eγp. The electron and the photon are detected in the backward calorimeter of the H1 experiment. The integrated luminosity of the data recorded in 2003 to 2007 is determined with a precision of 2.3 %. The measurement is found to be compatible with the corresponding result obtained using the Bethe–Heitler process.

title: Measurement of the cross section for diffractive deep-inelastic scattering with a leading proton at HERA
abstract: The cross section for the diffractive deep-inelastic scattering process ep→eXp is measured, with the leading final state proton detected in the H1 Forward Proton Spectrometer. The data sample covers the range xℙ<0.1 in fractional proton longitudinal momentum loss, 0.1<|t|<0.7 GeV2 in squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex and 4<Q2<700 GeV2 in photon virtuality. The cross section is measured four-fold differentially in t,xℙ,Q2 and β=x/xℙ, where x is the Bjorken scaling variable. The t and xℙ dependences are interpreted in terms of an effective pomeron trajectory and a sub-leading exchange. The data are compared with perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading order based on diffractive parton distribution functions previously extracted from complementary measurements of inclusive diffractive deep-inelastic scattering. The ratio of the diffractive to the inclusive ep cross section is studied as a function of Q2,β and xℙ.