Global and local D-vortices
Codimension-two objects on a system of brane-antibrane are studied in the context of Born-Infeld type effective field theory with a complex tachyon and U(1) × U(1) gauge fields. When the radial electric field is turned on in D2 ¯ D2, we find static regular global and local D-vortex solutions which could be candidates of straight cosmic D-strings in a superstring theory. A natural extension to DF-strings is briefly discussed.

title: BRANE WORLD OF WARP GEOMETRY: AN INTRODUCTORY REVIEW
abstract: Basic idea of Randall-Sundrum brane world model I and II is reviewed with detailed calculation. After introducing the brane world metric with exponential warp factor, metrics of Randall-Sundrum models are constructed. We explain how Randall-Sundrum model I with two branes makes the gauge hierarchy problem much milder, and derive Newtonian gravity in Randall-Sundrum model II with a single brane by considering small fluctuations.

title: Zero cosmological constant and nonzero dark energy from the holographic principle
abstract: The first law of thermodynamics and the holographic principle applied to an arbitrary large cosmic causal horizon are shown to naturally demand a zero cosmological constant and a non-zero dynamical dark energy in the form of the holographic dark energy. A semiclassical analysis shows that the holographic dark energy has a parameter d = 1 and an equation of state comparable to current observational data if the entropy of the horizon saturates the Bekenstein-Hawking bound. This result indicates that quantum field theory should be modified on a large scale to explain the dark energy. The relations among the dark energy, the quantum vacuum energy and the entropic gravity are also discussed.

title: The Spatial Distribution of the Hard X-Ray Spectral Index and the Local Magnetic Reconnection Rate
abstract: The rare phenomenon of ribbon-like hard X-ray (HXR) sources up to 100 keV found in the 2005 May 13 M8.0 flare observed with the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager provides detailed information on the spatial distribution of flare HXR emission. In this Letter, we further investigate the characteristics of HXR emission in this event using imaging spectroscopy, from which we obtain spatially resolved HXR spectral maps during the flare impulsive phase. As a result we found, along a flare ribbon, an anticorrelation relationship between the local HXR flux and the local HXR spectral index. We suggest that this can be regarded as a spatial analog of the well-known temporal soft-hard-soft spectral evolution pattern of the integrated HXR flux. We also found an anticorrelation between the HXR spectral index and the local electric field along the ribbon, which suggests electron acceleration by the electric field during flares.

title: Order-αs corrections to the quarkonium electromagnetic current at all orders in the heavy-quark velocity
abstract: We compute in order {alpha}{sub s} the nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD) short-distance coefficients that match quark-antiquark operators of all orders in the heavy-quark velocity v to the electromagnetic current. We employ a new method to compute the one-loop NRQCD contribution to the matching condition. The new method uses full-QCD expressions as a starting point to obtain the NRQCD contribution, thus greatly streamlining the calculation. Our results show that, under a mild constraint on the NRQCD operator matrix elements, the NRQCD velocity expansion for the quark-antiquark-operator contributions to the electromagnetic current converges. The velocity expansion converges rapidly for approximate J/{psi} operator matrix elements.

title: Measurements of the meson-photon transition form factors of light pseudoscalar mesons at large momentum transfer
abstract: Using the CLEO II detector, we have measured the differential cross sections for exclusive two-photon production of light pseudoscalar mesons {pi}{sup 0}, {eta}, and {eta}{prime}. From our measurements we have obtained the form factors associated with the electromagnetic transitions {gamma}*{gamma} {yields} meson. We have measured these form factors in the momentum transfer ranges from 1.5 to 9, 20, and 30 GeV2 for {pi}{sup 0}, {eta}, and {eta}{prime}, respectively, and have made comparisons to various theoretical predictions.

title: Longitudinal and transverse spin asymmetries for inclusive jet production at mid-rapidity in polarized p+p collisions at sqrt{s}=200 GeV
abstract: We report STAR measurements of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL, the transverse single-spin asymmetry A_N, and the transverse double-spin asymmetries A_Sigma and A_TT for inclusive jet production at mid-rapidity in polarized p+p collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt{s} = 200 GeV. The data represent integrated luminosities of 7.6 /pb with longitudinal polarization and 1.8 /pb with transverse polarization, with 50-55% beam polarization, and were recorded in 2005 and 2006. No evidence is found for the existence of statistically significant jet A_N, A_Sigma, or A_TT at mid-rapidity. Recent model calculations indicate the A_N results may provide new limits on the gluon Sivers distribution in the proton. The asymmetry A_LL significantly improves the knowledge of gluon polarization in the nucleon.