We study the possibility of evading astrophysical bounds on light pseudoscalars. We argue that the solar bounds can be evaded if we have a sufficiently strong self coupling of the pseudoscalars. The required couplings do not conflict with any known experimental bounds. We show that it is possible to find a coupling range such that the results of the recent PVLAS experiment are not in conflict with any astrophysical bounds.

Pseudoscalar particles, with almost zero mass and very weak coupling to the visible matter, arise in many extensions of the standard model of particle physics. Their mixing with photons in the presence of an external magnetic field leads to many interesting astrophysical and cosmological consequences. This mixing depends on the medium properties, the momentum of the photon and the background magnetic field. Here we give a general treatment of pseudoscalar-photon oscillations in a background magnetic field, taking the Faraday term into account. We give predictions valid in all regimes, under the assumption that the frequency of the wave is much higher than the plasma frequency of the medium. At sufficiently high frequencies, the Faraday effect is negligible and we reproduce the standard pseudoscalar-photon mixing phenomenon. However at low frequencies, where Faraday effect is important, the mixing formulae are considerably modified. We explicitly compute the contribution due to the longitudinal mode of the photon and show that it is negligible.

Weakly coupled, almost massless, spin 0 particles have been predicted by many extensions of the standard model of particle physics. Recently, the PVLAS group observed a rotation of polarization of electromagnetic waves in vacuum in the presence of transverse magnetic field. This phenomenon is best explained by the existence of a weakly coupled light pseudoscalar particle. However, the coupling required by this experiment is much larger than the conventional astrophysical limits. Here we consider a hypothetical self-interacting pseudoscalar particle which couples weakly with visible matter. Assuming that these pseudoscalars pervade the galaxy, we show that the solar limits on the pseudoscalar-photon coupling can be evaded.

E M Purcell showed that a body has to perform non-reciprocal motion in order to propel itself in a highly viscous environment. The swimmer with one degree of freedom is bound to do reciprocal motion, whereby the center of mass of the swimmer will not be able to propel itself due to the Scallop theorem. In the present study, we are proposing a new artificial swimmer called the one-hinge swimmer. Here we will show that flexibility plays a crucial role in the breakdown of Scallop theorem in the case of one-hinge swimmer or two-dimensional scallop at low Reynolds number. To model a onehinge artificial swimmer, we use bead spring model for two arms joined by a hinge with bending potential for the arms in order to make them semi-flexible. The fluid is simulated using a particle based mesoscopic simulation method called the multi-particle collision dynamics with Anderson thermostat. Here, we show that when our swimmer has rigid arms, the center of mass of the swimmer is not able to propel itself as expected from the Scallop theorem. When we introduce flexibility in the arms, the time reversal symmetry breaks in the case of the one-hinged swimmer without the presence of a head contrary to the one-armed super paramagnetic swimmer which required a passive head in order to swim. The reduced velocity of the swimmer is studied using a range of parameters like flexibility, beating frequency and the amplitude of the beat, where we obtain similar scaling as that of the one-armed swimmer. We also calculate the dimensionless Sperm number for the swimmer and we get the maximum velocity when the Sperm number is around ∼1.8

The nonlinear absorption of a short laser on metal surfaces, embedded with metallic nanoparticles and nanotubes, is studied theoretically. The absorption is resonantly enhanced by the surface plasmon resonance where the laser frequency becomes comparable to the frequency of surface charge oscillations. Heat conduction inside the metal limits the rise in electron temperature. The absorption coefficient increases with the angle of incidence for all frequencies. For expanding clusters, the heating rate rises with time, attaining a sharp maximum at the instant when the plasmon resonance occurs. Beyond this time, the electron temperature falls due to thermal conduction. Similar effects are observed in the case of carbon nanotubes.