33,620 research outputs found
The Effect of Spatial Curvature on the Classical and Quantum Strings
We study the effects of the spatial curvature on the classical and quantum
string dynamics. We find the general solution of the circular string motion in
static Robertson-Walker spacetimes with closed or open sections. This is given
closely and completely in terms of elliptic functions. The physical properties,
string length, energy and pressure are computed and analyzed. We find the {\it
back-reaction} effect of these strings on the spacetime: the self-consistent
solution to the Einstein equations is a spatially closed spacetime with
a selected value of the curvature index (the scale f* is normalized to
unity). No self-consistent solutions with exist. We semi-classically
quantize the circular strings and find the mass in each case. For
the very massive strings, oscillating on the full hypersphere, have {\it independent} of and the level spacing {\it
grows} with while the strings oscillating on one hemisphere (without
crossing the equator) have and a {\it finite} number of
states For there are infinitely many string states
with masses that is, the level spacing grows {\it slower} than
The stationary string solutions as well as the generic string fluctuations
around the center of mass are also found and analyzed in closed form.Comment: 30 pages Latex + three tables and five figures (not included
Thermal Conductivity of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes: Diameter and Annealing Dependence
The thermal conductivity, k(T), of bulk single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT's)
displays a linear temperature dependence at low T that has been attributed to
1D quantization of phonons. To explore this issue further, we have measured the
k(T) of samples with varying average tube diameters. We observe linear k(T) up
to higher temperatures in samples with smaller diameters, in agreement with a
quantization picture. In addition, we have examined the effect of annealing on
k(T). We observe an enhancement in k(T) for annealed samples which we attribute
to healing of defects and removal of impurities. These measurements demonstrate
how the thermal properties of an SWNT material can be controlled by
manipulating its intrinsic nanoscale properties.Comment: Proc. of the XV. Int. Winterschool on Electronic Properties of Novel
Materials, Kirchberg/Tirol, Austria, 200
Loop quantum cosmology and the k = - 1 RW model
The loop quantization of the negatively curved k=-1 RW model poses several
technical challenges. We show that the issues can be overcome and a successful
quantization is possible that extends the results of the k=0,+1 models in a
natural fashion. We discuss the resulting dynamics and show that for a universe
consisting of a massless scalar field, a bounce is predicted in the backward
evolution in accordance with the results of the k=0,+1 models. We also show
that the model predicts a vacuum repulsion in the high curvature regime that
would lead to a bounce even for matter with vanishing energy density. We
finally comment on the inverse volume modifications of loop quantum cosmology
and show that, as in the k=0 model, the modifications depend sensitively on the
introduction of a length scale which a priori is independent of the curvature
scale or a matter energy scale.Comment: Clarified some of the discussion and updated reference
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