A topological mechanism of discretization for the electric charge

We present a topological mechanism of discretization, which gives for the fundamental electric charge a value equal to the square root of the Planck constant times the velocity of light, which is about 3.3 times the electron charge. Its basis is the following recently proved property of the standard linear classical Maxwell equations: they can be obtained by change of variables from an underlying topological theory, using two complex scalar fields, the level curves of which coincide with the magnetic and the electric lines, respectively.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX fil

Integrable subsystem of Yang--Mills dilaton theory

With the help of the Cho-Faddeev-Niemi-Shabanov decomposition of the SU(2) Yang-Mills field, we find an integrable subsystem of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory coupled to the dilaton. Here integrability means the existence of infinitely many symmetries and infinitely many conserved currents. Further, we construct infinitely many static solutions of this integrable subsystem. These solutions can be identified with certain limiting solutions of the full system, which have been found previously in the context of numerical investigations of the Yang-Mills dilaton theory. In addition, we derive a Bogomolny bound for the integrable subsystem and show that our static solutions are, in fact, Bogomolny solutions. This explains the linear growth of their energies with the topological charge, which has been observed previously. Finally, we discuss some generalisations.Comment: 25 pages, LaTex. Version 3: appendix added where the equivalence of the field equations for the full model and the submodel is demonstrated; references and some comments adde

Integrable geodesic motion on 3D curved spaces from non-standard quantum deformations

The link between 3D spaces with (in general, non-constant) curvature and quantum deformations is presented. It is shown how the non-standard deformation of a sl(2) Poisson coalgebra generates a family of integrable Hamiltonians that represent geodesic motions on 3D manifolds with a non-constant curvature that turns out to be a function of the deformation parameter z. A different Hamiltonian defined on the same deformed coalgebra is also shown to generate a maximally superintegrable geodesic motion on 3D Riemannian and (2+1)D relativistic spaces whose sectional curvatures are all constant and equal to z. This approach can be generalized to arbitrary dimension.Comment: 7 pages. Communication presented at the 14th Int. Colloquium on Integrable Systems 14-16 June 2005, Prague, Czech Republi

Hopf instantons in Chern-Simons theory

We study an Abelian Chern-Simons and Fermion system in three dimensions. In the presence of a fixed prescribed background magnetic field we find an infinite number of fully three-dimensional solutions. These solutions are related to Hopf maps and are, therefore, labelled by the Hopf index. Further we discuss the interpretation of the background field.Comment: one minor error corrected, discussion of gauge fixing added, some references adde

Fermion Zero Modes in Odd Dimensions

We study the zero modes of the Abelian Dirac operator in any odd dimension. We use the stereographic projection between a $(2n-1)$ dimensional space and a $(2n-1)$ sphere embedded in a $2n$ dimensional space. It is shown that the Dirac operator with a gauge field of uniform field strengths in $S^{2n-1}$ has symmetries of SU($n$)$\times$U(1) which is a subgroup of SO($2n$). Using group representation theory, we obtain the number of fermion zero modes, as well as their explicit forms, in a simple way.Comment: 14 page

Complete sets of invariants for dynamical systems that admit a separation of variables

Consider a classical Hamiltonian H in n dimensions consisting of a kinetic energy term plus a potential. If the associated Hamilton–Jacobi equation admits an orthogonal separation of variables, then it is possible to generate algorithmically a canonical basis Q, P where P1 = H, P2, ,Pn are the other second-order constants of the motion associated with the separable coordinates, and {Qi,Qj} = {Pi,Pj} = 0, {Qi,Pj} = ij. The 2n–1 functions Q2, ,Qn,P1, ,Pn form a basis for the invariants. We show how to determine for exactly which spaces and potentials the invariant Qj is a polynomial in the original momenta. We shed light on the general question of exactly when the Hamiltonian admits a constant of the motion that is polynomial in the momenta. For n = 2 we go further and consider all cases where the Hamilton–Jacobi equation admits a second-order constant of the motion, not necessarily associated with orthogonal separable coordinates, or even separable coordinates at all. In each of these cases we construct an additional constant of the motion

Discovery of a young and massive stellar cluster: Spectrophotometric near-infrared study of Masgomas-1

Context: Recent near-infrared data have contributed to the discovery of new (obscured) massive stellar clusters and massive stellar populations in previously known clusters in our Galaxy. These discoveries lead us to view the Milky Way as an active star-forming machine. Aims: The main purpose of this work is to determine physically the main parameters (distance, size, total mass and age) of Masgomas-1, the first massive cluster discovered by our systematic search programme. Methods: Using near-infrared (J, H, and Ks) photometry we selected 23 OB-type and five red supergiant candidates for multi-object H- and K-spectroscopy and spectral classification. Results: Of the 28 spectroscopically observed stars, 17 were classified as OB-type, four as supergiants, one as an A-type dwarf star, and six as late-type giant stars. The presence of a supergiant population implies a massive nature of Masgomas-1, supported by our estimate of the cluster initial total mass of (1.94\pm0.28)\cdot10^4 M_{sun}, obtained after integrating of the cluster mass function. The distance estimate of 3.53 kpc locates the cluster closer than the Scutum--Centaurus base but still within that Galactic arm. The presence of an O9V star and red supergiants in the same population indicates that the cluster age is in the range of 8 to 10 Myr.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, A&A accepte

Multiple zero modes of the Dirac operator in three dimensions

One of the key properties of Dirac operators is the possibility of a degeneracy of zero modes. For the Abelian Dirac operator in three dimensions the construction of multiple zero modes has been sucessfully carried out only very recently. Here we generalise these results by discussing a much wider class of Dirac operators together with their zero modes. Further we show that those Dirac operators that do admit zero modes may be related to Hopf maps, where the Hopf index is related to the number of zero modes in a simple way.Comment: Latex file, 20 pages, no figure