A practical application of Physics Education Research-informed teaching interventions in a first-year physics service course

First-year physics service courses across North America typically face similar problems, such as the lack of math preparation of the incoming students, or the perception by the students that the course content is irrelevant for their future studies. It should be described how to apply changes informed by Physics Education Research, in particular the labatorial model, to such a course on a short time scale and under tight practical constraints. Examples for student activities are given, and the observations, challenges, and anticipated long-term benefits for the students as well as the department are pointed out.Keywords: Physics Education Research, First year service course, Labatorial

Resonant decay of parity odd bubbles in hot hadronic matter

We investigate the decay of metastable states with broken CP-symmetry which have recently been proposed by Kharzeev, Pisarski and Tytgat to form in hot hadronic matter. We consider the efficiency of the amplification of the $\eta'$-field via parametric resonance, taking the backreaction into account. For times of the order $t\approx 10 fm$, we find a particle density of about $0.7/fm^3$ and a correlation length of $\xi_{max}\approx 2.5 fm$. The corresponding momentum spectra show a non-thermal behaviour.Comment: 11 pages latex file with 4 gif - figures. Uses elsart.cls (included

Θ\Theta vacua states in heavy ion collisions in presence of dissipation and noise

We have studied possible formation of $\Theta$ vacua states in heavy ion collisions. Random phases of the chiral fields were evolved in a finite temperature potential, incorporating the breaking of $U_A(1)$ symmetry. Initial random phases very quickly settle into oscillation around the values dictated by the potential. The simulation study indicate that an initial $\Theta$=0 state do not evolve into a $\Theta$ $\neq$ 0 state. However, an initial $\Theta$ $\neq$ 0 state, if formed in heavy ion collision, can survive, as a coherent superposition of a number of modes.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Energy and Efficiency of Adiabatic Quantum Search Algorithms

We present the results of a detailed analysis of a general, unstructured adiabatic quantum search of a data base of $N$ items. In particular we examine the effects on the computation time of adding energy to the system. We find that by increasing the lowest eigenvalue of the time dependent Hamiltonian {\it temporarily} to a maximum of $\propto \sqrt{N}$, it is possible to do the calculation in constant time. This leads us to derive the general theorem which provides the adiabatic analogue of the $\sqrt{N}$ bound of conventional quantum searches. The result suggests that the action associated with the oracle term in the time dependent Hamiltonian is a direct measure of the resources required by the adiabatic quantum search.Comment: 6 pages, Revtex, 1 figure. Theorem modified, references and comments added, sections introduced, typos corrected. Version to appear in J. Phys.

Observing Spontaneous Strong Parity Violation in Heavy-Ion Collisions

We discuss the problem of observing spontaneous parity and CP violation in collision systems. We discuss and propose observables which may be used in heavy-ion collisions to observe such violations, as well as event-by-event methods to analyze the data. Finally, we discuss simple monte-carlo models of these CP violating effects which we have used to develop our techniques and from which we derive rough estimates of sensitivities to signals which may be seen at RHIC

Parity violation in hot QCD: why it can happen, and how to look for it

The arguments for the possibility of violation of P and CP symmetries of strong interactions at finite temperature are presented. A new way of observing these effects in heavy ion collisions is proposed -- it is shown that parity violation should manifest itself in the asymmetry between positive and negative pions with respect to the reaction plane. Basing on topological considerations, we derive a {\it lower} bound on the magnitude of the expected asymmetry, which may appear within the reach of the current and/or future heavy ion experiments.Comment: 5 pages, revtex; a slightly extended version to appear in Physics Letters