On the propagation of semiclassical Wigner functions

We establish the difference between the propagation of semiclassical Wigner functions and classical Liouville propagation. First we re-discuss the semiclassical limit for the propagator of Wigner functions, which on its own leads to their classical propagation. Then, via stationary phase evaluation of the full integral evolution equation, using the semiclassical expressions of Wigner functions, we provide the correct geometrical prescription for their semiclassical propagation. This is determined by the classical trajectories of the tips of the chords defined by the initial semiclassical Wigner function and centered on their arguments, in contrast to the Liouville propagation which is determined by the classical trajectories of the arguments themselves.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. To appear in J. Phys. A. This version matches the one set to print and differs from the previous one (07 Nov 2001) by the addition of two references, a few extra words of explanation and an augmented figure captio

The rank of variants of nilpotent pseudovarieties

We investigate the rank of pseudovarieties defined by several of the variants of nilpotency conditions for semigroups in the sense of Mal'cev. For several of them, we provide finite bases of pseudoidentities. We also show that the Neumann-Taylor variant does not have finite rank.Comment: 41 page

New zoarcid fish species from deep-sea hydrothermal vents of the Atlantic

International Ridge-Crest Research: Biological Studies. Vol. 10(1): 15-1