Incremental and Transitive Discrete Rotations

A discrete rotation algorithm can be apprehended as a parametric application $f\_\alpha$ from \ZZ[i] to \ZZ[i], whose resulting permutation ``looks like'' the map induced by an Euclidean rotation. For this kind of algorithm, to be incremental means to compute successively all the intermediate rotate d copies of an image for angles in-between 0 and a destination angle. The di scretized rotation consists in the composition of an Euclidean rotation with a discretization; the aim of this article is to describe an algorithm whic h computes incrementally a discretized rotation. The suggested method uses o nly integer arithmetic and does not compute any sine nor any cosine. More pr ecisely, its design relies on the analysis of the discretized rotation as a step function: the precise description of the discontinuities turns to be th e key ingredient that will make the resulting procedure optimally fast and e xact. A complete description of the incremental rotation process is provided, also this result may be useful in the specification of a consistent set of defin itions for discrete geometry

Lensing by Kerr Black Holes. I: General Lens Equation and Magnification Formula

We develop a unified, analytic framework for gravitational lensing by Kerr black holes. In this first paper we present a new, general lens equation and magnification formula governing lensing by a compact object. Our lens equation assumes that the source and observer are in the asymptotically flat region and does not require a small angle approximation. Furthermore, it takes into account the displacement that occurs when the light ray's tangent lines at the source and observer do not meet on the lens plane. We then explore our lens equation in the case when the compact object is a Kerr black hole. Specifically, we give an explicit expression for the displacement when the observer is in the equatorial plane of the Kerr black hole as well as for the case of spherical symmetry.Comment: 11 pages; final published versio

Orbifolds, the A, D, E Family of Caustic Singularities, and Gravitational Lensing

We provide a geometric explanation for the existence of magnification relations for the A, D, E family of caustic singularities, which were established in recent work. In particular, it was shown that for families of general mappings between planes exhibiting any of these caustic singularities, and for any non-caustic target point, the total signed magnification of the corresponding pre-images vanishes. As an application to gravitational lensing, it was also shown that, independent of the choice of a lens model, the total signed magnification vanishes for a light source anywhere in the four-image region close to elliptic and hyperbolic umbilic caustics. This is a more global and higher-order analog of the well-known fold and cusp magnification relations. We now extend each of these mappings to weighted projective space, which is a compact orbifold, and show that magnification relations translate into a statement about the behavior of these extended mappings at infinity. This generalizes multi-dimensional residue techniques developed in previous work, and introduces weighted projective space as a new tool in the theory of caustic singularities and gravitational lensing.Comment: 11 page

The Fundamental Commutator For Massless Particles

It is discussed that the usual Heisenberg commutation relation (CR) is not a proper relation for massless particles and then an alternative is obtained. The canonical quantization of the free electromagnetic(EM)fields based on the field theoretical generalization of this alternative is carried out. Without imposing the normal ordering condition,the vacuum energy is automatically zero.This can be considered as a solution to the EM fields vacuum catastrophe and a step toward managing the cosmologial constant problem at least for the EM fields contribution to the state of vacuum.Comment: 12 pages,no figures,To appear in Mod.Phys.Ltt.