188 research outputs found
Quantum fields in disequilibrium: neutral scalar bosons with long-range, inhomogeneous perturbations
Using Schwinger's quantum action principle, dispersion relations are obtained
for neutral scalar mesons interacting with bi-local sources. These relations
are used as the basis of a method for representing the effect of interactions
in the Gaussian approximation to field theory, and it is argued that a marked
inhomogeneity, in space-time dependence of the sources, forces a discrete
spectrum on the field. The development of such a system is characterized by
features commonly associated with chaos and self-organization (localization by
domain or cell formation). The Green functions play the role of an iterative
map in phase space. Stable systems reside at the fixed points of the map. The
present work can be applied to self-interacting theories by choosing suitable
properties for the sources. Rapid transport leads to a second order phase
transition and anomalous dispersion. Finally, it is shown that there is a
compact representation of the non-equilibrium dynamics in terms of generalized
chemical potentials, or equivalently as a pseudo-gauge theory, with an
imaginary charge. This analogy shows, more clearly, how dissipation and entropy
production are related to the source picture and transform a flip-flop like
behaviour between two reservoirs into the Landau problem in a constant
`magnetic field'. A summary of conventions and formalism is provided as a basis
for future work.Comment: 23 pages revte
Real-time nonequilibrium dynamics in hot QED plasmas: dynamical renormalization group approach
We study the real-time nonequilibrium dynamics in hot QED plasmas
implementing a dynamical renormalization group and using the hard thermal loop
(HTL) approximation. The focus is on the study of the relaxation of gauge and
fermionic mean fields and on the quantum kinetics of the photon and fermion
distribution functions. For semihard photons of momentum eT << k << T we find
to leading order in the HTL that the gauge mean field relaxes in time with a
power law as a result of infrared enhancement of the spectral density near the
Landau damping threshold. The dynamical renormalization group reveals the
emergence of detailed balance for microscopic time scales larger than 1/k while
the rates are still varying with time. The quantum kinetic equation for the
photon distribution function allows us to study photon production from a
thermalized quark-gluon plasma (QGP) by off-shell effects. We find that for a
QGP at temperature T ~ 200 MeV and of lifetime 10 < t < 50 fm/c the hard (k ~
T) photon production from off-shell bremsstrahlung (q -> q \gamma and \bar{q}
-> \bar{q}\gamma) at O(\alpha) grows logarithmically in time and is comparable
to that produced from on-shell Compton scattering and pair annihilation at
O(\alpha \alpha_s). Fermion mean fields relax as e^{-\alpha T t ln(\omega_P t)}
with \omega_P=eT/3 the plasma frequency, as a consequence of the emission and
absorption of soft magnetic photons. A quantum kinetic equation for hard
fermions is obtained directly in real time from a field theoretical approach
improved by the dynamical renormalization group. The collision kernel is
time-dependent and infrared finite.Comment: RevTeX, 46 pages, including 5 EPS figures, published versio
A Generalized Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem for Nonlinear Response Functions
A nonlinear generalization of the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem (FDT) for
the n-point Green functions and the amputated 1PI vertex functions at finite
temperature is derived in the framework of the Closed Time Path formalism. We
verify that this generalized FDT coincides with known results for n=2 and 3.
New explicit relations among the 4-point nonlinear response and correlation
(fluctuation) functions are presented.Comment: 34 pages, Revte
A Simple Shell Model for Quantum Dots in a Tilted Magnetic Field
A model for quantum dots is proposed, in which the motion of a few electrons
in a three-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential under the influence of a
homogeneous magnetic field of arbitrary direction is studied. The spectrum and
the wave functions are obtained by solving the classical problem. The ground
state of the Fermi-system is obtained by minimizing the total energy with
regard to the confining frequencies. From this a dependence of the equilibrium
shape of the quantum dot on the electron number, the magnetic field parameters
and the slab thickness is found.Comment: 15 pages (Latex), 3 epsi figures, to appear in PhysRev B, 55 Nr. 20
(1997
Anomalous Pseudoscalar-Photon Vertex In and Out of Equilibrium
The anomalous pseudoscalar-photon vertex is studied in real time in and out
of equilibrium in a constituent quark model. The goal is to understand the
in-medium modifications of this vertex, exploring the possibility of enhanced
isospin breaking by electromagnetic effects as well as the formation of neutral
pion condensates in a rapid chiral phase transition in peripheral,
ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. In equilibrium the effective vertex is
afflicted by infrared and collinear singularities that require hard thermal
loop (HTL) and width corrections of the quark propagator. The resummed
effective equilibrium vertex vanishes near the chiral transition in the chiral
limit. In a strongly out of equilibrium chiral phase transition we find that
the chiral condensate drastically modifies the quark propagators and the
effective vertex. The ensuing dynamics for the neutral pion results in a
potential enhancement of isospin breaking and the formation of
condensates. While the anomaly equation and the axial Ward identity are not
modified by the medium in or out of equilibrium, the effective real-time
pseudoscalar-photon vertex is sensitive to low energy physics.Comment: Revised version to appear in Phys. Rev. D. 42 pages, 4 figures, uses
Revte
Noise induced transitions in semiclassical cosmology
A semiclassical cosmological model is considered which consists of a closed
Friedmann-Robertson-Walker in the presence of a cosmological constant, which
mimics the effect of an inflaton field, and a massless, non-conformally coupled
quantum scalar field. We show that the back-reaction of the quantum field,
which consists basically of a non local term due to gravitational particle
creation and a noise term induced by the quantum fluctuations of the field, are
able to drive the cosmological scale factor over the barrier of the classical
potential so that if the universe starts near zero scale factor (initial
singularity) it can make the transition to an exponentially expanding de Sitter
phase. We compute the probability of this transition and it turns out to be
comparable with the probability that the universe tunnels from "nothing" into
an inflationary stage in quantum cosmology. This suggests that in the presence
of matter fields the back-reaction on the spacetime should not be neglected in
quantum cosmology.Comment: LaTex, 33.tex pages, no figure
Infrared Behaviour of The Gluon Propagator in Non-Equilibrium Situations
The infrared behaviour of the medium modified gluon propagator in
non-equilibrium situations is studied in the covariant gauge using the
Schwinger-Keldysh closed-time path formalism. It is shown that the magnetic
screening mass is non-zero at the one loop level whenever the initial gluon
distribution function is non isotropic with the assumption that the
distribution function of the gluon is not divergent at zero transverse
momentum. For isotropic gluon distribution functions, such as those describing
local equilibrium, the magnetic mass at one loop level is zero which is
consistent with finite temperature field theory results. Assuming that a
reasonable initial gluon distribution function can be obtained from a
perturbative QCD calculation of minijets, we determine these out of equilibrium
values for the initial magnetic and Debye screening masses at energy densities
appropriate to RHIC and LHC. We also compare the magnetic masses obtained here
with those obtained using finite temperature lattice QCD methods at similar
temperatures at RHIC and LHC.Comment: 21 pages latex, 4 figures, final version to be published in Phys.
Rev.
Closed-Time Path Integral Formalism and Medium Effects of Non-Equilibrium QCD Matter
We apply the closed-time path integral formalism to study the medium effects
of non-equilibrium gluon matter. We derive the medium modified resummed gluon
propagator to the one loop level in non-equilibrium in the covariant gauge. The
gluon propagator we derive can be used to remove the infrared divergences in
the secondary parton collisions to study thermalization of minijet parton
plasma at RHIC and LHC.Comment: Final version, To appear in Physical Review D, Minor modification,
reference adde
Anomalous Kinetics of Hard Charged Particles: Dynamical Renormalization Group Resummation
We study the kinetics of the distribution function for charged particles of
hard momentum in scalar QED. The goal is to understand the effects of infrared
divergences associated with the exchange of quasistatic magnetic photons in the
relaxation of the distribution function. We begin by obtaining a kinetic
transport equation for the distribution function for hard charged scalars in a
perturbative expansion that includes hard thermal loop resummation. Solving
this transport equation, the infrared divergences arising from absorption and
emission of soft quasi-static magnetic photons are manifest in logarithmic
secular terms. We then implement the dynamical renormalization group
resummation of these secular terms in the relaxation time approximation. The
distribution function (in the linearized regime) is found to approach
equilibrium as , with the plasma frequency
and . This anomalous relaxation is recognized to be the
square of the relaxation of the single particle propagator, providing a
generalization of the usual relation between the damping and the interaction
rate. The renormalization group approach to kinetics reveals clearly the time
scale arising from infrared
physics and hinges upon the separation of scales .Comment: 16 pages, no figure
Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study
A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study
In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4
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