16 research outputs found

    The force of gravity in Schwarzschild and Gullstrand-Painlev\'e coordinates

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    We derive the exact equations of motion (in Newtonian, F=ma, form) for test masses in Schwarzschild and Gullstrand-Painlev\'e coordinates. These equations of motion are simpler than the usual geodesic equations obtained from Christoffel tensors in that the affine parameter is eliminated. The various terms can be compared against tests of gravity. In force form, gravity can be interpreted as resulting from a flux of superluminal particles (gravitons). We show that the first order relativistic correction to Newton's gravity results from a two graviton interaction.Comment: 6 pages, Honorable mention in 2009 Gravity Essay Competition, submitted IJMPD, added reference

    Spin Path Integrals and Generations

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    The spin of a free electron is stable but its position is not. Recent quantum information research by G. Svetlichny, J. Tolar, and G. Chadzitaskos have shown that the Feynman \emph{position} path integral can be mathematically defined as a product of incompatible states; that is, as a product of mutually unbiased bases (MUBs). Since the more common use of MUBs is in finite dimensional Hilbert spaces, this raises the question "what happens when \emph{spin} path integrals are computed over products of MUBs?" Such an assumption makes spin no longer stable. We show that the usual spin-1/2 is obtained in the long-time limit in three orthogonal solutions that we associate with the three elementary particle generations. We give applications to the masses of the elementary leptons.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, accepted at Foundations of Physic

    The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

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    Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least 4m4m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5m6.5m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure
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