660 research outputs found
Self Interacting Dark Matter in the Solar System
Weakly coupled, almost massless, spin 0 particles have been predicted by many
extensions of the standard model of particle physics. Recently, the PVLAS group
observed a rotation of polarization of electromagnetic waves in vacuum in the
presence of transverse magnetic field. This phenomenon is best explained by the
existence of a weakly coupled light pseudoscalar particle. However, the
coupling required by this experiment is much larger than the conventional
astrophysical limits. Here we consider a hypothetical self-interacting
pseudoscalar particle which couples weakly with visible matter.
Assuming that these pseudoscalars pervade the galaxy, we show that the solar
limits on the pseudoscalar-photon coupling can be evaded.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure
Gravitational collapse in asymptotically Anti-de Sitter/de Sitter backgrounds
We study here the gravitational collapse of a matter cloud with a
non-vanishing tangential pressure in the presence of a non-zero cosmological
term. Conditions for bounce and singularity formation are derived for the
model. It is also shown that when the tangential pressures vanish, the bounce
and singularity conditions reduce to that of the dust case studied earlier. The
collapsing interior is matched with an exterior which is asymptotically de
Sitter or anti de Sitter, depending on the sign of cosmological constant. The
junction conditions for matching the cloud to exterior are specified. The
effect of the cosmological term on apparent horizons is studied in some detail,
and the nature of central singularity is analyzed. We also discuss here the
visibility of the singularity and implications for the cosmic censorship
conjecture.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, Revtex
The supersymmetric modified Poschl-Teller and delta-well potentials
New supersymmetric partners of the modified Poschl-Teller and the Dirac's
delta well potentials are constructed in closed form. The resulting
one-parametric potentials are shown to be interrelated by a limiting process.
The range of values of the parameters for which these potentials are free of
singularities is exactly determined. The construction of higher order
supersymmetric partner potentials is also investigated.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX file, 4 eps figure
de Sitter special relativity
A special relativity based on the de Sitter group is introduced, which is the
theory that might hold up in the presence of a non-vanishing cosmological
constant. Like ordinary special relativity, it retains the quotient character
of spacetime, and a notion of homogeneity. As a consequence, the underlying
spacetime will be a de Sitter spacetime, whose associated kinematics will
differ from that of ordinary special relativity. The corresponding modified
notions of energy and momentum are obtained, and the exact relationship between
them, which is invariant under a re-scaling of the involved quantities,
explicitly exhibited. Since the de Sitter group can be considered a particular
deformation of the Poincar\'e group, this theory turns out to be a specific
kind of deformed (or doubly) special relativity. Some experimental
consequences, as well as the causal structure of spacetime--modified by the
presence of the de Sitter horizon--are briefly discussed.Comment: V2: Some presentation changes; a new section introduced, with a
discussion about possible phenomenological consequences; new references
added; version to be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit
From wormhole to time machine: Comments on Hawking's Chronology Protection Conjecture
The recent interest in ``time machines'' has been largely fueled by the
apparent ease with which such systems may be formed in general relativity,
given relatively benign initial conditions such as the existence of traversable
wormholes or of infinite cosmic strings. This rather disturbing state of
affairs has led Hawking to formulate his Chronology Protection Conjecture,
whereby the formation of ``time machines'' is forbidden. This paper will use
several simple examples to argue that the universe appears to exhibit a
``defense in depth'' strategy in this regard. For appropriate parameter regimes
Casimir effects, wormhole disruption effects, and gravitational back reaction
effects all contribute to the fight against time travel. Particular attention
is paid to the role of the quantum gravity cutoff. For the class of model
problems considered it is shown that the gravitational back reaction becomes
large before the Planck scale quantum gravity cutoff is reached, thus
supporting Hawking's conjecture.Comment: 43 pages,ReV_TeX,major revision
Exactly Solvable Hydrogen-like Potentials and Factorization Method
A set of factorization energies is introduced, giving rise to a
generalization of the Schr\"{o}dinger (or Infeld and Hull) factorization for
the radial hydrogen-like Hamiltonian. An algebraic intertwining technique
involving such factorization energies leads to derive -parametric families
of potentials in general almost-isospectral to the hydrogen-like radial
Hamiltonians. The construction of SUSY partner Hamiltonians with ground state
energies greater than the corresponding ground state energy of the initial
Hamiltonian is also explicitly performed.Comment: LaTex file, 21 pages, 2 PostScript figures and some references added.
To be published in J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. (1998
On the equivalence principle and gravitational and inertial mass relation of classical charged particles
We show that the locally constant force necessary to get a stable hyperbolic
motion regime for classical charged point particles, actually, is a combination
of an applied external force and of the electromagnetic radiation reaction
force. It implies, as the strong Equivalence Principle is valid, that the
passive gravitational mass of a charged point particle should be slight greater
than its inertial mass. An interesting new feature that emerges from the
unexpected behavior of the gravitational and inertial mass relation, for
classical charged particles, at very strong gravitational field, is the
existence of a critical, particle dependent, gravitational field value that
signs the validity domain of the strong Equivalence Principle. For electron and
proton, these critical field values are
and , respectively
Further Constraints on the Presence of a Debris Disk in the Multiplanet System Gliese 876
Using both the Very Large Array (VLA) at 7mm wavelength, and the Australia
Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) at 3mm, we have searched for microwave emission
from from cool dust in the extrasolar planetary system Gliese 876 (Gl 876).
Having detected no emission above our 3-sigma detection threshold of 135
microJy, we rule out any dust disk with either a mass greater than 0.0006 Earth
masses or less than ~250 AU across. This result improves on previous detection
aperture thresholds an order of magnitude greater, and it has some implications
for the dynamical modeling of the system. It also is consistent with the
Greaves et al. hypothesis that relates the presence of a debris disk to
close-in planets. Due to the dust-planetesimal relationship, our null result
may also provide a constraint on the population or composition of the dust and
small bodies around this nearby M dwarf.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astonomical Journal. 13 pages including 1
tabl
Wide-angle elastic scattering and color randomization
Baryon-baryon elastic scattering is considered in the independent scattering
(Landshoff) mechanism. It is suggested that for scattering at moderate
energies, direct and interchange quark channels contribute with equal color
coefficients because the quark color is randomized by soft gluon exchange
during the hadronization stage. With this assumption, it is shown that the
ratio of cross sections at CM angle
decreases from a high energy value of R_{\pbar p / pp} \approx 1/2.7, down to
R_{\pbar p / pp} \approx 1/28, compatible with experimental data at moderate
energies. This sizable fall in the ratio seems to be characteristic of the
Landshoff mechanism, in which changes at the quark level have a strong effect
precisely because the hadronic process occurs via multiple quark scatterings.
The effect of color randomization on the angular distribution of proton-proton
elastic scattering and the cross section ratio is also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, latex2e, 4 uuencoded figures, include
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