Bounds on the Compactness of Neutron Stars from Brightness Oscillations

The discovery of high-amplitude brightness oscillations at the spin frequency or its first overtone in six neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries during type~1 X-ray bursts provides a powerful new way to constrain the compactness of these stars, and hence to constrain the equation of state of the dense matter in all neutron stars. Here we present the results of general relativistic calculations of the maximum fractional rms amplitudes that can be observed during bursts. In particular, we determine the dependence of the amplitude on the compactness of the star, the angular dependence of the emission from the surface, the rotational velocity at the stellar surface, and whether there are one or two emitting poles. We show that if two poles are emitting, as is strongly indicated by independent evidence in 4U 1636-536 and KS 1731-26, the resulting limits on the compactness of the star can be extremely restrictive. We also discuss the expected amplitudes of X-ray color oscillations and the observational signatures necessary to derive convincing constraints on neutron star compactness from the amplitudes of burst oscillations.Comment: 8 pages plus one figure, AASTeX v. 4.0, submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letter

Instanton-inspired Model of QCD Phase Transition and Bubble Dynamics

We have reinvestigated the collision of gluonic bubbles in a SU(2) model of QCD which was studied by Johnson, Choi and Kisslinger in the context of the instanton-inspired model of QCD phase transition bubbles with plane wave approximation. We discuss treacherous points of the instanton-inspired model that cause the violation of causality due to the presence of imaginary gluon fields. By constructing a new slightly modified Lorentzian model where we have three independent real gluon fields, we reanalyzed the process of bubble collisions. Our numerical results show some indication of forming a bubble wall in colliding region.Comment: 19 pages, 32 figure

Minisuperspace Model for Revised Canonical Quantum Gravity

We present a reformulation of the canonical quantization of gravity, as referred to the minisuperspace; the new approach is based on fixing a Gaussian (or synchronous) reference frame and then quantizing the system via the reconstruction of a suitable constraint; then the quantum dynamics is re-stated in a generic coordinates system and it becomes dependent on the lapse function. The analysis follows a parallelism with the case of the non-relativistic particle and leads to the minisuperspace implementation of the so-called {\em kinematical action} as proposed in \cite{M02} (here almost coinciding also with the approach presented in \cite{KT91}). The new constraint leads to a Schr\"odinger equation for the system. i.e. to non-vanishing eigenvalues for the super-Hamiltonian operator; the physical interpretation of this feature relies on the appearance of a ``dust fluid'' (non-positive definite) energy density, i.e. a kind of ``materialization'' of the reference frame. As an example of minisuperspace model, we consider a Bianchi type IX Universe, for which some dynamical implications of the revised canonical quantum gravity are discussed. We also show how, on the classical limit, the presence of the dust fluid can have relevant cosmological issues. Finally we upgrade our analysis by its extension to the generic cosmological solution, which is performed in the so-called long-wavelength approximation. In fact, near the Big-Bang, we can neglect the spatial gradients of the dynamical variables and arrive to implement, in each space point, the same minisuperspace paradigm valid for the Bianchi IX model.Comment: 16 pages, no figures, to appear on International Journal of Modern Physics

Impact of uncertainty on modeling and testing

A thorough understanding of the uncertainties associated with the modeling and testing of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Engine will greatly aid decisions concerning hardware performance and future development efforts. This report will describe the determination of the uncertainties in the modeling and testing of the Space Shuttle Main Engine test program at the Technology Test Bed facility at Marshall Space Flight Center. Section 2 will present a summary of the uncertainty analysis methodology used and discuss the specific applications to the TTB SSME test program. Section 3 will discuss the application of the uncertainty analysis to the test program and the results obtained. Section 4 presents the results of the analysis of the SSME modeling effort from an uncertainty analysis point of view. The appendices at the end of the report contain a significant amount of information relative to the analysis, including discussions of venturi flowmeter data reduction and uncertainty propagation, bias uncertainty documentations, technical papers published, the computer code generated to determine the venturi uncertainties, and the venturi data and results used in the analysis

Fractionalized Fermi liquids

In spatial dimensions d >= 2, Kondo lattice models of conduction and local moment electrons can exhibit a fractionalized, non-magnetic state (FL*) with a Fermi surface of sharp electron-like quasiparticles, enclosing a volume quantized by (\rho_a-1)(mod 2), with \rho_a the mean number of all electrons per unit cell of the ground state. Such states have fractionalized excitations linked to the deconfined phase of a gauge theory. Confinement leads to a conventional Fermi liquid state, with a Fermi volume quantized by \rho_a (mod 2), and an intermediate superconducting state for the Z_2 gauge case. The FL* state permits a second order metamagnetic transition in an applied magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; (v2) changed title and terminology, but content largely unchanged; (v3) updated version to appear in PR

Linear independence of Gamma values in positive characteristic

We investigate the arithmetic nature of special values of Thakur's function field Gamma function at rational points. Our main result is that all linear independence relations over the field of algebraic functions are consequences of the known relations of Anderson and Thakur arising from the functional equations of the Gamma function.Comment: 51 page

Black hole formation from colliding bubbles

Some indication of conditions that are necessary for the formation of black holes from the collision of bubbles during a supercooled phase transition in the the early universe are explored. Two colliding bubbles can never form a black hole. Three colliding bubbles can refocus the energy in their walls to the extent that it becomes infinite.Comment: 12 pages, NCL93-TP13 (RevTeX

Magnetic Wormholes and Vertex Operators

We consider wormhole solutions in $2+1$ Euclidean dimensions. A duality transformation is introduced to derive a new action from magnetic wormhole action of Gupta, Hughes, Preskill and Wise. The classical solution is presented. The vertex operators corresponding to the wormhole are derived. Conformally coupled scalars and spinors are considered in the wormhole background and the vertex operators are computed. ( To be published in Phys. Rev. D15)Comment: 18 pages of RevTex, preprint IP/BBSR/94-2

Classical and Quantum Annealing in the Median of Three Satisfiability

We determine the classical and quantum complexities of a specific ensemble of three-satisfiability problems with a unique satisfying assignment for up to N=100 and N=80 variables, respectively. In the classical limit we employ generalized ensemble techniques and measure the time that a Markovian Monte Carlo process spends in searching classical ground states. In the quantum limit we determine the maximum finite correlation length along a quantum adiabatic trajectory determined by the linear sweep of the adiabatic control parameter in the Hamiltonian composed of the problem Hamiltonian and the constant transverse field Hamiltonian. In the median of our ensemble both complexities diverge exponentially with the number of variables. Hence, standard, conventional adiabatic quantum computation fails to reduce the computational complexity to polynomial. Moreover, the growth-rate constant in the quantum limit is 3.8 times as large as the one in the classical limit, making classical fluctuations more beneficial than quantum fluctuations in ground-state searches

Path Integral Approach to Two-Dimensional QCD in the Light-Front

Two-dimensional quantum cromodynamics in the light-front frame is studied following hamiltonian methods. The theory is quantized using the path integral formalism and an effective theory similar to the Nambu-Jona Lasinio model is obtained. Confinement in two dimensions is derived analyzing directly the constraints in the path integral.Comment: 13pp, Plain-TeX, Si-93-10, IF-UFRJ-93-13, USM-TH-6