Electrostatics in a Schwarzschild black hole pierced by a cosmic string

We explicitly determine the expression of the electrostatic potential generated by a point charge at rest in the Schwarzschild black hole pierced by a cosmic string. We can then calculate the electrostatic self-energy. From this, we find again the upper entropy bound for a charged object by employing thermodynamics of the black hole.Comment: Latex, 8 pages, 1 figure in late

The Nystrom plus Correction Method for Solving Bound State Equations in Momentum Space

A new method is presented for solving the momentum-space Schrodinger equation with a linear potential. The Lande-subtracted momentum space integral equation can be transformed into a matrix equation by the Nystrom method. The method produces only approximate eigenvalues in the cases of singular potentials such as the linear potential. The eigenvalues generated by the Nystrom method can be improved by calculating the numerical errors and adding the appropriate corrections. The end results are more accurate eigenvalues than those generated by the basis function method. The method is also shown to work for a relativistic equation such as the Thompson equation.Comment: Revtex, 21 pages, 4 tables, to be published in Physical Review

Takagi-Taupin Description of X-ray Dynamical Diffraction from Diffractive Optics with Large Numerical Aperture

We present a formalism of x-ray dynamical diffraction from volume diffractive optics with large numerical aperture and high aspect ratio, in an analogy to the Takagi-Taupin equations for strained single crystals. We derive a set of basic equations for dynamical diffraction from volume diffractive optics, which enable us to study the focusing property of these optics with various grating profiles. We study volume diffractive optics that satisfy the Bragg condition to various degrees, namely flat, tilted and wedged geometries, and derive the curved geometries required for ultimate focusing. We show that the curved geometries satisfy the Bragg condition everywhere and phase requirement for point focusing, and effectively focus hard x-rays to a scale close to the wavelength.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure

Electric force lines of the double Reissner-Nordstrom exact solution

Recently, Alekseev and Belinski have presented a new exact solution of the Einstein-Maxwell equations which describes two Reissner-Nordstrom (RN) sources in reciprocal equilibrium (no struts nor strings); one source is a naked singularity, the other is a black hole: this is the only possible configuration for separable object, apart from the well-known extreme case ($m_i=e_i$). In the present paper, after a brief summary of this solution, we study in some detail the coordinate systems used and the main features of the gravitational and electric fields. In particular we graph the plots of the electric force lines in three qualitatively different situations: equal-signed charges, opposite charges and the case of a naked singularity near a neutral black hole.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, accepted by IJMP

Black hole polarization and new entropy bounds

Zaslavskii has suggested how to tighten Bekenstein's bound on entropy when the object is electrically charged. Recently Hod has provided a second tighter version of the bound applicable when the object is rotating. Here we derive Zaslavskii's optimized bound by considering the accretion of an ordinary charged object by a black hole. The force originating from the polarization of the black hole by a nearby charge is central to the derivation of the bound from the generalized second law. We also conjecture an entropy bound for charged rotating objects, a synthesis of Zaslavskii's and Hod's. On the basis of the no hair principle for black holes, we show that this last bound cannot be tightened further in a generic way by knowledge of ``global'' conserved charges, e.g., baryon number, which may be borne by the object.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex, Regularization of potential made clearer. Error in energy of the particle corrected with no consequence for final conclusions. New references adde

The self-force on a static scalar test-charge outside a Schwarzschild black hole

The finite part of the self-force on a static scalar test-charge outside a Schwarzschild black hole is zero. By direct construction of Hadamard's elementary solution, we obtain a closed-form expression for the minimally coupled scalar field produced by a test-charge held fixed in Schwarzschild spacetime. Using the closed-form expression, we compute the necessary external force required to hold the charge stationary. Although the energy associated with the scalar field contributes to the renormalized mass of the particle (and thereby its weight), we find there is no additional self-force acting on the charge. This result is unlike the analogous electrostatic result, where, after a similar mass renormalization, there remains a finite repulsive self-force acting on a static electric test-charge outside a Schwarzschild black hole. We confirm our force calculation using Carter's mass-variation theorem for black holes. The primary motivation for this calculation is to develop techniques and formalism for computing all forces - dissipative and non-dissipative - acting on charges and masses moving in a black-hole spacetime. In the Appendix we recap the derivation of the closed-form electrostatic potential. We also show how the closed-form expressions for the fields are related to the infinite series solutions.Comment: RevTeX, To Appear in Phys. Rev.

Quasiholes and fermionic zero modes of paired fractional quantum Hall states: the mechanism for nonabelian statistics

The quasihole states of several paired states, the Pfaffian, Haldane-Rezayi, and 331 states, which under certain conditions may describe electrons at filling factor $\nu=1/2$ or 5/2, are studied, analytically and numerically, in the spherical geometry, for the Hamiltonians for which the ground states are known exactly. We also find all the ground states (without quasiparticles) of these systems in the toroidal geometry. In each case, a complete set of linearly-independent functions that are energy eigenstates of zero energy is found explicitly. For fixed positions of the quasiholes, the number of linearly-independent states is $2^{n-1}$ for the Pfaffian, $2^{2n-3}$ for the Haldane-Rezayi state; these degeneracies are needed if these systems are to possess nonabelian statistics, and they agree with predictions based on conformal field theory. The dimensions of the spaces of states for each number of quasiholes agree with numerical results for moderate system sizes. The effects of tunneling and of the Zeeman term are discussed for the 331 and Haldane-Rezayi states, as well as the relation to Laughlin states of electron pairs. A model introduced by Ho, which was supposed to connect the 331 and Pfaffian states, is found to have the same degeneracies of zero-energy states as the 331 state, except at its Pfaffian point where it is much more highly degenerate than either the 331 or the Pfaffian. We introduce a modification of the model which has the degeneracies of the 331 state everywhere including the Pfaffian point; at the latter point, tunneling reduces the degeneracies to those of the Pfaffian state. An experimental difference is pointed out between the Laughlin states of electron pairs and the other paired states, in the current-voltage response when electrons tunnel into the edge. And there's more.Comment: 43 pages, requires RevTeX. The 14 figures and 2 tables are available on request at [email protected] (include mailing address

Applications of the Mellin-Barnes integral representation

We apply the Mellin-Barnes integral representation to several situations of interest in mathematical-physics. At the purely mathematical level, we derive useful asymptotic expansions of different zeta-functions and partition functions. These results are then employed in different topics of quantum field theory, which include the high-temperature expansion of the free energy of a scalar field in ultrastatic curved spacetime, the asymptotics of the $p$-brane density of states, and an explicit approach to the asymptotics of the determinants that appear in string theory.Comment: 20 pages, LaTe

Multiphoton detachment of electrons from negative ions

A simple analytical solution for the problem of multiphoton detachment from negative ions by a linearly polarized laser field is found. It is valid in the wide range of intensities and frequencies of the field, from the perturbation theory to the tunneling regime, and is applicable to the excess-photon as well as near-threshold detachment. Practically, the formulae are valid when the number of photons is greater than two. They produce the total detachment rates, relative intensities of the excess-photon peaks, and photoelectron angular distributions for the hydrogen and halogen negative ions, in agreement with those obtained in other, more numerically involved calculations in both perturbative and non-perturbative regimes. Our approach explains the extreme sensitivity of the multiphoton detachment probability to the asymptotic behaviour of the bound-state wave function. Rapid oscillations in the angular dependence of the $n$-photon detachment probability are shown to arise due to interference of the two classical trajectories which lead to the same final state after the electron emerges at the opposite sides of the atom when the field is close to maximal.Comment: 27 pages, Latex, and PostScript figures fig1.ps, fig2.ps, fig3.ps, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Polymer transport in random flow

The dynamics of polymers in a random smooth flow is investigated in the framework of the Hookean dumbbell model. The analytical expression of the time-dependent probability density function of polymer elongation is derived explicitly for a Gaussian, rapidly changing flow. When polymers are in the coiled state the pdf reaches a stationary state characterized by power-law tails both for small and large arguments compared to the equilibrium length. The characteristic relaxation time is computed as a function of the Weissenberg number. In the stretched state the pdf is unstationary and exhibits multiscaling. Numerical simulations for the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes flow confirm the relevance of theoretical results obtained for the delta-correlated model.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figure