11 research outputs found
Electromagnetic superconductivity of vacuum induced by strong magnetic field
The quantum vacuum may become an electromagnetic superconductor in the
presence of a strong external magnetic field of the order of 10^{16} Tesla. The
magnetic field of the required strength (and even stronger) is expected to be
generated for a short time in ultraperipheral collisions of heavy ions at the
Large Hadron Collider. The superconducting properties of the new phase appear
as a result of a magnetic-field-assisted condensation of quark-antiquark pairs
with quantum numbers of electrically charged rho mesons. We discuss
similarities and differences between the suggested superconducting state of the
quantum vacuum, a conventional superconductivity and the Schwinger pair
creation. We argue qualitatively and quantitatively why the superconducting
state should be a natural ground state of the vacuum at the sufficiently strong
magnetic field. We demonstrate the existence of the superconducting phase using
both the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and an effective bosonic model based on the
vector meson dominance (the rho-meson electrodynamics). We discuss various
properties of the new phase such as absence of the Meissner effect, anisotropy
of superconductivity, spatial inhomogeneity of ground state, emergence of a
neutral superfluid component in the ground state and presence of new
topological vortices in the quark-antiquark condensates.Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, to appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly
interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K.
Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye
Identity and integration of Russian speakers in the Baltic states: a framework for analysis
Following a review of current scholarship on identity and integration patterns of Russian speakers in the Baltic states, this article proposes an analytical framework to help understand current trends. Rogers Brubaker's widely employed triadic nexus is expanded to demonstrate why a form of Russian-speaking identity has been emerging, but has failed to become fully consolidated, and why significant integration has occurred structurally but not identificationally. By enumerating the subfields of political, economic, and cultural âstancesâ and ârepresentationsâ the model helps to understand the complicated integration processes of minority groups that possess complex relationships with âexternal homelandsâ, ânationalizing statesâ and âinternational organizationsâ. Ultimately, it is argued that socio-economic factors largely reduce the capacity for a consolidated identity; political factors have a moderate tendency to reduce this capacity, whereas cultural factors generally increase the potential for a consolidated group identity