1,589,631 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of black holes in finite boxes
We analyze the thermodynamical behavior of black holes in closed finite
boxes. First the black hole mass evolution is analyzed in an initially empty
box. Using the conservation of the energy and the Hawking evaporation flux, we
deduce a minimal volume above which one black hole can loss all of its mass to
the box, a result which agrees with the previous analysis made by Page. We then
obtain analogous results using a box initially containing radiation, allowed to
be absorbed by the black hole. The equilibrium times and masses are evaluated
and their behavior discussed to highlight some interesting features arising.
These results are generalized to black holes + thermal radiation. Using
physically simple arguments, we prove that these black holes achieve the same
equilibrium masses (even that the initial masses were different). The entropy
of the system is used to obtain the dependence of the equilibrium mass on the
box volume, number of black holes and the initial radiation. The equilibrium
mass is shown to be proportional to a {\it positive} power law of the effective
volume (contrary to naive expectations), a result explained in terms of the
detailed features of the system. The effect of the reflection of the radiation
on the box walls which comes back into the black hole is explicitly considered.
All these results (some of them counter-intuitive) may be useful to formulate
alternative problems in thermodynamic courses for graduate and advanced
undergraduate students. A handful of them are suggested in the Appendix.Comment: RevTex file, 2 .ps figures. Submitted to AmJPhy
The supermembrane revisited
The M2-brane is studied from the perspective of superembeddings. We review
the derivation of the M2-brane dynamics and the supergravity constraints from
the standard superembedding constraint and we discuss explicitly the induced
d=3, N=8 superconformal geometry on the worldvolume. We show that the gauged
supermembrane, for a target space with a U(1) isometry, is the standard
D2-brane in a type IIA supergravity background. In particular, the D2-brane
action, complete with the Dirac-Born-Infeld term, arises from the gauged
Wess-Zumino worldvolume 4-form via the brane action principle. The discussion
is extended to the massive D2-brane considered as a gauged supermembrane in a
massive D=11 superspace background. Type IIA supergeometry is derived using
Kaluza-Klein techniques in superspace.Comment: Latex, 46 pages, clarifying remarks and references adde
Effective energy-momentum tensor of strong-field QED with unstable vacuum
We study the influence of a vacuum instability on the effective
energy-momentum tensor (EMT) of QED, in the presence of a quasiconstant
external electric field, by means of the relevant Green functions. In the case
when the initial vacuum, |0,in>, differs essentially from the final vacuum,
|0,out>, we find explicitly and compared both the vacuum average value of EMT,
, and the matrix element, . In
the course of the calculation we solve the problem of the special divergences
connected with infinite time T of acting of the constant electric field. The
EMT of pair created by an electric field from the initial vacuum is presented.
The relations of the obtained expressions to the Euler-Heisenberg's effective
action are established.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, Talk given at "QFEXT'05", the 7-th workshop on
quantum field theory under the influence of external conditions, Barcelona,
Spain, Sept. 5-9, 2005; minor misprints correcte
Stabilization of the coupled pendula chain under parametric PT-symmetric driving force
We consider a chain of coupled pendula pairs, where each pendulum is
connected to the nearest neighbors in the longitudinal and transverse
directions. The common strings in each pair are modulated periodically by an
external force. In the limit of small coupling and near the 1:2 parametric
resonance, we derive a novel system of coupled PT-symmetric discrete nonlinear
Schrodinger equation, which has Hamiltonian symmetry but has no gauge symmetry.
By using the conserved energy, we find the parameter range for the linear and
nonlinear stability of the zero equilibrium. Numerical experiments illustrate
how destabilization of the zero equilibrium takes place when the stability
constraints are not satisfied. The central pendulum excites nearest pendula and
this process continues until a dynamical equilibrium is reached where each
pendulum in the chain oscillates at a finite amplitude.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Light and stable triplet bipolarons on square and triangular lattices
We compute the properties of singlet and triplet bipolarons on
two-dimensional lattices using the continuous time quantum Monte Carlo
algorithm. Properties of the bipolaron including the total energy, inverse
mass, bipolaron radius and number of phonons associated with the bipolaron
demonstrate the qualitative difference between models of electron phonon
interaction with long-range interaction (screened Fr\"ohlich) and those with
purely local (Holstein) interaction. A major result of our survey of the
parameter space is the existence of extra-light hybrid singlet bipolarons
consisting of an on-site and an off-site component on both square and
triangular lattices. We also compute triplet properties of the bipolarons and
the pair dispersion. For pair momenta on the edge of the Brillouin zone of the
triangular lattice, we find that triplet states are more stable than singlets
Searching for annihilation radiation from SN 1006 with SPI on INTEGRAL
Historical Type Ia supernovae are a leading candidate for the source of
positrons observed through their diffuse annihilation emission in the Galaxy.
However, search for annihilation emission from individual Type Ia supernovae
has not been possible before the improved sensitivity of \integral. The total
511 keV annihilation flux from individual SNe Ia, as well as their contribution
to the overall diffuse emission, depends critically on the escape fraction of
positrons produced in Co decays. Late optical light curves suggest that
this fraction may be as high as 5%. We searched for positron annihilation
radiation from the historical Type Ia supernova SN 1006 using the SPI
instrument on \integral. We did not detect significant 511 keV line emission,
with a 3 flux upper limit of 0.59 x 10 ergs cm^-2 s^-1 for \wsim
1 Msec exposure time, assuming a FWHM of 2.5 keV. This upper limit corresponds
to a 7.5% escape fraction, 50% higher than the expected 5% escape scenario, and
rules out the possibility that Type Ia supernovae produce all of the positrons
in the Galaxy (~ 12% escape fraction), if the mean positron lifetime is less
than 10 years. Future observations with \integral will provide stronger
limits on the escape fraction of positrons, the mean positron lifetime, and the
contribution of Type Ia supernovae to the overall positron content of the
Galaxy.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Large Radio Telescopes for Anomalous Microwave Emission Observations
We discuss in this paper the problem of the Anomalous Microwave Emission
(AME) in the light of ongoing or future observations to be performed with the
largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world. High angular resolution
observations of the AME will enable astronomers to drastically improve the
knowledge of the AME mechanisms as well as the interplay between the different
constituents of the interstellar medium in our galaxy. Extragalactic
observations of the AME have started as well, and high resolution is even more
important in this kind of observations. When cross-correlating with IR-dust
emission, high angular resolution is also of fundamental importance in order to
obtain unbiased results. The choice of the observational frequency is also of
key importance in continuum observation. We calculate a merit function that
accounts for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in AME observation given the
current state-of-the-art knowledge and technology. We also include in our merit
functions the frequency dependence in the case of multifrequency observations.
We briefly mention and compare the performance of four of the largest
radiotelescopes in the world and hope the observational programs in each of
them will be as intense as possible.Comment: Review accepted for publication in Advances in Astronom
London's limit for the lattice superconductor
A stability problem for the current state of the strong coupling
superconductor has been considered within the lattice Ginzburg-Landau model.
The critical current problem for a thin superconductor film is solved within
the London limit taking into account the crystal lattice symmetry. The current
dependence on the order parameter modulus is computed for the superconductor
film for various coupling parameter magnitudes. The field penetration problem
is shown to be described in this case by the one-dimensional sine-Gordon
equation. The field distribution around the vortex is described at the same
time by the two-dimensional elliptic sine-Gordon equation.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Revtex4, mostly technical correction; extended
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