3,790 research outputs found
Is the energy density of the ground state of the sine-Gordon model unbounded from below for beta^2 > 8 pi ?
We discuss Coleman's theorem concerning the energy density of the ground
state of the sine-Gordon model proved in Phys. Rev. D 11, 2088 (1975).
According to this theorem the energy density of the ground state of the
sine-Gordon model should be unbounded from below for coupling constants beta^2
> 8 pi. The consequence of this theorem would be the non-existence of the
quantum ground state of the sine-Gordon model for beta^2 > 8 pi. We show that
the energy density of the ground state in the sine-Gordon model is bounded from
below even for beta^2 > 8 pi. This result is discussed in relation to Coleman's
theorem (Comm. Math. Phys. 31, 259 (1973)), particle mass spectra and
soliton-soliton scattering in the sine-Gordon model.Comment: 22 pages, Latex, no figures, revised according to the version
accepted for publication in Journal of Physics
The psychology of existential risk: Moral judgments about human extinction
This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordData and materials availability: Reports of all measures, manipulations, and exclusions,
and all data, analysis code, and experimental materials for all studies are available for
download at: https://osf.io/pd9ca/?view_only=4e9c55459b4746a4bc9dac2baa7c5ab4The 21st century will likely see growing risks of human extinction, but currently,
relatively small resources are invested in reducing such existential risks. Using three
samples (UK general public, US general public, and UK students; total N = 2,507), we study
how laypeople reason about human extinction. We find that people think that human
extinction needs to be prevented. Strikingly, however, they do not think that an extinction
catastrophe would be uniquely bad relative to near-extinction catastrophes, which allow for
recovery. More people find extinction uniquely bad when a) asked to consider the extinction
of an animal species rather than humans, b) asked to consider a case where human
extinction is associated with less direct harm, and c) they are explicitly prompted to consider
long-term consequences of the catastrophes. We conclude that an important reason why
people do not find extinction uniquely bad is that they focus on the immediate death and
suffering that the catastrophes cause for fellow humans, rather than on the long-term consequences. Finally, we find that d) laypeople—in line with prominent philosophical
arguments—think that the quality of the future is relevant: they do find extinction uniquely
bad when this means forgoing a utopian future.Berkeley Existential Risk InitiativeCentre for Effective AltruismJanggen-Poehn StiftungSwiss Study FoundationOxford Martin School (Oxford Martin Programme on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Disease
Perturbative Chern-Simons Theory From The Penner Model
We show explicitly that the perturbative SU(N) Chern-Simons theory arises
naturally from two Penner models, with opposite coupling constants. As a result
computations in the perturbative Chern-Simons theory are carried out using the
Penner model, and it turns out to be simpler and transparent. It is also shown
that the connected correlators of the puncture operator in the Penner model,
are related to the connected correlators of the operator that gives the Wilson
loop operator in the conjugacy class.Comment: 7 Pages, Published Versio
An experimental approach for investigating many-body phenomena in Rydberg-interacting quantum systems
Recent developments in the study of ultracold Rydberg gases demand an
advanced level of experimental sophistication, in which high atomic and optical
densities must be combined with excellent control of external fields and
sensitive Rydberg atom detection. We describe a tailored experimental system
used to produce and study Rydberg-interacting atoms excited from dense
ultracold atomic gases. The experiment has been optimized for fast duty cycles
using a high flux cold atom source and a three beam optical dipole trap. The
latter enables tuning of the atomic density and temperature over several orders
of magnitude, all the way to the Bose-Einstein condensation transition. An
electrode structure surrounding the atoms allows for precise control over
electric fields and single-particle sensitive field ionization detection of
Rydberg atoms. We review two experiments which highlight the influence of
strong Rydberg--Rydberg interactions on different many-body systems. First, the
Rydberg blockade effect is used to pre-structure an atomic gas prior to its
spontaneous evolution into an ultracold plasma. Second, hybrid states of
photons and atoms called dark-state polaritons are studied. By looking at the
statistical distribution of Rydberg excited atoms we reveal correlations
between dark-state polaritons. These experiments will ultimately provide a
deeper understanding of many-body phenomena in strongly-interacting regimes,
including the study of strongly-coupled plasmas and interfaces between atoms
and light at the quantum level.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures; submitted to a special issue of 'Frontiers of
Physics' dedicated to 'Quantum Foundation and Technology: Frontiers and
Future
Massless Thirring model in canonical quantization scheme
It is shown that the exact solvability of the massless Thirring model in the
canonical quantization scheme originates from the intrinsic linearizability of
its Heisenberg equations in the method of dynamical mappings. The corresponding
role of inequivalent representations of free massless Dirac field is
elucidated.Comment: 10 page
The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: Redshift Identification of Single-Line Emission Galaxies
We present two methods for determining spectroscopic redshifts of galaxies in
the DEEP2 survey which display only one identifiable feature, an emission line,
in the observed spectrum ("single-line galaxies"). First, we assume each single
line is one of the four brightest lines accessible to DEEP2: Halpha, [OIII]
5007, Hbeta, or [OII] 3727. Then, we supplement spectral information with BRI
photometry. The first method, parameter space proximity (PSP), calculates the
distance of a single-line galaxy to galaxies of known redshift in (B-R), (R-I),
R, observed wavelength parameter space. The second method is an artificial
neural network (ANN). Prior information, such as allowable line widths and
ratios, rules out one or more of the four lines for some galaxies in both
methods. Based on analyses of evaluation sets, both methods are nearly perfect
at identifying blended [OII] doublets. Of the lines identified as Halpha in the
PSP and ANN methods, 91.4% and 94.2% respectively are accurate. Although the
methods are not this accurate at discriminating between [OIII] and Hbeta, they
can identify a single line as one of the two, and the ANN method in particular
unambiguously identifies many [OIII] lines. From a sample of 640 single-line
spectra, the methods determine the identities of 401 (62.7%) and 472 (73.8%)
single lines, respectively, at accuracies similar to those found in the
evaluation sets.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Ap
S-CANDELS: The Spitzer-Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Survey. Survey Design, Photometry, and Deep IRAC Source Counts
The Spitzer-Cosmic Assembly Deep Near-Infrared Extragalactic Legacy Survey
(S-CANDELS; PI G. Fazio) is a Cycle 8 Exploration Program designed to detect
galaxies at very high redshifts (z > 5). To mitigate the effects of cosmic
variance and also to take advantage of deep coextensive coverage in multiple
bands by the Hubble Space Telescope Multi-Cycle Treasury Program CANDELS,
S-CANDELS was carried out within five widely separated extragalactic fields:
the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey, the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, COSMOS,
the HST Deep Field North, and the Extended Groth Strip. S-CANDELS builds upon
the existing coverage of these fields from the Spitzer Extended Deep Survey
(SEDS) by increasing the integration time from 12 hours to a total of 50 hours
but within a smaller area, 0.16 square degrees. The additional depth
significantly increases the survey completeness at faint magnitudes. This paper
describes the S-CANDELS survey design, processing, and publicly-available data
products. We present IRAC dual-band 3.6+4.5 micron catalogs reaching to a depth
of 26.5 AB mag. Deep IRAC counts for the roughly 135,000 galaxies detected by
S-CANDELS are consistent with models based on known galaxy populations. The
increase in depth beyond earlier Spitzer/IRAC surveys does not reveal a
significant additional contribution from discrete sources to the diffuse Cosmic
Infrared Background (CIB). Thus it remains true that only roughly half of the
estimated CIB flux from COBE/DIRBE is resolved.Comment: 23 pages, 19 figures, accepted by ApJ
Concern for others leads to vicarious optimism
An optimistic learning bias leads people to update their beliefs in response to better-than-expected good news but neglect worse-than-expected bad news. Because evidence suggests that this bias arises from self-concern, we hypothesized that a similar bias may affect beliefs about other people’s futures, to the extent that people care about others. Here, we demonstrated the phenomenon of vicarious optimism and showed that it arises from concern for others. Participants predicted the likelihood of unpleasant future events that could happen to either themselves or others. In addition to showing an optimistic learning bias for events affecting themselves, people showed vicarious optimism when learning about events affecting friends and strangers. Vicarious optimism for strangers correlated with generosity toward strangers, and experimentally increasing concern for strangers amplified vicarious optimism for them. These findings suggest that concern for others can bias beliefs about their future welfare and that optimism in learning is not restricted to oneself
Static SU(3) potentials for sources in various representations
The potentials and string tensions between static sources in a variety of
representations (fundamental, 8, 6, 15-antisymmetric, 10, 27 and 15-symmetric)
have been computed by measuring Wilson loops in pure gauge SU(3). The
simulations have been done primarily on anisotropic lattices, using a tadpole
improved action improved to O(a_{s}^4). A range of lattice spacings (0.43 fm,
0.25 fm and 0.11 fm) and volumes (, , and ) has been used in an attempt to control
discretization and finite volume effects. At intermediate distances, the
results show approximate Casimir scaling. Finite lattice spacing effects
dominate systematic error, and are particularly large for the representations
with the largest string tensions.Comment: Version to appear in PR
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