INTRINSIC MECHANISM FOR ENTROPY CHANGE IN CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM EVOLUTION

It is shown that the existence of a time operator in the Liouville space representation of both classical and quantum evolution provides a mechanism for effective entropy change of physical states. In particular, an initially effectively pure state can evolve under the usual unitary evolution to an effectively mixed state.Comment: 20 pages. For more information or comments contact E. Eisenberg at [email protected] (internet)

No classical limit of quantum decay for broad states

Though the classical treatment of spontaneous decay leads to an exponential decay law, it is well known that this is an approximation of the quantum mechanical result which is a non-exponential at very small and large times for narrow states. The non exponential nature at large times is however hard to establish from experiments. A method to recover the time evolution of unstable states from a parametrization of the amplitude fitted to data is presented. We apply the method to a realistic example of a very broad state, the sigma meson and reveal that an exponential decay is not a valid approximation at any time for this state. This example derived from experiment, shows the unique nature of broad resonances

Exponential behavior of a quantum system in a macroscopic medium

An exponential behavior at all times is derived for a solvable dynamical model in the weak-coupling, macroscopic limit. Some implications for the quantum measurement problem are discussed, in particular in connection with dissipation.Comment: 8 pages, report BA-TH/94-17

An Integrated XRF/XRD Instrument for Mars Exobiology and Geology Experiments

By employing an integrated x-ray instrument on a future Mars mission, data obtained will greatly augment those returned by Viking; details characterizing the past and present environment on Mars and those relevant to the possibility of the origin and evolution of life will be acquired. A combined x-ray fluorescence/x-ray diffraction (XRF/XRD) instrument was breadboarded and demonstrated to accommodate important exobiology and geology experiment objectives outlined for MESUR and future Mars missions. Among others, primary objectives for the exploration of Mars include the intense study of local areas on Mars to establish the chemical, mineralogical, and petrological character of different components of the surface material; to determine the distribution, abundance, and sources and sinks of volatile materials, including an assessment of the biologic potential, now and during past epoches; and to establish the global chemical and physical characteristics of the Martian surface. The XRF/XRD breadboard instrument identifies and quantifies soil surface elemental, mineralogical, and petrological characteristics and acquires data necessary to address questions on volatile abundance and distribution. Additionally, the breadboard is able to characterize the biogenic element constituents of soil samples providing information on the biologic potential of the Mars environment. Preliminary breadboard experiments confirmed the fundamental instrument design approach and measurement performance

Unstable Systems in Relativistic Quantum Field Theory

We show how the state of an unstable particle can be defined in terms of stable asymptotic states. This general definition is used to discuss and to solve some old problems connected with the short-time and large-time behaviour of the non-decay amplitude.Comment: 12 pages, Late

The decay law can have an irregular character

Within a well-known decay model describing a particle confined initially within a spherical $\delta$ potential shell, we consider the situation when the undecayed state has an unusual energy distribution decaying slowly as $k\to\infty$; the simplest example corresponds to a wave function constant within the shell. We show that the non-decay probability as a function of time behaves then in a highly irregular, most likely fractal way.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figure

The role of initial state reconstruction in short and long time deviations from exponential decay

We consider the role of the reconstruction of the initial state in the deviation from exponential decay at short and long times. The long time decay can be attributed to a wave that was, in a classical-like, probabilistic sense, fully outside the initial state or the inner region at intermediate times, i.e., to a completely reconstructed state, whereas the decay during the exponential regime is due instead to a non-reconstructed wave. At short times quantum interference between regenerated and non-regenerated paths is responsible for the deviation from the exponential decay. We may thus conclude that state reconstruction is a ``consistent history'' for long time deviations but not for short ones.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

The various power decays of the survival probability at long times for free quantum particle

The long time behaviour of the survival probability of initial state and its dependence on the initial states are considered, for the one dimensional free quantum particle. We derive the asymptotic expansion of the time evolution operator at long times, in terms of the integral operators. This enables us to obtain the asymptotic formula for the survival probability of the initial state $\psi (x)$, which is assumed to decrease sufficiently rapidly at large $|x|$. We then show that the behaviour of the survival probability at long times is determined by that of the initial state $\psi$ at zero momentum $k=0$. Indeed, it is proved that the survival probability can exhibit the various power-decays like $t^{-2m-1}$ for an arbitrary non-negative integers $m$ as $t \to \infty$, corresponding to the initial states with the condition $\hat{\psi} (k) = O(k^m)$ as $k\to 0$.Comment: 15 pages, to appear in J. Phys.

Reflection and Transmission in a Neutron-Spin Test of the Quantum Zeno Effect

The dynamics of a quantum system undergoing frequent "measurements", leading to the so-called quantum Zeno effect, is examined on the basis of a neutron-spin experiment recently proposed for its demonstration. When the spatial degrees of freedom are duely taken into account, neutron-reflection effects become very important and may lead to an evolution which is totally different from the ideal case.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure

'Sexercise': Working out heterosexuality in Jane Fonda’s fitness books

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Leisure Studies, 30(2), 237 - 255, 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02614367.2010.523837.This paper explores the connection between the promotion of heterosexual norms in women’s fitness books written by or in the name of Jane Fonda during the 1980s and the commodification of women’s fitness space in both the public and private spheres. The paper is set in the absence of overt discussions of normative heterosexuality in leisure studies and draws on critical heterosexual scholarship as well as the growing body of work theorising geographies of corporeality and heterosexuality. Using the principles of media discourse analysis, the paper identifies three overlapping characteristics of heterosexuality represented in Jane Fonda’s fitness books, and embodied through the exercise regimes: respectable heterosexual desire, monogamous procreation and domesticity. The paper concludes that the promotion and prescription of exercise for women in the Jane Fonda workout books centred on the reproduction and embodiment of heterosexual corporeality. Set within an emerging commercial landscape of women’s fitness in the 1980s, such exercise practices were significant in the legitimation and institutionalisation of heteronormativity