2,312 research outputs found
Effective potential in the BET formalism
We calculate the one-loop effective potential at finite temperature for a
system of massless scalar fields with quartic interaction in
the framework of the boundary effective theory (BET) formalism. The calculation
relies on the solution of the classical equation of motion for the field, and
Gaussian fluctuations around it. Our result is non-perturbative and differs
from the standard one-loop effective potential for field values larger than
.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Pressure of massless hot scalar theory in the boundary effective theory framework
We use the boundary effective theory (BET) approach to thermal field theory
in order to calculate the pressure of a system of massless scalar fields with
quartic interaction. The method naturally separates the infrared physics, and
is essentially non-perturbative. To lowest order, the main ingredient is the
solution of the free Euler-Lagrange equation with non-trivial (time) boundary
conditions. We derive a resummed pressure, which is in good agreement with
recent calculations found in the literature, following a very direct and
compact procedure.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
The Role of Fermions in Bubble Nucleation
We present a study of the role of fermions in the decay of metastable states
of a scalar field via bubble nucleation. We analyze both one and
three-dimensional systems by using a gradient expansion for the calculation of
the fermionic determinant. The results of the one-dimensional case are compared
to the exact results of previous work.Comment: 15 pages, revtex, 9 figure
Zero-mode analysis of quantum statistical physics
We present a unified formulation for quantum statistical physics based on the
representation of the density matrix as a functional integral. We identify the
stochastic variable of the effective statistical theory that we derive as a
boundary configuration and a zero mode relevant to the discussion of infrared
physics. We illustrate our formulation by computing the partition function of
an interacting one-dimensional quantum mechanical system at finite temperature
from the path-integral representation for the density matrix. The method of
calculation provides an alternative to the usual sum over periodic
trajectories: it sums over paths with coincident endpoints, and includes
non-vanishing boundary terms. An appropriately modified expansion into
Matsubara modes provides a natural separation of the zero-mode physics. This
feature may be useful in the treatment of infrared divergences that plague the
perturbative approach in thermal field theory.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Strange quark matter in explosive astrophysical systems
Explosive astrophysical systems, such as supernovae or compact star binary
mergers, provide conditions where strange quark matter can appear. The high
degree of isospin asymmetry and temperatures of several MeV in such systems may
cause a transition to the quark phase already around saturation density.
Observable signals from the appearance of quark matter can be predicted and
studied in astrophysical simulations. As input in such simulations, an equation
of state with an integrated quark matter phase transition for a large
temperature, density and proton fraction range is required. Additionally,
restrictions from heavy ion data and pulsar observation must be considered. In
this work we present such an approach. We implement a quark matter phase
transition in a hadronic equation of state widely used for astrophysical
simulations and discuss its compatibility with heavy ion collisions and pulsar
data. Furthermore, we review the recently studied implications of the QCD phase
transition during the early post-bounce evolution of core-collapse supernovae
and introduce the effects from strong interactions to increase the maximum mass
of hybrid stars. In the MIT bag model, together with the strange quark mass and
the bag constant, the strong coupling constant provides a parameter
to set the beginning and extension of the quark phase and with this the mass
and radius of hybrid stars.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, talk given at the International Conference on
Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM2009), Buzios, Brasil, September 28 - October
2, 2009, to be published in Journal Phys.
Strangeness in Astrophysics and Cosmology
Some recent developments concerning the role of strange quark matter for
astrophysical systems and the QCD phase transition in the early universe are
addressed. Causality constraints of the soft nuclear equation of state as
extracted from subthreshold kaon production in heavy-ion collisions are used to
derive an upper mass limit for compact stars. The interplay between the
viscosity of strange quark matter and the gravitational wave emission from
rotation-powered pulsars are outlined. The flux of strange quark matter nuggets
in cosmic rays is put in perspective with a detailed numerical investigation of
the merger of two strange stars. Finally, we discuss a novel scenario for the
QCD phase transition in the early universe, which allows for a small
inflationary period due to a pronounced first order phase transition at large
baryochemical potential.Comment: 8 pages, invited talk given at the International Conference on
Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM2009), Buzios, Brasil, September 28 - October
2, 200
Improved semiclassical density matrix: taming caustics
We present a simple method to deal with caustics in the semiclassical
approximation to the thermal density matrix of a particle moving on the line.
For simplicity, only its diagonal elements are considered. The only ingredient
we require is the knowledge of the extrema of the Euclidean action. The
procedure makes use of complex trajectories, and is applied to the quartic
double-well potential.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures. Revised version, accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
Hydrodynamical instabilities in an expanding quark gluon plasma
We study the mechanism responsible for the onset of instabilities in a chiral
phase transition at nonzero temperature and baryon chemical potential. As a
low-energy effective model, we consider an expanding relativistic plasma of
quarks coupled to a chiral field, and obtain a phenomenological chiral
hydrodynamics from a variational principle. Studying the dispersion relation
for small fluctuations around equilibrium, we identify the role played by
chiral waves and pressure waves in the generation of instabilities. We show
that pressure modes become unstable earlier than chiral modes.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Help-Seeking Behavior in Victims of Elder Abuse: A Systematic Review
Elder abuse has become increasingly relevant for intervention and study in the context of an aging population. One of the major barriers to progress in the field is underreporting of elder abuse by victims. This systematic literature review aimed to synthesize the available findings regarding victims’ help-seeking behavior to inform practice, understand the limits of the evidence, and identify research gaps. A comprehensive search of published and unpublished literature was undertaken, and studies were included if they addressed help-seeking behavior from the perspective of elder abuse victims aged 60 and older. A total of 19 studies met inclusion criteria for review. Findings are presented as a narrative synthesis organized according to help-seeking barriers, facilitators, sources of help, the responses of others, and the characteristics of victims more likely to seek help. Although barriers and sources of help received detailed attention across all studies, findings regarding victim characteristics and facilitators for and responses to help-seeking were limited. The results suggest that there are many barriers to help-seeking and that some victims only seek help when the abuse is perceived as unbearable or they fear for their safety. Results are discussed in relation to implications for intervention, including suggestions to enhance help-seeking behavior. Future research should identify facilitators of help-seeking among victims of elder abuse and victim characteristics associated with early disclosure. Research efforts should frame help-seeking as a continuing process and study ways in which the responses of others may impact future help-seeking or service engagement
Relação entre a pelagem e a contagem de carrapato em bovinos da raça Brangus-Ibagé.
Objetivou-se com este estudo avaliar a relação entre a caracterÃstica contagem de carrapato e a pelagem dos animais Brangus, linhagem Ibagé, além de outros efeitos, como o tipo de infestação.Claudia Cristina Gulias Gomes, editora técnica
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