2,186 research outputs found
Quantum Gravity - Testing Time for Theories
The extreme smallness of both the Planck length, on the one side, and the
ratio of the gravitational to the electrical forces between, say, two
electrons, on the other side has led to a widespread belief that the realm of
quantum gravity is beyond terrestrial experiments. A series of classical and
quantum arguments are put forward to dispel this view. It is concluded that
whereas the smallness of the Planck length and the ratio of gravitational to
electrical forces, does play its own essential role in nature, it does not make
quantum gravity a science where humans cannot venture to probe her secrets. In
particular attention is drawn to the latest neutron and atomic interferometry
experiments, and to gravity wave interferometers. The latter, as Giovanni
Amelino-Camelia argues [Nature 398, 216 (1999)], can be treated as probes of
space-time fuzziness down to Planck length for certain quantum-gravity models
Front Form Spinors in Weinberg-Soper Formalism and Melosh Transformations for any Spin
Using the Weinberg-Soper formalism we construct the front form
spinors. Explicit expressions for the generalised Melosh
transformations up to spin two are obtained. The formalism, without explicitly
invoking any wave equations, reproduces spin one half front-form results of
Melosh, Lepage and Brodsky, and Dziembowski.Comment: 16 Pages, RevTex. We continue to receive reprint requests for this
paper. So we now archive it her
Phase field simulations of coupled phase transformations in ferroelastic-ferroelastic nanocomposites
We use phase field simulations to study composites made of two different
ferroelastics (e.g., two types of martensite). The deformation of one material
due to a phase transformation can elastically affect the other constituent and
induce it to transform as well. We show that the phase transformation can then
occur above its normal critical temperature and even higher above this
temperature in nanocomposites than in bulk composites. Microstructures depend
on temperature, on the thickness of the layers, and on the crystal structure of
the two constituents -- certain nanocomposites exhibit a great diversity of
microstructures not found in bulk composites. Also, the periodicity of the
martensite twins may vary over 1 order of magnitude based on geometry.
keywords: Ginzburg-Landau, martensitic transformation, multi-ferroics,
nanostructure, shape-memory alloyComment: 8 pages, 15 figure
Neutrino oscillations with disentanglement of a neutrino from its partners
We bring attention to the fact that in order to understand existing data on
neutrino oscillations, and to design future experiments, it is imperative to
appreciate the role of quantum entanglement. Once this is accounted for, the
resulting energy-momentum conserving phenomenology requires a single new
parameter related to disentanglement of a neutrino from its partners. This
parameter may not be CP symmetric. We illustrate the new ideas, with
potentially measurable effects, in the context of a novel experiment recently
proposed by Gavrin, Gorbachev, Veretenkin, and Cleveland. The strongest impact
of our ideas is on the resolution of various anomalies in neutrino oscillations
and on neutrino propagation in astrophysical environments.Comment: 6 page
A new analytical method for estimating lumped parameter constants of linear viscoelastic models from strain rate tests
We introduce a new function, the apparent elastic modulus strain-rate spectrum, (Formula presented.), for the derivation of lumped parameter constants for Generalized Maxwell (GM) linear viscoelastic models from stress-strain data obtained at various compressive strain rates ((Formula presented.)). The (Formula presented.) function was derived using the tangent modulus function obtained from the GM model stress-strain response to a constant (Formula presented.) input. Material viscoelastic parameters can be rapidly derived by fitting experimental (Formula presented.) data obtained at different strain rates to the (Formula presented.) function. This single-curve fitting returns similar viscoelastic constants as the original epsilon dot method based on a multi-curve global fitting procedure with shared parameters. Its low computational cost permits quick and robust identification of viscoelastic constants even when a large number of strain rates or replicates per strain rate are considered. This method is particularly suited for the analysis of bulk compression and nano-indentation data of soft (bio)materials
Gravity induced neutrino-antineutrino oscillation: CPT and lepton number non-conservation under gravity
We introduce a new effect in the neutrino oscillation phase which shows the
neutrino-antineutrino oscillation is possible under gravity even if the rest
masses of the corresponding eigenstates are same. This is due to CPT violation
and possible to demonstrate if the neutrino mass eigenstates are expressed as a
combination of neutrino and antineutrino eigenstates, as of the neutral kaon
system, with the plausible breaking of lepton number conservation. For Majorana
neutrinos, this oscillation is expected to affect significantly the inner edge
of neutrino dominated accretion disks around a compact object by influencing
the neutrino sphere which controls the accretion dynamics, and then the related
type-II supernova evolution and the r-process nucleosynthesis. On the other
hand, in early universe, in presence of various lepton number violating
processes, this oscillation, we argue, might lead to neutrino asymmetry which
resulted baryogenesis from the B-L symmetry by electro-weak sphaleron
processes.Comment: 15 pages; Accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravit
Special relativity with two invariant scales: Motivation, Fermions, Bosons, Locality, and Critique
We present a Master equation for description of fermions and bosons for
special relativities with two invariant scales, SR2, (c and lambda_P). We
introduce canonically-conjugate variables (chi^0, chi) to (epsilon, pi) of
Judes-Visser. Together, they bring in a formal element of linearity and
locality in an otherwise non-linear and non-local theory. Special relativities
with two invariant scales provide all corrections, say, to the standard model
of the high energy physics, in terms of one fundamental constant, lambda_P. It
is emphasized that spacetime of special relativities with two invariant scales
carries an intrinsic quantum-gravitational character. In an addenda, we also
comment on the physical importance of a phase factor that the whole literature
on the subject has missed and present a brief critique of SR2. In addition, we
remark that the most natural and physically viable SR2 shall require
momentum-space and spacetime to be non-commutative with the non-commutativity
determined by the spin content and C, P, and T properties of the examined
representation space. Therefore, in a physically successful SR2, the notion of
spacetime is expected to be deeply intertwined with specific properties of the
test particle.Comment: Int. J. Mod. Phys. D (in press). Extended version of a set of two
informal lectures given in "La Sapienza" (Rome, May 2001
The effect of very low energy solar neutrinos on the MSW mechanism
We study some implications on standard matter oscillations of solar neutrinos
induced by a background of extremely low energy thermal neutrinos trapped
inside the Sun by means of coherent refractive interactions. Possible
experimental tests are envisaged and current data on solar neutrinos detected
at Earth are briefly discussed.Comment: RevTex4, 4 pages, no figure
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