42 research outputs found
Modeling the decoherence of spacetime
The question of whether unobserved short-wavelength modes of the
gravitational field can induce decoherence in the long-wavelength modes (``the
decoherence of spacetime'') is addressed using a simplified model of
perturbative general relativity, related to the Nordstrom-Einstein-Fokker
theory, where the metric is assumed to be conformally flat. For some
long-wavelength coarse grainings, the Feynman-Vernon influence phase is found
to be effective at suppressing the off-diagonal elements of the decoherence
functional. The requirement that the short-wavelength modes be in a
sufficiently high-temperature state places limits on the applicability of this
perturbative approach.Comment: 38 pages, REVTeX; 7 diagrams and 6 PostScript figures included via
epsfig. Final cosmetic changes made at publicatio
FRW Cosmology From Five Dimensional Vacuum Brans-Dicke Theory
We follow approach of induced matter theory for 5D vacuum BD, introduce
induced matter and potential in 4D hypersurfaces, and employ generalized FRW
type solution. We confine ourselves to scalar field and scale factors be
functions of the time. This makes the induced potential, by its definition,
vanishes. When the scale factor of fifth dimension and scalar field are not
constants, 5D eqs for any geometry admit a power law relation between scalar
field and scale factor of fifth dimension. Hence the procedure exhibits that 5D
vacuum FRW like eqs are equivalent, in general, to corresponding 4D vacuum ones
with the same spatial scale factor but new scalar field and coupling constant.
We show that 5D vacuum FRW like eqs or its equivalent 4D vacuum ones admit
accelerated solutions. For constant scalar field, eqs reduce to usual FRW eqs
with typical radiation dominated universe. For this situation we obtain
dynamics of scale factors for any geometry without any priori assumption. For
nonconstant scalar fields and spatially flat geometries, solutions are found to
be power law and exponential ones. We also employ weak energy condition for
induced matter, that allows negative/positive pressures. All types of solutions
fulfill WEC in different ranges. The power law solutions with negative/positive
pressures admit both decelerating and accelerating ones. Some solutions accept
shrinking extra dimension. By considering nonghost scalar fields and recent
observational measurements, solutions are more restricted. We illustrate that
accelerating power law solutions, which satisfy WEC and have nonghost fields,
are compatible with recent observations in ranges -4/3 < \omega </- -1.3151 and
1.5208 </- n < 1.9583 for dependence of fifth dimension scale factor with usual
scale factor. These ranges also fulfill condition nonghost fields in the
equivalent 4D vacuum BD eqs.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, 11 table
A phenomenology of new particle formation (NPF) at 13 European sites
New particle formation (NPF) events occur almost everywhere in the world and can play an important role as a particle source. The frequency and characteristics of NPF events vary spatially, and this variability is yet to be fully understood. In the present study, long-term particle size distribution datasets (minimum of 3 years) from 13 sites of various land uses and climates from across Europe were studied, and NPF events, deriving from secondary formation and not traffic-related nucleation, were extracted and analysed. The frequency of NPF events was consistently found to be higher at rural background sites, while the growth and formation rates of newly formed particles were higher at roadsides (though in many cases differences between the sites were small), underlining the importance of the abundance of condensable compounds of anthropogenic origin found there. The growth rate was higher in summer at all rural background sites studied. The urban background sites presented the highest uncertainty due to greater variability compared to the other two types of site. The origin of incoming air masses and the specific conditions associated with them greatly affect the characteristics of NPF events. In general, cleaner air masses present higher probability for NPF events, while the more polluted ones show higher growth rates. However, different patterns of NPF events were found, even at sites in close proximity (< 200 km), due to the different local conditions at each site. Region-wide events were also studied and were found to be associated with the same conditions as local events, although some variability was found which was associated with the different seasonality of the events at two neighbouring sites. NPF events were responsible for an increase in the number concentration of ultrafine particles of more than 400% at rural background sites on the day of their occurrence. The degree of enhancement was less at urban sites due to the increased contribution of other sources within the urban environment. It is evident that, while some variables (such as solar radiation intensity, relative humidity, or the concentrations of specific pollutants) appear to have a similar influence on NPF events across all sites, it is impossible to predict the characteristics of NPF events at a site using just these variables, due to the crucial role of local conditions.Peer reviewe