183 research outputs found
Real and virtual photons in an external constant electromagnetic field of most general form
The photon behavior in an arbitrary superposition of constant magnetic and
electric fields is considered on most general grounds basing on the first
principles like Lorentz- gauge- charge- and parity-invariance. We make model-
and approximation-independent, but still rather informative, statements about
the behavior that the requirement of causal propagation prescribes to massive
and massless branches of dispersion curves, and describe the way the eigenmodes
are polarized. We find, as a consequence of Hermiticity in the transparency
domain, that adding a smaller electric field to a strong magnetic field in
parallel to the latter causes enhancement of birefringence. We find the
magnetic field produced by a point electric charge far from it (a manifestation
of magneto-electric phenomenon). We establish degeneracies of the polarization
tensor that (under special kinematic conditions) occur due to space-time
symmetries of the vacuum left after the external field is imposed.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure, 57 equations, reference list of 38 item
Black-hole concept of a point-like nucleus with supercritical charge
The Dirac equation for an electron in the central Coulomb field of a
point-like nucleus with the charge greater than 137 is considered. This
singular problem, to which the fall-down onto the centre is inherent, is
addressed using a new approach, based on a black-hole concept of the singular
centre and capable of producing cut-off-free results. To this end the Dirac
equation is presented as a generalized eigenvalue boundary problem of a
self-adjoint operator. The eigenfunctions make complete sets, orthogonal with a
singular measure, and describe particles, asymptotically free and
delta-function-normalizable both at infinity and near the singular centre
. The barrier transmission coefficient for these particles responsible for
the effects of electron absorption and spontaneous electron-positron pair
production is found analytically as a function of electron energy and charge of
the nucleus. The singular threshold behaviour of the corresponding amplitudes
substitutes for the resonance behaviour, typical of the conventional theory,
which appeals to a finite-size nucleus.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, LATEX requires IOPAR
Testing of CP, CPT and causality violation with the light propagation in vacuum in presence of the uniform electric and magnetic fields
We have considered the structure of the fundamental symmetry violating part
of the photon refractive index in vacuum in the presence of constant electric
and magnetic fields. This part of the refractive index can, in principle,
contain CPT symmetry breaking terms. Some of the terms violate Lorentz
invariance, whereas the others violate locality and causality. Estimates of
these effects, using laser experiments are considered.Comment: 12 page
Polarization Evolution in Strong Magnetic Fields
Extremely strong magnetic fields change the vacuum index of refraction.
Although this polarization dependent effect is small for typical neutron stars,
it is large enough to decouple the polarization states of photons traveling
within the field. The photon states evolve adiabatically and follow the
changing magnetic field direction. The combination of a rotating magnetosphere
and a frequency dependent state decoupling predicts polarization phase lags
between different wave bands, if the emission process takes place well within
the light cylinder. This QED effect may allow observations to distinguish
between different pulsar emission mechanisms and to reconstruct the structure
of the magnetosphere.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
USA Observation of Spectral and Timing Evolution During the 2000 Outburst of XTE J1550-564
We report on timing and spectral observations of the 2000 outburst of XTE
J1550-564 made by the Unconventional Stellar Aspect (USA) Experiment on board
the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS). We observe a
low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (LFQPO) with a centroid frequency that
tends to increase with increasing flux and a fractional rms amplitude which is
correlated with the hardness ratio. The evolution of the hardness ratio (4--16
keV/1--4 keV) with time and source flux is examined. The hardness-intensity
diagram (HID) shows a cyclical movement in the clockwise direction and possibly
indicates the presence of two independent accretion flows. We observe a
relationship between the USA 4--16 keV count rate and radio observations and
discuss this in the context of previously observed correlations between X-ray,
radio, optical and IR data. We examine our results in the context of models
invoking two accretion flows: a thin disk and a hot sub-Keplerian flow.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
USA and RXTE Observations of a Variable Low-Frequency QPO in XTE J1118+480
The USA experiment on ARGOS and RXTE have exensively observed the X-ray
transient XTE J1118+480 during its recent outburst in 2000 April--June. We
present detailed monitoring of the evolution of a low frequency QPO which
drifts from 0.07 Hz to 0.15 Hz during the outburst. We examine possible
correlations of the QPO frequency with the flux and spectral characteristics of
the source, and compare this QPO to low frequency QPOs observed in other black
hole candidates.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters, reference added, minor revisions, 6 page
Propagation of axions in a strongly magnetized medium
The polarization operator of an axion in a degenerate gas of electrons
occupying the ground-state Landau level in a superstrong magnetic field G is investigated in a model with a
tree-level axion-electron coupling. It is shown that a dynamic axion mass,
which can fall within the allowed range of values , is generated under the conditions of strongly
magnetized neutron stars. As a result, the dispersion relation for axions is
appreciably different from that in a vacuum.Comment: RevTex, no figures, 13 pages, Revised version of the paper published
in J. Exp. Theor. Phys. {\bf 88}, 1 (1999
Radiative Effects in the Standard Model Extension
The possibility of radiative effects induced by the Lorentz and CPT
non-invariant interaction term for fermions in the Standard Model Extension is
investigated. In particular, electron-positron photo-production and photon
emission by electrons and positrons are studied. The rates of these processes
are calculated in the Furry picture. It is demonstrated that the rates obtained
in the framework of the model adopted strongly depend on the polarization
states of the particles involved. As a result, ultra-relativistic particles
produced should occupy states with a preferred spin orientation, i.e., photons
have the sign of polarization opposite to the sign of the effective potential,
while charged particle are preferably in the state with the helicity coinciding
with the sign of the effective potential. This leads to evident spatial
asymmetries which may have certain consequences observable at high energy
accelerators, and in astrophysical and cosmological studies.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, Revtex4, to appear in Phys.Rev.D, misprints are
correcte
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