QED vacuum loops and Inflation

A QED-based model of a new version of Vacuum Energy has recently been suggested, which leads to a simple, finite, one parameter representation of Dark Energy. An elementary, obvious, but perhaps radical generalization is then able to describe both Dark Energy and Inflation in the same framework of Vacuum Energy. One further, obvious generalization then leads to a relation between Inflation and the Big Bang, to the automatic inclusion of Dark Matter, and to a possible understanding of the birth (and death) of a Universe.Comment: 10 pages and 1 figure There has been a minor modification in the previous version (arXiv:1403.2651v1, 03/12/2014) : a reference has been added in [3] and an Appendix has been adde

The Birth and Death of a Universe

This letter is meant to be a brief survey of several recent publications providing a simple, sequential explanation of Dark Energy, Inflation and Dark Matter, which leads to a simple picture of the why and the how of the Big Bang, and thence to a possible understanding of the birth and death of a Universe.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

QED Vacuum Loops and Dark Energy

A QED--based "bootstrap" mechanism is suggested as an explanation for the vacuum energy that furnished the initial impulse for Inflation, and continues on to provide present day Dark Energy. Virtual vacuum fluctuations are assumed to generate effective electromagnetic fields whose average value corresponds to an effective c--number $A_{\mu}^{\rm vac}(x)$, which is itself equal to the vacuum expectation value of the operator $A_{\mu}(x)$ in the presence of that $A_{\mu}^{\rm vac}(x)$. Lorentz invariance is manifest, as every observer would measure the same electric field in his or her own reference frame. The model has one arbitrary parameter $\xi$, and fits the energy density of present day Dark Energy for $\xi\sim O(1)$.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:hep-th/0310095, arXiv:hep-th/030310

Analytic, Non-Perturbative, Gauge-invariant QCD: Nucleon Scattering and Binding Potentials

Removal of the quenched approximation in the mechanism which produced an analytic estimate of quark-binding potentials, along with a reasonable conjecture of the color structure of the nucleon formed by such a binding potential, is shown to generate an effective, nucleon scattering and binding potential. The mass-scale factor on the order of the pion mass, previously introduced to define transverse imprecision of quark coordinates, is again used, while the strength of the potential is proportional to the square of a renormalized QCD coupling constant. The potential so derived does not include corrections due to spin, angular momentum, nucleon structure, and electroweak interactions; rather, it is qualitative in nature, showing how Nuclear Physics can arise from fundamental QCD.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures in REVTeX. The fifth of a series on Non-Perturbative QCD (Eur. Phys. J. C65, 395 (2010) or arXiv:0903.2644 [hep-th], arXiv:1003.2936 [hep-th], arXiv:1103.4179 [hep-th] and arXiv:1104.4663 [hep-th].

Non-abelian Eikonals

A functional formulation and partial solution is given of the non-abelian eikonal problem associated with the exchange of non-interacting, charged or colored bosons between a pair of fermions, in the large $s$/small $t$ limit. A simple, functional ``contiguity" prescription is devised for extracting those terms which exponentiate, and appear to generate the leading, high-energy behavior of each perturbative order of this simplest non-abelian eikonal function; the lowest non-trivial order agrees with the corresponding SU(N) perturbative amplitude, while higher-order contributions to this eikonal generate an ``effective Reggeization" of the exchanged bosons, resembling previous results for the perturbative amplitude. One exact and several approximate examples are given, including an application to self-energy radiative corrections. In particular, for this class of graphs and to all orders in the coupling, we calculate the leading-log eikonal for SU(2). Based on this result, we conjecture the form of the eikonal scattering amplitude for SU(N).Comment: 19 pages, late

Non trivial generalizations of the Schwinger pair production result II

It is suggested that Schwinger's (1951) vacuum persistence probability against pair production by an intense but constant electric field is a very good approximation to the corresponding quantity if the field does not vary appreciably over distances less than m/e/E/5 pagesComment: 5 page

Chemical-physical and ecological characterisation in the environmental project of a polluted coastal area: the Bagnoli case study

The Bagnoli Bay (southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Naples, Italy) has been impacted for about one century by heavy anthropogenic pollution due to an important steel plant. A multidisciplinary environmental research, aimed at the reclamation of the marine contaminated area, was planned in order to evaluate, through quantitative data, the chemical-physical and ecological characteristics of marine sediments; the latter ones are strictly related to the composition and structure of benthic foraminiferal assemblages. A comprehensive statistical approach, considering all data, was attempted in order to single out the influence of pollutants on the single species distribution. The results show strong heavy metal pollution (Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn) in the vicinity of the industrial plant. Many foraminiferal species (Haynesina germanica, Miliolinella subrotunda,Quinqueloculina parvula), have a good tolerance to some trace metals while, Bulimina sublimbata, Elphidiummacellum and Miliolinella dilatata show a good tolerance to PAHs pollution