680 research outputs found
Quantum energies with worldline numerics
We present new results for Casimir forces between rigid bodies which impose
Dirichlet boundary conditions on a fluctuating scalar field. As a universal
computational tool, we employ worldline numerics which builds on a combination
of the string-inspired worldline approach with Monte-Carlo techniques.
Worldline numerics is not only particularly powerful for inhomogeneous
background configurations such as involved Casimir geometries, it also provides
for an intuitive picture of quantum-fluctuation-induced phenomena. Results for
the Casimir geometries of a sphere above a plate and a new perpendicular-plates
configuration are presented.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Submitted to the Proceedings of the Seventh
Workshop QFEXT'05 (Barcelona, September 5-9, 2005), Refs updated, version to
appear in JPhys
Irreducible Scalar Many-Body Casimir Energies: Theorems and Numerical Studies
We define irreducible N-body spectral functions and Casimir energies and
consider a massless scalar quantum field interacting locally by positive
potentials with classical objects. Irreducible N-body spectral functions in
this case are shown to be conditional probabilities of random walks. The
corresponding irreducible contributions to scalar many-body Casimir energies
are finite and positive/negative for an odd/even number of objects. The force
between any two finite objects separable by a plane is always attractive in
this case. Analytical and numerical world-line results for the irreducible
four-body Casimir energy of a scalar with Dirichlet boundary conditions on a
tic-tac-toe pattern of lines are presented. Numerical results for the
irreducible three-body Casimir energy of a massless scalar satisfying Dirichlet
boundary conditions on three intersecting lines forming an isosceles triangle
are also reported. In both cases the symmetric configuration (square and
isosceles triangle) corresponds to the minimal irreducible contribution to the
Casimir energy.Comment: Writeup of talk given at QFEXT11 (Sept.18-24) in Benasque, Spain. 10
pages, 3 figure
Light Cone Condition for a Thermalized QED Vacuum
Within the QED effective action approach, we study the propagation of
low-frequency light at finite temperature. Starting from a general effective
Lagrangian for slowly varying fields whose structure is solely dictated by
Lorentz covariance and gauge invariance, we derive the light cone condition for
light propagating in a thermalized QED vacuum. As an application, we calculate
the velocity shifts, i.e., refractive indices of the vacuum, induced by
thermalized fermions to one loop. We investigate various temperature domains
and also include a background magnetic field. While low-temperature effects to
one loop are exponentially damped by the electron mass, there exists a maximum
velocity shift of in the
intermediate-temperature domain .Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX, typos corrected, final version to appear
in Phys. Rev.
Mode summation approach to Casimir effect between two objects
In this paper, we explore the TGTG formula from the perspective of mode
summation approach. Both scalar fields and electromagnetic fields are
considered. In this approach, one has to first solve the equation of motion to
find a wave basis for each object. The two T's in the TGTG formula are
T-matrices representing the Lippmann-Schwinger T-operators, one for each of the
objects. The two G's in the TGTG formula are the translation matrices, relating
the wave basis of an object to the wave basis of the other object. After
discussing the general theory, we apply the prescription to derive the explicit
formulas for the Casimir energies for the sphere-sphere, sphere-plane,
cylinder-cylinder and cylinder-plane interactions. First the T-matrices for a
plane, a sphere and a cylinder are derived for the following cases: the object
is imposed with general Robin boundary conditions; the object is
semitransparent; and the object is magnetodielectric. Then the operator
approach is used to derive the translation matrices. From these, the explicit
TGTG formula for each of the scenarios can be written down. Besides summarizing
all the TGTG formulas that have been derived so far, we also provide the TGTG
formulas for some scenarios that have not been considered before.Comment: 42 page
QED Effective Action at Finite Temperature: Two-Loop Dominance
We calculate the two-loop effective action of QED for arbitrary constant
electromagnetic fields at finite temperature T in the limit of T much smaller
than the electron mass. It is shown that in this regime the two-loop
contribution always exceeds the influence of the one-loop part due to the
thermal excitation of the internal photon. As an application, we study light
propagation and photon splitting in the presence of a magnetic background field
at low temperature. We furthermore discover a thermally induced contribution to
pair production in electric fields.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures, LaTe
Casimir interaction between normal or superfluid grains in the Fermi sea
We report on a new force that acts on cavities (literally empty regions of
space) when they are immersed in a background of non-interacting fermionic
matter fields. The interaction follows from the obstructions to the (quantum
mechanical) motions of the fermions caused by the presence of bubbles or other
(heavy) particles in the Fermi sea, as, for example, nuclei in the neutron sea
in the inner crust of a neutron star or superfluid grains in a normal Fermi
liquid. The effect resembles the traditional Casimir interaction between
metallic mirrors in the vacuum. However, the fluctuating electromagnetic fields
are replaced by fermionic matter fields. We show that the fermionic Casimir
problem for a system of spherical cavities can be solved exactly, since the
calculation can be mapped onto a quantum mechanical billiard problem of a
point-particle scattered off a finite number of non-overlapping spheres or
disks. Finally we generalize the map method to other Casimir systems,
especially to the case of a fluctuating scalar field between two spheres or a
sphere and a plate under Dirichlet boundary conditions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to the Proceedings of QFEXT'05,
Barcelona, Sept. 5-9, 200
Flow Equations for the BCS-BEC Crossover
The functional renormalisation group is used for the BCS-BEC crossover in
gases of ultracold fermionic atoms. In a simple truncation, we see how
universality and an effective theory with composite bosonic di-atom states
emerge. We obtain a unified picture of the whole phase diagram. The flow
reflects different effective physics at different scales. In the BEC limit as
well as near the critical temperature, it describes an interacting bosonic
theory.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Strong laser fields as a probe for fundamental physics
Upcoming high-intensity laser systems will be able to probe the
quantum-induced nonlinear regime of electrodynamics. So far unobserved QED
phenomena such as the discovery of a nonlinear response of the quantum vacuum
to macroscopic electromagnetic fields can become accessible. In addition, such
laser systems provide for a flexible tool for investigating fundamental
physics. Primary goals consist in verifying so far unobserved QED phenomena.
Moreover, strong-field experiments can search for new light but weakly
interacting degrees of freedom and are thus complementary to accelerator-driven
experiments. I review recent developments in this field, focusing on photon
experiments in strong electromagnetic fields. The interaction of
particle-physics candidates with photons and external fields can be
parameterized by low-energy effective actions and typically predict
characteristic optical signatures. I perform first estimates of the accessible
new-physics parameter space of high-intensity laser facilities such as POLARIS
and ELI.Comment: 7 pages, Key Lecture at the ELI Workshop and School on "Fundamental
Physics with Ultra-High Fields", 9 September - 2 October 2008 at Frauenworth
Monastery, German
Towards an Asymptotic-Safety Scenario for Chiral Yukawa Systems
We search for asymptotic safety in a Yukawa system with a chiral
symmetry, serving as a toy model for the
standard-model Higgs sector. Using the functional RG as a nonperturbative tool,
the leading-order derivative expansion exhibits admissible non-Ga\ssian
fixed-points for which arise from a conformal threshold
behavior induced by self-balanced boson-fermion fluctuations. If present in the
full theory, the fixed-point would solve the triviality problem. Moreover, as
one fixed point has only one relevant direction even with a reduced hierarchy
problem, the Higgs mass as well as the top mass are a prediction of the theory
in terms of the Higgs vacuum expectation value. In our toy model, the fixed
point is destabilized at higher order due to massless Goldstone and fermion
fluctuations, which are particular to our model and have no analogue in the
standard model.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
Ice Age Epochs and the Sun's Path Through the Galaxy
We present a calculation of the Sun's motion through the Milky Way Galaxy
over the last 500 million years. The integration is based upon estimates of the
Sun's current position and speed from measurements with Hipparcos and upon a
realistic model for the Galactic gravitational potential. We estimate the times
of the Sun's past spiral arm crossings for a range in assumed values of the
spiral pattern angular speed. We find that for a difference between the mean
solar and pattern speed of Omega_Sun - Omega_p = 11.9 +/- 0.7 km/s/kpc the Sun
has traversed four spiral arms at times that appear to correspond well with
long duration cold periods on Earth. This supports the idea that extended
exposure to the higher cosmic ray flux associated with spiral arms can lead to
increased cloud cover and long ice age epochs on Earth.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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