438 research outputs found
On the consistency of de Sitter vacua
In this paper the consistency of the de Sitter invariant -vacua,
which have been introduced as simple tools to study the effects of
transplanckian physics, is investigated. In particular possible non
renormalization problems are discussed, as well as non standard properties of
Greens functions. We also discuss the non thermal properties of the -vacua and the necessity of to change. The conclusion is that non of
these problems necessarily exclude an application of the -vacua to
inflation.Comment: 12 pages, v2: minor clarifications and corrections to reference
Modification to the power spectrum in the brane world inflation driven by the bulk inflaton
We compute the cosmological perturbations generated in the brane world
inflation driven by the bulk inflaton. Different from the model that the
inflation is a brane effect, we exhibit the modification of the power spectrum
of scalar perturbations due to the existence of the fifth dimension. With the
change of the initial vacuum, we investigate the dependence of the correction
of the power spectrum on the choice of the vacuum.Comment: replaced with the revised version, accepted for publication in PR
Spin interactions and switching in vertically tunnel-coupled quantum dots
We determine the spin exchange coupling J between two electrons located in
two vertically tunnel-coupled quantum dots, and its variation when magnetic (B)
and electric (E) fields (both in-plane and perpendicular) are applied. We
predict a strong decrease of J as the in-plane B field is increased, mainly due
to orbital compression. Combined with the Zeeman splitting, this leads to a
singlet-triplet crossing, which can be observed as a pronounced jump in the
magnetization at in-plane fields of a few Tesla, and perpendicular fields of
the order of 10 Tesla for typical self-assembled dots. We use harmonic
potentials to model the confining of electrons, and calculate the exchange J
using the Heitler-London and Hund-Mulliken technique, including the long-range
Coulomb interaction. With our results we provide experimental criteria for the
distinction of singlet and triplet states and therefore for microscopic spin
measurements. In the case where dots of different sizes are coupled, we present
a simple method to switch on and off the spin coupling with exponential
sensitivity using an in-plane electric field. Switching the spin coupling is
essential for quantum computation using electronic spins as qubits.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure
Miracles and complementarity in de Sitter space
In this paper we consider a scenario, consisting of a de Sitter phase
followed by a phase described by a scale factor , where
, which can be viewed as an inflationary toy model. It is argued that
this scenario naively could lead to an information paradox. We propose that the
phenomenon of Poincar\'{e} recurrences plays a crucial role in the resolution
of the paradox. We also comment on the relevance of these results to inflation
and the CMBR.Comment: 13 page
Squeezed States in the de Sitter Vacuum
We discuss the treatment of squeezed states as excitations in the Euclidean
vacuum of de Sitter space. A comparison with the treatment of these states as
candidate no-particle states, or alpha-vacua, shows important differences
already in the free theory. At the interacting level alpha-vacua are
inconsistent, but squeezed state excitations seem perfectly acceptable. Indeed,
matrix elements can be renormalized in the excited states using precisely the
standard local counterterms of the Euclidean vacuum. Implications for
inflationary scenarios in cosmology are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, no figures. One new citation in version 3; no other change
Decoupling in an expanding universe: boundary RG-flow affects initial conditions for inflation
We study decoupling in FRW spacetimes, emphasizing a Lagrangian description
throughout. To account for the vacuum choice ambiguity in cosmological
settings, we introduce an arbitrary boundary action representing the initial
conditions. RG flow in these spacetimes naturally affects the boundary
interactions. As a consequence the boundary conditions are sensitive to
high-energy physics through irrelevant terms in the boundary action. Using
scalar field theory as an example, we derive the leading dimension four
irrelevant boundary operators. We discuss how the known vacuum choices, e.g.
the Bunch-Davies vacuum, appear in the Lagrangian description and square with
decoupling. For all choices of boundary conditions encoded by relevant boundary
operators, of which the known ones are a subset, backreaction is under control.
All, moreover, will generically feel the influence of high-energy physics
through irrelevant (dimension four) boundary corrections. Having established a
coherent effective field theory framework including the vacuum choice
ambiguity, we derive an explicit expression for the power spectrum of
inflationary density perturbations including the leading high energy
corrections. In accordance with the dimensionality of the leading irrelevant
operators, the effect of high energy physics is linearly proportional to the
Hubble radius H and the scale of new physics L= 1/M.Comment: LaTeX plus axodraw figures. v2: minor corrections; refs added. JHEP
style: 34 pages + 18 pages appendi
Solar Neutrino Constraints on the BBN Production of Li
Using the recent WMAP determination of the baryon-to-photon ratio, 10^{10}
\eta = 6.14 to within a few percent, big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN)
calculations can make relatively accurate predictions of the abundances of the
light element isotopes which can be tested against observational abundance
determinations. At this value of \eta, the Li7 abundance is predicted to be
significantly higher than that observed in low metallicity halo dwarf stars.
Among the possible resolutions to this discrepancy are 1) Li7 depletion in the
atmosphere of stars; 2) systematic errors originating from the choice of
stellar parameters - most notably the surface temperature; and 3) systematic
errors in the nuclear cross sections used in the nucleosynthesis calculations.
Here, we explore the last possibility, and focus on possible systematic errors
in the He3(\alpha,\gamma)Be7 reaction, which is the only important Li7
production channel in BBN. The absolute value of the cross section for this key
reaction is known relatively poorly both experimentally and theoretically. The
agreement between the standard solar model and solar neutrino data thus
provides additional constraints on variations in the cross section (S_{34}).
Using the standard solar model of Bahcall, and recent solar neutrino data, we
can exclude systematic S_{34} variations of the magnitude needed to resolve the
BBN Li7 problem at > 95% CL. Additional laboratory data on
He3(\alpha,\gamma)Be7 will sharpen our understanding of both BBN and solar
neutrinos, particularly if care is taken in determining the absolute cross
section and its uncertainties. Nevertheless, it already seems that this
``nuclear fix'' to the Li7 BBN problem is unlikely; other possible solutions
are briefly discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 3 ps figure
Current cosmological bounds on neutrino masses and relativistic relics
We combine the most recent observations of large-scale structure (2dF and
SDSS galaxy surveys) and cosmic microwave anisotropies (WMAP and ACBAR) to put
constraints on flat cosmological models where the number of massive neutrinos
and of massless relativistic relics are both left arbitrary. We discuss the
impact of each dataset and of various priors on our bounds. For the standard
case of three thermalized neutrinos, we find an upper bound on the total
neutrino mass sum m_nu < 1.0 (resp. 0.6) eV (at 2sigma), using only CMB and LSS
data (resp. including priors from supernovae data and the HST Key Project), a
bound that is quite insensitive to the splitting of the total mass between the
three species. When the total number of neutrinos or relativistic relics N_eff
is left free, the upper bound on sum m_nu (at 2sigma, including all priors)
ranges from 1.0 to 1.5 eV depending on the mass splitting. We provide an
explanation of the parameter degeneracy that allows larger values of the masses
when N_eff increases. Finally, we show that the limit on the total neutrino
mass is not significantly modified in the presence of primordial gravitational
waves, because current data provide a clear distinction between the
corresponding effects.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
On Thermalization in de Sitter Space
We discuss thermalization in de Sitter space and argue, from two different
points of view, that the typical time needed for thermalization is of order
, where is the radius of the de Sitter space in question.
This time scale gives plenty of room for non-thermal deviations to survive
during long periods of inflation. We also speculate in more general terms on
the meaning of the time scale for finite quantum systems inside isolated boxes,
and comment on the relation to the Poincar\'{e} recurrence time.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, latex, references added. Improved discussion in
section 3 adde
The impact of working memory load on task execution and online plan adjustment during multitasking in a virtual environment
Three experiments investigated the impact of working memory load on online plan adjustment during a test of multitasking in young, nonexpert, adult participants. Multitasking was assessed using the Edinburgh Virtual Errands Test (EVET). Participants were asked to memorize either good or poor plans for performing multiple errands and were assessed both on task completion and on the extent to which they modified their plans during EVET performance. EVET was performed twice, with and without a secondary task loading a component of working memory. In Experiment 1, articulatory suppression was used to load the phonological loop. In Experiment 2, oral random generation was used to load executive functions. In Experiment 3, spatial working memory was loaded with an auditory spatial localization task. EVET performance for both good- and poor-planning groups was disrupted by random generation and sound localization, but not by articulatory suppression. Additionally, people given a poor plan were able to overcome this initial disadvantage by modifying their plans online. It was concluded that, in addition to executive functions, multiple errands performance draws heavily on spatial, but not verbal, working memory resources but can be successfully completed on the basis of modifying plans online, despite a secondary task load
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