2,655 research outputs found
Einstein's fluctuation formula. A historical overview
A historical overview is given on the basic results which appeared by the
year 1926 concerning Einstein's fluctuation formula of black-body radiation, in
the context of light-quanta and wave-particle duality. On the basis of the
original publications (from Planck's derivation of the black-body spectrum and
Einstein's introduction of the photons up to the results of Born, Heisenberg
and Jordan on the quantization of a continuum) a comparative study is presented
on the first line of thoughts that led to the concept of quanta. The nature of
the particle-like fluctuations and the wave-like fluctuations are analysed by
using several approaches. With the help of the classical probability theory, it
is shown that the infinite divisibility of the Bose distribution leads to the
new concept of classical poissonian photo-multiplets or to the binary
photo-multiplets of fermionic character. As an application, Einstein's
fluctuation formula is derived as a sum of fermion type fluctuations of the
binary photo-multiplets.Comment: 34 page
The ROSAT-ESO Flux Limited X-ray Galaxy Cluster Survey (REFLEX II) I. Newly identified X-ray luminous clusters at z>=0.2
We report 19 intermediate redshift clusters newly detected in the ROSAT
All-Sky survey that are spectroscopically confirmed. They form a part of 911
objects in the REFLEX II cluster catalogue with a limiting flux of
1.8\times10^12 erg/s/cm2 in the 0.1-2.4 keV ROSAT band at redshift z >= 0.2. In
addition we report three clusters from the REFLEX III supplementary catalogue,
which contains objects below the REFLEX II flux limit but satisfies the
redshift constraint above. These clusters are spectroscopically followed-up by
our ESO NTT-EFOSC2 campaigns for the redshift measurement. We describe our
observing and data reduction methods. We show how X-ray properties such as
spectral hardness ratio and source extent can be used as important diagnostics
in selecting galaxy cluster candidates. Physical properties of the clusters are
subsequently calculated from the X-ray observations. This sample contains the
high mass and intermediate-redshift galaxy clusters for astrophysical and
cosmological applications.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (in press
A Note on Polarization Vectors in Quantum Electrodynamics
A photon of momentum k can have only two polarization states, not three.
Equivalently, one can say that the magnetic vector potential A must be
divergence free in the Coulomb gauge. These facts are normally taken into
account in QED by introducing two polarization vectors epsilon_\lambda(k) with
lambda in {1,2}, which are orthogonal to the wave-vector k. These vectors must
be very discontinuous functions of k and, consequently, their Fourier
transforms have bad decay properties. Since these vectors have no physical
significance there must be a way to eliminate them and their bad decay
properties from the theory. We propose such a way here.Comment: 6 pages late
Energy average formula of photon gas rederived by using the generalized Hermann-Feynman theorem
By virtue of the generalized Hermann-Feynmam theorem and the method of
characteristics we rederive energy average formula of photon gas, this is
another useful application of the theorem.Comment: 2 page
Irreducible decomposition of Gaussian distributions and the spectrum of black-body radiation
It is shown that the energy of a mode of a classical chaotic field, following
the continuous exponential distribution as a classical random variable, can be
uniquely decomposed into a sum of its fractional part and of its integer part.
The integer part is a discrete random variable (we call it Planck variable)
whose distribution is just the Bose distribution yielding the Planck law of
black-body radiation. The fractional part is the dark part (we call is dark
variable) with a continuous distribution, which is, of course, not observed in
the experiments. It is proved that the Bose distribution is infinitely
divisible, and the irreducible decomposition of it is given. The Planck
variable can be decomposed into an infinite sum of independent binary random
variables representing the binary photons (more accurately photo-molecules or
photo-multiplets) of energies 2^s*h*nu with s=0,1,2... . These binary photons
follow the Fermi statistics. Consequently, the black-body radiation can be
viewed as a mixture of statistically and thermodynamically independent fermion
gases consisting of binary photons. The binary photons give a natural tool for
the dyadic expansion of arbitrary (but not coherent) ordinary photon
excitations. It is shown that the binary photons have wave-particle
fluctuations of fermions. These fluctuations combine to give the wave-particle
fluctuations of the original bosonic photons expressed by the Einstein
fluctuation formula.Comment: 29 page
Thermodynamics and Fluctuation Theorems for a Strongly Coupled Open Quantum System: An Exactly Solvable Case
We illustrate recent results concerning the validity of the work fluctuation
theorem in open quantum systems [M. Campisi, P. Talkner, and P. H\"{a}nggi,
Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 102}, 210401 (2009)], by applying them to a solvable
model of an open quantum system. The central role played by the thermodynamic
partition function of the open quantum system, -- a two level fluctuator with a
strong quantum nondemolition coupling to a harmonic oscillator --, is
elucidated. The corresponding quantum Hamiltonian of mean force is evaluated
explicitly. We study the thermodynamic entropy and the corresponding specific
heat of this open system as a function of temperature and coupling strength and
show that both may assume negative values at nonzero low temperatures.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
High density culturing of porcine hepatocytes immobilized on nonwoven polyurethane-based biomatrices
Objective: Hepatocytes are increasingly used as functional units in bioartificial liver devices. The objective of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of culturing porcine hepatocytes in high density on a novel polyurethane-based nonwoven three-dimensional matrix. We investigated (1) the optimal cell density within this culture configuration, (2) the maintenance of liver-specific morphology and cell functions over long-term periods and (3) the necessity to apply an additional extracellular matrix component (collagen gel). Methods: Nonwoven polyurethane matrices were manufactured by a specially developed fiber extrusion technology. Pig hepatocytes were cultured at various cell densities of 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 2 x 10(6) cells/cm(2) on three-dimensional networks of nonwoven polyurethane matrices and cell adhesion as well as functional parameters (DNA of nonattached/attached cells, lactate dehydrogenase release and cytochrome P450 activity) were determined. To assess the performance of cells within this configuration albumin and urea excretion was measured over 8 days. The potentially beneficial effect of an additional extracellular matrix configuration was evaluated by comparing the average albumin synthesis in groups of identical cell numbers. Results: The optimal cell density in this three-dimensional culture configuration was 1 x 10(6) cells/cm(2). The functional capacity of hepatocytes was stable for 8 days at an average level of 53.7 +/- 5.6 ng/h/mug DNA and of 1.8 +/- 0.14 mug/h/mug DNA for albumin and urea excretion, respectively. The supplementation of an extracellular matrix configuration did not improve functional activity of cells. Average albumin synthesis was 35.6 ng/h/mug DNA (28.7, 42.8) and 32.7 ng/h/mug DNA (23.4, 49.2) for collagen-immobilized and control cultures, respectively, Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that nonwoven polyurethane sheets supply a biocompatible support structure for functionally active high density cultures. Thus, nonwoven polyurethane matrices should be further investigated on with respect to their role in the development, optimization and design of bioartificial liver systems. Copyright (C) 2001 S.Karger AG, Basel
Interacting Bose and Fermi gases in low dimensions and the Riemann hypothesis
We apply the S-matrix based finite temperature formalism to non-relativistic
Bose and Fermi gases in 1+1 and 2+1 dimensions. In the 2+1 dimensional case,
the free energy is given in terms of Roger's dilogarithm in a way analagous to
the relativistic 1+1 dimensional case. The 1d fermionic case with a
quasi-periodic 2-body potential provides a physical framework for understanding
the Riemann hypothesis.Comment: version 3: additional appendix explains how the to
duality of Riemann's follows from a special modular
transformation in a massless relativistic theor
Einstein's "Zur Elektrodynamik..." (1905) Revisited, with Some Consequences
Einstein, in his "Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Korper", gave a physical
(operational) meaning to "time" of a remote event in describing "motion" by
introducing the concept of "synchronous stationary clocks located at different
places". But with regard to "place" in describing motion, he assumed without
analysis the concept of a system of co-ordinates. In the present paper, we
propose a way of giving physical (operational) meaning to the concepts of
"place" and "co-ordinate system", and show how the observer can define both the
place and time of a remote event. Following Einstein, we consider another
system "in uniform motion of translation relatively to the former". Without
assuming "the properties of homogeneity which we attribute to space and time",
we show that the definitions of space and time in the two systems are linearly
related. We deduce some novel consequences of our approach regarding
faster-than-light observers and particles, "one-way" and "two-way" velocities
of light, symmetry, the "group property" of inertial reference frames, length
contraction and time dilatation, and the "twin paradox". Finally, we point out
a flaw in Einstein's argument in the "Electrodynamical Part" of his paper and
show that the Lorentz force formula and Einstein's formula for transformation
of field quantities are mutually consistent. We show that for faster-than-light
bodies, a simple modification of Planck's formula for mass suffices. (Except
for the reference to Planck's formula, we restrict ourselves to Physics of
1905.)Comment: 55 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in "Foundations of
Physics
Constraints on Deflation from the Equation of State of Dark Energy
In cyclic cosmology based on phantom dark energy the requirement that our
universe satisfy a CBE-condition ({\it Comes Back Empty}) imposes a lower bound
on the number of causal patches which separate just prior to
turnaround. This bound depends on the dark energy equation of state with . More accurate measurement of will
constrain . The critical density in the model has a lower
bound or
when the smallest bound state has size m, or m,
respectively.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, typos fixe
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