2,770 research outputs found
Vacuum Structure and Dark Energy
We consider that the universe is trapped in an excited vacuum state and the
resulting excitation energy provides the observed dark energy. We explore the
conditions under which this situation can arise from physics already known.
Considering the example of how macroscopic QED fields alter the vacuum
structure, we find that the energy scale 1 meV --- 1 eV is particularly
interesting. We discuss how dark energy of this form is accessible to
laboratory experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; recognized for Honorable Mention in 2010 Gravity
Research Foundation Awards for Essays on Gravitation, in press with Int. J.
Mod. Phys.
Photon-Photon Interaction in a Photon Gas
Using the effective Lagrangian for the low energy photon-photon interaction
the lowest order photon self energy at finite temperature and in
non-equilibrium is calculated within the real time formalism. The Debye mass,
the dispersion relation, the dielectric tensor, and the velocity of light
following from the photon self energy are discussed. As an application we
consider the interaction of photons with the cosmic microwave background
radiation.Comment: REVTEX, 7 pages, 1 PostSrcipt figur
The use of high-resolution terrain data in gravity field prediction
Different types of gravity prediction methods for local and regional gravity evaluation are developed, tested, and compared. Four different test areas were particularly selected in view of different prediction requirements. Also different parts of the spectrum of the gravity field were considered
Space and planetary environment criteria guidelines for use in space vehicle development 1977 revision
Space and planetary natural environment data were presented for use as design criteria guidelines in space vehicle development programs. Specifically, information is provided in the disciplinary areas of atmospheric and ionospheric properties, radiation, solar cycle predictions, geomagnetic field, astrodynamic constants, and meteoroids for the Earth's atmosphere above 90 km, interplanetary space, and the atmospheres and surfaces (when available) of the moon and the planets (other than earth) of the solar system. The current upper atmosphere model and solar cycle prediction routines were described in detail
Euler configurations and quasi-polynomial systems
In the Newtonian 3-body problem, for any choice of the three masses, there
are exactly three Euler configurations (also known as the three Euler points).
In Helmholtz' problem of 3 point vortices in the plane, there are at most three
collinear relative equilibria. The "at most three" part is common to both
statements, but the respective arguments for it are usually so different that
one could think of a casual coincidence. By proving a statement on a
quasi-polynomial system, we show that the "at most three" holds in a general
context which includes both cases. We indicate some hard conjectures about the
configurations of relative equilibrium and suggest they could be attacked
within the quasi-polynomial framework.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure
Viking navigation
A comprehensive description of the navigation of the Viking spacecraft throughout their flight from Earth launch to Mars landing is given. The flight path design, actual inflight control, and postflight reconstruction are discussed in detail. The preflight analyses upon which the operational strategies and performance predictions were based are discussed. The inflight results are then discussed and compared with the preflight predictions and, finally, the results of any postflight analyses are presented
P04-49 LB. Adaptation of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein to humoral immunity at a population level
About the connection between vacuum birefringence and the light-light scattering amplitude
Birefringence phenomena stemming from vacuum polarization are revisited in
the framework of coherent scattering. Based on photon-photon scattering, our
analysis brings out the direct connection between this process and vacuum
birefringence. We show how this procedure can be extended to the Kerr and the
Cotton-Mouton birefringences in vacuum, thus providing a unified treatment of
various polarization schemes, including those involving static fields
Radiative Corrections to the Casimir Energy
The lowest radiative correction to the Casimir energy density between two
parallel plates is calculated using effective field theory. Since the
correlators of the electromagnetic field diverge near the plates, the
regularized energy density is also divergent. However, the regularized integral
of the energy density is finite and varies with the plate separation L as
1/L^7. This apparently paradoxical situation is analyzed in an equivalent, but
more transparent theory of a massless scalar field in 1+1 dimensions confined
to a line element of length L and satisfying Dirichlet boundary conditions.Comment: 7 pages, Late
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