2,738 research outputs found
Elementary analysis of the special relativistic combination of velocities, Wigner rotation, and Thomas precession
The purpose of this paper is to provide an elementary introduction to the
qualitative and quantitative results of velocity combination in special
relativity, including the Wigner rotation and Thomas precession. We utilize
only the most familiar tools of special relativity, in arguments presented at
three differing levels: (1) utterly elementary, which will suit a first course
in relativity; (2) intermediate, to suit a second course; and (3) advanced, to
suit higher level students. We then give a summary of useful results, and
suggest further reading in this often obscure field.Comment: V1: 25 pages, 6 figures; V2: 22 pages, 5 figures. The revised version
is shortened and the arguments streamlined. Minor changes in notation and
figures. This version matches the published versio
Charm and Bottom Semileptonic Decays
We review the present status of theoretical attempts to calculate the
semileptonic charm and bottom decays and then present a calculation of these
decays in the light--front frame at the kinematic point . This allows us
to evaluate the form factors at the same value of , even though the
allowed kinematic ranges for charm and bottom decays are very different. Also,
at this kinematic point the decay is given in terms of only one form factor
. For the ratio of the decay rates given by the E653 collaboration we
show that the determination of the ratio of the Cabibbo--Kobayashi--Maskawa
(CKM) matrix elements is consistent with that obtained from the unitarity
constraint. At present, though, the unitarity method still has greater
accuracy. Since comparisons of the semileptonic decays into and either
electrons or muons will be available soon from the E791 Fermilab experiment, we
also look at the massive muon case. We show that for a range of the
symmetry breaking is small even though the contributions of the
various helicity amplitudes becomes more complicated. For decays, the decay
at involves an extra form factor
coming from the photon contribution and so is not amenable to the same kind of
analysis, leaving only the decay as a
possibility. As the mass of the decaying particle increases we note that the
symmetry becomes badly broken at .Comment: Latex, 19 pages, two figures are attached, a minor change in the
manuscript related to thi
The Kerry Babies, criminology, and Reinhart Koselleck
The Kerry Babies case was a criminal investigation that followed the discovery of a dead infant on a beach in the southwest of Ireland in April 1984. Charges were laid and dismissed. A tribunal of inquiry into alleged police malpractice followed, and the case returned to the courts 35 years later. This paper takes a multidimensional approach to historical time, drawing on the works of German philosopher Reinhart Koselleck to analyse the case, its legacy, and its implications for criminological theory. A Koselleckian approach – drawing in particular on the role of anachronisms, the mobilisation of memory and the categories of experience and expectation – facilitates a novel perspective on child killing, unmarried motherhood, and policing in 20th-century Ireland
An Improved Treatment of Optics in the Lindquist-Wheeler Models
We consider the optical properties of Lindquist-Wheeler (LW) models of the
Universe. These models consist of lattices constructed from regularly arranged
discrete masses. They are akin to the Wigner-Seitz construction of solid state
physics, and result in a dynamical description of the large-scale Universe in
which the global expansion is given by a Friedmann-like equation. We show that
if these models are constructed in a particular way then the redshifts of
distant objects, as well as the dynamics of the global space-time, can be made
to be in good agreement with the homogeneous and isotropic
Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) solutions of Einstein's equations,
at the level of <3% out to z~2. Angular diameter and luminosity distances, on
the other hand, differ from those found in the corresponding FLRW models, while
being consistent with the 'empty beam' approximation, together with the
shearing effects due to the nearest masses. This can be compared with the large
deviations found from the corresponding FLRW values obtained in a previous
study that considered LW models constructed in a different way. We therefore
advocate the improved LW models we consider here as useful constructions that
appear to faithfully reproduce both the dynamical and observational properties
of space-times containing discrete masses.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Optical energies of AllnN epilayers
Optical energy gaps are measured for high-quality Al1−xInxN-on-GaN epilayers with a range of compositions around the lattice match point using photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. These data are combined with structural data to determine the compositional dependence of emission and absorption energies. The trend indicates a very large bowing parameter of 6 eV and differences with earlier reports are discussed. Very large Stokes' shifts of 0.4-0.8 eV are observed in the composition range 0.13<x<0.24, increasing approximately linearly with InN fraction despite the change of sign of the piezoelectric fiel
Linear and nonlinear magneto-optical diffraction from one-dimensional periodic structures
Nonlinear magneto-optical diffraction from periodically structured samples has been studied using magnetization-induced second harmonic generation (MSHG). Several orders of diffraction were clearly observable in MSHG, along with a strong dependence on the magnetization. Sizeable asymmetry between the MSHG signal measured in positive and negative diffraction peaks, especially visible in second order, are explained by Fresnel factors. It was found that first-order diffraction hysteresis loops differ from all others by showing an ''overshoot'' at magnetization reversal, both in MSHG and in the linear magneto-optical Kerr effect. Tentatively this behavior is explained as due to inhomogeneous reversal of the magnetization in the stripes
CP-violating Majorana phases, lepton-conserving processes and final state interactions
The CP-violating phases associated with Majorana neutrinos can give rise to
CP-violating effects even in processes that conserve total Lepton number, such
as \mu -> eee+, \mu + e -> e + e and others. After explaining the reasons that
make this happen, we consider the calculation of the rates for the process of
the form \ell_a + \ell_b -> \ell_a + \ell_c, and its conjugate \bar\ell_a +
\bar\ell_b -> \bar\ell_a + \bar\ell_c, where \ell_a, \ell_b and \ell_c denote
charged leptons of different flavors. In the context of the Standard Model with
Majorana neutrinos, we show that the difference in the rates depends on such
phases. Our calculations illustrate in detail the mechanics that operate behind
the scene, and set the stage for carrying out the analogous, more complicated
(as we explain), calculations for other processes such as \mu -> eee+ and its
conjugate.Comment: Latex, axodraw, 24 page
B -> K^* gamma from D -> K^* l nu
The B -> K^* gamma branching fraction is predicted using heavy quark spin
symmetry at large recoil to relate the tensor and (axial-)vector form factors,
using heavy quark flavor symmetry to relate the B decay form factors to the
measured D -> K^* l nu form form factors, and extrapolating the semileptonic B
decay form factors to large recoil assuming nearest pole dominance. This
prediction agrees with data surprisingly well, and we comment on its
implications for the extraction of |Vub| from B -> rho l nu.Comment: 10 page
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