15 research outputs found
Mass or Gravitationally Induced Neutrino Oscillations? -- A Comparison of \B Neutrino Flux Spectra in a Three--Generation Framework
Both gravitational and mass induced neutrino oscillation mechanisms provide
possible resolutions to the Solar Neutrino Problem. The distinguishing feature
between the two mechanisms is their dependence on the neutrino energy. We
investigate the implications of this by computing the \B neutrino spectrum as
determined from each mechanism using a realistic three--flavor evolution model.
We find that in the limit of small \tetau mixing angle, the differences are
significant enough to observe in future solar neutrino experiments.Comment: 14 pages, latex, epsf, 5 figures; to appear in Phys Lett
Primordial Black Hole Evaporation and Spontaneous Dimensional Reduction
Several different approaches to quantum gravity suggest the effective
dimension of spacetime reduces from four to two near the Planck scale. In light
of such evidence, this letter re-examines the thermodynamics of primordial
black holes (PBHs) in specific lower-dimensional gravitational models. Unlike
in four dimensions, \done-D black holes radiate with power P \sim \Mbh^2,
while it is known no D (BTZ) black holes can exist in a
non-anti-deSitter universe. This has important relevance to the PBH population
size and distribution, and consequently on cosmological evolution scenarios.
The number of PBHs that have evaporated to present day is estimated, assuming
they account for all dark matter. Entropy conservation during dimensional
transition imposes additional constraints. If the cosmological constant is
non-negative, no black holes can exist in the -dimensional epoch, and
consequently a -dimensional black hole will evolve to become a new type
of remnant. Although these results are conjectural and likely model-dependent,
they open new questions about the viability of PBHs as dark matter candidates.Comment: 20 pp, 1 figure; title changed and discussion significantly expanded;
to appear in Phys. Lett.
Self-completeness and spontaneous dimensional reduction
A viable quantum theory of gravity is one of the biggest challenges facing
physicists. We discuss the confluence of two highly expected features which
might be instrumental in the quest of a finite and renormalizable quantum
gravity -- spontaneous dimensional reduction and self-completeness. The former
suggests the spacetime background at the Planck scale may be effectively
two-dimensional, while the latter implies a condition of maximal compression of
matter by the formation of an event horizon for Planckian scattering. We
generalize such a result to an arbitrary number of dimensions, and show that
gravity in higher than four dimensions remains self-complete, but in lower
dimensions it is not. In such a way we established an "exclusive disjunction"
or "exclusive or" (XOR) between the occurrence of self-completeness and
dimensional reduction, with the goal of actually reducing the unknowns for the
scenario of the physics at the Planck scale. Potential phenomenological
implications of this result are considered by studying the case of a
two-dimensional dilaton gravity model resulting from dimensional reduction of
Einstein gravity.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; v3: final version in press on Eur. Phys. J. Plu
Turbulent luminance in impassioned van Gogh paintings
We show that the patterns of luminance in some impassioned van Gogh paintings display the mathematical structure of fluid turbulence. Specifically, we show that the probability distribution function (PDF) of luminance fluctuations of points (pixels) separated by a distance R compares notably well with the PDF of the velocity differences in a turbulent flow, as predicted by the statistical theory of A.N. Kolmogorov. We observe that turbulent paintings of van Gogh belong to his last period, during which episodes of prolonged psychotic agitation of this artist were frequent. Our approach suggests new tools that open the possibility of quantitative objective research for art representation
Violation of the Equivalence Principle in the light of the SNO and SK solar neutrino results
The SNO result on charged current deuteron disintegration, the
SuperKamiokande 1258-day data on electron scattering, and other solar neutrino
results are used to revisit the model of neutrino oscillations driven by a
violation of the equivalence principle. We use a chisq minimization technique
to examine oscillation between the nu(e) and another active neutrino, both
massless, and find that within the Standard Solar Model the fit to the SNO and
SuperKamiokande spectra are moderately good while a very good fit is obtained
when the absolute normalizations of the 8B and hep neutrino fluxes are allowed
to vary. The best fit prefers large, but not maximal, mixing, essentially no
hep neutrinos, and a 40% reduction in the 8B neutrino flux. The fit to the
total rates from the different experiments is not encouraging but when the
rates and spectra are considerd together the situation is much improved. We
remark on the expectations of the VEP model for the neutral current
measurements at SNO.Comment: Latex, 11 pages (incl. 1 postscript figure
Minimum black hole mass from colliding Gaussian packets
We study the formation of a black hole in the collision of two Gaussian
packets. Rather than following their dynamical evolution in details, we assume
a horizon forms when the mass function for the two packets becomes larger than
half the flat areal radius, as it would occur in a spherically symmetric
geometry. This simple approximation allows us to determine the existence of a
minimum black hole mass solely related to the width of the packets. We then
comment on the possible physical implications, both in classical and quantum
physics, and models with extra spatial dimensions.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Atmospheric Neutrino Oscillations and New Physics
We study the robustness of the determination of the neutrino masses and
mixing from the analysis of atmospheric and K2K data under the presence of
different forms of phenomenologically allowed new physics in the nu_mu--nu_tau
sector. We focus on vector and tensor-like new physics interactions which allow
us to treat, in a model independent way, effects due to the violation of the
equivalence principle, violations of the Lorentz invariance both CPT conserving
and CPT violating, non-universal couplings to a torsion field and non-standard
neutrino interactions with matter. We perform a global analysis of the full
atmospheric data from SKI together with long baseline K2K data in the presence
of nu_mu -> nu_tau transitions driven by neutrino masses and mixing together
with sub-dominant effects due to these forms of new physics. We show that
within the present degree of experimental precision, the extracted values of
masses and mixing are robust under those effects and we derive the upper bounds
on the possible strength of these new interactions in the nu_mu--nu_tau sector.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX file using RevTEX4, 5 figures and 4 tables include
Density pertubation of unparticle dark matter in the flat Universe
The unparticle has been suggested as a candidate of dark matter. We
investigated the growth rate of the density perturbation for the unparticle
dark matter in the flat Universe. First, we consider the model in which
unparticle is the sole dark matter and find that the growth factor can be
approximated well by , where is
the equation of state of unparticle. Our results show that the presence of
modifies the behavior of the growth factor . For the second model
where unparticle co-exists with cold dark matter, the growth factor has a new
approximation and
is a function of . Thus the growth factor of unparticle is quite
different from that of usual dark matter. These information can help us know
more about unparticle and the early evolution of the Universe.Comment: 6pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.
Entropic force approach to noncommutative Schwarzschild black holes signals a failure of current physical ideas
Recently, a new perspective of gravitational-thermodynamic duality as an
entropic force arising from alterations in the information connected to the
positions of material bodies is found. In this paper, we generalize some
aspects of this model in the presence of noncommutative Schwarzschild black
hole by applying the method of coordinate coherent states describing smeared
structures. We implement two different distributions: (a) Gaussian and (b)
Lorentzian. Both mass distributions prepare the similar quantitative aspects
for the entropic force. Our study shows, the entropic force on the smallest
fundamental unit of a holographic screen with radius vanishes. As a
result, black hole remnants are unconditionally inert even gravitational
interactions do not exist therein. So, a distinction between gravitational and
inertial mass in the size of black hole remnant is observed, i.e. the failure
of the principle of equivalence. In addition, if one considers the screen
radius to be less than the radius of the smallest holographic surface at the
Planckian regime, then one encounters some unusual dynamical features leading
to gravitational repulsive force and negative energy. On the other hand, the
significant distinction between the two distributions is conceived to occur
around , and that is worth of mentioning: at this regime either our
analysis is not the proper one, or non-extensive statistics should be employed.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, new references added, minor revision, Title
changed, to appear in EPJ Plu