462 research outputs found
Hawking Spectrum and High Frequency Dispersion
We study the spectrum of created particles in two-dimensional black hole
geometries for a linear, hermitian scalar field satisfying a Lorentz
non-invariant field equation with higher spatial derivative terms that are
suppressed by powers of a fundamental momentum scale . The preferred frame
is the ``free-fall frame" of the black hole. This model is a variation of
Unruh's sonic black hole analogy. We find that there are two qualitatively
different types of particle production in this model: a thermal Hawking flux
generated by ``mode conversion" at the black hole horizon, and a non-thermal
spectrum generated via scattering off the background into negative free-fall
frequency modes. This second process has nothing to do with black holes and
does not occur for the ordinary wave equation because such modes do not
propagate outside the horizon with positive Killing frequency. The horizon
component of the radiation is astonishingly close to a perfect thermal
spectrum: for the smoothest metric studied, with Hawking temperature
, agreement is of order at frequency
, and agreement to order persists out to
where the thermal number flux is ). The flux
from scattering dominates at large and becomes many orders of
magnitude larger than the horizon component for metrics with a ``kink", i.e. a
region of high curvature localized on a static worldline outside the horizon.
This non-thermal flux amounts to roughly 10\% of the total luminosity for the
kinkier metrics considered. The flux exhibits oscillations as a function of
frequency which can be explained by interference between the various
contributions to the flux.Comment: 32 pages, plain latex, 16 figures included using psfi
Teachers' beliefs about knowledge and learning: A Singapore perspective
The purpose of this study is to explore the complex nature of Singapore teachers' beliefs about knowledge and learning and how these beliefs influence pedagogical practices in their classes. This paper presents findings from a large-scale survey study with 1806 teachers in Singapore. Data revealed that while teachers' beliefs about pedagogies, knowledge and learning were largely consistent, they also believed and practiced both teacher-centered and learner-centered pedagogies and assessment methods
Phenomenological covariant approach to gravity
We covariantly modify the Einstein-Hilbert action such that the modified
action perturbatively resolves the flat rotational velocity curve of the spiral
galaxies and gives rise to the Tully-Fisher relation, and dynamically generates
the cosmological constant. This modification requires introducing just a single
new universal parameter.Comment: v6: a mistake in deriving the equation of the cosmological constant
corrected, refs adde
Gravitational Duality in MacDowell-Mansouri Gauge Theory
Strong-weak duality invariance can only be defined for particular sectors of
supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. Nevertheless, for full non-Abelian
non-supersymmetric theories, dual theories with inverted couplings, have been
found. We show that an analogous procedure allows to find the dual action to
the gauge theory of gravity constructed by the MacDowell-Mansouri model plus
the superposition of a term.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, no figure
Black Hole Evaporation in the Presence of a Short Distance Cutoff
A derivation of the Hawking effect is given which avoids reference to field
modes above some cutoff frequency in the free-fall frame
of the black hole. To avoid reference to arbitrarily high frequencies, it is
necessary to impose a boundary condition on the quantum field in a timelike
region near the horizon, rather than on a (spacelike) Cauchy surface either
outside the horizon or at early times before the horizon forms. Due to the
nature of the horizon as an infinite redshift surface, the correct boundary
condition at late times outside the horizon cannot be deduced, within the
confines of a theory that applies only below the cutoff, from initial
conditions prior to the formation of the hole. A boundary condition is
formulated which leads to the Hawking effect in a cutoff theory. It is argued
that it is possible the boundary condition is {\it not} satisfied, so that the
spectrum of black hole radiation may be significantly different from that
predicted by Hawking, even without the back-reaction near the horizon becoming
of order unity relative to the curvature.Comment: 35 pages, plain LaTeX, UMDGR93-32, NSF-ITP-93-2
Quantum limits on phase-shift detection using multimode interferometers
Fundamental phase-shift detection properties of optical multimode
interferometers are analyzed. Limits on perfectly distinguishable phase shifts
are derived for general quantum states of a given average energy. In contrast
to earlier work, the limits are found to be independent of the number of
interfering modes. However, the reported bounds are consistent with the
Heisenberg limit. A short discussion on the concept of well-defined relative
phase is also included.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX, uses epsf.st
Focusing and the Holographic Hypothesis
The ``screen mapping" introduced by Susskind to implement 't Hooft's
holographic hypothesis is studied. For a single screen time, there are an
infinite number of images of a black hole event horizon, almost all of which
have smaller area on the screen than the horizon area. This is consistent with
the focusing equation because of the existence of focal points. However, the
{\it boundary} of the past (or future) of the screen obeys the area theorem,
and so always gives an expanding map to the screen, as required by the
holographic hypothesis. These considerations are illustrated with several
axisymmetric static black hole spacetimes.Comment: 8 pages, plain latex, 5 figures included using psfi
Modified Gravity via Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
We construct effective field theories in which gravity is modified via
spontaneous breaking of local Lorentz invariance. This is a gravitational
analogue of the Higgs mechanism. These theories possess additional graviton
modes and modified dispersion relations. They are manifestly well-behaved in
the UV and free of discontinuities of the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov type,
ensuring compatibility with standard tests of gravity. They may have important
phenomenological effects on large distance scales, offering an alternative to
dark energy. For the case in which the symmetry is broken by a vector field
with the wrong sign mass term, we identify four massless graviton modes (all
with positive-definite norm for a suitable choice of a parameter) and show the
absence of the discontinuity.Comment: 5 pages; revised versio
The BEST study - a prospective study to compare business class versus economy class air travel as a cause of thrombosis
Background. As many as 10% of airline passengers travelling without prophylaxis for long distances may develop a venous thrombosis. There is, however, no evidence that economy class travellers are at increased risk of thrombosis.Objectives. A suitably powered prospective study, based on the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) reported in previous studies on long-haul flights, was designed to determine the incidence of positive venous duplex scans and D-dimer elevations in low and intermediate-risk passengers, comparing passengers travelling in business and economy class.Patients/methods. Eight hundred and ninety-nine passengers were recruited (180 travelling business class and 719 travelling economy). D-dimers were measured before and after the flight. A value greater than 500 ng/ml was accepted as abnormal. A thrombophilia screen was conducted which included the factor V Leiden mutation, the prothombin 20210A mutation, protein C and S levels, antithrombin levels, and anticardiolipin antibodies immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM). On arrival, lower limb compression ultrasonography of the deep veins was performed. Logistical regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors related to abnormally high D-dimer levels.Results. Only 434 subjects had a full venous duplex scan performed. None had ultrasonic evidence of venous thrombosis. Nine passengers tested at departure had elevated D-dimer levels and these volunteers were excluded from further study. Seventy-four of the 899 passengers had raised D-dimers on arrival. Twenty-two of 180 business class passengers (12%) developed elevated D-dimers compared with 52 of 719 economy class passengers (7%). There was no significant association between elevation of D-dimers and the class flown (odds ratio (OR) 0.61, p = 0.109). The factor V Leiden mutation, factor VIII levels and the use of aspirin were, however, associated with raised D-dimers (OR 3.36, p = 0.024; OR 1.01, p = 0.014; and OR 2.04, p = 0.038, respectively). Five hundred and five passengers were contacted within 6 months and none reported any symptoms of a clinical thrombosis or pulmonary embolus.Conclusion. The incidence of ultrasonically proven DVT is much lower than previously reported. However, more than 10% of all passengers developed raised D-dimers, which were unrelated to the class flown. A rise in D-dimers is associated with an inherent risk of thrombosis and/ or thrombophilia, demonstrates activation of both the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems during long-haul flights, and may indicate the development of small thrombi
Logarithmic Corrections to N=2 Black Hole Entropy: An Infrared Window into the Microstates
Logarithmic corrections to the extremal black hole entropy can be computed
purely in terms of the low energy data -- the spectrum of massless fields and
their interaction. The demand of reproducing these corrections provides a
strong constraint on any microscopic theory of quantum gravity that attempts to
explain the black hole entropy. Using quantum entropy function formalism we
compute logarithmic corrections to the entropy of half BPS black holes in N=2
supersymmetric string theories. Our results allow us to test various proposals
for the measure in the OSV formula, and we find agreement with the measure
proposed by Denef and Moore if we assume their result to be valid at weak
topological string coupling. Our analysis also gives the logarithmic
corrections to the entropy of extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes in
ordinary Einstein-Maxwell theory.Comment: LaTeX file, 66 page
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