1,913 research outputs found
Perturbative nonequilibrium dynamics of phase transitions in an expanding universe
A complete set of Feynman rules is derived, which permits a perturbative
description of the nonequilibrium dynamics of a symmetry-breaking phase
transition in theory in an expanding universe. In contrast to a
naive expansion in powers of the coupling constant, this approximation scheme
provides for (a) a description of the nonequilibrium state in terms of its own
finite-width quasiparticle excitations, thus correctly incorporating
dissipative effects in low-order calculations, and (b) the emergence from a
symmetric initial state of a final state exhibiting the properties of
spontaneous symmetry breaking, while maintaining the constraint . Earlier work on dissipative perturbation theory and spontaneous symmetry
breaking in Minkowski spacetime is reviewed. The central problem addressed is
the construction of a perturbative approximation scheme which treats the
initial symmetric state in terms of the field , while the state that
emerges at later times is treated in terms of a field , linearly related
to . The connection between early and late times involves an infinite
sequence of composite propagators. Explicit one-loop calculations are given of
the gap equations that determine quasiparticle masses and of the equation of
motion for and the renormalization of these equations is
described. The perturbation series needed to describe the symmetric and
broken-symmetry states are not equivalent, and this leads to ambiguities
intrinsic to any perturbative approach. These ambiguities are discussed in
detail and a systematic procedure for matching the two approximations is
described.Comment: 22 pages, using RevTeX. 6 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
Nonequilibrium perturbation theory for complex scalar fields
Real-time perturbation theory is formulated for complex scalar fields away
from thermal equilibrium in such a way that dissipative effects arising from
the absorptive parts of loop diagrams are approximately resummed into the
unperturbed propagators. Low order calculations of physical quantities then
involve quasiparticle occupation numbers which evolve with the changing state
of the field system, in contrast to standard perturbation theory, where these
occupation numbers are frozen at their initial values. The evolution equation
of the occupation numbers can be cast approximately in the form of a Boltzmann
equation. Particular attention is given to the effects of a non-zero chemical
potential, and it is found that the thermal masses and decay widths of
quasiparticle modes are different for particles and antiparticles.Comment: 15 pages using RevTeX; 2 figures in 1 Postscript file; Submitted to
Phys. Rev.
Recording, monitoring and managing the conservation of historic sites : a new application for BGS Sigma
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment, is directly responsible for 335 sites of national significance, most of which are built from stone. Similar to other heritage organisations, HES needs a system that can store and present conservation and maintenance information for historic sites; ideally, the same system could be used to plan effective programmes of maintenance and repair. To meet this need, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has worked with HES to develop an integrated digital site assessment system that provides a refined survey process for stone-built (and other) historic sites. Based on the BGS System for Integrated Geoscience Mapping (BGS▪SIGMA)—an integrated workflow underpinned by a geo-spatial platform for data capture and interpretation—the system is built on top of ESRI’s ArcGIS software, and underpinned by a relational database. Users can populate custom-built data entry forms to record maintenance issues and repair specifications for architectural elements ranging from individual blocks of stone to entire building elevations. Photographs, sketches, and digital documents can be linked to architectural elements to enhance the usability of the data. Predetermined data fields and supporting dictionaries constrain the input parameters to ensure a high degree of consistency and facilitate data extraction and querying. Presenting the data within a GIS provides a versatile planning tool for scheduling works, specifying materials, identifying skills needed for repairs, and allocating resources. The overall condition of a site can be monitored accurately over time by repeating the survey at regular intervals (e.g. every 5 years). Other datasets can be linked to the database and other geospatially referenced datasets can be superimposed in GIS, adding considerably to the scope and utility of the system. The system can be applied to any geospatially referenced object in a wide range of situations thus providing many potential applications in conservation, archaeology and related fields
An Analytic Equation of State for Ising-like Models
Using an Environmentally Friendly Renormalization we derive, from an
underlying field theory representation, a formal expression for the equation of
state, , that exhibits all desired asymptotic and analyticity
properties in the three limits , and . The only
necessary inputs are the Wilson functions , and
, associated with a renormalization of the transverse vertex
functions. These Wilson functions exhibit a crossover between the Wilson-Fisher
fixed point and the fixed point that controls the coexistence curve.
Restricting to the case N=1, we derive a one-loop equation of state for naturally parameterized by a ratio of non-linear scaling fields. For
we show that a non-parameterized analytic form can be deduced. Various
asymptotic amplitudes are calculated directly from the equation of state in all
three asymptotic limits of interest and comparison made with known results. By
positing a scaling form for the equation of state inspired by the one-loop
result, but adjusted to fit the known values of the critical exponents, we
obtain better agreement with known asymptotic amplitudes.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Mobile tools for Windows: user guide : report produced in the context of the Inventory Data Capture Tools Risk Global Component
The aim of this document is to provide guidelines for the use of the digital Windows Mobile Tools that have been designed and built to collect building inventory pre- and post-earthquake events. The guide instructs users how to install the software on a Windows device and provides step-by-step instructions for collecting and managing the data that has been collected.
It is expected that the field staff are already experts in collecting building inventory, therefore this guide does not provides instructions how to recognise or understand building structural components.
Appendices to this guide also include the following:
A copy of the paper Forms that are used to collect data in the field if the digital Mobile Tools are unavailable
The Photos-4-GEM Protocol that provides guidance for photography of structures in the context of the Inventory Data Capture Tools and the GEM Taxonomy
Irradiated brown dwarfs
We have observed the post common envelope binary WD0137-349 in the near
infrared , and bands and have determined that the photometry varies
on the system period (116 min). The amplitude of the variability increases with
increasing wavelength, indicating that the brown dwarf in the system is likely
being irradiated by its 16500 K white dwarf companion. The effect of the
(primarily) UV irradiation on the brown dwarf atmosphere is unknown, but it is
possible that stratospheric hazes are formed. It is also possible that the
brown dwarf (an L-T transition object) itself is variable due to patchy cloud
cover. Both these scenarios are discussed, and suggestions for further study
are made.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Proceedings from "Brown dwarfs come of age"
meeting in Fuerteventura 201
Scaling in high-temperature superconductors
A Hartree approximation is used to study the interplay of two kinds of
scaling which arise in high-temperature superconductors, namely critical-point
scaling and that due to the confinement of electron pairs to their lowest
Landau level in the presence of an applied magnetic field. In the neighbourhood
of the zero-field critical point, thermodynamic functions scale with the
scaling variable , which differs from the variable
suggested by the gaussian approximation.
Lowest-Landau-level (LLL) scaling occurs in a region of high field surrounding
the upper critical field line but not in the vicinity of the zero-field
transition. For YBaCuO in particular, a field of at least 10 T is needed to
observe LLL scaling. These results are consistent with a range of recent
experimental measurements of the magnetization, transport properties and,
especially, the specific heat of high- materials.Comment: 22 pages + 1 figure appended as postscript fil
Critical-point scaling function for the specific heat of a Ginzburg-Landau superconductor
If the zero-field transition in high temperature superconductors such as
YBa_2Cu_3O_7-\delta is a critical point in the universality class of the
3-dimensional XY model, then the general theory of critical phenomena predicts
the existence of a critical region in which thermodynamic functions have a
characteristic scaling form. We report the first attempt to calculate the
universal scaling function associated with the specific heat, for which
experimental data have become available in recent years. Scaling behaviour is
extracted from a renormalization-group analysis, and the 1/N expansion is
adopted as a means of approximation. The estimated scaling function is
qualitatively similar to that observed experimentally, and also to the
lowest-Landau-level scaling function used by some authors to provide an
alternative interpretation of the same data. Unfortunately, the 1/N expansion
is not sufficiently reliable at small values of N for a quantitative fit to be
feasible.Comment: 20 pages; 4 figure
Critical behaviour of the Ginzburg-Landau model in the type II region
We study the critical behaviour of the three-dimensional U(1) gauge+Higgs
theory (Ginzburg-Landau model) at large scalar self-coupling \lambda (``type II
region'') by measuring various correlation lengths as well as the
Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortex tension. We identify different scaling regions
as the transition is approached from below, and carry out detailed comparisons
with the criticality of the 3d O(2) symmetric scalar theory.Comment: Lattice2001(higgssusy), 3 page
- …