203 research outputs found
Quantum geometrodynamics: whence, whither?
Quantum geometrodynamics is canonical quantum gravity with the three-metric
as the configuration variable. Its central equation is the Wheeler--DeWitt
equation. Here I give an overview of the status of this approach. The issues
discussed include the problem of time, the relation to the covariant theory,
the semiclassical approximation as well as applications to black holes and
cosmology. I conclude that quantum geometrodynamics is still a viable approach
and provides insights into both the conceptual and technical aspects of quantum
gravity.Comment: 25 pages; invited contribution for the Proceedings of the seminar
"Quantum Gravity: Challenges and Perspectives", Bad Honnef, Germany, April
200
Cooperative WebLab in chemical engineering between France and Brazil: Validation of the methodology
A WebLab is an experiment operated remotely via Internet. Besides the strictly technical aspects of such an experiment, which may contribute to the learning of Chemical Engineering fundamentals, there is also important feedback when teams of students of two different countries are working together: the WebLab becomes an intercultural experience, enhancing the communication skills of the students. A WebLab between Universidade Federal de São Carlos (DEQ/UFSCar) and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologiques (ENSIACET) is presented in this work. A mass transfer experiment in a bench scale reactor (stirred and aerated) had to be studied by mixed teams, thus emulating challenges that will be common in future working environments. In order to perform the experiment, students in Brazil and in France were put into groups. The students had to make decisions about the procedure for executing the experiments. All the students were able to control the equipment, no matter where they were physically. Students communicated using video conference software. The students' and teachers' opinions of this experience were very positive. This methodology is an important contribution to the education of engineers in a world integrated by modern communication technologies
Potential Scattering in Dirac Field Theory
We develop the potential scattering of a spinor within the context of
perturbation field theory. As an application, we reproduce, up to second order
in the potential, the diffusion results for a potential barrier of quantum
mechanics. An immediate consequence is a simple generalization to arbitrary
potential forms, a feature not possible in quantum mechanics.Comment: 7 page
Tobacco Coupons and Teenagers
To the Editor. Despite mounting scientific evidence suggesting a causal relationship between tobacco advertising and increased consumption of tobacco products, particularly among adolescents, promotion of tobacco products by tobacco manufacturers continues to increase
Non-relativistic limit of Randall-Sundrum model: solutions, applications and constraints
In the Randall-Sundrum model with one brane, we found the approximate and
exact solutions for gravitational potentials and accelerations of test bodies
in these potentials for different geometrical configurations. We applied these
formulas for calculation of the gravitational interaction between two spheres
and found the approximate and exact expressions for the relative force
corrections to the Newton's gravitational force. We demonstrated that the
difference between relative force corrections for the approximate and exact
cases increases with the parameter (for the fixed distance between
centers of the spheres). On the other hand, this difference increases with
decreasing of the distance between the centers of the spheres (for the fixed
curvature scale parameter ). We got the upper limit for the curvature scale
parameter m. For these values of , the difference
between the approximate and exact solutions is negligible.Comment: LaTex 11 pages, 3 figure
Exact solution of Schrodinger equation for Pseudoharmonic potential
Exact solution of Schrodinger equation for the pseudoharmonic potential is
obtained for an arbitrary angular momentum. The energy eigenvalues and
corresponding eigenfunctions are calculated by Nikiforov-Uvarov method.
Wavefunctions are expressed in terms of Jacobi polynomials. The energy
eigenvalues are calculated numerically for some values of l and n with n<5 for
some diatomic molecules.Comment: 10 page
Radio Observations of the January 20, 2005 X-Class Event
We present a multi-frequency and multi-instrument study of the 20 January
2005 event. We focus mainly on the complex radio signatures and their
association with the active phenomena taking place: flares, CMEs, particle
acceleration and magnetic restructuring. As a variety of energetic particle
accelerators and sources of radio bursts are present, in the flare-ejecta
combination, we investigate their relative importance in the progress of this
event. The dynamic spectra of {Artemis-IV-Wind/Waves-Hiras with 2000 MHz-20 kHz
frequency coverage, were used to track the evolution of the event from the low
corona to the interplanetary space; these were supplemented with SXR, HXR and
gamma-ray recordings. The observations were compared with the expected radio
signatures and energetic-particle populations envisaged by the {Standard
Flare--CME model and the reconnection outflow termination shock model. A proper
combination of these mechanisms seems to provide an adequate model for the
interpretation of the observational data.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
New precise determination of the \tau lepton mass at KEDR detector
The status of the experiment on the precise lepton mass measurement
running at the VEPP-4M collider with the KEDR detector is reported. The mass
value is evaluated from the cross section behaviour around the
production threshold. The preliminary result based on 6.7 pb of data is
MeV. Using 0.8 pb of data
collected at the peak the preliminary result is also obtained:
eV.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures; The 9th International Workshop on Tau-Lepton
Physics, Tau0
Search for narrow resonances in e+ e- annihilation between 1.85 and 3.1 GeV with the KEDR Detector
We report results of a search for narrow resonances in e+ e- annihilation at
center-of-mass energies between 1.85 and 3.1 GeV performed with the KEDR
detector at the VEPP-4M e+ e- collider. The upper limit on the leptonic width
of a narrow resonance Gamma(R -> ee) Br(R -> hadr) < 120 eV has been obtained
(at 90 % C.L.)
Measurement of \Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->e^+e^-) and \Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->\mu^+\mu^-)
The products of the electron width of the J/\psi meson and the branching
fraction of its decays to the lepton pairs were measured using data from the
KEDR experiment at the VEPP-4M electron-positron collider. The results are
\Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->e^+e^-)=(0.3323\pm0.0064\pm0.0048) keV,
\Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->\mu^+\mu^-)=(0.3318\pm0.0052\pm0.0063) keV.
Their combinations
\Gamma_{ee}\times(\Gamma_{ee}+\Gamma_{\mu\mu})/\Gamma=(0.6641\pm0.0082\pm0.0100)
keV,
\Gamma_{ee}/\Gamma_{\mu\mu}=1.002\pm0.021\pm0.013 can be used to improve
theaccuracy of the leptonic and full widths and test leptonic universality.
Assuming e\mu universality and using the world average value of the lepton
branching fraction, we also determine the leptonic \Gamma_{ll}=5.59\pm0.12 keV
and total \Gamma=94.1\pm2.7 keV widths of the J/\psi meson.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
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