3,395 research outputs found
Gravity from Dirac Eigenvalues
We study a formulation of euclidean general relativity in which the dynamical
variables are given by a sequence of real numbers , representing
the eigenvalues of the Dirac operator on the curved spacetime. These quantities
are diffeomorphism-invariant functions of the metric and they form an infinite
set of ``physical observables'' for general relativity. Recent work of Connes
and Chamseddine suggests that they can be taken as natural variables for an
invariant description of the dynamics of gravity. We compute the Poisson
brackets of the 's, and find that these can be expressed in terms
of the propagator of the linearized Einstein equations and the energy-momentum
of the eigenspinors. We show that the eigenspinors' energy-momentum is the
Jacobian matrix of the change of coordinates from the metric to the
's. We study a variant of the Connes-Chamseddine spectral action
which eliminates a disturbing large cosmological term. We analyze the
corresponding equations of motion and find that these are solved if the energy
momenta of the eigenspinors scale linearly with the mass. Surprisingly, this
scaling law codes Einstein's equations. Finally we study the coupling to a
physical fermion field.Comment: An enlarged and improved version which will be pubblished in Mod.
Phys. Lett.
Advanced Forward Modeling and Inversion of Stokes Profiles Resulting from the Joint Action of the Hanle and Zeeman Effects
A big challenge in solar and stellar physics in the coming years will be to
decipher the magnetism of the solar outer atmosphere (chromosphere and corona)
along with its dynamic coupling with the magnetic fields of the underlying
photosphere. To this end, it is important to develop rigorous diagnostic tools
for the physical interpretation of spectropolarimetric observations in suitably
chosen spectral lines. Here we present a computer program for the synthesis and
inversion of Stokes profiles caused by the joint action of atomic level
polarization and the Hanle and Zeeman effects in some spectral lines of
diagnostic interest, such as those of the He I 10830 A and D_3 multiplets. It
is based on the quantum theory of spectral line polarization, which takes into
account all the relevant physical mechanisms and ingredients (optical pumping,
atomic level polarization, Zeeman, Paschen-Back and Hanle effects). The
influence of radiative transfer on the emergent spectral line radiation is
taken into account through a suitable slab model. The user can either calculate
the emergent intensity and polarization for any given magnetic field vector or
infer the dynamical and magnetic properties from the observed Stokes profiles
via an efficient inversion algorithm based on global optimization methods. The
reliability of the forward modeling and inversion code presented here is
demonstrated through several applications, which range from the inference of
the magnetic field vector in solar active regions to determining whether or not
it is canopy-like in quiet chromospheric regions. This user-friendly diagnostic
tool called "HAZEL" (from HAnle and ZEeman Light) is offered to the
astrophysical community, with the hope that it will facilitate new advances in
solar and stellar physics.Comment: 62 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap
Generalized sqrt(epsilon)-law. The role of unphysical source terms in resonance line polarization transfer and its importance as an additional test of NLTE radiative transfer codes
Context. A derivation of a generalized sqrt(epsilon)-law for nonthermal
collisional rates of excitation by charged perturbers is presented. Aims. Aim
of this paper is to find a more general analytical expression for a surface
value of the source function which can be used as an addtional tool for
verification of the non-LTE radiative transfer codes. Methods. Under the impact
approximation hypothesis, static, one-dimensional, plane-parallel atmosphere,
constant magnetic field of arbitrary strength and direction, two-level atom
model with unpolarized lower level and stimulated emission neglected, we
introduce the unphysical terms into the equations of statistical equilibrium
and solve the appropriate non-LTE integral equations. Results. We derive a new
analytical condition for the surface values of the source function components
expressed in the basis of irreducible spherical tensors.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in A&
Uniform Penalty inversion of two-dimensional NMR Relaxation data
The inversion of two-dimensional NMR data is an ill-posed problem related to
the numerical computation of the inverse Laplace transform. In this paper we
present the 2DUPEN algorithm that extends the Uniform Penalty (UPEN) algorithm
[Borgia, Brown, Fantazzini, {\em Journal of Magnetic Resonance}, 1998] to
two-dimensional data. The UPEN algorithm, defined for the inversion of
one-dimensional NMR relaxation data, uses Tikhonov-like regularization and
optionally non-negativity constraints in order to implement locally adapted
regularization. In this paper, we analyze the regularization properties of this
approach. Moreover, we extend the one-dimensional UPEN algorithm to the
two-dimensional case and present an efficient implementation based on the
Newton Projection method. Without any a-priori information on the noise norm,
2DUPEN automatically computes the locally adapted regularization parameters and
the distribution of the unknown NMR parameters by using variable smoothing.
Results of numerical experiments on simulated and real data are presented in
order to illustrate the potential of the proposed method in reconstructing
peaks and flat regions with the same accuracy
Scattering polarization of hydrogen lines in the presence of turbulent electric fields
We study the broadband polarization of hydrogen lines produced by scattering
of radiation, in the presence of isotropic electric fields. In this paper, we
focus on two distinct problems: a) the possibility of detecting the presence of
turbulent electric fields by polarimetric methods, and b) the influence of such
fields on the polarization due to a macroscopic, deterministic magnetic field.
We found that isotropic electric fields decrease the degree of linear
polarization in the scattered radiation, with respect to the zero-field case.
On the other hand, a distribution of isotropic electric fields superimposed
onto a deterministic magnetic field can generate a significant increase of the
degree of magnetic-induced, net circular polarization. This phenomenon has
important implications for the diagnostics of magnetic fields in plasmas using
hydrogen lines, because of the ubiquitous presence of the Holtsmark,
microscopic electric field from neighbouring ions. In particular, previous
solar magnetographic studies of the Balmer lines of hydrogen may need to be
revised because they neglected the effect of turbulent electric fields on the
polarization signals. In this work, we give explicit results for the
Lyman-alpha and Balmer-alpha lines.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
Dichroic Masers due to Radiation Anisotropy and the Influence of the Hanle Effect on the Circumstellar SiO Polarization
The theory of the generation and transfer of polarized radiation, mainly
developed for interpreting solar spectropolarimetric observations, allows to
reconsider, in a more rigorous and elegant way, a physical mechanism that has
been suggested some years ago to interpret the high degree of polarization
often observed in astronomical masers. This mechanism, for which the name of
'dichroic maser' is proposed, can operate when a low density molecular cloud is
illuminated by an anisotropic source of radiation (like for instance a nearby
star). Here we investigate completely unsaturated masers and show that
selective stimulated emission processes are capable of producing highly
polarized maser radiation in a non-magnetic environment. The polarization of
the maser radiation is linear and is directed tangentially to a ring
equidistant to the central star. We show that the Hanle effect due to the
presence of a magnetic field can produce a rotation (from the tangential
direction) of the polarization by more that 45 degrees for some selected
combinations of the strength, inclination and azimuth of the magnetic field
vector. However, these very same conditions produce a drastic inhibition of the
maser effect. The rotations of about 90 degrees observed in SiO masers in the
evolved stars TX Cam by Kemball & Diamond (1997) and IRC+10011 by Desmurs et al
(2000) may then be explainedby a local modification of the anisotropy of the
radiation field, being transformed from mainly radial to mainly tangential.Comment: Accepted for publication on Ap
Financial Crisis and New Dimensions of Liquidity Risk: Rethinking Prudential Regulation and Supervision
This paper aims to stress the importance of market liquidity for the stability of the financial system, emphasizing the pivotal role played by liquidity risk in the development of the current financial crisis, pointing out the flaws of regulation and supervision and stressing the need for their reform. We first investigate the evolution of the concept of liquidity and the nexus between the transformations of financial systems and their increased vulnerability to liquidity risks. Then we focus on the causes of the emergence of liquidity risk in the ongoing financial crisis. We point out two intertwined processes: firstly, the huge increase in financial assets stemming from the shift to an \u201coriginate-to-distribute\u201d intermediation model; secondly, the growth of a parallel financial circuit. After this, we focus on the main lessons for regulation and supervision: first of all we address the case for adjustments to or reform of Basel 2 in view of the nexus between solvency and liquidity. Further crucial points relate to market liquidity and OTC markets, scale and scope of LLR function, architecture of supervisory authorities and perimeter of controls. Finally we stress the need for harmonization, or at least coordination, of national liquidity regimes, at least for cross-border group
Vortex Scattering and Intercommuting Cosmic Strings on a Noncommutative Spacetime
We study the scattering of noncommutative vortices, based on the
noncommutative field theory developed in [Phys. Rev. D 75, 045009 (2007)], as a
way to understand the interaction of cosmic strings. In the center-of-mass
frame, the effects of noncommutativity vanish, and therefore the reconnection
of cosmic strings occurs in an identical manner to the commutative case.
However, when scattering occurs in a frame other than the center-of-mass frame,
strings still reconnect but the well known 90-degree scattering no longer need
correspond to the head on collision of the strings, due to the breakdown of
Lorentz invariance in the underlying noncommutative field theory.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure
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