1,537 research outputs found
Physics of a microsystem starting from non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics
In this paper we address the problem to give a concrete support to the idea,
originally stemming from Niels Bohr, that quantum mechanics must be rooted
inside the physics of macroscopic systems. It is shown that, starting from the
formalism of the non-equilibrium statistical operator, which is now a
consolidated part of quantum statistical mechanics, particular correlations
between two isolated systems can be singled out and interpreted as
microsystems. In this way also a new framework is established in which
questions of decoherence can be naturally addressed.Comment: 14 pages, latex, no figures, contribution to the Proceedings of the
XXXIII Symposium on Mathematical Physics (Torun, Poland
Time scales in quantum mechanics by a scattering map
Inside quantum mechanics the problem of decoherence for an isolated, finite
system is linked to a coarse-grained description of its dynamics.Comment: 10 pages, latex, no figure
Description of isolated macroscopic systems inside quantum mechanics
For an isolated macrosystem classical state parameters are
introduced inside a quantum mechanical treatment. By a suitable mathematical
representation of the actual preparation procedure in the time interval
a statistical operator is constructed as a solution of the Liouville
von Neumann equation, exhibiting at time the state parameters ,
, and {\it preparation parameters} related to times . Relation with Zubarev's non-equilibrium statistical operator is
discussed. A mechanism for memory loss is investigated and time evolution by a
semigroup is obtained for a restricted set of relevant observables, slowly
varying on a suitable time scale.Comment: 13 pages, latex, romp31 style, no figures, to appear in the
Proceedings of the XXXI Symposium on Mathematical Physics (Torun, Poland), to
be published in Rep. Math. Phy
Subdynamics through Time Scales and Scattering Maps in Quantum Field Theory
It is argued that the dynamics of an isolated system, due to the concrete
procedure by which it is separated from the environment, has a non-Hamiltonian
contribution. By a unified quantum field theoretical treatment of typical
subdynamics, e.g., hydrodynamics, kinetic theory, master equation for a
particle interacting with matter, we look for the structure of this more
general dynamics.Comment: 16 pages, latex, no figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the
Third International Conference on Quantum Communication & Measurement 1996
(Hakone, Japan
Time scale, objectivity and irreversibility in quantum mechanics
It is argued that setting isolated systems as primary scope of field theory
and looking at particles as derived entities, the problem of an objective
anchorage of quantum mechanics can be solved and irreversibility acquires a
fundamental role. These general ideas are checked in the case of the Boltzmann
description of a dilute gas.Comment: 13 pages, latex, no figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the XXI
International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics, 1996
(Goslar, Germany
Single-Photon Observables and Preparation Uncertainty Relations
We propose a procedure for defining all single-photon observables in terms of
Positive-Operator Valued Measures (POVMs), in particular spin and position. We
identify the suppression of -helicity photon states as a projection from an
extended Hilbert space onto the photon Hilbert space. We show that all
single-photon observables are in general described by POVMs, obtained by
applying this projection to opportune Projection-Valued Measures (PVMs),
defined on the extended Hilbert space. The POVMs associated to momentum and
helicity reduce to PVMs, unlike those associated to position and spin, this
fact reflecting the intrinsic unsharpness of these observables. We finally
extensively study the preparation uncertainty relations for position and
momentum and the probability distribution of spin, exploring single photon
Gaussian states for several choices of spin and polarization.Comment: 25 pages (7 Figures); revised and extended version; in submissio
Translation-covariant Markovian master equation for a test particle in a quantum fluid
A recently proposed master equation in the Lindblad form is studied with
respect to covariance properties and existence of a stationary solution. The
master equation describes the interaction of a test particle with a quantum
fluid, the so-called Rayleigh gas, and is characterized by the appearance of a
two-point correlation function known as dynamic structure factor, which
reflects symmetry and statistical mechanics properties of the fluid. In the
case of a free gas all relevant physical parameters, such as fugacity, ratio
between the masses, momentum transfer and energy transfer are put into
evidence, giving an exact expansion of the dynamic structure factor. The limit
in which these quantities are small is then considered. In particular in the
Brownian limit a Fokker-Planck equation is obtained in which the corrections
due to quantum statistics can be explicitly evaluated and are given in terms of
the Bose function and the Fermi function .Comment: 18 pages, revtex, no figures, to appear in J. Math. Phy
IRIS: A Generic Three-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Code
We present IRIS, a new generic three-dimensional (3D) spectral radiative
transfer code that generates synthetic spectra, or images. It can be used as a
diagnostic tool for comparison with astrophysical observations or laboratory
astrophysics experiments. We have developed a 3D short-characteristic solver
that works with a 3D nonuniform Cartesian grid. We have implemented a piecewise
cubic, locally monotonic, interpolation technique that dramatically reduces the
numerical diffusion effect. The code takes into account the velocity gradient
effect resulting in gradual Doppler shifts of photon frequencies and subsequent
alterations of spectral line profiles. It can also handle periodic boundary
conditions. This first version of the code assumes Local Thermodynamic
Equilibrium (LTE) and no scattering. The opacities and source functions are
specified by the user. In the near future, the capabilities of IRIS will be
extended to allow for non-LTE and scattering modeling. IRIS has been validated
through a number of tests. We provide the results for the most relevant ones,
in particular a searchlight beam test, a comparison with a 1D plane-parallel
model, and a test of the velocity gradient effect. IRIS is a generic code to
address a wide variety of astrophysical issues applied to different objects or
structures, such as accretion shocks, jets in young stellar objects, stellar
atmospheres, exoplanet atmospheres, accretion disks, rotating stellar winds,
cosmological structures. It can also be applied to model laboratory
astrophysics experiments, such as radiative shocks produced with high power
lasers.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A; 17 pages, 9 figures, 2 table
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