Electrostatic propulsion system with a direct nuclear electrogenerator Patent

Nuclear electric generator for accelerating charged propellant particles in electrostatic propulsion syste

Reciprocal relativity of noninertial frames: quantum mechanics

Noninertial transformations on time-position-momentum-energy space {t,q,p,e} with invariant Born-Green metric ds^2=-dt^2+dq^2/c^2+(1/b^2)(dp^2-de^2/c^2) and the symplectic metric -de/\dt+dp/\dq are studied. This U(1,3) group of transformations contains the Lorentz group as the inertial special case. In the limit of small forces and velocities, it reduces to the expected Hamilton transformations leaving invariant the symplectic metric and the nonrelativistic line element ds^2=dt^2. The U(1,3) transformations bound relative velocities by c and relative forces by b. Spacetime is no longer an invariant subspace but is relative to noninertial observer frames. Born was lead to the metric by a concept of reciprocity between position and momentum degrees of freedom and for this reason we call this reciprocal relativity. For large b, such effects will almost certainly only manifest in a quantum regime. Wigner showed that special relativistic quantum mechanics follows from the projective representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group. Projective representations of a Lie group are equivalent to the unitary reprentations of its central extension. The same method of projective representations of the inhomogeneous U(1,3) group is used to define the quantum theory in the noninertial case. The central extension of the inhomogeneous U(1,3) group is the cover of the quaplectic group Q(1,3)=U(1,3)*s H(4). H(4) is the Weyl-Heisenberg group. A set of second order wave equations results from the representations of the Casimir operators

Light Sheets and the Covariant Entropy Conjecture

We examine the holography bound suggested by Bousso in his covariant entropy conjecture, and argue that it is violated because his notion of light sheet is too generous. We suggest its replacement by a weaker bound.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

The speed of gravity in general relativity

The question is discussed of what is the speed of gravity (at the fundamental non-perturbative level). The question is important, if nowhere else, in discussing the problem of information "lost" in black holes. It turns out that the duly defined "gravitational signal" generally may be causal, superluminal and "semi-superluminal". In the class of globally hyperbolic spacetimes the two last varieties coincide. And if some (often imposed, but not always satisfied) conditions hold, the signals may be \emph{only} causal. In this sense the speed of gravity does not exceed the speed of light.Comment: typos corrected, et

The influence of composition, annealing treatment, and texture on the fracture toughness of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn plate at cryogenic temperatures

The plane strain fracture toughness K sub Ic and conventional tensile properties of two commercially produced one-inch thick Ti-5Al-2.5Sn plates were determined at cryogenic temperatures. One plate was extra-low interstitial (ELI) grade, the other normal interstitial. Portions of each plate were mill annealed at 1088 K (1500 F) followed by either air cooling or furnace cooling. The tensile properties, flow curves, and K sub Ic of these plates were determined at 295 K (room temperature), 77 K (liquid nitrogen temperature), and 20 K (liquid hydrogen temperature)

Solenoidal versus compressive turbulence forcing

We analyze the statistics and star formation rate obtained in high-resolution numerical experiments of forced supersonic turbulence, and compare with observations. We concentrate on a systematic comparison of solenoidal (divergence-free) and compressive (curl-free) forcing, which are two limiting cases of turbulence driving. Our results show that for the same RMS Mach number, compressive forcing produces a three times larger standard deviation of the density probability distribution. When self-gravity is included in the models, the star formation rate is more than one order of magnitude higher for compressive forcing than for solenoidal forcing.Comment: 1 page, to appear in the proceedings of the IAU General Assembly Joint Discussion 14 "FIR2009: The ISM of Galaxies in the Far-Infrared and Sub-Millimetre", ed. M. Cunningha

Precise nondivergent analytic formulas for the radiative corrections to the beta energy spectrum in hyperon semileptonic decays over the entire Dalitz plot

Very accurate analytical expressions for the radiative corrections of unpolarized hyperons semileptonic decays of charged and neutral baryons have been obtained in the recent past. Some of these formulas contain logarithmic singularities at the edges of the Dalitz plot for the three- and four-body decays. These singularities are analyzed and integrated analytically to obtain new divergentless formulas for the energy spectrum of the produced beta particle. The new equations contain terms of the order alpha times the momentum transfer, are applicable to any beta decay process and are suitable for a model-independent experimental analysis.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure