Subtleties in the quasi-classical calculation of Hawking radiation

he quasi-classical method of deriving Hawking radiation is investigated. In order to recover the original Hawking temperature one must take into account a previously ignored contribution coming from the temporal part of the action. This contribution plus a contribution coming from the spatial part of the action gives the correct temperature.Comment: 6 pages revtex. Honorable Mention in 2008 GRF essay contest, typos fixed, sign errors corrected. To be published in Special Issue of IJMP

A relational quantum computer using only two-qubit total spin measurement and an initial supply of highly mixed single qubit states

We prove that universal quantum computation is possible using only (i) the physically natural measurement on two qubits which distinguishes the singlet from the triplet subspace, and (ii) qubits prepared in almost any three different (potentially highly mixed) states. In some sense this measurement is a `more universal' dynamical element than a universal 2-qubit unitary gate, since the latter must be supplemented by measurement. Because of the rotational invariance of the measurement used, our scheme is robust to collective decoherence in a manner very different to previous proposals - in effect it is only ever sensitive to the relational properties of the qubits.Comment: TR apologises for yet again finding a coauthor with a ridiculous middle name [12

Magnetic Gaps related to Spin Glass Order in Fermionic Systems

We provide evidence for spin glass related magnetic gaps in the fermionic density of states below the freezing temperature. Model calculations are presented and proposed to be relevant for explaining resistivity measurements which observe a crossover from variable-range- to activated behavior. The magnetic field dependence of a hardgap and the low temperature decay of the density of states are given. In models with fermion transport a new metal-insulator transition is predicted to occur due to the spin-glass gap, anteceding the spin glass to quantum paramagnet transition at smaller spin density. Important fluctuation effects due to finite range frustrated interactions are estimated and discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 1 Postscript figure, revised version accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

A comparison of the galaxy populations in the Coma and distant clusters: the evolution of k+a galaxies and the role of the intracluster medium

The spectroscopic properties of galaxies in the Coma cluster are compared with those of galaxies in rich clusters at $z \sim 0.5$, to investigate the evolution of the star formation history in clusters. Luminous galaxies with $M_V \leq -20$ and post-starburst/post-starforming (k+a) spectra which constitute a significant fraction of galaxies in distant cluster samples are absent in Coma, where spectacular cases of k+a spectra are found instead at $M_V>-18.5$ and represent a significant proportion of the cluster dwarf galaxy population. A simple inspection of their positions on the sky indicates that this type of galaxy does not show a preferential location within the cluster, but the bluest and strongest-lined group of k+a's lies in projection towards the central 1.4 Mpc of Coma and have radial velocities significantly higher than the cluster mean. We find a striking correlation between the positions of these young and strong post-starburst galaxies and substructure in the hot intracluster medium (ICM) identified from {\it XMM-Newton} data, with these galaxies lying close to the edges of two infalling substructures. This result strongly suggests that the interaction with the dense ICM could be responsible for the quenching of the star formation (thus creating the k+a spectrum), and possibly, for any previous starburst. The evolution with redshift of the luminosity distribution of k+a galaxies can be explained by a ``downsizing effect'', with the maximum luminosity/mass of actively star-forming galaxies infalling onto clusters decreasing at lower redshift. We discuss the possible physical origin of this downsizing effect and the implications of our results for current scenarios of environmental effects on the star formation in galaxies.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, to appear in ApJ, version after referee's change

Trapped and marginally trapped surfaces in Weyl-distorted Schwarzschild solutions

To better understand the allowed range of black hole geometries, we study Weyl-distorted Schwarzschild solutions. They always contain trapped surfaces, a singularity and an isolated horizon and so should be understood to be (geometric) black holes. However we show that for large distortions the isolated horizon is neither a future outer trapping horizon (FOTH) nor even a marginally trapped surface: slices of the horizon cannot be infinitesimally deformed into (outer) trapped surfaces. We consider the implications of this result for popular quasilocal definitions of black holes.Comment: The results are unchanged but this version supersedes that published in CQG. The major change is a rewriting of Section 3.1 to improve clarity and correct an error in the general expression for V(r,\theta). Several minor errors are also fixed - most significantly an incorrect statement made in the introduction about the extent of the outer prison in Vaidya. 17 pages, 2 figure

Dialogue Concerning Two Views on Quantum Coherence: Factist and Fictionist

A controversy that has arisen many times over in disparate contexts is whether quantum coherences between eigenstates of certain quantities are fact or fiction. We present a pedagogical introduction to the debate in the form of a hypothetical dialogue between proponents from each of the two camps: a factist and a fictionist. A resolution of the debate can be achieved, we argue, by recognizing that quantum states do not only contain information about the intrinsic properties of a system but about its extrinsic properties as well, that is, about its relation to other systems external to it. Specifically, the coherent quantum state of the factist is the appropriate description of the relation of the system to one reference frame, while the incoherent quantum state of the fictionist is the appropriate description of the relation of the system to another, uncorrelated, reference frame. The two views, we conclude, are alternative but equally valid paradigms of description.Comment: 14 pages, Contribution to the Int. J. of Quant. Info. issue dedicated to the memory of Asher Peres; v2 updated summary and critique of prior literatur

Spectroscopy of the odd-odd fp-shell nucleus 52Sc from secondary fragmentation

The odd-odd fp-shell nucleus 52Sc was investigated using in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy following secondary fragmentation of a 55V and 57Cr cocktail beam. Aside from the known gamma-ray transition at 674(5)keV, a new decay at E_gamma=212(3) keV was observed. It is attributed to the depopulation of a low-lying excited level. This new state is discussed in the framework of shell-model calculations with the GXPF1, GXPF1A, and KB3G effective interactions. These calculations are found to be fairly robust for the low-lying level scheme of 52Sc irrespective of the choice of the effective interaction. In addition, the frequency of spin values predicted by the shell model is successfully modeled by a spin distribution formulated in a statistical approach with an empirical, energy-independent spin-cutoff parameter.Comment: accepted for publication in PR

Modeling transcription factor binding events to DNA using a random walker/jumper representation on a 1D/2D lattice with different affinity sites

Surviving in a diverse environment requires corresponding organism responses. At the cellular level, such adjustment relies on the transcription factors (TFs) which must rapidly find their target sequences amidst a vast amount of non-relevant sequences on DNA molecules. Whether these transcription factors locate their target sites through a 1D or 3D pathway is still a matter of speculation. It has been suggested that the optimum search time is when the protein equally shares its search time between 1D and 3D diffusions. In this paper, we study the above problem using a Monte Carlo simulation by considering a very simple physical model. A 1D strip, representing a DNA, with a number of low affinity sites, corresponding to non-target sites, and high affinity sites, corresponding to target sites, is considered and later extended to a 2D strip. We study the 1D and 3D exploration pathways, and combinations of the two modes by considering three different types of molecules: a walker that randomly walks along the strip with no dissociation; a jumper that represents dissociation and then re-association of a TF with the strip at later time at a distant site; and a hopper that is similar to the jumper but it dissociates and then re-associates at a faster rate than the jumper. We analyze the final probability distribution of molecules for each case and find that TFs can locate their targets fast enough even if they spend 15% of their search time diffusing freely in the solution. This indeed agrees with recent experimental results obtained by Elf et al. 2007 and is in contrast with theoretical expectation.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure