Black hole gas in TeV-gravity models

In a plasma at temperature close to the fundamental scale a small fraction of particles will experience transplanckian collisions that may result in microscopic black holes (BHs). We study the dynamics of a system (a black hole gas) defined by radiation at a given temperature coupled to a distribution of BHs of different mass. Our analysis includes the production of BHs in photon-photon collisions, BH evaporation, the absorption of radiation, collisions of two BHs to give a larger one, and the effects of the expansion. We find that the system may follow two different generic paths depending on the initial temperature of the plasma.Comment: 4 pages. Talk given by M.B. in ERE-200

Quantum Flux and Reverse Engineering of Quantum Wavefunctions

An interpretation of the probability flux is given, based on a derivation of its eigenstates and relating them to coherent state projections on a quantum wavefunction. An extended definition of the flux operator is obtained using coherent states. We present a "processed Husimi" representation, which makes decisions using many Husimi projections at each location. The processed Husimi representation reverse engineers or deconstructs the wavefunction, yielding the underlying classical ray structure. Our approach makes possible interpreting the dynamics of systems where the probability flux is uniformly zero or strongly misleading. The new technique is demonstrated by the calculation of particle flow maps of the classical dynamics underlying a quantum wavefunction.Comment: Accepted to EP

Black holes in extended gravity theories in Palatini formalism

We consider several physical scenarios where black holes within classical gravity theories including $R^2$ and Ricci-squared corrections and formulated \`a la Palatini can be analytically studied.Comment: 4 pages, contribution to the "Spanish Relativity Meeting in Portugal 2012 (Progress in Mathematical Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology)", Springer Proceedings in Mathematics (to appear

Torsional Potential Energy Surfaces of Dinitrobenzene Isomers

The torsional potential energy surfaces of 1,2-dinitrobenzene, 1,3-dinitrobenzene, and 1,4-dinitrobenzene were calculated using the B3LYP functional with 6-31G(d) basis sets. Three-dimensional energy surfaces were created, allowing each of the two C-N bonds to rotate through 64 positions. Dinitrobenzene was chosen for the study because each of the three different isomers has widely varying steric hindrances and bond hybridization, which affect the energy of each conformation of the isomers as the nitro functional groups rotate. The accuracy of the method is determined by comparison with previous theoretical and experimental results. The surfaces provide valuable insight into the mechanics of conjugated molecules. The computation of potential energy surfaces has powerful application in modeling molecular structures, making the determination of the lowest energy conformations of complex molecules far more computationally accessible

Large Radius Hagedorn Regime in String Gas Cosmology

We calculate the equation of state of a gas of strings at high density in a large toroidal universe, and use it to determine the cosmological evolution of background metric and dilaton fields in the entire large radius Hagedorn regime, (ln S)^{1/d} << R << S^{1/d} (with S the total entropy). The pressure in this regime is not vanishing but of O(1), while the equation of state is proportional to volume, which makes our solutions significantly different from previously published approximate solutions. For example, we are able to calculate the duration of the high-density "Hagedorn" phase, which increases exponentially with increasing entropy, S. We go on to discuss the difficulties of the scenario, quantifying the problems of establishing thermal equilibrium and producing a large but not too weakly-coupled universe.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, more details presented in string thermodynamics section, to be published in Physical Review

Aharonov-Casher effect in a two dimensional hole gas with spin-orbit interaction

We study the quantum interference effects induced by the Aharonov-Casher phase in a ring structure in a two-dimensional heavy hole (HH) system with spin-orbit interaction realizable in narrow asymmetric quantum wells. The influence of the spin-orbit interaction strength on the transport is investigated analytically. These analytical results allow us to explain the interference effects as a signature of the Aharonov-Casher Berry phases. Unlike previous studies on the electron two-dimensional Rashba systems, we find that the frequency of conductance modulations as a function of the spin-orbit strength is not constant but increases for larger spin-orbit splittings. In the limit of thin channel rings (width smaller than Fermi wavelength), we find that the spin-orbit splitting can be greatly increased due to quantization in the radial direction. We also study the influence of magnetic field considering both limits of small and large Zeeman splittings.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure