846 research outputs found
OPERA data and The Equivalence Postulate of Quantum Mechanics
An interpretation of the recent results reported by the OPERA collaboration
is that neutrinos propagation in vacuum exceeds the speed of light. It has been
further been suggested that this interpretation can be attributed to the
variation of the particle speed arising from the Relativistic Quantum Hamilton
Jacobi Equation. I show that this is in general not the case. I derive an
expression for the quantum correction to the instantaneous relativistic
velocity in the framework of the relativistic quantum Hamilton-Jacobi equation,
which is derived from the equivalence postulate of quantum mechanics. While the
quantum correction does indicate deviations from the classical energy--momentum
relation, it does not necessarily lead to superluminal speeds. The quantum
correction found herein has a non-trivial dependence on the energy and mass of
the particle, as well as on distance travelled. I speculate on other possible
observational consequences of the equivalence postulate approach.Comment: 8 pages. Standard LaTex. References adde
Observation of Parity Violation in the Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus Decay
The alpha decay parameter in the process Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus has
been measured from a sample of 4.50 million unpolarized Omega-minus decays
recorded by the HyperCP (E871) experiment at Fermilab and found to be [1.78 +/-
0.19(stat) +/- 0.16(syst)]{\times}10^{-2}. This is the first unambiguous
evidence for a nonzero alpha decay parameter, and hence parity violation, in
the Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus decay.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Quantum charges and spacetime topology: The emergence of new superselection sectors
In which is developed a new form of superselection sectors of topological
origin. By that it is meant a new investigation that includes several
extensions of the traditional framework of Doplicher, Haag and Roberts in local
quantum theories. At first we generalize the notion of representations of nets
of C*-algebras, then we provide a brand new view on selection criteria by
adopting one with a strong topological flavour. We prove that it is coherent
with the older point of view, hence a clue to a genuine extension. In this
light, we extend Roberts' cohomological analysis to the case where 1--cocycles
bear non trivial unitary representations of the fundamental group of the
spacetime, equivalently of its Cauchy surface in case of global hyperbolicity.
A crucial tool is a notion of group von Neumann algebras generated by the
1-cocycles evaluated on loops over fixed regions. One proves that these group
von Neumann algebras are localized at the bounded region where loops start and
end and to be factorial of finite type I. All that amounts to a new invariant,
in a topological sense, which can be defined as the dimension of the factor. We
prove that any 1-cocycle can be factorized into a part that contains only the
charge content and another where only the topological information is stored.
This second part resembles much what in literature are known as geometric
phases. Indeed, by the very geometrical origin of the 1-cocycles that we
discuss in the paper, they are essential tools in the theory of net bundles,
and the topological part is related to their holonomy content. At the end we
prove the existence of net representations
HyperCP: A high-rate spectrometer for the study of charged hyperon and kaon decays
The HyperCP experiment (Fermilab E871) was designed to search for rare
phenomena in the decays of charged strange particles, in particular CP
violation in and hyperon decays with a sensitivity of
. Intense charged secondary beams were produced by 800 GeV/c protons
and momentum-selected by a magnetic channel. Decay products were detected in a
large-acceptance, high-rate magnetic spectrometer using multiwire proportional
chambers, trigger hodoscopes, a hadronic calorimeter, and a muon-detection
system. Nearly identical acceptances and efficiencies for hyperons and
antihyperons decaying within an evacuated volume were achieved by reversing the
polarities of the channel and spectrometer magnets. A high-rate
data-acquisition system enabled 231 billion events to be recorded in twelve
months of data-taking.Comment: 107 pages, 45 Postscript figures, 14 tables, Elsevier LaTeX,
submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth.
Searching for a Cosmological Preferred Axis: Union2 Data Analysis and Comparison with Other Probes
We review, compare and extend recent studies searching for evidence for a
preferred cosmological axis. We start from the Union2 SnIa dataset and use the
hemisphere comparison method to search for a preferred axis in the data. We
find that the hemisphere of maximum accelerating expansion rate is in the
direction (\omm=0.19) while the hemisphere of
minimum acceleration is in the opposite direction
(\omm=0.30). The level of anisotropy is described by the normalized
difference of the best fit values of \omm between the two hemispheres in the
context of \lcdm fits. We find a maximum anisotropy level in the Union2 data of
\frac{\Delta \ommax}{\bomm}=0.43\pm 0.06. Such a level does not necessarily
correspond to statistically significant anisotropy because it is reproduced by
about of simulated isotropic data mimicking the best fit Union2 dataset.
However, when combined with the axes directions of other cosmological
observations (bulk velocity flow axis, three axes of CMB low multipole moments
and quasar optical polarization alignment axis), the statistical evidence for a
cosmological anisotropy increases dramatically. We estimate the probability
that the above independent six axes directions would be so close in the sky to
be less than . Thus either the relative coincidence of these six axes is a
very large statistical fluctuation or there is an underlying physical or
systematic reason that leads to their correlation.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Accepted in JCAP (to appear). Extended analysis
with redshift tomography of SnIa, included errorbars and increased number of
axes. The Mathematica 7 files with the data used for the production of the
figures along with a Powerpoint file with additional figures may be
downloaded from http://leandros.physics.uoi.gr/anisotrop
Neutrino Interferometry In Curved Spacetime
Gravitational lensing introduces the possibility of multiple (macroscopic)
paths from an astrophysical neutrino source to a detector. Such a multiplicity
of paths can allow for quantum mechanical interference to take place that is
qualitatively different to neutrino oscillations in flat space. After an
illustrative example clarifying some under-appreciated subtleties of the phase
calculation, we derive the form of the quantum mechanical phase for a neutrino
mass eigenstate propagating non-radially through a Schwarzschild metric. We
subsequently determine the form of the interference pattern seen at a detector.
We show that the neutrino signal from a supernova could exhibit the
interference effects we discuss were it lensed by an object in a suitable mass
range. We finally conclude, however, that -- given current neutrino detector
technology -- the probability of such lensing occurring for a
(neutrino-detectable) supernova is tiny in the immediate future.Comment: 25 pages, 1 .eps figure. Updated version -- with simplified notation
-- accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.D. Extra author adde
Lorentz and CPT Violation in Neutrinos
A general formalism is presented for violations of Lorentz and CPT symmetry
in the neutrino sector. The effective hamiltonian for neutrino propagation in
the presence of Lorentz and CPT violation is derived, and its properties are
studied. Possible definitive signals in existing and future
neutrino-oscillation experiments are discussed. Among the predictions are
direction-dependent effects, including neutrino-antineutrino mixing, sidereal
and annual variations, and compass asymmetries. Other consequences of Lorentz
and CPT violation involve unconventional energy dependences in oscillation
lengths and mixing angles. A variety of simple models both with and without
neutrino masses are developed to illustrate key physical effects. The
attainable sensitivities to coefficients for Lorentz violation in the
Standard-Model Extension are estimated for various types of experiments. Many
experiments have potential sensitivity to Planck-suppressed effects, comparable
to the best tests in other sectors. The lack of existing experimental
constraints, the wide range of available coefficient space, and the variety of
novel effects imply that some or perhaps even all of the existing data on
neutrino oscillations might be due to Lorentz and CPT violation.Comment: 25 pages REVTe
Solar Neutrinos and the Principle of Equivalence
We study the proposed solution of the solar neutrino problem which requires a
flavor nondiagonal coupling of neutrinos to gravity. We adopt a
phenomenological point of view and investigate the consequences of the
hypothesis that the neutrino weak interaction eigenstates are linear
combinations of the gravitational eigenstates which have slightly different
couplings to gravity, and , , corresponding to a
difference in red-shift between electron and muon neutrinos, . We perform a analysis of the latest available solar
neutrino data and obtain the allowed regions in the space of the relevant
parameters. The existing data rule out most of the parameter space which can be
probed in solar neutrino experiments, allowing only for small values of the mixing angle () and for large mixing (). Measurements of the -neutrino energy spectrum in the SNO and
Super-Kamiokande experiments will provide stronger constraints independent of
all considerations related to solar models. We show that these measurements
will be able to exclude part of the allowed region as well as to distinguish
between conventional oscillations and oscillations due to the violation of the
equivalence principle.Comment: 20 pages + 4 figures, IASSNS-AST 94/5
Electromagnetic and Hadron Calorimeters in the MIPP Experiment
The purpose of the MIPP experiment is to study the inclusive production of
photons, pions, kaons and nucleons in pi, K and p interactions on various
targets using beams from the Main Injector at Fermilab. The function of the
calorimeters is to measure the production of forward-going neutrons and
photons. The electromagnetic calorimeter consist of 10 lead plates interspersed
with proportional chambers. It was followed by the hadron calorimeter with 64
steel plates interspersed with scintillator. The data presented were collected
with a variety of targets and beam momenta from 5 GeV/c to 120 GeV/c. The
energy calibration of both calorimeters with electrons, pions, kaons, and
protons is discussed. The resolution for electrons was found to be
0.27/sqrt(E), and for hadrons the resolution was 0.554/sqrt(E) with a constant
term of 2.6%. The performance of the calorimeters was tested on a neutron
sample
Hamiltonian Description of Composite Fermions: Magnetoexciton Dispersions
A microscopic Hamiltonian theory of the FQHE, developed by Shankar and myself
based on the fermionic Chern-Simons approach, has recently been quite
successful in calculating gaps in Fractional Quantum Hall states, and in
predicting approximate scaling relations between the gaps of different
fractions. I now apply this formalism towards computing magnetoexciton
dispersions (including spin-flip dispersions) in the , 2/5, and 3/7
gapped fractions, and find approximate agreement with numerical results. I also
analyse the evolution of these dispersions with increasing sample thickness,
modelled by a potential soft at high momenta. New results are obtained for
instabilities as a function of thickness for 2/5 and 3/7, and it is shown that
the spin-polarized 2/5 state, in contrast to the spin-polarized 1/3 state,
cannot be described as a simple quantum ferromagnet.Comment: 18 pages, 18 encapsulated ps figure
- …