Radiation Pressure as a Source of Decoherence

We consider the interaction of an harmonic oscillator with the quantum field via radiation pressure. We show that a `Schrodinger cat' state decoheres in a time scale that depends on the degree of `classicality' of the state components, and which may be much shorter than the relaxation time scale associated to the dynamical Casimir effect. We also show that decoherence is a consequence of the entanglement between the quantum states of the oscillator and field two-photon states. With the help of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, we derive a relation between decoherence and damping rates valid for arbitrary values of the temperature of the field. Coherent states are selected by the interaction as pointer states.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, RevTex fil

Study od a Slice at +9 to +15 degrees of Declination: I. The Neutral Hydrogen Content of Galaxies in Loose Groups

We examine the H1 content of spiral galaxies in groups by using a catalog of loose groups of galaxies identified in a magnitude limited sample m < 15.7 spanning the range 8 h to 18 h in right ascension and +9 to +15 in declination. The redshift completeness of the galaxy sample is ~95%. No significant effect of H1 depletion is found, although there may be a hint that the earliest type spirals are slightly deficient.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 3 tables, 5 figures, to appear in the Astronomical Journa

Theoretical Analysis of Cold-formed Steel Battened Double Angle Members under Compression

In Brazil, battened double angle system is one of the systems most used in light truss, however, there are not any specific studies on its behavior, resulting in the fact that the standard procedures do not provide subsidies for the design of this section. Moreover, cold-formed steel si mple angles under compression, mostly with slender legs, have an interesting structural behavior compared to other cold-formed steel shapes. Two critical modes are observed in the elastic stability analysis: (i) global flexural mode in the case of longer members and (ii) a coincident local-plate/global flexural-torsional mode, which is critical for shorter members. Studying the behavior of double angle members is interesting, because in this case, besides the critical modes of the single angle, they also show critical modes, due to the presence of the batten plates that sometimes interfere with the behavior of the syst em. In this work, a nonlinear numerical analysis on the behavior of double angle in battened system is presented. The number of batten plates was varied studying their effectiveness in the nominal axial strength. The sensitivity of the members to initial geometric imperfections was also analyzed. Except for the thin angle specimen (t = 1.5 mm) the results obtained from the nonlinear analysis sh owed that the presence of the batten plates significantly increased the nomin al axial strength of the members. However for an increased number of batten plates the nominal axial strength of the members remained almost constant. It was observed that the members were more sensitive to initial geometric imperfections increasing that to the number of batten plates

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Cold-formed Steel Double Angle Members under Compression

This paper presents a numerical and experimental study of double angle members connected by batten plates under concentric and eccentric axial compression. The number of batten plates is varied to study the influence on the nominal axial strength. Numerical analyses are able to accurately predict the behavior and strength found in the experiments, except for long columns under eccentric axial compression where the composite section failed in major-axis flexural buckling. Two design hypotheses are compared to the results obtained: (i) non-composite action (no interaction between angles), with only local, flexural, and flexural-torsional buckling considered; (ii) composite action (full interaction between angles), and only considering local and minor-axis flexural buckling of the pair of angles. The two design hypotheses ignore load eccentricity. Numerical and experimental results for angles connected by bolted batten plates fall in between the design curves defined by methods (i) and (ii), while angles connected by welded batten plates have greater strength than the design curve defined by method (ii). The use of batten plates significantly increases the strength of the system, especially for members under eccentric compression. However, the strength remains constant after a certain number of batten plates are connected, and after a minimum batten plate width is reached

Decoherence via Dynamical Casimir Effect

We derive a master equation for a mirror interacting with the vacuum field via radiation pressure. The dynamical Casimir effect leads to decoherence of a 'Schroedinger cat' state in a time scale that depends on the degree of 'macroscopicity' of the state components, and which may be much shorter than the relaxation time scale. Coherent states are selected by the interaction as pointer states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Dynamical Casimir effect with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions

We derive the radiation pressure force on a non-relativistic moving plate in 1+1 dimensions. We assume that a massless scalar field satisfies either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions (BC) at the instantaneous position of the plate. We show that when the state of the field is invariant under time translations, the results derived for Dirichlet and Neumann BC are equal. We discuss the force for a thermal field state as an example for this case. On the other hand, a coherent state introduces a phase reference, and the two types of BC lead to different results.Comment: 12 page

The Seyfert Population in the Local Universe

The magnitude-limited catalog of the Southern Sky Redshift Survey (SSRS2), is used to characterize the properties of galaxies hosting Active Galactic Nuclei. Using emission-line ratios, we identify a total of 162 (3%) Seyfert galaxies out of the parent sample with 5399 galaxies. The sample contains 121 Seyfert 2 galaxies and 41 Seyfert 1. The SSRS2 Seyfert galaxies are predominantly in spirals of types Sb and earlier, or in galaxies with perturbed appearance as the result of strong interactions or mergers. Seyfert galaxies in this sample are twice as common in barred hosts than the non-Seyferts. By assigning galaxies to groups using a percolation algorithm we find that the Seyfert galaxies in the SSRS2 are more likely to be found in binary systems, when compared to galaxies in the SSRS2 parent sample. However, there is no statistically significant difference between the Seyfert and SSRS2 parent sample when systems with more than 2 galaxies are considered. The analysis of the present sample suggests that there is a stronger correlation between the presence of the AGN phenomenon with internal properties of galaxies (morphology, presence of bar, luminosity) than with environmental effects (local galaxy density, group velocity dispersion, nearest neighbor distance).Comment: 35 pages, 13 figures, Accepted to be publised in Astronomical Journa

What is the topology of a Schwarzschild black hole?

We investigate the topology of Schwarzschild's black hole through the immersion of this space-time in spaces of higher dimension. Through the immersions of Kasner and Fronsdal we calculate the extension of the Schwarzschild's black hole.Comment: 7 pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1102.446

TRISTAN: Electromagnetic, gravimetric and seismic measurements to investigate the Tristan da Cunha hot spot and its role in the opening of the South-Atlantic - Cruise No. MSM20/2, January 17 - February 15, 2012, Walvis Bay (Namibia) – Recife (Brazil)

According to classical plume theory, the Tristan da Cunha hotspot is thought to have played a major role in the rifting of the South Atlantic margins and the creation of the aseismic Walvis Ridge by impinging at the base of the continental lithosphere shortly before or during the breakup of the South Atlantic margins. But Tristan da Cunha is enigmatic, as it cannot be clearly identified as a hot-spot but classifies also highly as a more shallow type of anomaly that may actually have been caused by the opening of the South Atlantic. The equivocal character of Tristan is largely due to lack of geophysical data in this region. To understand the tectonic processes of the opening of the South Atlantic, the formation of the Walvis ridge and to understand whether Tristan da Cunha is the cause or the consequence of rifting, it is of central importance to characterize the region around Tristan da Cunha in a more coherent way. Within this research cruise we deployed 26 ocean bottom electromagnetic stations (OEBM) and 24 ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) for a long term acquisition (1 year) of magnetotelluric and seismological data, acquired bathymetry and gravity data and performed geological sampling on Tristan da Cunha. The data will be interpreted in the context of geochemical data and tectonic models developed within the SPP1375‚ South Atlantic Margin Processes and Links with onshore Evolution (SAMPLE)