Field-control, phase-transitions, and life's emergence

Instances of critical-like characteristics in living systems at each organizational level as well as the spontaneous emergence of computation (Langton), indicate the relevance of self-organized criticality (SOC). But extrapolating complex bio-systems to life's origins, brings up a paradox: how could simple organics--lacking the 'soft matter' response properties of today's bio-molecules--have dissipated energy from primordial reactions in a controlled manner for their 'ordering'? Nevertheless, a causal link of life's macroscopic irreversible dynamics to the microscopic reversible laws of statistical mechanics is indicated via the 'functional-takeover' of a soft magnetic scaffold by organics (c.f. Cairns-Smith's 'crystal-scaffold'). A field-controlled structure offers a mechanism for bootstrapping--bottom-up assembly with top-down control: its super-paramagnetic components obey reversible dynamics, but its dissipation of H-field energy for aggregation breaks time-reversal symmetry. The responsive adjustments of the controlled (host) mineral system to environmental changes would bring about mutual coupling between random organic sets supported by it; here the generation of long-range correlations within organic (guest) networks could include SOC-like mechanisms. And, such cooperative adjustments enable the selection of the functional configuration by altering the inorganic network's capacity to assist a spontaneous process. A non-equilibrium dynamics could now drive the kinetically-oriented system towards a series of phase-transitions with appropriate organic replacements 'taking-over' its functions.Comment: 54 pages, pdf fil

Interlinked 3D and 4D 3-Quark Wave Functions in a Bethe-Salpeter Model

Using the method of Green's functions within the framework of a Bethe-Salpeter formalism characterized by a pairwise $qq$ interaction with a 3D support to its kernel (expressed in a Lorentz-covariant manner), the 4D BS wave function for a system of three identical relativistic spinless quarks is reconstructed from the corresponding 3D form which satisfies a {\it fully connected} 3D BSE. This result is a 3-body generalization of a similar interconnection between the 3D and 4D 2-body wave functions that had been found earlier under identical conditions of a 3D support to the corresponding BS kernel, using the ansatz of Covariant Instaneity for the pairwise $q\bar q$ interaction. The generalization from spinless to fermion quarks is straightforward.Comment: 13 pages, Latex. e.mail: [email protected]

Can Environmental Decoherence be Reversed for an Open Quantum System in a Magnetic field ?

A simple model is considered for an open system consisting of an aggregation of magnetic particles (like greigite) in the presence of a magnetic field (H), and interacting linearly with a bath of 3D harmonic oscillators. Using the Feynman-Vernon formalism, as given in Weiss (termed FVW), the time-evolved reduced density matrix (after eliminating the bath d.o.f.'s), is examined for environmental decoherence as defined in the FVW formalism. While decoherence is usually positive for most two-way couplings with the enviroment, it is found that a $three-way$ interaction involving the system plus bath plus H-field all together, can facilitate a $reversal$ of sign of this quantity! This may have implications for quantum coherence based phenomena on the origins of life.Comment: 8 pages on pd

Minimum Of QCD Effective Action As Test Of QCD Confinement Parameter

A new approach to the non-perturbative regime of QCD is proposed by introducing a (non-hermitian) field $B$ related to the usual gluon field $A$ by $B_\mu$ = $(1+ \sigma \partial_m) A_\mu$ where $m$ goes to zero after differentiation, and $\sigma$ is a parameter which `runs' with momentum ($k$). An exact treatment yields a structure $[1/k^2 + 2\mu^2/k^4]$ for the gluon propagator, where $\sigma^2$ =$\pi k^4/9\mu^2\alpha_s$, showing $linear$ confinement in the instantaneous limit. This propagator was recently employed to evaluate some basic condensates and their temperature dependence (in the cosmological context), which were all reproduced for $\mu = 1GeV$ (termed the `confinement scale parameter'), in association with the QCD scale parameter $\Lambda_{qcd}= 200 MeV$ [hep-ph/0109278]. This paper seeks to provide a formal basis for the ratio $\Lambda_{qcd} / \mu$ by employing the minimality condition for the $integrated$ effective action $\Gamma$, up to the 2-loop level, using the Cornwall-Jackiw formalism for composite operators. To that end the mass function $m(p)$, determined via the Schwinger-Dyson equation (as a zero of the functional derivative of $\Gamma$ w.r.t $S_F'$), acts as a feeder, and the stationarity condition on $\Gamma$ as function of $\mu$ and $\alpha_s(\mu)$ gives the ratio $\Lambda /\mu$ = 0.246, in fair accord with the value 0.20 given above. Inclusion of a two-loop $\Gamma$ is crucial for the agreement. \\ Keywords: confinement scale, QCD effective action, minimality condition, $B$-field.Comment: LaTex file, 12 pages on dv