30,856 research outputs found
Gravitational Theory with a Dynamical Time
A gravitational theory involving a vector field , whose zero
component has the properties of a dynamical time, is studied. The variation of
the action with respect to gives the covariant conservation of an
energy momentum tensor . Studying the theory in a
background which has killing vectors and killing tensors we find appropriate
shift symmetries of the field which lead to conservation laws. The
energy momentum that is the source of gravity is different
but related to and the covariant conservation of determines in general the vector field . When is chosen to be proportional to the metric, the theory
coincides with the Two Measures Theory, which has been studied before in
relation to the Cosmological Constant Problem. When the matter model consists
of point particles, or strings, the form of , solutions for
are found. For the case of a string gas cosmology, we find that
the Milne Universe can be a solution, where the gas of strings does not curve
the spacetime since although , , as a model for the early universe, this solution is also free
of the horizon problem. There may be also an application to the "time problem"
of quantum cosmology.Comment: 21 pages, discussions extended, some more explicit proofs included,
more references include
Selected topics in Planck-scale physics
We review a few topics in Planck-scale physics, with emphasis on possible
manifestations in relatively low energy. The selected topics include quantum
fluctuations of spacetime, their cumulative effects, uncertainties in
energy-momentum measurements, and low energy quantum-gravity phenomenology. The
focus is on quantum-gravity-induced uncertainties in some observable
quantities. We consider four possible ways to probe Planck-scale physics
experimentally: 1. looking for energy-dependent spreads in the arrival time of
photons of the same energy from GRBs; 2. examining spacetime
fluctuation-induced phase incoherence of light from extragalactic sources; 3.
detecting spacetime foam with laser-based interferometry techniques; 4.
understanding the threshold anomalies in high energy cosmic ray and gamma ray
events. Some other experiments are briefly discussed. We show how some physics
behind black holes, simple clocks, simple computers, and the holographic
principle is related to Planck-scale physics. We also discuss a formulation of
the Dirac equation as a difference equation on a discrete Planck-scale
spacetime lattice, and a possible interplay between Planck-scale and
Hubble-scale physics encoded in the cosmological constant (dark energy).Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure; minor changes; to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett. A as
a Brief Revie
Scalar field fluctuations in Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time
We calculate quantum fluctuations of a free scalar field in the
Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time, adopting the planar coordinates that is
pertinent to the presence of a black hole in an inflationary universe. In a
perturbation approach, doing expansion in powers of a small black hole event
horizon compared to the de Sitter cosmological horizon, we obtain time
evolution of the quantum fluctuations and then derive the scalar power
spectrum.Comment: 16 pages and 4 figures, accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravit
Steady-state entanglement in a double-well Bose-Einstein condensate through coupling to a superconducting resonator
We consider a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well
potential, where the atoms are magnetically coupled to a single-mode of the
microwave field inside a superconducting resonator. We find that the system has
the different dark-state subspaces in the strong- and weak-tunneling regimes,
respectively. In the limit of weak tunnel coupling, steady-state entanglement
between the two spatially separated condensates can be generated by evolving to
a mixture of dark states via the dissipation of the photon field. We show that
the entanglement can be faithfully indicated by an entanglement witness.
Long-lived entangled states are useful for quantum information processing with
atom-chip devices.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, minor revisio
Using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to predict and monitor the number of beds occupied during a SARS outbreak in a tertiary hospital in Singapore.
BACKGROUND: The main objective of this study is to apply autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to make real-time predictions on the number of beds occupied in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, during the recent SARS outbreak. METHODS: This is a retrospective study design. Hospital admission and occupancy data for isolation beds was collected from Tan Tock Seng hospital for the period 14th March 2003 to 31st May 2003. The main outcome measure was daily number of isolation beds occupied by SARS patients. Among the covariates considered were daily number of people screened, daily number of people admitted (including observation, suspect and probable cases) and days from the most recent significant event discovery. We utilized the following strategy for the analysis. Firstly, we split the outbreak data into two. Data from 14th March to 21st April 2003 was used for model development. We used structural ARIMA models in an attempt to model the number of beds occupied. Estimation is via the maximum likelihood method using the Kalman filter. For the ARIMA model parameters, we considered the simplest parsimonious lowest order model. RESULTS: We found that the ARIMA (1,0,3) model was able to describe and predict the number of beds occupied during the SARS outbreak well. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for the training set and validation set were 5.7% and 8.6% respectively, which we found was reasonable for use in the hospital setting. Furthermore, the model also provided three-day forecasts of the number of beds required. Total number of admissions and probable cases admitted on the previous day were also found to be independent prognostic factors of bed occupancy. CONCLUSION: ARIMA models provide useful tools for administrators and clinicians in planning for real-time bed capacity during an outbreak of an infectious disease such as SARS. The model could well be used in planning for bed-capacity during outbreaks of other infectious diseases as well
On Quantum Nature of Black-Hole Spacetime: A Possible New Source of Intense Radiation
Atoms and the planets acquire their stability from the quantum mechanical
incompatibility of the position and momentum measurements. This incompatibility
is expressed by the fundamental commutator [x, p_x]=i hbar, or equivalently,
via the Heisenberg's uncertainty principle Delta x Delta p_x sim hbar. A
further stability-related phenomenon where the quantum realm plays a dramatic
role is the collapse of certain stars into white dwarfs and neutron stars.
Here, an intervention of the Pauli exclusion principle, via the fermionic
degenerate pressure, stops the gravitational collapse. However, by the
neutron-star stage the standard quantum realm runs dry. One is left with the
problematic collapse of a black hole. This essay is devoted to a concrete
argument on why the black-hole spacetime itself should exhibit a quantum
nature. The proposed quantum aspect of spacetime is shown to prevent the
general-relativistic dictated problematic collapse. The quantum nature of
black-hole spacetime is deciphered from a recent result on the universal
equal-area spacing [=lambda_P^2 4 ln(3)] for black holes. In one interpretation
of the emergent picture, an astrophysical black hole can fluctuate to
sqrt{pi/ln(3)} approx 1.7 times its classical size, and thus allow radiation
and matter to escape to the outside observers. These fluctuations I conjecture
provide a new source, perhaps beyond Hawking radiation, of intense radiation
from astrophysical black holes and may be the primary source of observed
radiation from those galactic cores what carry black hole(s). The presented
interpretation may be used as a criterion to choose black holes from black hole
candidates.Comment: This essay received an "honorable mention" in the 1999 Essay
Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation - Ed. Int. J. Mod. Phys. D
(1999, in press). For Joseph Knech
Room-temperature operation of GaAs Bragg-mirror lasers
Room-temperature operation of GaAs distributed Bragg reflector lasers is reported. The diodes are fabricated from conventional double heterostructures involving only a single step of liquid-phase epitaxy. For gratings with a period of 3700 Å, the diodes lased at 8770 Å, which corresponds to the high-absorption side of the spontaneous emission spectrum. Thresholds as low as 6 kA/cm^2 have been realized
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