2,581 research outputs found
Problems of the rotating-torsion-balance limit on the photon mass
We discuss the problems (and the promise) of the ingenious method introduced
by Lakes, and recently improved on by Luo, to detect a possible small photon
mass by measuring the ambient magnetic vector potential from large scale
magnetic fields. We also point out how an improved ``indirect'' limit can be
obtained using modern measurements of astrophysical magnetic fields and plasmas
and that a good ``direct'' limit exists using properties of the solar wind.Comment: 4 pages, revised title and content
Local Casimir Energy For Solitons
Direct calculation of the one-loop contributions to the energy density of
bosonic and supersymmetric phi-to-the-fourth kinks exhibits: (1) Local mode
regularization. Requiring the mode density in the kink and the trivial sectors
to be equal at each point in space yields the anomalous part of the energy
density. (2) Phase space factorization. A striking position-momentum
factorization for reflectionless potentials gives the non-anomalous energy
density a simple relation to that for the bound state. For the supersymmetric
kink, our expression for the energy density (both the anomalous and
non-anomalous parts) agrees with the published central charge density, whose
anomalous part we also compute directly by point-splitting regularization.
Finally we show that, for a scalar field with arbitrary scalar background
potential in one space dimension, point-splitting regularization implies local
mode regularization of the Casimir energy density.Comment: 18 pages. Numerous new clarifications and additions, of which the
most important may be the direct derivation of local mode regularization from
point-splitting regularization for the bosonic kink in 1+1 dimension
Diversity of Decline-Rate-Corrected Type Ia Supernova Rise Times: One Mode or Two?
B-band light-curve rise times for eight unusually well-observed nearby Type
Ia supernovae (SNe) are fitted by a newly developed template-building
algorithm, using light-curve functions that are smooth, flexible, and free of
potential bias from externally derived templates and other prior assumptions.
From the available literature, photometric BVRI data collected over many
months, including the earliest points, are reconciled, combined, and fitted to
a unique time of explosion for each SN. On average, after they are corrected
for light-curve decline rate, three SNe rise in 18.81 +- 0.36 days, while five
SNe rise in 16.64 +- 0.21 days. If all eight SNe are sampled from a single
parent population (a hypothesis not favored by statistical tests), the rms
intrinsic scatter of the decline-rate-corrected SN rise time is 0.96 +0.52
-0.25 days -- a first measurement of this dispersion. The corresponding global
mean rise time is 17.44 +- 0.39 days, where the uncertainty is dominated by
intrinsic variance. This value is ~2 days shorter than two published averages
that nominally are twice as precise, though also based on small samples. When
comparing high-z to low-z SN luminosities for determining cosmological
parameters, bias can be introduced by use of a light-curve template with an
unrealistic rise time. If the period over which light curves are sampled
depends on z in a manner typical of current search and measurement strategies,
a two-day discrepancy in template rise time can bias the luminosity comparison
by ~0.03 magnitudes.Comment: As accepted by The Astrophysical Journal; 15 pages, 6 figures, 2
tables. Explanatory material rearranged and enhanced; Fig. 4 reformatte
A Preliminary Indication of Evolution of Type Ia Supernovae from their Risetimes
We have compared the risetime for samples of nearby and high-redshift type Ia
supernovae (SNe Ia).
The fiducial risetime of the nearby SNe Ia is 2.5+/-0.4 days longer than the
proemial risetime determined by Goldhaber (1998a,b) for high-redshift SNe
Ia from the Supernova Cosmology Project.
The statistical likelihood that the two samples have different fiducial
risetimes is high (5.8 sigma) and indicates possible evolution between the
samples of SNe Ia. We consider the likely effects of several sources of
systematic error, but none of these resolves the difference in the risetimes.
Currently, we cannot directly determine the impact of the apparent evolution
on previous determinations of cosmological parameters.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journal, 11 pages, 5 figure
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