166 research outputs found
On Epstein's trajectory model of non-relativistic quantum mechanics
In 1952 Bohm presented a theory about non-relativistic point-particles moving
along deterministic trajectories and showed how it reproduces the predictions
of standard quantum theory. This theory was actually presented before by de
Broglie in 1926, but Bohm's particular formulation of the theory inspired
Epstein to come up with a different trajectory model. The aim of this paper is
to examine the empirical predictions of this model. It is found that the
trajectories in this model are in general very different from those in the de
Broglie-Bohm theory. In certain cases they even seem bizarre and rather
unphysical. Nevertheless, it is argued that the model seems to reproduce the
predictions of standard quantum theory (just as the de Broglie-Bohm theory).Comment: 12 pages, no figures, LaTex; v2 minor improvement
The role of dynamical polarization of the ligand to metal charge transfer excitations in {\em ab initio} determination of effective exchange parameters
The role of the bridging ligand on the effective Heisenberg coupling
parameters is analyzed in detail. This analysis strongly suggests that the
ligand-to-metal charge transfer excitations are responsible for a large part of
the final value of the magnetic coupling constant. This permits to suggest a
new variant of the Difference Dedicated Configuration Interaction (DDCI)
method, presently one of the most accurate and reliable for the evaluation of
magnetic effective interactions. This new method treats the bridging ligand
orbitals mediating the interaction at the same level than the magnetic orbitals
and preserves the high quality of the DDCI results while being much less
computationally demanding. The numerical accuracy of the new approach is
illustrated on various systems with one or two magnetic electrons per magnetic
center. The fact that accurate results can be obtained using a rather reduced
configuration interaction space opens the possibility to study more complex
systems with many magnetic centers and/or many electrons per center.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Motion of Inertial Observers Through Negative Energy
Recent research has indicated that negative energy fluxes due to quantum
coherence effects obey uncertainty principle-type inequalities of the form
|\Delta E|\,{\Delta \tau} \lprox 1\,. Here is the magnitude of
the negative energy which is transmitted on a timescale . Our main
focus in this paper is on negative energy fluxes which are produced by the
motion of observers through static negative energy regions. We find that
although a quantum inequality appears to be satisfied for radially moving
geodesic observers in two and four-dimensional black hole spacetimes, an
observer orbiting close to a black hole will see a constant negative energy
flux. In addition, we show that inertial observers moving slowly through the
Casimir vacuum can achieve arbitrarily large violations of the inequality. It
seems likely that, in general, these types of negative energy fluxes are not
constrained by inequalities on the magnitude and duration of the flux. We
construct a model of a non-gravitational stress-energy detector, which is
rapidly switched on and off, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of such a
detector.Comment: 18pp + 1 figure(not included, available on request), in LATEX,
TUPT-93-
Null-Result Detection and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) Correlations
It follows from Bell's theorem and quantum mechanics that the detection of a
particle of an entangled pair can (somehow) "force" the other distant particle
of the pair into a well-defined state (which is equivalente to a reduction of
the state vector): no property previously shared by the particles can explain
the predicted correlations. This result has been corroborated by experiment.
However, it has not been experimantally proved-and it is far from obvious-that
the absence of detection, as in null-result (NR) experiments could have the
very same effect. In this paper a way to try to bridge this gap is suggested.
As already shown for the case of EPR correlations, if NR detections cannot
induce a reduction of the state vector, then faster-than-light (FTL)
communication becomes possible, at least in pr\'inciple. But it will be
demonstrated that-as entertained by Bohm-this does not necessarily lead to a
causal paradox, or to the rejection of the Lorentz transformations.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure. Similar to the version published in Foundations
of Physics with an appendix on superluminal signalling without causal paradox
include
Association of Prognostic Understanding with Health Care Use among Older Adults with Advanced Cancer: A Secondary Analysis of a Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial
Importance: A poor prognostic understanding regarding curability is associated with lower odds of hospice use among patients with cancer. However, the association between poor prognostic understanding or prognostic discordance and health care use among older adults with advanced incurable cancers is not well characterized. Objective: To evaluate the association of poor prognostic understanding and patient-oncologist prognostic discordance with hospitalization and hospice use among older adults with advanced cancers. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a post hoc secondary analysis of a cluster randomized clinical trial that recruited patients from October 29, 2014, to April 28, 2017. Data were collected from community oncology practices affiliated with the University of Rochester Cancer Center National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program. The parent trial enrolled 541 patients who were aged 70 years or older and were receiving or considering any line of cancer treatment for incurable solid tumors or lymphomas; the patients' oncologists and caregivers (if available) were also enrolled. Patients were followed up for at least 1 year. Data were analyzed from January 3 to 16, 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures: At enrollment, patients and oncologists were asked about their beliefs regarding cancer curability (100%, >50%, 50%, 5 years; answers of >5 years reflected poor prognostic understanding). Any difference between oncologist and patient in response options was considered discordant. Outcomes were any hospitalization and hospice use at 6 months captured by the clinical research associates. Results: Among the 541 patients, the mean (SD) age was 76.6 (5.2) years, 264 of 540 (49%) were female, and 486 of 540 (90%) were White. Poor prognostic understanding regarding curability was reported for 59% (206 of 348) of patients, and poor prognostic understanding regarding life expectancy estimates was reported for 41% (205 of 496) of patients. Approximately 60% (202 of 336) of patient-oncologist dyads were discordant regarding curability, and 72% (356 of 492) of patient-oncologist dyads were discordant regarding life expectancy estimates. Poor prognostic understanding regarding life expectancy estimates was associated with lower odds of hospice use (adjusted odds ratio, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.16-0.59). Discordance regarding life expectancy estimates was associated with greater odds of hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.01-2.66). Conclusions and Relevance: This study highlights different constructs of prognostic understanding and the need to better understand the association between prognostic understanding and health care use among older adult patients with advanced cancer. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02107443
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