466 research outputs found
Quantum incompressibility of a falling Rydberg atom, and a gravitationally-induced charge separation effect in superconducting systems
Freely falling point-like objects converge towards the center of the Earth.
Hence the gravitational field of the Earth is inhomogeneous, and possesses a
tidal component. The free fall of an extended quantum object such as a hydrogen
atom prepared in a high principal-quantum-number stretch state, i.e., a
circular Rydberg atom, is predicted to fall more slowly that a classical
point-like object, when both objects are dropped from the same height from
above the Earth. This indicates that, apart from "quantum jumps," the atom
exhibits a kind of "quantum incompressibility" during free fall in
inhomogeneous, tidal gravitational fields like those of the Earth. A
superconducting ring-like system with a persistent current circulating around
it behaves like the circular Rydberg atom during free fall. Like the electronic
wavefunction of the freely falling atom, the Cooper-pair wavefunction is
"quantum incompressible." The ions of the ionic lattice of the superconductor,
however, are not "quantum incompressible," since they do not possess a globally
coherent quantum phase. The resulting difference during free fall in the
response of the nonlocalizable Cooper pairs of electrons and the localizable
ions to inhomogeneous gravitational fields is predicted to lead to a charge
separation effect, which in turn leads to a large repulsive Coulomb force that
opposes the convergence caused by the tidal, attractive gravitational force on
the superconducting system. A "Cavendish-like" experiment is proposed for
observing the charge separation effect induced by inhomogeneous gravitational
fields in a superconducting circuit. This experiment would demonstrate the
existence of a novel coupling between gravity and electricity via
macroscopically coherent quantum matter.Comment: `2nd Vienna Symposium for the Foundations of Modern Physics'
Festschrift MS for Foundations of Physic
Recommended from our members
Cyber-Physical Vulnerabilities in Additive Manufacturing Systems
One of the key advantages of additive manufacturing (AM) is its digital thread, which allows
for rapid communication, iteration, and sharing of a design model and its corresponding physical
representation. While this enables a more efficient design process, it also presents opportunities
for cyber-attacks to impact the physical word. In this paper the authors examine potential attack
vectors along the Additive Manufacturing process chain. Specifically, the effects of cyber-physical attacks, and potential means for detecting them, are explored. Based on the results of
this study, recommendations are presented for preventing and detecting cyber-physical attacks on
AM processes.Mechanical Engineerin
The Heumann-Hotzel model for aging revisited
Since its proposition in 1995, the Heumann-Hotzel model has remained as an
obscure model of biological aging. The main arguments used against it were its
apparent inability to describe populations with many age intervals and its
failure to prevent a population extinction when only deleterious mutations are
present. We find that with a simple and minor change in the model these
difficulties can be surmounted. Our numerical simulations show a plethora of
interesting features: the catastrophic senescence, the Gompertz law and that
postponing the reproduction increases the survival probability, as has already
been experimentally confirmed for the Drosophila fly.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Big bounce from spin and torsion
The Einstein-Cartan-Sciama-Kibble theory of gravity naturally extends general
relativity to account for the intrinsic spin of matter. Spacetime torsion,
generated by spin of Dirac fields, induces gravitational repulsion in fermionic
matter at extremely high densities and prevents the formation of singularities.
Accordingly, the big bang is replaced by a bounce that occurred when the energy
density was on the order of (in
natural units), where is the fermion number density and is
the number of thermal degrees of freedom. If the early Universe contained only
the known standard-model particles (), then the energy density at
the big bounce was about 15 times larger than the Planck energy. The minimum
scale factor of the Universe (at the bounce) was about times smaller
than its present value, giving \approx 50 \mum. If more fermions existed in
the early Universe, then the spin-torsion coupling causes a bounce at a lower
energy and larger scale factor. Recent observations of high-energy photons from
gamma-ray bursts indicate that spacetime may behave classically even at scales
below the Planck length, supporting the classical spin-torsion mechanism of the
big bounce. Such a classical bounce prevents the matter in the contracting
Universe from reaching the conditions at which a quantum bounce could possibly
occur.Comment: 6 pages; published versio
Relativistic quantum dynamics of a charged particle in cosmic string spacetime in the presence of magnetic field and scalar potential
In this paper we analyze the relativistic quantum motion of charged spin-0
and spin-1/2 particles in the presence of a uniform magnetic field and scalar
potentials in the cosmic string spacetime. In order to develop this analysis,
we assume that the magnetic field is parallel to the string and the scalar
potentials present a cylindrical symmetry with their center on the string. Two
distinct configurations for the scalar potential, , are considered:
the potential proportional to the inverse of the polar distance, i.e.,
, and the potential proportional to this distance, i.e.,
. The energy spectra are explicitly computed for different physical
situations and presented their dependences on the magnetic field strength and
scalar coupling constants.Comment: New version with 20 pages and no figure. Some minor revisions and six
references added. Accepted for publication in EJP
Weak reaction freeze-out constraints on primordial magnetic fields
We explore constraints on the strength of the primordial magnetic field based
upon the weak reaction freeze-out in the early universe. We find that limits on
the strength of the magnetic field found in other works are recovered simply by
examining the temperature at which the rate of weak reactions drops below the
rate of universal expansion ( H). The temperature for which the
ratio at freeze-out leads to acceptable helium production implies limits
on the magnetic field. This simplifies the application of magnetic fields to
other cosmological variants of the standard big-bang. As an illustration we
also consider effects of neutrino degeneracy on the allowed limits to the
primordial magnetic field.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D., 6 pages, 2 figure
Dynamic Evolution of a Quasi-Spherical General Polytropic Magnetofluid with Self-Gravity
In various astrophysical contexts, we analyze self-similar behaviours of
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) evolution of a quasi-spherical polytropic magnetized
gas under self-gravity with the specific entropy conserved along streamlines.
In particular, this MHD model analysis frees the scaling parameter in the
conventional polytropic self-similar transformation from the constraint of
with being the polytropic index and therefore
substantially generalizes earlier analysis results on polytropic gas dynamics
that has a constant specific entropy everywhere in space at all time. On the
basis of the self-similar nonlinear MHD ordinary differential equations, we
examine behaviours of the magnetosonic critical curves, the MHD shock
conditions, and various asymptotic solutions. We then construct global
semi-complete self-similar MHD solutions using a combination of analytical and
numerical means and indicate plausible astrophysical applications of these
magnetized flow solutions with or without MHD shocks.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in APS
Stability and collapse of localized solutions of the controlled three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation
On the basis of recent investigations, a newly developed analytical procedure
is used for constructing a wide class of localized solutions of the controlled
three-dimensional (3D) Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) that governs the
dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). The controlled 3D GPE is
decomposed into a two-dimensional (2D) linear Schr\"{o}dinger equation and a
one-dimensional (1D) nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation, constrained by a
variational condition for the controlling potential. Then, the above class of
localized solutions are constructed as the product of the solutions of the
transverse and longitudinal equations. On the basis of these exact 3D
analytical solutions, a stability analysis is carried out, focusing our
attention on the physical conditions for having collapsing or non-collapsing
solutions.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figure
Stellar structure and compact objects before 1940: Towards relativistic astrophysics
Since the mid-1920s, different strands of research used stars as "physics
laboratories" for investigating the nature of matter under extreme densities
and pressures, impossible to realize on Earth. To trace this process this paper
is following the evolution of the concept of a dense core in stars, which was
important both for an understanding of stellar evolution and as a testing
ground for the fast-evolving field of nuclear physics. In spite of the divide
between physicists and astrophysicists, some key actors working in the
cross-fertilized soil of overlapping but different scientific cultures
formulated models and tentative theories that gradually evolved into more
realistic and structured astrophysical objects. These investigations culminated
in the first contact with general relativity in 1939, when J. Robert
Oppenheimer and his students George Volkoff and Hartland Snyder systematically
applied the theory to the dense core of a collapsing neutron star. This
pioneering application of Einstein's theory to an astrophysical compact object
can be regarded as a milestone in the path eventually leading to the emergence
of relativistic astrophysics in the early 1960s.Comment: 83 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the European Physical Journal
Clinical delineation and natural history of the PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum.
Somatic mutations in the phosphatidylinositol/AKT/mTOR pathway cause segmental overgrowth disorders. Diagnostic descriptors associated with PIK3CA mutations include fibroadipose overgrowth (FAO), Hemihyperplasia multiple Lipomatosis (HHML), Congenital Lipomatous Overgrowth, Vascular malformations, Epidermal nevi, Scoliosis/skeletal and spinal (CLOVES) syndrome, macrodactyly, and the megalencephaly syndrome, Megalencephaly-Capillary malformation (MCAP) syndrome. We set out to refine the understanding of the clinical spectrum and natural history of these phenotypes, and now describe 35 patients with segmental overgrowth and somatic PIK3CA mutations. The phenotypic data show that these previously described disease entities have considerable overlap, and represent a spectrum. While this spectrum overlaps with Proteus syndrome (sporadic, mosaic, and progressive) it can be distinguished by the absence of cerebriform connective tissue nevi and a distinct natural history. Vascular malformations were found in 15/35 (43%) and epidermal nevi in 4/35 (11%) patients, lower than in Proteus syndrome. Unlike Proteus syndrome, 31/35 (89%) patients with PIK3CA mutations had congenital overgrowth, and in 35/35 patients this was asymmetric and disproportionate. Overgrowth was mild with little postnatal progression in most, while in others it was severe and progressive requiring multiple surgeries. Novel findings include: adipose dysregulation present in all patients, unilateral overgrowth that is predominantly left-sided, overgrowth that affects the lower extremities more than the upper extremities and progresses in a distal to proximal pattern, and in the most severely affected patients is associated with marked paucity of adipose tissue in unaffected areas. While the current data are consistent with some genotype-phenotype correlation, this cannot yet be confirmed
- …