499 research outputs found

    The physical meaning of the de Sitter invariants

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    We study the Lie algebras of the covariant representations transforming the matter fields under the de Sitter isometries. We point out that the Casimir operators of these representations can be written in closed forms and we deduce how their eigenvalues depend on the field's rest energy and spin. For the scalar, vector and Dirac fields, which have well-defined field equations, we express these eigenvalues in terms of mass and spin obtaining thus the principal invariants of the theory of free fields on the de Sitter spacetime. We show that in the flat limit we recover the corresponding invariants of the Wigner irreducible representations of the Poincare group.Comment: 22 pages no figure

    De Sitter and Schwarzschild-De Sitter According to Schwarzschild and De Sitter

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    When de Sitter first introduced his celebrated spacetime, he claimed, following Schwarzschild, that its spatial sections have the topology of the real projective space RP^3 (that is, the topology of the group manifold SO(3)) rather than, as is almost universally assumed today, that of the sphere S^3. (In modern language, Schwarzschild was disturbed by the non-local correlations enforced by S^3 geometry.) Thus, what we today call "de Sitter space" would not have been accepted as such by de Sitter. There is no real basis within classical cosmology for preferring S^3 to RP^3, but the general feeling appears to be that the distinction is in any case of little importance. We wish to argue that, in the light of current concerns about the nature of de Sitter space, this is a mistake. In particular, we argue that the difference between "dS(S^3)" and "dS(RP^3)" may be very important in attacking the problem of understanding horizon entropies. In the approach to de Sitter entropy via Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime, we find that the apparently trivial difference between RP^3 and S^3 actually leads to very different perspectives on this major question of quantum cosmology.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, typos fixed, references added, equation numbers finally fixed, JHEP versio

    Limits on spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon cross-sections from the first ZEPLIN-II data

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    The first underground data run of the ZEPLIN-II experiment has set a limit on the nuclear recoil rate in the two-phase xenon detector for direct dark matter searches. In this paper the results from this run are converted into the limits on spin-dependent WIMP-proton and WIMP-neutron cross-sections. The minimum of the curve for WIMP-neutron cross-section corresponds to 0.07 pb at a WIMP mass of around 65 GeV.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Physics Letters

    Optimised mixing and flow resistance during shear flow over a rib roughened boundary

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    A series of numerical investigations has been performed to study the effect of lower boundary roughness on turbulent flow in a two-dimensional channel. The roughness spacing to height ratio, w/k, has been investigated over the range 0.12 to 402 by varying the horizontal rib spacing. The square roughness elements each have a cross-sectional area of (0.05 H)2, where H is the full channel height. The Reynolds number, Reτ is fixed based on the value of the imposed pressure gradient, dp/dx, and is in the range 6.3 × 103 − 4.5 × 104. A Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) based turbulence modelling approach is adopted using a commercial CFD code, ANSYS-CFX 14.0. Measurements of eddy viscosity and friction factor have been made over this range to establish the optimum spacings to produce maximum turbulence enhancement, mixing and resistance to flow. These occur when w/k is approximately 7. It is found that this value is only weakly dependent on Reynolds number, and the decay rate of turbulence enhancement as a function of w/k ratio beyond this optimum spacing is slow. The implications for heat transfer design optimisation and particle transport are considered
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