Structural properties and quasiparticule energies of cubic SrO, MgO and SrTiO3

The structural properties and the band structures of the charge-transfer insulating oxides SrO, MgO and SrTiO3 are computed both within density functional theory in the local density approximation (LDA) and in the Hedin's GW scheme for self-energy corrections, by using a model dielectric function, which approximately includes local field and dynamical effects. The deep valence states are shifted by the GW method to higher binding energies, in very good agreement with photoemission spectra. Since in all of these oxides the direct gaps at high-symmetry points of the Brillouin zone may be very sensitive to the actual value of the lattice parameter a, already at the LDA level, self-energy corrections are computed both at the theoretical and the experimental a. For MgO and SrO, the values of the transition energies between the valence and the conduction bands are improved by GW corrections, while for SrTiO3 they are overestimated. The results are discussed in relation to the importance of local field effects and to the nature of the electronic states in these insulating oxides.Comment: 3 figures, accepted in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte

Soluble models in 2d dilaton gravity

A one-parameter class of simple models of two-dimensional dilaton gravity, which can be exactly solved including back-reaction effects, is investigated at both classical and quantum levels. This family contains the RST model as a special case, and it continuously interpolates between models having a flat (Rindler) geometry and a constant curvature metric with a non-trivial dilaton field. The processes of formation of black hole singularities from collapsing matter and Hawking evaporation are considered in detail. Various physical aspects of these geometries are discussed, including the cosmological interpretation.Comment: 15 pages, harvmac, 3 figure

Mass corrections in string theory and lattice field theory

Kaluza-Klein compactifications of higher dimensional Yang-Mills theories contain a number of four dimensional scalars corresponding to the internal components of the gauge field. While at tree-level the scalar zero modes are massless, it is well known that quantum corrections make them massive. We compute these radiative corrections at 1-loop in an effective field theory framework, using the background field method and proper Schwinger-time regularization. In order to clarify the proper treatment of the sum over KK--modes in the effective field theory approach, we consider the same problem in two different UV completions of Yang-Mills: string theory and lattice field theory. In both cases, when the compactification radius $R$ is much bigger than the scale of the UV completion ($R \gg \sqrt{\alpha'},a$), we recover a mass renormalization that is independent of the UV scale and agrees with the one derived in the effective field theory approach. These results support the idea that the value of the mass corrections is, in this regime, universal for any UV completion that respects locality and gauge invariance. The string analysis suggests that this property holds also at higher loops. The lattice analysis suggests that the mass of the adjoint scalars appearing in $\mathcal N=2,4$ Super Yang-Mills is highly suppressed due to an interplay between the higher-dimensional gauge invariance and the degeneracy of bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom.Comment: 27 page

A theory of quantum black holes: non-perturbative corrections and no-veil conjecture

A common belief is that further quantum corrections near the singularity of a large black hole should not substantially modify the semiclassical picture of black hole evaporation; in particular, the outgoing spectrum of radiation should be very close to the thermal spectrum predicted by Hawking. In this paper we explore a possible counterexample: in the context of dilaton gravity, we find that non-perturbative quantum corrections which are important in strong coupling regions may completely alter the semiclassical picture, to the extent that the presumptive space-like boundary becomes time-like, changing in this way the causal structure of the semiclassical geometry. As a result, only a small fraction of the total energy is radiated outside the fake event horizon; most of the energy comes in fact at later retarded times and there is no information loss problem. Thus we propose that this may constitute a general characteristic of quantum black holes, that is, quantum gravity might be such as to prevent the formation of global event horizons. We argue that this is not unnatural from the viewpoint of quantum mechanics.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures (not included, available by request), UTTG-22-9

Numerical Analysis of Black Hole Evaporation

Black hole formation/evaporation in two-dimensional dilaton gravity can be described, in the limit where the number $N$ of matter fields becomes large, by a set of second-order partial differential equations. In this paper we solve these equations numerically. It is shown that, contrary to some previous suggestions, black holes evaporate completely a finite time after formation. A boundary condition is required to evolve the system beyond the naked singularity at the evaporation endpoint. It is argued that this may be naturally chosen so as to restore the system to the vacuum. The analysis also applies to the low-energy scattering of $S$-wave fermions by four-dimensional extremal, magnetic, dilatonic black holes.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures in separate uuencoded fil

On the normalization of Killing vectors and energy conservation in two-dimensional gravity

We explicitly show that, in the context of a recently proposed 2D dilaton gravity theory, energy conservation requires the ``natural'' Killing vector to have, asymptotically, an unusual normalization. The Hawking temperature $T_H$ is then calculated according to this prescription.Comment: 7 pages, Latex, no figure

Quantum Theories of Dilaton Gravity

Quantization of two-dimensional dilaton gravity coupled to conformal matter is investigated. Working in conformal gauge about a fixed background metric, the theory may be viewed as a sigma model whose target space is parameterized by the dilaton $\phi$ and conformal factor $\rho$. A precise connection is given between the constraint that the theory be independent of the background metric and conformal invariance of the resulting sigma model. Although the action is renormalizable, new coupling constants must be specified at each order in perturbation theory in order to determine the quantum theory. These constants may be viewed as initial data for the beta function equations. It is argued that not all choices of this data correspond to physically sensible theories of gravity, and physically motivated constraints on the data are discussed. In particular a recently constructed subclass of initial data which reduces the full quantum theory to a soluble Liouville-like theory has energies unbounded from below and thus is unphysical. Possibilities for modifying this construction so as to avoid this difficulty are briefly discussed.Comment: 20 pages (Major additions made, including 5 pages on the relation between conformal invariance and background independence.

The Stretched Horizon and Black Hole Complementarity

Three postulates asserting the validity of conventional quantum theory, semi-classical general relativity and the statistical basis for thermodynamics are introduced as a foundation for the study of black hole evolution. We explain how these postulates may be implemented in a ``stretched horizon'' or membrane description of the black hole, appropriate to a distant observer. The technical analysis is illustrated in the simplified context of 1+1 dimensional dilaton gravity. Our postulates imply that the dissipative properties of the stretched horizon arise from a course graining of microphysical degrees of freedom that the horizon must possess. A principle of black hole complementarity is advocated. The overall viewpoint is similar to that pioneered by 't~Hooft but the detailed implementation is different.Comment: (some misprints in equations have been fixed), 48 pages (including figures), SU-ITP-93-1

Study of the general mechanism of stress corrosion of aluminum alloys and development of techniques for its detection Quarterly report, 1 Dec. 1967 - 29 Feb. 1968

Stress corrosion of aluminum alloys and techniques for its detectio

Análisis comparativo entre un tutor circular y uno monolateral en elongaciones óseas

El presente trabajo compara la funcionalidad de dos tutores externos utilizados para elongación: el del Dr. Ilizarov y el tutor HG, desarrollado en nuestra institución. De 131 pacientes tratados con elongación ósea en 147 huesos largos se seleccionaron al azar 25 huesos por cada aparato anteriormente mencionado. Para objetivar los resultados se registraron estadísticamente variables independientes y dependientes en sus características subjetivas y objetivas, tales como: edad, sexo, tipo de hueso elongado, tolerancia psíquica, sensación de confort, facilidad de higiene y control, las infecciones, las rigideces articulares por retracción músculo tendinosa, y la deformación ósea residual. El objetivo fue comparar y establecer si el cambio en la elección del sistema fue ventajoso para nuestros pacientes. En el intento comparativo se enfrentaron dos variables, que a nuestro criterio eran las más importantes para establecer diferencias: la calidad del callo del hueso sometido a elongación y la presencia de complicaciones tanto transitorias como definitivas.In this work we compare the results obtained with two different external fixation devices in patients undergoing bone lengthening. The devices studied were the Ilizarov type and the HG, an apparatons developed in our institution. Out of 131 patientes treated by bone lengthening in 147 long bones, 25 bones lengthened with each device were selected at random. Different subjective and objective variables were assessed: age, sex, type of bone, psichological tolerance, patients, confort, nursing, infections, joint stiffness due to musculotendinous retractions, and residual bone deformity. The aim of the study was to analyze if the monolateral frame entailed advantages for our patients. Two main factors were more deeply analysed, namely the quality of the bone callus subjected to lengthening and the presence of both transitory and definitive complications