18,488 research outputs found
A Rejoinder on Quaternionic Projective Representations
In a series of papers published in this Journal (J. Math. Phys.), a
discussion was started on the significance of a new definition of projective
representations in quaternionic Hilbert spaces. The present paper gives what we
believe is a resolution of the semantic differences that had apparently tended
to obscure the issues.Comment: AMStex, 6 Page
Alternative Descriptions in Quaternionic Quantum Mechanics
We characterize the quasianti-Hermitian quaternionic operators in QQM by
means of their spectra; moreover, we state a necessary and sufficient condition
for a set of quasianti-Hermitian quaternionic operators to be anti-Hermitian
with respect to a uniquely defined positive scalar product in a infinite
dimensional (right) quaternionic Hilbert space. According to such results we
obtain two alternative descriptions of a quantum optical physical system, in
the realm of quaternionic quantum mechanics, while no alternative can exist in
complex quantum mechanics, and we discuss some differences between them.Comment: 16 page
Collapse models with non-white noises
We set up a general formalism for models of spontaneous wave function
collapse with dynamics represented by a stochastic differential equation driven
by general Gaussian noises, not necessarily white in time. In particular, we
show that the non-Schrodinger terms of the equation induce the collapse of the
wave function to one of the common eigenstates of the collapsing operators, and
that the collapse occurs with the correct quantum probabilities. We also
develop a perturbation expansion of the solution of the equation with respect
to the parameter which sets the strength of the collapse process; such an
approximation allows one to compute the leading order terms for the deviations
of the predictions of collapse models with respect to those of standard quantum
mechanics. This analysis shows that to leading order, the ``imaginary'' noise
trick can be used for non-white Gaussian noise.Comment: Latex, 20 pages;references added and minor revisions; published as J.
Phys. A: Math. Theor. {\bf 40} (2007) 15083-1509
Multi-particle Correlations in Quaternionic Quantum Systems
We investigate the outcomes of measurements on correlated, few-body quantum
systems described by a quaternionic quantum mechanics that allows for regions
of quaternionic curvature. We find that a multi-particle interferometry
experiment using a correlated system of four nonrelativistic, spin-half
particles has the potential to detect the presence of quaternionic curvature.
Two-body systems, however, are shown to give predictions identical to those of
standard quantum mechanics when relative angles are used in the construction of
the operators corresponding to measurements of particle spin components.Comment: REVTeX 3.0, 16 pages, no figures, UM-P-94/54, RCHEP-94/1
Breaking quantum linearity: constraints from human perception and cosmological implications
Resolving the tension between quantum superpositions and the uniqueness of
the classical world is a major open problem. One possibility, which is
extensively explored both theoretically and experimentally, is that quantum
linearity breaks above a given scale. Theoretically, this possibility is
predicted by collapse models. They provide quantitative information on where
violations of the superposition principle become manifest. Here we show that
the lower bound on the collapse parameter lambda, coming from the analysis of
the human visual process, is ~ 7 +/- 2 orders of magnitude stronger than the
original bound, in agreement with more recent analysis. This implies that the
collapse becomes effective with systems containing ~ 10^4 - 10^5 nucleons, and
thus falls within the range of testability with present-day technology. We also
compare the spectrum of the collapsing field with those of known cosmological
fields, showing that a typical cosmological random field can yield an efficient
wave function collapse.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, 3 figure
Collapse models with non-white noises II: particle-density coupled noises
We continue the analysis of models of spontaneous wave function collapse with
stochastic dynamics driven by non-white Gaussian noise. We specialize to a
model in which a classical "noise" field, with specified autocorrelator, is
coupled to a local nonrelativistic particle density. We derive general results
in this model for the rates of density matrix diagonalization and of state
vector reduction, and show that (in the absence of decoherence) both processes
are governed by essentially the same rate parameters. As an alternative route
to our reduction results, we also derive the Fokker-Planck equations that
correspond to the initial stochastic Schr\"odinger equation. For specific
models of the noise autocorrelator, including ones motivated by the structure
of thermal Green's functions, we discuss the qualitative and qantitative
dependence on model parameters, with particular emphasis on possible
cosmological sources of the noise field.Comment: Latex, 43 pages; versions 2&3 have minor editorial revision
On the polar decomposition of right linear operators in quaternionic Hilbert spaces
In this article we prove the existence of the polar decomposition for densely
defined closed right linear operators in quaternionic Hilbert spaces: If is
a densely defined closed right linear operator in a quaternionic Hilbert space
, then there exists a partial isometry such that . In
fact is unique if . In particular, if is separable
and is a partial isometry with , then we prove that
if and only if either or .Comment: 17 page
Radiative and Collisional Energy Loss, and Photon-Tagged Jets at RHIC
The suppression of single jets at high transverse momenta in a quark-gluon
plasma is studied at RHIC energies, and the additional information provided by
a photon tag is included. The energy loss of hard jets traversing through the
medium is evaluated in the AMY formalism, by consistently taking into account
the contributions from radiative events and from elastic collisions at leading
order in the coupling. The strongly-interacting medium in these collisions is
modelled with (3+1)-dimensional ideal relativistic hydrodynamics. Putting these
ingredients together with a complete set of photon-production processes, we
present a calculation of the nuclear modification of single jets and
photon-tagged jets at RHIC.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, contributed to the 3rd International Conference
on Hard and Electro-Magnetic Probes of High-Energy Nuclear Collisions (Hard
Probes 2008), typos corrected, published versio
Comments on Proposed Gravitational Modifications of Schrodinger Dynamics and their Experimental Implications
We discuss aspects of gravitational modifications of Schrodinger dynamics
proposed by Diosi and Penrose. We consider first the Diosi-Penrose criterion
for gravitationally induced state vector reduction, and compute the reduction
time expected for a superposition of a uniform density cubical solid in two
positions displaced by a small fraction of the cube side. We show that the
predicted effect is much smaller than would be observable in the proposed
Marshall et al. mirror experiment. We then consider the ``Schrodinger -Newton''
equation for an N-particle system. We show that in the independent particle
approximation, it differs from the usual Hartree approximation applied to the
Newtonian potential by self-interaction terms, which do not have a consistent
Born rule interpretation. This raises doubts about the use of the
Schrodinger-Newton equation to calculate gravitational effects on molecular
interference experiments. When the effects of Newtonian gravitation on
molecular diffraction are calculated using the standard many-body Schrodinger
equation, no washing out of the interference pattern is predicted.Comment: Tex, 17
Master Functional And Proper Formalism For Quantum Gauge Field Theory
We develop a general field-covariant approach to quantum gauge theories.
Extending the usual set of integrated fields and external sources to "proper"
fields and sources, which include partners of the composite fields, we define
the master functional Omega, which collects one-particle irreducible diagrams
and upgrades the usual Gamma-functional in several respects. The functional
Omega is determined from its classical limit applying the usual diagrammatic
rules to the proper fields. Moreover, it behaves as a scalar under the most
general perturbative field redefinitions, which can be expressed as linear
transformations of the proper fields. We extend the Batalin-Vilkovisky
formalism and the master equation. The master functional satisfies the extended
master equation and behaves as a scalar under canonical transformations. The
most general perturbative field redefinitions and changes of gauge-fixing can
be encoded in proper canonical transformations, which are linear and do not mix
integrated fields and external sources. Therefore, they can be applied as true
changes of variables in the functional integral, instead of mere replacements
of integrands. This property overcomes a major difficulty of the functional
Gamma. Finally, the new approach allows us to prove the renormalizability of
gauge theories in a general field-covariant setting. We generalize known
cohomological theorems to the master functional and show that when there are no
gauge anomalies all divergences can be subtracted by means of parameter
redefinitions and proper canonical transformations.Comment: 32 pages; v2: minor changes and proof corrections, EPJ
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