3,750 research outputs found
`Thermodynamics' of Minimal Surfaces and Entropic Origin of Gravity
Deformations of minimal surfaces lying in constant time slices in static
space-times are studied. An exact and universal formula for a change of the
area of a minimal surface under shifts of nearby point-like particles is found.
It allows one to introduce a local temperature on the surface and represent
variations of its area in a thermodynamical form by assuming that the entropy
in the Planck units equals the quarter of the area. These results provide a
strong support to a recent hypothesis that gravity has an entropic origin, the
minimal surfaces being a sort of holographic screens. The gravitational entropy
also acquires a definite physical meaning related to quantum entanglement of
fundamental degrees of freedom across the screen.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Single Field Baryogenesis
We propose a new variant of the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis mechanism in which
a rolling scalar field couples directly to left- and right-handed neutrinos,
generating a Dirac mass term through neutrino Yukawa interactions. In this
setup, there are no explicitly CP violating couplings in the Lagrangian. The
rolling scalar field is also taken to be uncharged under the quantum
numbers. During the phase of rolling, scalar field decays generate a
non-vanishing number density of left-handed neutrinos, which then induce a net
baryon number density via electroweak sphaleron transitions.Comment: 4 pages, LaTe
Gravitational waves from first order phase transitions during inflation
We study the production, spectrum and detectability of gravitational waves in
models of the early Universe where first order phase transitions occur during
inflation. We consider all relevant sources. The self-consistency of the
scenario strongly affects the features of the waves. The spectrum appears to be
mainly sourced by collisions of bubble of the new phases, while plasma dynamics
(turbulence) and the primordial gauge fields connected to the physics of the
transitions are generally subdominant. The amplitude and frequency dependence
of the spectrum for modes that exit the horizon during inflation are different
from those of the waves produced by quantum vacuum oscillations of the metric
or by first order phase transitions not occurring during inflation. A moderate
number of slow (but still successful) phase transitions can leave detectable
marks in the CMBR, but the signal weakens rapidly for faster transitions. When
the number of phase transitions is instead large, the primordial gravitational
waves can be observed both in the CMBR or with LISA (marginally) and especially
DECIGO. We also discuss the nucleosynthesis bound and the constraints it places
on the parameters of the models.Comment: minor changes in the text and the references to match the published
versio
Experimental results on mass-thickness distribution in spacecraft equipment
A technique is described for evaluating the shielding properties of spacecraft equipment with respect to cosmic radiation. A gamma-ray source is used in conjunction with a scintillation detector to determine mass-thickness distribution both in plane geometry for equipment units, and in spherical geometry for given points within the spacecraft. Equations are presented for calculating mass-thickness distribution functions, and the results are compared with experimental measurements
Friedmann Equations from Entropic Force
In this note by use of the holographic principle together with the
equipartition law of energy and the Unruh temperature, we derive the Friedmann
equations of a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe.Comment: latex, 8 pages, v2: minor modifications and to appear in PRD (Rapid
Communication
CPT violation and B-meson oscillations
Recent evidence for anomalous CP violation in B-meson oscillations can be
interpreted as resulting from CPT violation. This yields the first sensitivity
to CPT violation in the B_s^0 system, with the relevant coefficient for CPT
violation constrained at the level of parts in 10^{12}.Comment: 4 pages two-column REVTeX; Rapid Communications, Physical Review D,
in pres
Information-preserving black holes still do not preserve baryon number and other effective global quantum numbers
It has been claimed recently that the black hole information-loss paradox has
been resolved: the evolution of quantum states in the presence of a black hole
is unitary and information preserving. We point out that, contrary to some
claims in literature, information-preserving black holes still violate baryon
number and any other quantum number which follows from an effective (and thus
approximate) or anomalous symmetry.Comment: Honorable Mention on Gravity Essay Competition 2005; Published in the
special Essay issue of Int.J.Mod.Phy
Baryon and lepton numbers in two scenarios of leptogenesis
Baryon and lepton numbers of the Universe in leptogenesis with Dirac neutrino
and leptogenesis with Majorana neutrino scenarios are considered. It is shown
that despite quite different features of Dirac and Majorana fermions both
scenarios yield the same relation among the initial lepton and the final baryon
asymmetries. Moreover right-handed neutrinos in the leptogenesis with Dirac
neutrino scenario have very little impact on the effective number of
relativistic degrees of freedom, constrained by BBN. Thus the two scenarios are
similar from the cosmological point of view. It is also pointed out that in
thermal equilibrium the 3B+L sum is zero for left-handed fermions.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Resonant Relaxation in Electroweak Baryogenesis
We compute the leading, chiral charge-changing relaxation term in the quantum
transport equations that govern electroweak baryogenesis using the closed time
path formulation of non-equilibrium quantum field theory. We show that the
relaxation transport coefficients may be resonantly enhanced under appropriate
conditions on electroweak model parameters and that such enhancements can
mitigate the impact of similar enhancements in the CP-violating source terms.
We also develop a power counting in the time and energy scales entering
electroweak baryogenesis and include effects through second order in ratios
of the small and large scales. We illustrate the implications of the
resonantly enhanced terms using the Minimal
Supersymmetric Standard Model, focusing on the interplay between the
requirements of baryogenesis and constraints obtained from collider studies,
precision electroweak data, and electric dipole moment searches.Comment: 30 pages plus appendices, 7 figure
Measurement of Permanent Electric Dipole Moments of Charged Hadrons in Storage Rings
Permanent Electric Dipole Moments (EDMs) of elementary particles violate two
fundamental symmetries: time reversal invariance (T) and parity (P). Assuming
the CPT theorem this implies CP-violation. The CP-violation of the Standard
Model is orders of magnitude too small to be observed experimentally in EDMs in
the foreseeable future. It is also way too small to explain the asymmetry in
abundance of matter and anti-matter in our universe. Hence, other mechanisms of
CP violation outside the realm of the Standard Model are searched for and could
result in measurable EDMs.
Up to now most of the EDM measurements were done with neutral particles. With
new techniques it is now possible to perform dedicated EDM experiments with
charged hadrons at storage rings where polarized particles are exposed to an
electric field. If an EDM exists the spin vector will experience a torque
resulting in change of the original spin direction which can be determined with
the help of a polarimeter. Although the principle of the measurement is simple,
the smallness of the expected effect makes this a challenging experiment
requiring new developments in various experimental areas.
Complementary efforts to measure EDMs of proton, deuteron and light nuclei
are pursued at Brookhaven National Laboratory and at Forschungszentrum Juelich
with an ultimate goal to reach a sensitivity of 10^{-29} e cm.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
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