Can the Tajmar effect be explained using a modification of inertia?

The Tajmar effect is an unexplained acceleration observed by accelerometers and laser gyroscopes close to rotating supercooled rings. The observed ratio between the gyroscope and ring accelerations was 3+/-1.2x10^-8. Here, a new model for inertia which has been tested quite successfully on the Pioneer and flyby anomalies is applied to this problem. The model assumes that the inertia of the gyroscope is caused by Unruh radiation that appears as the ring and the fixed stars accelerate relative to it, and that this radiation is subject to a Hubble-scale Casimir effect. The model predicts that the sudden acceleration of the nearby ring causes a slight increase in the inertial mass of the gyroscope, and, to conserve momentum in the reference frame of the spinning Earth, the gyroscope rotates clockwise with an acceleration ratio of 1.8+/-0.25x10^-8 in agreement with the observed ratio. However, this model does not explain the parity violation seen in some of the gyroscope data. To test these ideas the Tajmar experiment (setup B) could be exactly reproduced in the southern hemisphere, since the model predicts that the anomalous acceleration should then be anticlockwise.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. Accepted by EPL on the 4th December, 200

Thermodynamics of a Colloidal Particle in a Time-Dependent Non-Harmonic Potential

We study the motion of an overdamped colloidal particle in a time-dependent non-harmonic potential. We demonstrate the first law-like balance between applied work, exchanged heat, and internal energy on the level of a single trajectory. The observed distribution of applied work is distinctly non-Gaussian in good agreement with numerical calculations. Both the Jarzynski relation and a detailed fluctuation theorem are verified with good accuracy

Quantum Invariants, Modular Forms, and Lattice Points II

We study the SU(2) Witten--Reshetikhin--Turaev invariant for the Seifert fibered homology spheres with M-exceptional fibers. We show that the WRT invariant can be written in terms of (differential of) the Eichler integrals of modular forms with weight 1/2 and 3/2. By use of nearly modular property of the Eichler integrals we shall obtain asymptotic expansions of the WRT invariant in the large-N limit. We further reveal that the number of the gauge equivalent classes of flat connections, which dominate the asymptotics of the WRT invariant in N ->\infinity, is related to the number of integral lattice points inside the M-dimensional tetrahedron

Evidence for the Evolution of Reduced Mycorrhizal Dependence During Plant Invasion

Introduced species inevitably experience novel selection pressures in their new environments as a result of changes in mutualist and antagonist relationships. While most previous work has examined how escape from specialist enemies has influenced herbivore or pathogen resistance of exotic species, post-introduction shifts in exotic dependence on mutualists have not been considered. In a common environment, we compared dependence on AM fungi of North American and European populations of Hypericum perforatum (St. John\u27s Wort), a forb native to Europe. Introduced North American populations responded less to inoculation with AM fungi than did European populations. Root architecture was strongly correlated with mycorrhizal response, and introduced populations had finer root architecture than native populations. Finally, introduced populations exhibited decreased root and increased reproductive allocation relative to European populations, consistent with a transition to a weedier life history; however, biomass allocation patterns were uncorrelated with mycorrhizal response. These findings are the first demonstration of a genetically based reduction of mycorrhizal dependence and shift in root architecture in an introduced species

Stabilized lasers for advanced gravitational wave detectors

Second generation gravitational wave detectors require high power lasers with more than 100 W of output power and with very low temporal and spatial fluctuations. To achieve the demanding stability levels required, low noise techniques and adequate control actuators have to be part of the high power laser design. In addition feedback control and passive noise filtering is used to reduce the fluctuations in the so-called prestabilized laser system (PSL). In this paper, we discuss the design of a 200 W PSL which is under development for the Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detector and will present the first results. The PSL noise requirements for advanced gravitational wave detectors will be discussed in general and the stabilization scheme proposed for the Advanced LIGO PSL will be described

Stabilized high-power laser system for the gravitational wave detector advanced LIGO

An ultra-stable, high-power cw Nd:YAG laser system, developed for the ground-based gravitational wave detector Advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), was comprehensively characterized. Laser power, frequency, beam pointing and beam quality were simultaneously stabilized using different active and passive schemes. The output beam, the performance of the stabilization, and the cross-coupling between different stabilization feedback control loops were characterized and found to fulfill most design requirements. The employed stabilization schemes and the achieved performance are of relevance to many high-precision optical experiments

Vesicles in solutions of hard rods

The surface free energy of ideal hard rods near curved hard surfaces is determined to second order in curvature for surfaces of general shape. In accordance with previous results for spherical and cylindrical surfaces it is found that this quantity is non-analytical when one of the principal curvatures changes signs. This prohibits writing it in the common Helfrich form. It is shown that the non-analytical terms are the same for any aspect ratio of the rods. These results are used to find the equilibrium shape of vesicles immersed in solutions of rod-like (colloidal) particles. The presence of the particles induces a change in the equilibrium shape and to a shift of the prolate-oblate transition in the vesicle phase diagram, which are calculated within the framework of the spontaneous curvature model. As a consequence of the special form of the energy contribution due to the rods these changes cannot be accounted for by a simple rescaling of the elastic constants of the vesicle as for solutions of spherical colloids or polymers.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.