14,283 research outputs found
Noncommutative Scalar Field Coupled to Gravity
A model for a noncommutative scalar field coupled to gravity is proposed via
an extension of the Moyal product. It is shown that there are solutions
compatible with homogeneity and isotropy to first non-trivial order in the
perturbation of the star-product, with the gravity sector described by a flat
Robertson-Walker metric. We show that in the slow-roll regime of a typical
chaotic inflationary scenario, noncommutativity has negligible impact.Comment: Revtex4, 6 pages. Final version to appear at Phys. Rev.
Phonon density of states and heat capacity of La_(3âx)Te_4
The phonon density of states (DOS) of La_(3âx)Te_4 compounds (x=0.0,0.18,0.32) was measured at 300, 520, and 780 K, using inelastic neutron scattering. A significant stiffening of the phonon DOS and a large broadening of features were observed upon introduction of vacancies on La sites (increasing x). Heat-capacity measurements were performed at temperatures 1.85 †T †1200âK and were analyzed to quantify the contributions of phonons and electrons. The Debye temperature and the electronic coefficient of heat capacity determined from these measurements are consistent with the neutron-scattering results, and with previously reported first-principles calculations. Our results indicate that La vacancies in La_(3âx)Te_4 strongly scatter phonons and this source of scattering appears to be independent of temperature. The stiffening of the phonon DOS induced by the introduction of vacancies is explained in terms of the electronic structure and the change in bonding character. The temperature dependence of the phonon DOS is captured satisfactorily by the quasiharmonic approximation
Long Duration Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest Studies: Safety Considerations Regarding Vision Health
Visual symptoms reported in astronauts returning from long duration missions in low Earth orbit, including hyperopic shift, choroidal folds, globe flattening and papilledema, are thought to be related to fluid shifts within the body due to microgravity exposure. Because of this possible relation to fluid shifts, safety considerations have been raised regarding the ocular health of head-down tilt (HDT) bed rest subjects. HDT is a widely used ground ]based analog that simulates physiological changes of spaceflight, including fluid shifts. Thus, vision monitoring has been performed in bed rest subjects in order to evaluate the safety of HDT with respect to vision health. Here we report ocular outcomes in 9 healthy subjects (age range: 27-48 years; Male/Female ratio: 8/1) completing bed rest Campaign 11, an integrated, multidisciplinary 70-day 6 degrees HDT bed rest study. Vision examinations were performed on a weekly basis, and consisted of office-based (2 pre- and 2 post-bed rest) and in-bed testing. The experimental design was a repeated measures design, with measurements for both eyes taken for each subject at each planned time point. Findings for the following tests were all reported as normal in each testing session for every subject: modified Amsler grid, red dot test, confrontational visual fields, color vision and fundus photography. Overall, no statistically significant differences were observed for any of the measures, except for both near and far visual acuity, which increased during the course of the study. This difference is not considered clinically relevant as may result from the effect of learning. Intraocular pressure results suggest a small increase at the beginning of the bed rest phase (p=0.059) and lesser increase at post-bed rest with respect to baseline (p=0.046). These preliminary results provide the basis for further analyses that will include correlations between intraocular pressure change pre- and post-bed rest, and optical coherence tomography measurements of the retina
Dissipation-driven generation of two-qubit entanglement mediated by plasmonic waveguides
We study the generation of entanglement between two distant qubits mediated
by the surface plasmons of a metallic waveguide. We show that a V-shaped
channel milled in a flat metallic surface is much more efficient for this
purpose than a metallic cylinder. The role of the misalignments of the dipole
moments of the qubits, an aspect of great importance for experimental
implementations, is also studied. A careful analysis of the quantum-dynamics of
the system by means of a master equation shows that two-qubit entanglement
generation is essentially due to the dissipative part of the effective
qubit-qubit coupling provided by the surface plasmons. The influence of a
coherent external pumping, needed to achieve a steady state entanglement, is
discussed. Finally, we pay attention to the question of how to get information
experimentally on the degree of entanglement achieved in the system.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure
Giant Enhancement of Surface Second Harmonic Generation in BaTiO_3 due to Photorefractive Surface Wave Excitation
We report observation of strongly enhanced surface SHG in BaTiO_3 due to
excitation of a photorefractive surface electromagnetic wave. Surface SH
intensity may reach 10^{-2} of the incident fundamental light intensity.
Angular, crystal orientation and polarization dependencies of this SHG are
presented. Possible applications of this effect in nonlinear surface
spectroscopy are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters on the
3/29/199
Kontsevich product and gauge invariance
We analyze the question of gauge invariance in a flat
non-commutative space where the parameter of non-commutativity,
, is a local function satisfying Jacobi identity (and
thereby leading to an associative Kontsevich product). We show that in this
case, both gauge transformations as well as the definitions of covariant
derivatives have to modify so as to have a gauge invariant action. We work out
the gauge invariant actions for the matter fields in the fundamental and the
adjoint representations up to order while we discuss the gauge
invariant Maxwell theory up to order . We show that despite the
modifications in the gauge transformations, the covariant derivative and the
field strength, Seiberg-Witten map continues to hold for this theory. In this
theory, translations do not form a subgroup of the gauge transformations
(unlike in the case when is a constant) which is reflected in
the stress tensor not being conserved.Comment: 7 page
Misanthropic Person Memory when the Need to Self-Enhance is Absent
This research examined the role that the removal of the need or ability to self-enhance can play in the misanthropic processing of attributed behavioral information (i.e., remembering best negative, internally attributed behaviors and positive externally attributed behaviors). Experiment 1demonstrated that removing a personâs need to self-enhance by increasing his or her self-esteem eliminated misanthropic memory, whereas misanthropy was preserved for control participants and perceivers who had experienced a decrease in self-esteem. Furthermore, controlling for participantsâ self-evaluations eliminated the memory pattern differences between the two experimental conditions. Experiment 2 demonstrated that canceling the ability to self-enhance by having perceivers form an impression of themselves eliminated the misanthropy effect. However, the misanthropy effect was replicated when perceivers learned about an unknown other. The results were discussed with regard to the situations and factors that can increase or reduce the need to self-enhance and their implications for social information processing.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68679/2/10.1177_0146167299025002011.pd
Generalized "Quasi-classical" Ground State for an Interacting Two Level System
We treat a system (a molecule or a solid) in which electrons are coupled
linearly to any number and type of harmonic oscillators and which is further
subject to external forces of arbitrary symmetry. With the treatment restricted
to the lowest pair of electronic states, approximate "vibronic"
(vibration-electronic) ground state wave functions are constructed having the
form of simple, closed expressions. The basis of the method is to regard
electronic density operators as classical variables. It extends an earlier
"guessed solution", devised for the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect in cubic
symmetry, to situations having lower (e.g., dihedral) symmetry or without any
symmetry at all. While the proposed solution is expected to be quite close to
the exact one, its formal simplicity allows straightforward calculations of
several interesting quantities, like energies and vibronic reduction (or Ham)
factors. We calculate for dihedral symmetry two different -factors (""
and "") and a -factor. In simplified situations we obtain . The formalism enables quantitative estimates to be made for the dynamical
narrowing of hyperfine lines in the observed ESR spectrum of the dihedral
cyclobutane radical cation.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figure
A Memetic Analysis of a Phrase by Beethoven: Calvinian Perspectives on Similarity and Lexicon-Abstraction
This article discusses some general issues arising from the study of similarity in music, both human-conducted and computer-aided, and then progresses to a consideration of similarity relationships between patterns in a phrase by Beethoven, from the first movement of the Piano Sonata in A flat major op. 110 (1821), and various potential memetic precursors. This analysis is followed by a consideration of how the kinds of similarity identified in the Beethoven phrase might be understood in psychological/conceptual and then neurobiological terms, the latter by means of William Calvinâs Hexagonal Cloning Theory. This theory offers a mechanism for the operation of David Copeâs concept of the lexicon, conceived here as a museme allele-class. I conclude by attempting to correlate and map the various spaces within which memetic replication occurs
- âŠ