Are atoms waves or particles?

It is shown that the Kapitza-Dirac effect with atoms, which has been considered to be evidence of their wavelike character, can be interpreted as a scattering of pointlike objects by the periodic laser field.Comment: 6 figure

Gravitational waves versus black holes

It is argued that, in order for the gravitational field to be propagated as a wave, it is necessary for it to satisfy a further set of field equations, in addition to those of Einstein and Hilbert, and these equations mean there is a preferred coordinate frame, called the Global Inertial Frame, giving rise to a unique metric . The implication is that a true gravitational field is not compatible with Einstein's Principle of Equivalence, which is in contradiction with his other fundamental concept of locality. The additional field equations ensure that gravitational collapse does not go below the Schwarzschild radius, thereby excluding the possibility of singular solutions (black holes) of the Einstein-Hilbert equations. Such solutions would also violate Einstein's locality principle

The gravitational collapse of a dust ball

It is shown that the description of collapse given by the classic model of Oppenheimer and Snyder fails to satisfy a crucial matching condition at the surface of the ball. After correcting the model so that the interior and exterior metrics match correctly, it is established that the contraction process stops at the Schwarzschild radius, that there is an accumulation of particles at the surface of the ball, and that in the limit of infinite time lapse the density of particles at the surface becomes infinite. A black hole cannot form. This result confirms the judgements of both Einstein and Eddington about gravitational collapse when the collapse velocity approaches that of light.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

A local realist theory of parametric down conversion

In a series of articles we have shown that all parametric-down- conversion processes, both of type-I and type-II, may be described by a positive Wigner density. These results, together with our description of how light detectors subtract the zeropoint radiation, indicated the possibility of a completely local realist theory of all these processes. In the present article we show how the down-converted fields may be described as retarded fields, generated by currents inside the nonlinear crystal, thereby achieving such a theory. Most of its predictions coincide with the standard nonlocal theory. However, the intensities of the down converted signals do not correspond exactly with the photon pairs of the nonlocal theory. For example, in a blue- red down conversion we would find 1.03 red "photons" for every blue one. The theory also predicts a new phenomenon, namely parametric up conversion from the vacuum.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. A See also http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9711029 http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9712001 http://www.keyinnov.demon.co.u

Do we need photons in parametric down conversion?

The phenomenon of parametric down conversion from the vacuum may be understood as a process in classical electrodynamics, in which a nonlinear crystal couples the modes of the pumping field with those of the zeropoint, or "vacuum" field. This is an entirely local theory of the phenomenon, in contrast with the presently accepted nonlocal theory. The new theory predicts a hitherto unsuspected phenomenon - parametric up conversion from the vacuum.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters See also http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9712001 http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9711046 http://www.keyinnov.demon.co.u

The myth of the down converted photon

Parametric down conversion (PDC) is widely interpreted in terms of photons, but, even among supporters of this interpretation, many properties of the photon pairs have been described as "mind-boggling" and even "absurd". In this article we argue that a classical description of the light field, taking account of its vacuum fluctuations, leads us to a consistent and rational account of all PDC phenomena. "Nonlocality" in quantum optics is simply an artifact of the Photon Concept. We also predict a new phenomenon, namely the appearance of a second, or satellite PDC rainbow.Comment: See also http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9711029 http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9711046 http://www.keyinnov.demon.co.u

The zeropoint field - no longer a ghost

We develop a local realist analysis of parametric down conversion, based on the recognition that the pump field, instead of down converting spontaneously, does so through its nonlinear coupling with a real zeropoint, or "vacuum" electromagnetic field. The theory leads tothe prediction of a new phenomenon - that, in addition to the main down-conversion rainbow, there is a satellite rainbow, whose intensity is about 3 per cent of the main one. Confirmation of this prediction will call seriously into question the current description of the light field in terms of photons. The present article extends the analysis of its predecessors (this archive, numbers 9711029 and 9712001) to take account of the pump's polarization>Comment: See also http://www.keyinnov.demon.co.u

Nonlocality - The party may be over

We demonstrate that the phenomenon known as Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion is really an amplification, in a nonlinear crystal pumped by a laser, of certain pairs of modes of the electromagnetic zeropoint field. The demonstration is achieved by showing the existence of a related phenomenon, Spontaneous Parametric Up Conversion. This phenomenon, once observed, will cast doubt on the quantum-optical theory, which treats photons as the elementary objects of the light field. It will also lend greater credibility to the zeropoint-field description of optical entanglement phenomena. That description is based on the unquantized light field and is consistently local, in contrast with the nonlocal description of Quantum Optics

Fields tell matter how to move

Starting from the Oppenheimer-Snyder solution for gravitational collapse, we show by putting it into the harmonic coordinates, for which the distant Riemann metric is galilean, that the final state of collapse for a collapsed star of any mass, including the one thought to occupy the centre of our galaxy, has a finite radius roughly equal to its Schwarzschild radius. By applying an expression for the gravitational energy tensor, we are able to explain the concentration of stellar material in a thin shell close to the surface, which gives an explanation for why such a star does not undergo further collapse to a black hole. The interior of the star is characterized by a low density of the original stellar material, but, far from being empty, this region is occupied by a very high density of gravitational energy; this density is negative and the consequent repulsion is what produces the surface concentration of stellar material.Comment: 1 figur

Signal delay analysis for binary pulsars

This note gives a correction to the standard analysis of the delay pattern in the radio signals from a pulsar in a binary system; the same coordinate frame should be used for the transmission of the signal as for the motion of the pulsar in the field of its companion