30 research outputs found
Massive-Scalar Absorption by Extremal p-branes
We study the absorption probability of minimally-coupled massive scalars by
extremal p-branes. In particular, we find that the massive scalar wave equation
under the self-dual string background has the same form as the massless scalar
wave equation under the dyonic string background. Thus it can be cast into the
form of a modified Mathieu equation and solved exactly. Another example that we
can solve exactly is that of the D=4 two-charge black hole with equal charges,
for which we obtain the closed-form absorption probability. We also obtain the
leading-order absorption probabilities for D3-, M2- and M5-branes.Comment: Latex, 11 pages, reference adde
Black Hole Lasers Revisited
Contribution to "Quantum Analogues: From Phase Transitions to Black Holes and Cosmology" edited by William G. Unruh and Ralf Schutzhold. (Lecture Notes in Physics Vol. 718)The production of Hawking radiation by a single horizon is not dependent on the high-frequency dispersion relation of the radiated field. When there are two horizons, however, Corley and Jacobson have shown that superluminal dispersion leads to an amplification of the particle production in the case of bosons. The analytic theory of this "black hole laser" process is quite complicated, so we provide some numerical results in the hope of aiding understanding of this interesting phenomenon. Specifically, we consider sonic horizons in a moving fluid. The theory of elementary excitations in a Bose-Einstein condensate provides an example of "superluminal" (Bogoliubov) dispersion, so we add Bogoliubov dispersion to Unruh's equation for sound in the fluid. A white-hole/black-hole horizon pair will then display black hole lasing. Numerical analysis of the evolution of a wave packet gives a clear picture of the amplification process. By utilizing the similarity of a radiating horizon to a parametric amplifier in quantum optics we also analyze the black hole laser as a quantum-optical network
Is the physical vacuum a preferred frame ?
It is generally assumed that the physical vacuum of particle physics should
be characterized by an energy momentum tensor in such a way to preserve exact
Lorentz invariance. On the other hand, if the ground state were characterized
by its energy-momentum vector, with zero spatial momentum and a non-zero
energy, the vacuum would represent a preferred frame. Since both theoretical
approaches have their own good motivations, we propose an experimental test to
decide between the two scenarios.Comment: 12 pages, no figure
Deconstructing Decoherence
The study of environmentally induced superselection and of the process of
decoherence was originally motivated by the search for the emergence of
classical behavior out of the quantum substrate, in the macroscopic limit. This
limit, and other simplifying assumptions, have allowed the derivation of
several simple results characterizing the onset of environmentally induced
superselection; but these results are increasingly often regarded as a complete
phenomenological characterization of decoherence in any regime. This is not
necessarily the case: The examples presented in this paper counteract this
impression by violating several of the simple ``rules of thumb''. This is
relevant because decoherence is now beginning to be tested experimentally, and
one may anticipate that, in at least some of the proposed applications (e.g.,
quantum computers), only the basic principle of ``monitoring by the
environment'' will survive. The phenomenology of decoherence may turn out to be
significantly different.Comment: 13 two-column pages, 3 embedded figure
Inhibiting decoherence via ancilla processes
General conditions are derived for preventing the decoherence of a single
two-state quantum system (qubit) in a thermal bath. The employed auxiliary
systems required for this purpose are merely assumed to be weak for the general
condition while various examples such as extra qubits and extra classical
fields are studied for applications in quantum information processing. The
general condition is confirmed with well known approaches towards inhibiting
decoherence. A novel approach for decoherence-free quantum memories and quantum
operations is presented by placing the qubit into the center of a sphere with
extra qubits on its surface.Comment: pages 8, Revtex
Vacuum instability in external fields
We study particles creation in arbitrary space-time dimensions by external
electric fields, in particular, by fields, which are acting for a finite time.
The time and dimensional analysis of the vacuum instability is presented. It is
shown that the distributions of particles created by quasiconstant electric
fields can be written in a form which has a thermal character and seems to be
universal. Its application, for example, to the particles creation in external
constant gravitational field reproduces the Hawking temperature exactly.Comment: 36 pages, LaTe
Vacuum Fluctuations, Geometric Modular Action and Relativistic Quantum Information Theory
A summary of some lines of ideas leading to model-independent frameworks of
relativistic quantum field theory is given. It is followed by a discussion of
the Reeh-Schlieder theorem and geometric modular action of Tomita-Takesaki
modular objects associated with the quantum field vacuum state and certain
algebras of observables. The distillability concept, which is significant in
specifying useful entanglement in quantum information theory, is discussed
within the setting of general relativistic quantum field theory.Comment: 26 pages. Contribution for the Proceedings of a Conference on Special
Relativity held at Potsdam, 200
Environment-Induced Decoherence and the Transition From Quantum to Classical
We study dynamics of quantum open systems, paying special attention to those
aspects of their evolution which are relevant to the transition from quantum to
classical. We begin with a discussion of the conditional dynamics of simple
systems. The resulting models are straightforward but suffice to illustrate
basic physical ideas behind quantum measurements and decoherence. To discuss
decoherence and environment-induced superselection einselection in a more
general setting, we sketch perturbative as well as exact derivations of several
master equations valid for various systems. Using these equations we study
einselection employing the general strategy of the predictability sieve.
Assumptions that are usually made in the discussion of decoherence are
critically reexamined along with the ``standard lore'' to which they lead.
Restoration of quantum-classical correspondence in systems that are classically
chaotic is discussed. The dynamical second law -it is shown- can be traced to
the same phenomena that allow for the restoration of the correspondence
principle in decohering chaotic systems (where it is otherwise lost on a very
short time-scale). Quantum error correction is discussed as an example of an
anti-decoherence strategy. Implications of decoherence and einselection for the
interpretation of quantum theory are briefly pointed out.Comment: 80 pages, 7 figures included, Lectures given by both authors at the
72nd Les Houches Summer School on "Coherent Matter Waves", July-August 199
Near-IR Atlas of S0-Sa galaxies (NIRS0S)
An atlas of Ks-band images of 206 early-type galaxies is presented, including
160 S0-S0/a galaxies, 12 ellipticals, and 33 Sa galaxies. A majority of the
Atlas galaxies belong to a magnitude-limited (mB<12.5 mag) sample of 185 NIRS0S
(Near-IR S0 galaxy Survey) galaxies. To assure that mis-classified S0s are not
omitted, 25 ellipticals from RC3 classified as S0s in the Carnegie Atlas were
included in the sample. The images are 2-3 mag deeper than 2MASS images. Both
visual and photometric classifications are made. Special attention is paid to
the classification of lenses, coded in a systematic manner. A new lens-type,
called a 'barlens', is introduced. Also, boxy/peanut/x-shaped structures are
identified in many barred galaxies, even-though the galaxies are not seen in
edge-on view, indicating that vertical thickening is not enough to explain
them. Multiple lenses appear in 25% of the Atlas galaxies, which is a challenge
to the hierarchical evolutionary picture of galaxies. Such models need to
explain how the lenses were formed and survived in multiple merger events that
galaxies may have suffered during their lifetimes. Following the early
suggestion by van den Bergh, candidates of S0c galaxies are shown, which
galaxies are expected to be former Sc-type spirals stripped out of gas.Comment: 67 pages (include 16 figures and 6 tables). Accepted to MNRAS 2011
June 1