346 research outputs found
von Laue's Theorem and Its Applications
von Laue's theorem, as well as its generalized form, is strictly proved in
detail for its sufficient and necessary condition (SNC). This SNC version of
Laue's theorem is used to analyze the infinitely extended electrostatic field
produced by a charged metal sphere in free space, and the static field confined
in a finite region of space. It is shown in general that the total (Abraham =
Minkowski) EM momentum and energy for the electrostatic field cannot constitute
a Lorentz four-vector. A derivative von Laue's theorem, which provides a
criterion for a Lorentz invariant, is also presented.Comment: Published version, with "Materials to help reading" attached. 12
pages, 1 figur
Microscopic dielectric response functions in semiconductor quantum dots
We calculate and model the microscopic dielectric response function for quantum dots using first principle methods. We find that the response is bulklike inside the quantum dots, and the reduction of the macroscopic dielectric constants is a surface effect. We present a model for the microscopic dielectric function which reproduces well the directly calculated results and can be used to solve the Poisson equation in a nanosystem
Time dependence of Bragg forward scattering and self-seeding of hard x-ray free-electron lasers
Free-electron lasers (FELs) can now generate temporally short, high power
x-ray pulses of unprecedented brightness, even though their longitudinal
coherence is relatively poor. The longitudinal coherence can be potentially
improved by employing narrow bandwidth x-ray crystal optics, in which case one
must also understand how the crystal affects the field profile in time and
space. We frame the dynamical theory of x-ray diffraction as a set of coupled
waves in order to derive analytic expressions for the spatiotemporal response
of Bragg scattering from temporally short incident pulses. We compute the
profiles of both the reflected and forward scattered x-ray pulses, showing that
the time delay of the wave is linked to its transverse spatial shift
through the simple relationship , where
is the grazing angle of incidence to the diffracting planes. Finally,
we apply our findings to obtain an analytic description of Bragg forward
scattering relevant to monochromatically seed hard x-ray FELs.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Self-energy of a scalar charge near higher-dimensional black holes
We study the problem of self-energy of charges in higher dimensional static
spacetimes. Application of regularization methods of quantum field theory to
calculation of the classical self-energy of charges leads to model-independent
results. The correction to the self-energy of a scalar charge due to the
gravitational field of black holes of the higher dimensional
Majumdar-Papapetrou spacetime is calculated exactly. It proves to be zero in
even dimensions, but it acquires non-zero value in odd dimensional spacetimes.
The origin of the self-energy correction in odd dimensions is similar to the
origin the conformal anomalies in quantum field theory in even dimensional
spacetimes.Comment: 9 page
Dark Energy and Projective Symmetry
Nurowski [arXiv:1003.1503] has recently suggested a link between the
observation of Dark Energy in cosmology and the projective equivalence of
certain Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metrics. Specifically, he
points out that two FLRW metrics with the same unparameterized geodesics have
their energy densities differing by a constant. From this he queries whether
the existence of dark energy is meaningful. We point out that physical
observables in cosmology are not projectively invariant and we relate the
projective symmetry uncovered by Nurowski to some previous work on projective
equivalence in cosmology
Spatiotemporal Response of Crystals in X-ray Bragg Diffraction
The spatiotemporal response of crystals in x-ray Bragg diffraction resulting
from excitation by an ultra-short, laterally confined x-ray pulse is studied
theoretically. The theory presents an extension of the analysis in symmetric
reflection geometry [1] to the generic case, which includes Bragg diffraction
both in reflection (Bragg) and transmission (Laue) asymmetric scattering
geometries. The spatiotemporal response is presented as a product of a
crystal-intrinsic plane wave spatiotemporal response function and an envelope
function defined by the crystal-independent transverse profile of the incident
beam and the scattering geometry. The diffracted wavefields exhibit amplitude
modulation perpendicular to the propagation direction due to both angular
dispersion and the dispersion due to Bragg's law. The characteristic measure of
the spatiotemporal response is expressed in terms of a few parameters: the
extinction length, crystal thickness, Bragg angle, asymmetry angle, and the
speed of light. Applications to self-seeding of hard x-ray free electron lasers
are discussed, with particular emphasis on the relative advantages of using
either the Bragg or Laue scattering geometries. Intensity front inclination in
asymmetric diffraction can be used to make snapshots of ultra-fast processes
with femtosecond resolution
A Convergent Method for Calculating the Properties of Many Interacting Electrons
A method is presented for calculating binding energies and other properties
of extended interacting systems using the projected density of transitions
(PDoT) which is the probability distribution for transitions of different
energies induced by a given localized operator, the operator on which the
transitions are projected. It is shown that the transition contributing to the
PDoT at each energy is the one which disturbs the system least, and so, by
projecting on appropriate operators, the binding energies of equilibrium
electronic states and the energies of their elementary excitations can be
calculated. The PDoT may be expanded as a continued fraction by the recursion
method, and as in other cases the continued fraction converges exponentially
with the number of arithmetic operations, independent of the size of the
system, in contrast to other numerical methods for which the number of
operations increases with system size to maintain a given accuracy. These
properties are illustrated with a calculation of the binding energies and
zone-boundary spin- wave energies for an infinite spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain,
which is compared with analytic results for this system and extrapolations from
finite rings of spins.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figures, corrected pd
Correcting 100 years of misunderstanding: electric fields in superconductors, hole superconductivity, and the Meissner effect
From the outset of superconductivity research it was assumed that no
electrostatic fields could exist inside superconductors, and this assumption
was incorporated into conventional London electrodynamics. Yet the London
brothers themselves initially (in 1935) had proposed an electrodynamic theory
of superconductors that allowed for static electric fields in their interior,
which they unfortunately discarded a year later. I argue that the Meissner
effect in superconductors necessitates the existence of an electrostatic field
in their interior, originating in the expulsion of negative charge from the
interior to the surface when a metal becomes superconducting. The theory of
hole superconductivity predicts this physics, and associated with it a
macroscopic spin current in the ground state of superconductors ("Spin Meissner
effect"), qualitatively different from what is predicted by conventional
BCS-London theory. A new London-like electrodynamic description of
superconductors is proposed to describe this physics. Within this theory
superconductivity is driven by lowering of quantum kinetic energy, the fact
that the Coulomb repulsion strongly depends on the character of the charge
carriers, namely whether electron- or hole-like, and the spin-orbit
interaction. The electron-phonon interaction does not play a significant role,
yet the existence of an isotope effect in many superconductors is easily
understood. In the strong coupling regime the theory appears to favor local
charge inhomogeneity. The theory is proposed to apply to all superconducting
materials, from the elements to the high cuprates and pnictides, is
highly falsifiable, and explains a wide variety of experimental observations.Comment: Proceedings of the conference "Quantum phenomena in complex matter
2011 - Stripes 2011", Rome, 10 July -16 July 2011, to be published in J.
Supercond. Nov. Mag
A fully relativistic radial fall
Radial fall has historically played a momentous role. It is one of the most
classical problems, the solutions of which represent the level of understanding
of gravitation in a given epoch. A {\it gedankenexperiment} in a modern frame
is given by a small body, like a compact star or a solar mass black hole,
captured by a supermassive black hole. The mass of the small body itself and
the emission of gravitational radiation cause the departure from the geodesic
path due to the back-action, that is the self-force. For radial fall, as any
other non-adiabatic motion, the instantaneous identity of the radiated energy
and the loss of orbital energy cannot be imposed and provide the perturbed
trajectory. In the first part of this letter, we present the effects due to the
self-force computed on the geodesic trajectory in the background field.
Compared to the latter trajectory, in the Regge-Wheeler, harmonic and all
others smoothly related gauges, a far observer concludes that the self-force
pushes inward (not outward) the falling body, with a strength proportional to
the mass of the small body for a given large mass; further, the same observer
notes an higher value of the maximal coordinate velocity, this value being
reached earlier on during infall. In the second part of this letter, we
implement a self-consistent approach for which the trajectory is iteratively
corrected by the self-force, this time computed on osculating geodesics.
Finally, we compare the motion driven by the self-force without and with
self-consistent orbital evolution. Subtle differences are noticeable, even if
self-force effects have hardly the time to accumulate in such a short orbit.Comment: To appear in Int. J. Geom. Meth. Mod. Phy
Einstein's fluctuation formula. A historical overview
A historical overview is given on the basic results which appeared by the
year 1926 concerning Einstein's fluctuation formula of black-body radiation, in
the context of light-quanta and wave-particle duality. On the basis of the
original publications (from Planck's derivation of the black-body spectrum and
Einstein's introduction of the photons up to the results of Born, Heisenberg
and Jordan on the quantization of a continuum) a comparative study is presented
on the first line of thoughts that led to the concept of quanta. The nature of
the particle-like fluctuations and the wave-like fluctuations are analysed by
using several approaches. With the help of the classical probability theory, it
is shown that the infinite divisibility of the Bose distribution leads to the
new concept of classical poissonian photo-multiplets or to the binary
photo-multiplets of fermionic character. As an application, Einstein's
fluctuation formula is derived as a sum of fermion type fluctuations of the
binary photo-multiplets.Comment: 34 page
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