The gravity of magnetic stresses and energy

In the framework of designing laboratory tests of relativistic gravity, we investigate the gravitational field produced by the magnetic field of a solenoid. Observing this field might provide a mean of testing whether stresses gravitate as predicted by Einstein's theory. A previous study of this problem by Braginsky, Caves and Thorne predicted that the contribution to the gravitational field resulting from the stresses of the magnetic field and of the solenoid walls would cancel the gravitational field produced by the mass-energy of the magnetic field, resulting in a null magnetically-generated gravitational force outside the solenoid. They claim that this null result, once proved experimentally, would demonstrate the stress contribution to gravity. We show that this result is incorrect, as it arises from an incomplete analysis of the stresses, which neglects the axial stresses in the walls. Once the stresses are properly evaluated, we find that the gravitational field outside a long solenoid is in fact independent of Maxwell and material stresses, and it coincides with the newtonian field produced by the linear mass distribution equivalent to the density of magnetic energy stored in a unit length of the solenoid. We argue that the gravity of Maxwell stress can be directly measured in the vacuum region inside the solenoid, where the newtonian noise is absent in principle, and the gravity generated by Maxwell stresses is not screened by the negative gravity of magnetic-induced stresses in the solenoid walls.Comment: 10 pages, final version accepted for publication in PR

Intra- and inter-operator variability of refractometric total proteins measurement of canine plasma

Refractometric total proteins are commonly used in practice as a quick and inexpensive way to measure total protein concentration in bodily fluids. Little information is available about how the operator performing the measurement affects the results. The aim of our study was to determine the inter- and intra-operator variability of refractometric total proteins measured on canine plasma using a temperature-compensated handheld refractometer. A pooled sample of canine lithium-heparin plasma was created using leftover samples from dogs presented to our hospital. The sample was then divided into three aliquots. Total proteins of these aliquots were measured by veterinary nurses, interns, residents and specialists working at our hospital. Statistical analysis revealed excellent inter-operator (ICC 0.99, CI 95% 0.971–1.00) and intra-operator (ICC 0.997, CI 95% 0.990–0.999) variability. Having different operators measuring refractometric total plasma proteins in practice should not affect the results. This suggests different operators can be used when monitoring total plasma proteins of a patient over time and when designing a study that involves this test

Complexity analysis of Klein-Gordon single-particle systems

The Fisher-Shannon complexity is used to quantitatively estimate the contribution of relativistic effects to on the internal disorder of Klein-Gordon single-particle Coulomb systems which is manifest in the rich variety of three-dimensional geometries of its corresponding quantum-mechanical probability density. It is observed that, contrary to the non-relativistic case, the Fisher-Shannon complexity of these relativistic systems does depend on the potential strength (nuclear charge). This is numerically illustrated for pionic atoms. Moreover, its variation with the quantum numbers (n, l, m) is analysed in various ground and excited states. It is found that the relativistic effects enhance when n and/or l are decreasing.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Accepted in EPL (Europhysics Letters

Homodyne estimation of Gaussian quantum discord

We address the experimental estimation of Gaussian quantum discord for two-mode squeezed thermal state, and demonstrate a measurement scheme based on a pair of homodyne detectors assisted by Bayesian analysis which provides nearly optimal estimation for small value of discord. Besides, though homodyne detection is not optimal for Gaussian discord, the noise ratio to the ultimate quantum limit, as dictacted by the quantum Cramer-Rao bound, is limited to about 10 dB.Comment: 5+3 pages, 3 figures, published versio

An Optical Study of Stellar and Interstellar Environments of Seven Luminous and Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources

We have studied the stellar and interstellar environments of two luminous X-ray sources and five ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in order to gain insight into their nature. Archival Hubble Space Telescope images were used to identify the optical counterparts of the ULXs Ho IX X-1 and NGC 1313 X-2, and to make photometric measurements of the local stellar populations of these and the luminous source IC 10 X-1. We obtained high-dispersion spectroscopic observations of the nebulae around these seven sources to search for He II lambda-4686 emission and to estimate the expansion velocities and kinetic energies of these nebulae. Our observations did not detect nebular He II emission from any source, with the exception of LMC X-1; this is either because we missed the He III regions or because the nebulae are too diffuse to produce He II surface brightnesses that lie within our detection limit. We compare the observed ionization and kinematics of the supershells around the ULXs Ho IX X-1 and NGC 1313 X-2 with the energy feedback expected from the underlying stellar population to assess whether additional energy contributions from the ULXs are needed. In both cases, we find insufficient UV fluxes or mechanical energies from the stellar population; thus these ULXs may be partially responsible for the ionization and energetics of their supershells. All seven sources we studied are in young stellar environments and six of them have optical counterparts with masses >~7 M_sun; thus, these sources are most likely high-mass X-ray binaries.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures. Numerous minor revisions, primarily to more accurately cite earlier work by Pakull and Mirioni, and to correct typographical errors. Removed a misleading sentence in the Introduction (re: X-ray photoionization by ULXs). Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Figures have been reduced in resolution for space requirements; full-resolution figures may be requested by email to [email protected]