27 research outputs found
Realistic interpretation of a superposition state does not imply a mixture
Contrary to previous claims, it is shown that, for an ensemble of either
single-particle systems or multi-particle systems, the realistic interpretation
of a superposition state that mathematically describes the ensemble does not
imply that the ensemble is a mixture. Therefore it cannot be argued that the
realistic interpretation is wrong on the basis that some predictions derived
from the mixture are different from the corresponding predictions derived from
the superposition state
Vacuum polarization calculations for hydrogenlike and alkalilike ions
Complete vacuum polarization calculations incorporating finite nuclear size
are presented for hydrogenic ions with principal quantum numbers n=1-5.
Lithiumlike, sodiumlike, and copperlike ions are also treated starting with
Kohn-Sham potentials, and including first-order screening corrections. In both
cases dominant Uehling terms are calculated with high accuracy, and smaller
Wichmann- Kroll terms are obtained using numerical electron Green's functions.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figur
Quenched Spin Tunneling and Diabolical Points in Magnetic Molecules: II. Asymmetric Configurations
The perfect quenching of spin tunneling first predicted for a model with
biaxial symmetry, and recently observed in the magnetic molecule Fe_8, is
further studied using the discrete phase integral (or
Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin) method. The analysis of the previous paper is
extended to the case where the magnetic field has both hard and easy
components, so that the Hamiltonian has no obvious symmetry. Herring's formula
is now inapplicable, so the problem is solved by finding the wavefunction and
using connection formulas at every turning point. A general formula for the
energy surface in the vicinity of the diabolo is obtained in this way. This
formula gives the tunneling apmplitude between two wells unrelated by symmetry
in terms of a small number of action integrals, and appears to be generally
valid, even for problems where the recursion contains more than five terms.
Explicit results are obtained for the diabolical points in the model for Fe_8.
These results exactly parallel the experimental observations. It is found that
the leading semiclassical results for the diabolical points appear to be exact,
and the points themselves lie on a perfect centered rectangular lattice in the
magnetic field space. A variety of evidence in favor of this perfect lattice
hypothesis is presented.Comment: Revtex; 4 ps figures; follow up to cond-mat/000311
Evaluation of the low-lying energy levels of two- and three-electron configurations for multi-charged ions
Accurate QED evaluations of the one- and two-photon interelectron interaction
for low lying two- and three-electron configurations for ions with nuclear
charge numbers are performed. The three-photon interaction is
also partly taken into account. The Coulomb gauge is employed. The results are
compared with available experimental data and with different calculations. A
detailed investigation of the behaviour of the energy levels of the
configurations , near
the crossing points Z=64 and Z=92 is carried out. The crossing points are
important for the future experimental search for parity nonconserving (PNC)
effects in highly charged ions
Decoherence of entangled kaons and its connection to entanglement measures
We study the time evolution of the entangled kaon system by considering the
Liouville - von Neumann equation with an additional term which allows for
decoherence. We choose as generators of decoherence the projectors to the
2-particle eigenstates of the Hamiltonian. Then we compare this model with the
data of the CPLEAR experiment and find in this way an upper bound on the
strength of the decoherence. We also relate to an effective
decoherence parameter considered previously in literature. Finally we
discuss our model in the light of different measures of entanglement, i.e. the
von Neumann entropy , the entanglement of formation and the concurrence
, and we relate the decoherence parameter to the loss of
entanglement: .Comment: comments and references added, 18 pages, 1 figur
What can we learn from neutrinoless double beta decay experiments?
We assess how well next generation neutrinoless double beta decay and normal
neutrino beta decay experiments can answer four fundamental questions. 1) If
neutrinoless double beta decay searches do not detect a signal, and if the
spectrum is known to be inverted hierarchy, can we conclude that neutrinos are
Dirac particles? 2) If neutrinoless double beta decay searches are negative and
a next generation ordinary beta decay experiment detects the neutrino mass
scale, can we conclude that neutrinos are Dirac particles? 3) If neutrinoless
double beta decay is observed with a large neutrino mass element, what is the
total mass in neutrinos? 4) If neutrinoless double beta decay is observed but
next generation beta decay searches for a neutrino mass only set a mass upper
limit, can we establish whether the mass hierarchy is normal or inverted? We
base our answers on the expected performance of next generation neutrinoless
double beta decay experiments and on simulations of the accuracy of
calculations of nuclear matrix elements.Comment: Added reference
Quantum mechanics, Furry's hypothesis and a measure of decoherence in the K^0 \bar{K}^0 system
We consider strangeness correlations of the EPR type in K^0 \bar{K}^0 pairs
created in a J^{PC} = 1^{--} state as a function of time under the hypothesis
that spontaneous decoherence takes place. We parameterize the degree of
decoherence by a factor (1-\zeta) which multiplies the quantum-mechanical
interference terms occurring in the amplitudes for like and unlike strangeness
events and discuss the dependence of this procedure on the basis chosen in the
K^0--\bar{K}^0 space to which the interference terms correspond. Consequently,
all statements about the ``decoherence parameter'' \zeta inferred from
experimental data are basis-dependent as well. We illustrate this point by
estimating the value of \zeta for the two bases {K_L, K_S} and {K^0, \bar{K}^0}
with the help of recent data of the CPLEAR experiment.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, revte
Jorge A. Swieca's contributions to quantum field theory in the 60s and 70s and their relevance in present research
After revisiting some high points of particle physics and QFT of the two
decades from 1960 to 1980, I comment on the work by Jorge Andre Swieca. I
explain how it fits into the quantum field theory during these two decades and
draw attention to its relevance to the ongoing particle physics research. A
particular aim of this article is to direct thr readers mindfulness to the
relevance of what at the time of Swieca was called "the Schwinger Higgs
screening mechanism". which, together with recent ideas which generalize the
concept of gauge theories, has all the ingredients to revolutionize the issue
of gauge theories and the standard model.Comment: 49 pages, expansion and actualization of text, improvement of
formulations and addition of many references to be published in EPJH -
Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Physic
Entanglement, Bell Inequalities and Decoherence in Particle Physics
We demonstrate the relevance of entanglement, Bell inequalities and
decoherence in particle physics. In particular, we study in detail the features
of the ``strange'' system as an example of entangled
meson--antimeson systems. The analogies and differences to entangled spin--1/2
or photon systems are worked, the effects of a unitary time evolution of the
meson system is demonstrated explicitly. After an introduction we present
several types of Bell inequalities and show a remarkable connection to CP
violation. We investigate the stability of entangled quantum systems pursuing
the question how possible decoherence might arise due to the interaction of the
system with its ``environment''. The decoherence is strikingly connected to the
entanglement loss of common entanglement measures. Finally, some outlook of the
field is presented.Comment: Lectures given at Quantum Coherence in Matter: from Quarks to Solids,
42. Internationale Universit\"atswochen f\"ur Theoretische Physik,
Schladming, Austria, Feb. 28 -- March 6, 2004, submitted to Lecture Notes in
Physics, Springer Verlag, 45 page
Recent advances in neutrinoless double beta decay search
Even after the discovery of neutrino flavour oscillations, based on data from
atmospheric, solar, reactor, and accelerator experiments, many characteristics
of the neutrino remain unknown. Only the neutrino square-mass differences and
the mixing angle values have been estimated, while the value of each mass
eigenstate still hasn't. Its nature (massive Majorana or Dirac particle) is
still escaping. Neutrinoless double beta decay (-DBD) experimental
discovery could be the ultimate answer to some delicate questions of elementary
particle and nuclear physics. The Majorana description of neutrinos allows the
-DBD process, and consequently either a mass value could be measured or
the existence of physics beyond the standard should be confirmed without any
doubt. As expected, the -DBD measurement is a very difficult field of
application for experimentalists. In this paper, after a short summary of the
latest results in neutrino physics, the experimental status, the R&D projects,
and perspectives in -DBD sector are reviewed.Comment: 36 pages, 7 figures, To be publish in Czech Journal of Physic