1,043 research outputs found
Phase Transitions of Charged Scalars at Finite Temperature and Chemical Potential
We calculate the grand canonical partition function at the one-loop level for
scalar quantum electrodynamics at finite temperature and chemical potential. A
classical background charge density with a charge opposite that of the scalars
ensures the neutrality of the system. For low density systems we find evidence
of a first order phase transition. We find upper and lower bounds on the
transition temperature below which the charged scalars form a condensate. A
first order phase transition may have consequences for helium-core white dwarf
stars in which it has been argued that such a condensate of charged helium-4
nuclei could exist.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures. Version accepted for publication in JHE
Is Our Universe Natural?
It goes without saying that we are stuck with the universe we have.
Nevertheless, we would like to go beyond simply describing our observed
universe, and try to understand why it is that way rather than some other way.
Physicists and cosmologists have been exploring increasingly ambitious ideas
that attempt to explain why certain features of our universe aren't as
surprising as they might first appear.Comment: Invited review for Nature, 11 page
Fermions and noncommutative emergent gravity II: Curved branes in extra dimensions
We study fermions coupled to Yang-Mills matrix models from the point of view
of emergent gravity. The matrix model Dirac operator provides an appropriate
coupling for fermions to the effective gravitational metric for general branes
with nontrivial embedding, albeit with a non-standard spin connection. This
generalizes previous results for 4-dimensional matrix models. Integrating out
the fermions in a nontrivial geometrical background induces indeed the
Einstein-Hilbert action of the effective metric, as well as additional terms
which couple the Poisson tensor to the Riemann tensor, and a dilaton-like term.Comment: 34 pages; minor change
On Inflation with Non-minimal Coupling
A simple realization of inflation consists of adding the following operators
to the Einstein-Hilbert action: (partial phi)^2, lambda phi^4, and xi phi^2 R,
with xi a large non-minimal coupling. Recently there has been much discussion
as to whether such theories make sense quantum mechanically and if the inflaton
phi can also be the Standard Model Higgs. In this note we answer these
questions. Firstly, for a single scalar phi, we show that the quantum field
theory is well behaved in the pure gravity and kinetic sectors, since the
quantum generated corrections are small. However, the theory likely breaks down
at ~ m_pl / xi due to scattering provided by the self-interacting potential
lambda phi^4. Secondly, we show that the theory changes for multiple scalars
phi with non-minimal coupling xi phi dot phi R, since this introduces
qualitatively new interactions which manifestly generate large quantum
corrections even in the gravity and kinetic sectors, spoiling the theory for
energies > m_pl / xi. Since the Higgs doublet of the Standard Model includes
the Higgs boson and 3 Goldstone bosons, it falls into the latter category and
therefore its validity is manifestly spoiled. We show that these conclusions
hold in both the Jordan and Einstein frames and describe an intuitive analogy
in the form of the pion Lagrangian. We also examine the recent claim that
curvature-squared inflation models fail quantum mechanically. Our work appears
to go beyond the recent discussions.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. Version 2: Clarified findings and improved
wording. Elaborated important sections and removed an unnecessary section.
Added references. Version 3: Updated towards JHEP version. Version 4: Final
JHEP versio
Fluids in cosmology
We review the role of fluids in cosmology by first introducing them in
General Relativity and then by applying them to a FRW Universe's model. We
describe how relativistic and non-relativistic components evolve in the
background dynamics. We also introduce scalar fields to show that they are able
to yield an inflationary dynamics at very early times (inflation) and late
times (quintessence). Then, we proceed to study the thermodynamical properties
of the fluids and, lastly, its perturbed kinematics. We make emphasis in the
constrictions of parameters by recent cosmological probes.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures, version accepted as invited review to the book
"Computational and Experimental Fluid Mechanics with Applications to Physics,
Engineering and the Environment". Version 2: typos corrected and references
expande
Voids in the Large-Scale Structure
Voids are the most prominent feature of the LSS of the universe. Still, they
have been generally ignored in quantitative analysis of it, essentially due to
the lack of an objective tool to identify and quantify the voids. To overcome
this, we present the Void-Finder algorithm, a novel tool for objectively
quantifying galaxy voids. The algorithm classifies galaxies as either wall- or
field-galaxies. Then it identifies voids in the wall-galaxy distribution. Voids
are defined as continuous volumes that do not contain any wall-galaxies. The
voids must be thicker than an adjustable limit, which is refined in successive
iterations. We test the algorithm using Voronoi tessellations. By appropriate
scaling of the parameters we apply it to the SSRS2 survey and to the IRAS 1.2
Jy. Both surveys show similar properties: ~50% of the volume is filled by the
voids, which have a scale of at least 40 Mpc, and a -0.9 under-density. Faint
galaxies populate the voids more than bright ones. These results suggest that
both optically and IRAS selected galaxies delineate the same LSS. Comparison
with the recovered mass distribution further suggests that the observed voids
in the galaxy distribution correspond well to under-dense regions in the mass
distribution. This confirms the gravitational origin of the voids.Comment: Submitted to ApJ; 33 pages, aaspp4 LaTeX file, using epsfig and
natbib, 1 table, 12 PS figures. Complete gzipped version is available at
http://shemesh.fiz.huji.ac.il/hagai/; uuencoded file is available at
http://shemesh.fiz.huji.ac.il/papers/ep3.uu or ftp://shemesh.fiz.huji.ac.i
Formation of voids in the Universe within the Lemaitre-Tolman model
We develop models of void formation starting from a small initial fluctuation
at recombination and growing to a realistic present day density profile in
agreement with observations of voids. The model construction is an extension of
previously developed algorithms for finding a Lemaitre-Tolman metric that
evolves between two profiles of either density or velocity specified at two
times. Of the 4 profiles of concern -- those of density and velocity at
recombination and at the present day -- two can be specified and the other two
follow from the derived model. We find that, in order to reproduce the
present-day void density profiles, the initial velocity profile is more
important than the initial density profile. Extrapolation of current CMB
observations to the scales relevant to proto-voids is very uncertain. Even so,
we find that it is very difficult to make both the initial density and velocity
fluctuation amplitudes small enough, and still obtain a realistic void by
today.Comment: MN2e LaTeX style file, 17 pages, 16 figures, 22 figure files;
replecement has minor changes in reference
Loop expansion in Yang-Mills thermodynamics
We argue that a selfconsistent spatial coarse-graining, which involves
interacting (anti)calorons of unit topological charge modulus, implies that
real-time loop expansions of thermodynamical quantities in the deconfining
phase of SU(2) and SU(3) Yang-Mills thermodynamics are, modulo 1PI
resummations, determined by a finite number of connected bubble diagrams.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, v5: discussion of much more severely constrained
nonplanar situation included in Sec.
The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: The Evolution of Void Statistics from z~1 to z~0
We present measurements of the void probability function (VPF) at z~1 using
data from the DEEP2 Redshift Survey and its evolution to z~0 using data from
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We measure the VPF as a function of galaxy
color and luminosity in both surveys and find that it mimics trends displayed
in the two-point correlation function, ; namely that samples of brighter,
red galaxies have larger voids (i.e. are more strongly clustered) than fainter,
blue galaxies. We also clearly detect evolution in the VPF with cosmic time,
with voids being larger in comoving units at z~0. We find that the reduced VPF
matches the predictions of a `negative binomial' model for galaxies of all
colors, luminosities, and redshifts studied. This model lacks a physical
motivation, but produces a simple analytic prediction for sources of any number
density and integrated two-point correlation function, \bar{\xi}. This implies
that differences in the VPF across different galaxy populations are consistent
with being due entirely to differences in the population number density and
\bar{\xi}. The robust result that all galaxy populations follow the negative
binomial model appears to be due to primarily to the clustering of dark matter
halos. The reduced VPF is insensitive to changes in the parameters of the halo
occupation distribution, in the sense that halo models with the same \bar{\xi}
will produce the same VPF. For the wide range of galaxies studied, the VPF
therefore does not appear to provide useful constraints on galaxy evolution
models that cannot be gleaned from studies of \bar{\xi} alone. (abridged)Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, ApJ accepte
Open defecation and childhood stunting in India: an ecological analysis of new data from 112 districts.
Poor sanitation remains a major public health concern linked to several important health outcomes; emerging evidence indicates a link to childhood stunting. In India over half of the population defecates in the open; the prevalence of stunting remains very high. Recently published data on levels of stunting in 112 districts of India provide an opportunity to explore the relationship between levels of open defecation and stunting within this population. We conducted an ecological regression analysis to assess the association between the prevalence of open defecation and stunting after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Data from the 2011 HUNGaMA survey was used for the outcome of interest, stunting; data from the 2011 Indian Census for the same districts was used for the exposure of interest, open defecation. After adjustment for various potential confounding factors--including socio-economic status, maternal education and calorie availability--a 10 percent increase in open defecation was associated with a 0.7 percentage point increase in both stunting and severe stunting. Differences in open defecation can statistically account for 35 to 55 percent of the average difference in stunting between districts identified as low-performing and high-performing in the HUNGaMA data. In addition, using a Monte Carlo simulation, we explored the effect on statistical power of the common practice of dichotomizing continuous height data into binary stunting indicators. Our simulation showed that dichotomization of height sacrifices statistical power, suggesting that our estimate of the association between open defecation and stunting may be a lower bound. Whilst our analysis is ecological and therefore vulnerable to residual confounding, these findings use the most recently collected large-scale data from India to add to a growing body of suggestive evidence for an effect of poor sanitation on human growth. New intervention studies, currently underway, may shed more light on this important issue
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