20,859 research outputs found
The Vacuum Structure of Light-Front -Theory
We discuss the vacuum structure of -theory in 1+1 dimensions
quantised on the light-front . To this end, one has to solve a
non-linear, operator-valued constraint equation. It expresses that mode of the
field operator having longitudinal light-front momentum equal to zero, as a
function of all the other modes in the theory. We analyse whether this zero
mode can lead to a non-vanishing vacuum expectation value of the field
and thus to spontaneous symmetry breaking. In perturbation theory, we get no
symmetry breaking. If we solve the constraint, however, non-perturbatively,
within a mean-field type Fock ansatz, the situation changes: while the vacuum
state itself remains trivial, we find a non-vanishing vacuum expectation value
above a critical coupling. Exactly the same result is obtained within a
light-front Tamm-Dancoff approximation, if the renormalisation is done in the
correct way.Comment: 28 pages LaTeX, 1 Postscript figur
A model for melting of confined DNA
When DNA molecules are heated they denature. This occurs locally so that
loops of molten single DNA strands form, connected by intact double-stranded
DNA pieces. The properties of this "melting" transition have been intensively
investigated. Recently there has been a surge of interest in this question,
caused by experiments determining the properties of partially bound DNA
confined to nanochannels. But how does such confinement affect the melting
transition? To answer this question we introduce, and solve a model predicting
how confinement affects the melting transition for a simple model system by
first disregarding the effect of self-avoidance. We find that the transition is
smoother for narrower channels. By means of Monte-Carlo simulations we then
show that a model incorporating self-avoidance shows qualitatively the same
behaviour and that the effect of confinement is stronger than in the ideal
case.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, supplementary materia
Stellar laboratories: new Ge V and Ge VI oscillator strengths and their validation in the hot white dwarf RE 0503-289
State-of-the-art spectral analysis of hot stars by means of non-LTE
model-atmosphere techniques has arrived at a high level of sophistication. The
analysis of high-resolution and high-S/N spectra, however, is strongly
restricted by the lack of reliable atomic data for highly ionized species from
intermediate-mass metals to trans-iron elements. Especially data for the latter
has only been sparsely calculated. Many of their lines are identified in
spectra of extremely hot, hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars. A reliable
determination of their abundances establishes crucial constraints for AGB
nucleosynthesis simulations and, thus, for stellar evolutionary theory.
In a previous analysis of the UV spectrum of RE 0503-289, spectral lines of
highly ionized Ga, Ge, As, Se, Kr, Mo, Sn, Te, I, and Xe were identified.
Individual abundance determinations are hampered by the lack of reliable
oscillator strengths. Most of these identified lines stem from Ge V. In
addition, we identified Ge VI lines for the first time. We calculated Ge V and
Ge VI oscillator strengths to consider their radiative and collisional
bound-bound transitions in detail in our non-LTE stellar-atmosphere models for
the analysis of the Ge IV - VI spectrum exhibited in high-resolution and
high-S/N UV spectra of RE 0503-289. We identify four Ge IV, 37 Ge V, and seven
Ge VI lines. Most of these are identified for the first time in any star. We
reproduce almost all Ge IV, Ge VI, and Ge VI lines in the observed spectrum of
RE 0503-289 (Teff = 70 kK, log g = 7.5) at log Ge = -3.8 +/- 0.3 (mass
fraction, about 650 times solar).
Reliable measurements and calculations of atomic data are a prerequisite for
stellar-atmosphere modeling. Our oscillator-strength calculations have allowed,
for the first time, Ge V and Ge VI lines to be successfully reproduced in a
white dwarf's spectrum and to determine its photospheric Ge abundance.Comment: 54 pages, 8 figure
Observation of Scalar Aharonov-Bohm Effect with Longitudinally Polarized Neutrons
We have carried out a neutron interferometry experiment using longitudinally polarized neutrons to observe the scalar Aharonov-Bohm effect. The neutrons inside the interferometer are polarized parallel to an applied pulsed magnetic field B(t). The pulsed B field is spatially uniform so it exerts no force on the neutrons. Its direction also precludes the presence of any classical torque to change the neutron polarization
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