Dimensionful deformations of Poincare' symmetries for a Quantum Gravity without ideal observers

Quantum Mechanics is revisited as the appropriate theoretical framework for the description of the outcome of experiments that rely on the use of classical devices. In particular, it is emphasized that the limitations on the measurability of (pairs of conjugate) observables encoded in the formalism of Quantum Mechanics reproduce faithfully the ``classical-device limit'' of the corresponding limitations encountered in (real or gedanken) experimental setups. It is then argued that devices cannot behave classically in Quantum Gravity, and that this might raise serious problems for the search of a class of experiments described by theories obtained by ``applying Quantum Mechanics to Gravity.'' It is also observed that using heuristic/intuitive arguments based on the absence of classical devices one is led to consider some candidate Quantum-Gravity phenomena involving dimensionful deformations of the Poincare' symmetries.Comment: 7 pages, Latex. (This essay received an ``honorable mention'' from the Gravity Research Foundation, 1998-Ed.

Tidal Waves -- a non-adiabatic microscopic description of the yrast states in near-spherical nuclei

The yrast states of nuclei that are spherical or weakly deformed in their ground states are described as quadrupole waves running over the nuclear surface, which we call "tidal waves". The energies and E2 transition probabilities of the yrast states in nuclides with $Z$= 44, 46, 48 and $N=56, ~58,..., 66$ are calculated by means of the cranking model in a microscopic way. The nonlinear response of the nucleonic orbitals results in a strong coupling between shape and single particle degrees of freedom

On the area operators of the Husain-Kuchar-Rovelli model and Canonical/Loop Quantum Gravity

I investigate the relation between an operative definition of the area of a surface specified by matter fields and the area operators recently introduced in the canonical/loop approach to Quantum Gravity and in Rovelli's variant of the Husain-Kuchar Quantum-Gravity toy model. The results suggest that the discreteness of the spectra of the area operators might not be observable.Comment: LaTex, 8 page

Proof of Gravity and Yang-Mills Amplitude Relations

Using BCFW on-shell recursion techniques, we prove a sequence of explicit n-point Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relations between gravity and Yang-Mills amplitudes at tree level.Comment: 17 pages, no figures, JHE

Spontaneous magnetization in high-density quark matter

It is shown that the spontaneous magnetization occurs due to the anomalous magnetic moments of quarks in the high-density quark matter under the tensor-type four-point interaction. The spin polarized condensate for each flavor of quark appears at high baryon density, which leads to the spontaneous magnetization due to the anomalous magnetic moments of quarks. The implications to the strong magnetic field in the compact stars is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

Spin-triplet pairing in large nuclei

The nuclear pairing condensate is expected to change character from spin-singlet to spin-triplet when the nucleus is very large and the neutron and proton numbers $Z,N$ are equal. We investigate the transition between these two phases within the framework of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equations, using a zero-range interaction to generate the pairing. We confirm that extremely large nucleus would indeed favor triplet pairing condensates, with the Hamiltonian parameters taken from known systematics. The favored phase is found to depend on the specific orbitals at the Fermi energy. The smallest nuclei with a well-developed spin-triplet condensate are in the mass region A ~ 130-140.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

Spin Polarization versus Color-Flavor-Locking in High Density Quark Matter

It is shown that spin polarization with respect to each flavor in three-flavor quark matter occurs instead of the color-flavor locking at high baryon density by using the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with four-point tensor-type interaction. Also, it is indicated that the order of phase transition between the color-flavor locked phase and the spin polarized phase is the first order by means of the second order perturbation theory.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure

One-loop SYM-supergravity relation for five-point amplitudes

We derive a linear relation between the one-loop five-point amplitude of N=8 supergravity and the one-loop five-point subleading-color amplitudes of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures; v2: very minor correction

Comment on "Limits of the measurability of the local quantum electromagnetic-field amplitude"

It is argued that the findings of a recent reanalysis by Compagno and Persico [Phys. Rev. A 57, 1595 (1998)] of the Bohr--Rosenfeld procedure for the measurement of a single space-time-averaged component of the electromagnetic field are incorrect when the field measurement time is shorter than that required for light to traverse the measurement's test body. To this end, the time-averaged "self-force" on the test body, assumed for simplicity to be of a spherical shape, is evaluated in terms of a one-dimensional quadrature for the general trajectory allowed for the test body by Compagno and Persico, and in closed form for the limiting steplike trajectory used by Bohr and Rosenfeld.Comment: 5 pages, REVTe