Quenched QCD at finite density: g=1g=1 and g=∞g=\infty

We report on our ongoing effort to understand quenched lattice QCD at finite baryon number density. The quenched theory is sensitive to the baryon mass both at strong coupling and in the scaling region. However, we find that the quenched model is pathological for $\mu > m_\pi/2$ at $\beta= 6.0$, in agreement with past Lanczos analyses of the Dirac operator.Comment: Contribution to Lat94, 3 pages, tar-compressed uuencoded ps fil

Unitarity of Quantum Theory and Closed Time-Like Curves

Interacting quantum fields on spacetimes containing regions of closed timelike curves (CTCs) are subject to a non-unitary evolution $X$. Recently, a prescription has been proposed, which restores unitarity of the evolution by modifying the inner product on the final Hilbert space. We give a rigorous description of this proposal and note an operational problem which arises when one considers the composition of two or more non-unitary evolutions. We propose an alternative method by which unitarity of the evolution may be regained, by extending $X$ to a unitary evolution on a larger (possibly indefinite) inner product space. The proposal removes the ambiguity noted by Jacobson in assigning expectation values to observables localised in regions spacelike separated from the CTC region. We comment on the physical significance of the possible indefiniteness of the inner product introduced in our proposal.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX. Final revised paper to be published in Phys Rev D. Some changes are made to expand our discussion of Anderson's Proposal for restoring unitarit

Arrow of time in a recollapsing quantum universe

We show that the Wheeler-DeWitt equation with a consistent boundary condition is only compatible with an arrow of time that formally reverses in a recollapsing universe. Consistency of these opposite arrows is facilitated by quantum effects in the region of the classical turning point. Since gravitational time dilation diverges at horizons, collapsing matter must then start re-expanding ``anticausally" (controlled by the reversed arrow) before horizons or singularities can form. We also discuss the meaning of the time-asymmetric expression used in the definition of ``consistent histories". We finally emphasize that there is no mass inflation nor any information loss paradox in this scenario.Comment: Many conceptual clarifications include

Classical Vs Quantum Probability in Sequential Measurements

We demonstrate in this paper that the probabilities for sequential measurements have features very different from those of single-time measurements. First, they cannot be modelled by a classical stochastic process. Second, they are contextual, namely they depend strongly on the specific measurement scheme through which they are determined. We construct Positive-Operator-Valued measures (POVM) that provide such probabilities. For observables with continuous spectrum, the constructed POVMs depend strongly on the resolution of the measurement device, a conclusion that persists even if we consider a quantum mechanical measurement device or the presence of an environment. We then examine the same issues in alternative interpretations of quantum theory. We first show that multi-time probabilities cannot be naturally defined in terms of a frequency operator. We next prove that local hidden variable theories cannot reproduce the predictions of quantum theory for sequential measurements, even when the degrees of freedom of the measuring apparatus are taken into account. Bohmian mechanics, however, does not fall in this category. We finally examine an alternative proposal that sequential measurements can be modelled by a process that does not satisfy the Kolmogorov axioms of probability. This removes contextuality without introducing non-locality, but implies that the empirical probabilities cannot be always defined (the event frequencies do not converge). We argue that the predictions of this hypothesis are not ruled out by existing experimental results (examining in particular the "which way" experiments); they are, however, distinguishable in principle.Comment: 56 pages, latex; revised and restructured. Version to appear in Found. Phy

Thermal and pCO2 stress elicit divergent transcriptomic responses in a resilient coral

The oceans are becoming warmer and more acidic as a result of rising atmospheric pCO2. Transcriptome plasticity may facilitate marine organisms' acclimation to thermal and acidification stress by tailoring gene expression to mitigate the impacts of these stressors. Here, we produce the first transcriptome of the abundant, ubiquitous, and resilient Caribbean reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea, and investigate this corals' transcriptomic response to 95 days of thermal (T = 25, 28, 32°C) and CO2-induced acidification (324, 477, 604, 2553 μatm) stress. The S. siderea transcriptome was assembled using RNAseq and then Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis was employed to obtain systems-level insights into the coral's stress response. Exposure of the coral to both elevated temperature and acidification elicited strong but divergent transcriptomic responses. Gene Ontology analysis suggests that long-term thermal stress disrupts homeostasis by increasing transcription of protein-coding genes associated with protein catabolism and suppressing transcription of genes involved in responding to environmental stimuli. Both next century (604 μatm) and extreme-high (2553 μatm) pCO2 stress increased transcription of genes associated with respiration, highlighting the potentially greater energetic requirements of maintaining calcification under high-pCO2 conditions. Under extreme-high-pCO2, increased transcription of H+-transporter genes was observed, consistent with the proposed role of proton transport in facilitating coral calcification under elevated pCO2. These results suggest that 95 days of exposure to 32°C seawater elicits a more adverse transcriptomic response (i.e., broad scale reductions in gene expression) than exposure to extreme-high acidification (2553 μatm; i.e., increased expression of genes associated with ion transport) within S. siderea-with the response to extreme warming suggesting cellular shutdown and the response to extreme acidification indicating capacity for acclimation. These results are consistent with the observation that rates of net calcification for the investigated corals were more negatively affected by the prescribed thermal stress than by the prescribed acidification stress. This study demonstrates how transcriptome plasticity may promote coral acclimation to these global change stressors, but that there are limits to the efficacy of this plasticity

A comparison between different propagative schemes for the simulation of tapered step index slab waveguides

The performance and accuracy of a number of propagative algorithms are compared for the simulation of tapered high contrast step index slab waveguides. The considered methods include paraxial as well as nonparaxial formulations of optical field propagation. In particular attention is paid to the validity of the paraxial approximation. To test the internal consistency of the various methods the property of reciprocity is verified and it is shown that for the paraxial algorithms the reciprocity can only be fulfilled if the paraxial approximation of the power flux expression using the Poynting vector is considered. Finally, modeling results are compared with measured fiber coupling losses for an experimentally realized taper structure

Do static sources respond to massive scalar particles from the Hawking radiation as uniformly accelerated ones do in the inertial vacuum?

We revisit the recently found equivalence for the response of a static scalar source interacting with a {\em massless} Klein-Gordon field when the source is (i) static in Schwarzschild spacetime, in the Unruh vacuum associated with the Hawking radiation and (ii) uniformly accelerated in Minkowski spacetime, in the inertial vacuum, provided that the source's proper acceleration is the same in both cases. It is shown that this equivalence is broken when the massless Klein-Gordon field is replaced by a {\em massive} one.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure