Vacuum fluctuations of a scalar field near a reflecting boundary and their effects on the motion of a test particle

The contribution from quantum vacuum fluctuations of a real massless scalar field to the motion of a test particle that interacts with the field in the presence of a perfectly reflecting flat boundary is here investigated. There is no quantum induced dispersions on the motion of the particle when it is alone in the empty space. However, when a reflecting wall is introduced, dispersions occur with magnitude dependent on how fast the system evolves between the two scenarios. A possible way of implementing this process would be by means of an idealized sudden switching, for which the transition occurs instantaneously. Although the sudden process is a simple and mathematically convenient idealization it brings some divergences to the results, particularly at a time corresponding to a round trip of a light signal between the particle and the wall. It is shown that the use of smooth switching functions, besides regularizing such divergences, enables us to better understand the behavior of the quantum dispersions induced on the motion of the particle. Furthermore, the action of modifying the vacuum state of the system leads to a change in the particle energy that depends on how fast the transition between these states is implemented. Possible implications of these results to the similar case of an electric charge near a perfectly conducting wall are discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

Síntese e caracterização da zeólita ZSM-5 para uso em sistemas de adsorção química.

bitstream/CNPDIA-2010/12633/1/CT107-2009.pd

Sustainable management of miombo woodlands in the Northern part of Mozambique (Niassa National Reserve - NNR).

Poster presented at Commiting Science to Global Development. Lisbon (Portugal). 29-30 Sep 2009

Counterexample Guided Inductive Optimization Applied to Mobile Robots Path Planning (Extended Version)

We describe and evaluate a novel optimization-based off-line path planning algorithm for mobile robots based on the Counterexample-Guided Inductive Optimization (CEGIO) technique. CEGIO iteratively employs counterexamples generated from Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) and Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT) solvers, in order to guide the optimization process and to ensure global optimization. This paper marks the first application of CEGIO for planning mobile robot path. In particular, CEGIO has been successfully applied to obtain optimal two-dimensional paths for autonomous mobile robots using off-the-shelf SAT and SMT solvers.Comment: 7 pages, 14rd Latin American Robotics Symposium (LARS'2017

Equipamentos alternativos na obtenção de farinha de resíduos de tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum).

O tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) é o segundo maior peixe de escama da América, superado apenas pelo pirarucu. Nativo da bacia Amazônica, atualmente vem ganhando destaque na aquicultura familiar da Região Norte, como no Estado do Pará, onde seu consumo vem aumentando gradativamente, principalmente na forma de filés. No entanto, o processo de filetamento de pescado gera um volume de resíduos superior a 50%, que pode se tornar um importante poluente se não tiver um manuseio adequado. Estes resíduos possuem alto teor de proteína e de outros nutrientes que tem grande demanda em outros setores, como na elaboração de farinhas para ração animal, por exemplo. Contudo, as instalações iniciais para o processamento de farinhas é um tanto quanto oneroso. O objetivo deste foi, através da adaptação de utensílios e equipamentos, elaborar um processo em escala piloto para aproveitamento de resíduos de tambaqui que pode ser realizado por pequenos e médios produtores, para produção de farinha e consequente incorporação em suas rações. Com teor de 8% de lipídios e 61% de proteína, o produto elaborado em pequena escala enquadrouse nos padrões de farinhas da RIISPOA e ANFAR

Five-Dimensional QED, Muon Pair Production and Correction to the Coulomb Potential

We consider QED in five dimensions in a configuration where matter is localized on a 3-brane while foton propagates in the bulk. The idea is to investigate the effects of the Kaluza-Klein modes of the photon in the relativistic regime, but in low energy, and in the nonrelativistic regime. In the relativistic regime, we calculate the cross section for the reaction $e^+ + e^- \to \mu^+ + \mu^-$. We compare our theoretical result with a precise measurement of this cross section at $\sqrt{s}=57.77$ GeV. As result, we extract a lower bound on the size of the extra dimension. In the nonrelativistic regime, we derive the contribution for the Coulomb potential due to the whole tower of the Kaluza-Klein excited modes of the photon. We use the modified potential to calculate the Rutherford scattering differential cross section.Comment: minor changes, three new refs. added, to appear in IJMP