7,443 research outputs found
Space-time evolution of Dirac wave packets
In this work we study the dynamics of free 3D relativistic Gaussian wave
packets with different spin polarization. We analyze the connection between the
symmetry of initial state and the dynamical characteristics of moving particle.
The corresponding solutions of Dirac equation having different types of
symmetry were evaluated analytically and numerically and after that the
electron probability densities, as well as, the spin densities were visualized.
The average values of velocity of the packet center and the average spin were
calculated analytically, and the parameters of transient Zitterbewegung in
different directions were obtained. These results can be useful for the
interpretation of future experiments with trapped ions.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Would You Choose to be Happy? Tradeoffs Between Happiness and the Other Dimensions of Life in a Large Population Survey
A large literature documents the correlates and causes of subjective well-being, or happiness. But few studies have investigated whether people choose happiness. Is happiness all that people want from life, or are they willing to sacrifice it for other attributes, such as income and health? Tackling this question has largely been the preserve of philosophers. In this article, we find out just how much happiness matters to ordinary citizens. Our sample consists of nearly 13,000 members of the UK and US general populations. We ask them to choose between, and make judgments over, lives that are high (or low) in different types of happiness and low (or high) in income, physical health, family, career success, or education. We find that people by and large choose the life that is highest in happiness but health is by far the most important other concern, with considerable numbers of people choosing to be healthy rather than happy. We discuss some possible reasons for this preference
Quantum phase transitions in disordered dimerized quantum spin models and the Harris criterion
We use quantum Monte Carlo simulations to study effects of disorder on the
quantum phase transition occurring versus the ratio g=J/J' in square-lattice
dimerized S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets with intra- and inter-dimer
couplings J and J'. The dimers are either randomly distributed (as in the
classical dimer model), or come in parallel pairs with horizontal or vertical
orientation. In both cases the transition violates the Harris criterion,
according to which the correlation-length exponent should satisfy nu >= 1. We
do not detect any deviations from the three-dimensional O(3) universality class
obtaining in the absence of disorder (where nu = 0.71). We discuss special
circumstances which allow nu<1 for the type of disorder considered here.Comment: 4+ pages, 3 figure
Spectral methods for the wave equation in second-order form
Current spectral simulations of Einstein's equations require writing the
equations in first-order form, potentially introducing instabilities and
inefficiencies. We present a new penalty method for pseudo-spectral evolutions
of second order in space wave equations. The penalties are constructed as
functions of Legendre polynomials and are added to the equations of motion
everywhere, not only on the boundaries. Using energy methods, we prove
semi-discrete stability of the new method for the scalar wave equation in flat
space and show how it can be applied to the scalar wave on a curved background.
Numerical results demonstrating stability and convergence for multi-domain
second-order scalar wave evolutions are also presented. This work provides a
foundation for treating Einstein's equations directly in second-order form by
spectral methods.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
A model problem for the initial-boundary value formulation of Einstein's field equations
In many numerical implementations of the Cauchy formulation of Einstein's
field equations one encounters artificial boundaries which raises the issue of
specifying boundary conditions. Such conditions have to be chosen carefully. In
particular, they should be compatible with the constraints, yield a well posed
initial-boundary value formulation and incorporate some physically desirable
properties like, for instance, minimizing reflections of gravitational
radiation.
Motivated by the problem in General Relativity, we analyze a model problem,
consisting of a formulation of Maxwell's equations on a spatially compact
region of spacetime with timelike boundaries. The form in which the equations
are written is such that their structure is very similar to the
Einstein-Christoffel symmetric hyperbolic formulations of Einstein's field
equations. For this model problem, we specify a family of Sommerfeld-type
constraint-preserving boundary conditions and show that the resulting
initial-boundary value formulations are well posed. We expect that these
results can be generalized to the Einstein-Christoffel formulations of General
Relativity, at least in the case of linearizations about a stationary
background.Comment: 25 page
The resultant on compact Riemann surfaces
We introduce a notion of resultant of two meromorphic functions on a compact
Riemann surface and demonstrate its usefulness in several respects. For
example, we exhibit several integral formulas for the resultant, relate it to
potential theory and give explicit formulas for the algebraic dependence
between two meromorphic functions on a compact Riemann surface. As a particular
application, the exponential transform of a quadrature domain in the complex
plane is expressed in terms of the resultant of two meromorphic functions on
the Schottky double of the domain.Comment: 44 page
Optimal Constraint Projection for Hyperbolic Evolution Systems
Techniques are developed for projecting the solutions of symmetric hyperbolic
evolution systems onto the constraint submanifold (the constraint-satisfying
subset of the dynamical field space). These optimal projections map a field
configuration to the ``nearest'' configuration in the constraint submanifold,
where distances between configurations are measured with the natural metric on
the space of dynamical fields. The construction and use of these projections is
illustrated for a new representation of the scalar field equation that exhibits
both bulk and boundary generated constraint violations. Numerical simulations
on a black-hole background show that bulk constraint violations cannot be
controlled by constraint-preserving boundary conditions alone, but are
effectively controlled by constraint projection. Simulations also show that
constraint violations entering through boundaries cannot be controlled by
constraint projection alone, but are controlled by constraint-preserving
boundary conditions. Numerical solutions to the pathological scalar field
system are shown to converge to solutions of a standard representation of the
scalar field equation when constraint projection and constraint-preserving
boundary conditions are used together.Comment: final version with minor changes; 16 pages, 14 figure
Search for Low Mass Exotic mesonic structures. Part II: attempts to understand the experimental results
Our previous paper, part I of the same study, shows the different
experimental spectra used to conclude on the genuine existence of narrow,
weakly excited mesonic structures, having masses below and a little above the
pion (M=139.56 MeV) mass. This work \cite{previous} was instigated by the
observation, in the disintegration: pP,
P \cite{park}, of a narrow range of dimuon masses. The
authors conclude on the existence of a neutral intermediate state P, with
a mass M=214.3 MeV 0.5 MeV. We present here some attempts to understand
the possible nature of the structures observed in part I.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures. Follows 0710.1796. Both replace arXiv:0707.1261
[nucl-ex
Observation of Parity Nonconservation in Møller Scattering
We report a measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in fixed target electron-electron (Møller) scattering: A_(PV) = [-175 ± 30(stat)± 20(syst)] X 10^(-9). This first direct observation of parity nonconservation in Møller scattering leads to a measurement of the electron’s weak charge at low energy Q^e_W = -0:053 ± 0:011. This is consistent with the standard model expectation at the current level of precision: sin^2θ_W = (M_Z)_(MS) = 0:2293 ± 0:0024(stat) ± 0:0016(syst) ± 0:0006(theory)
Instability and `Sausage-String' Appearance in Blood Vessels during High Blood Pressure
A new Rayleigh-type instability is proposed to explain the `sausage-string'
pattern of alternating constrictions and dilatations formed in blood vessels
under influence of a vasoconstricting agent. Our theory involves the nonlinear
elasticity characteristics of the vessel wall, and provides predictions for the
conditions under which the cylindrical form of a blood vessel becomes unstable.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures submitted to Physical Review Letter
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