625 research outputs found
The Blackbody Radiation Spectrum Follows from Zero-Point Radiation and the Structure of Relativistic Spacetime in Classical Physics
The analysis of this article is entirely within classical physics. Any
attempt to describe nature within classical physics requires the presence of
Lorentz-invariant classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation so as to
account for the Casimir forces between parallel conducting plates at low
temperatures. Furthermore, conformal symmetry carries solutions of Maxwell's
equations into solutions. In an inertial frame, conformal symmetry leaves
zero-point radiation invariant and does not connect it to non-zero-temperature;
time-dilating conformal transformations carry the Lorentz-invariant zero-point
radiation spectrum into zero-point radiation and carry the thermal radiation
spectrum at non-zero temperature into thermal radiation at a different
non-zero-temperature. However, in a non-inertial frame, a time-dilating
conformal transformation carries classical zero-point radiation into thermal
radiation at a finite non-zero-temperature. By taking the no-acceleration
limit, one can obtain the Planck radiation spectrum for blackbody radiation in
an inertial frame from the thermal radiation spectrum in an accelerating frame.
Here this connection between zero-point radiation and thermal radiation is
illustrated for a scalar radiation field in a Rindler frame undergoing
relativistic uniform proper acceleration through flat spacetime in two
spacetime dimensions. The analysis indicates that the Planck radiation spectrum
for thermal radiation follows from zero-point radiation and the structure of
relativistic spacetime in classical physics.Comment: 21 page
Blackbody Radiation and the Scaling Symmetry of Relativistic Classical Electron Theory with Classical Electromagnetic Zero-Point Radiation
It is pointed out that relativistic classical electron theory with classical
electromagnetic zero-point radiation has a scaling symmetry which is suitable
for understanding the equilibrium behavior of classical thermal radiation at a
spectrum other than the Rayleigh-Jeans spectrum. In relativistic classical
electron theory, the masses of the particles are the only scale-giving
parameters associated with mechanics while the action-angle variables are scale
invariant. The theory thus separates the interaction of the action variables of
matter and radiation from the scale-giving parameters. Classical zero-point
radiation is invariant under scattering by the charged particles of
relativistic classical electron theory. The basic ideas of the matter
-radiation interaction are illustrated in a simple relativistic classical
electromagnetic example.Comment: 18 page
Randomizing world trade. II. A weighted network analysis
Based on the misleading expectation that weighted network properties always
offer a more complete description than purely topological ones, current
economic models of the International Trade Network (ITN) generally aim at
explaining local weighted properties, not local binary ones. Here we complement
our analysis of the binary projections of the ITN by considering its weighted
representations. We show that, unlike the binary case, all possible weighted
representations of the ITN (directed/undirected, aggregated/disaggregated)
cannot be traced back to local country-specific properties, which are therefore
of limited informativeness. Our two papers show that traditional macroeconomic
approaches systematically fail to capture the key properties of the ITN. In the
binary case, they do not focus on the degree sequence and hence cannot
characterize or replicate higher-order properties. In the weighted case, they
generally focus on the strength sequence, but the knowledge of the latter is
not enough in order to understand or reproduce indirect effects.Comment: See also the companion paper (Part I): arXiv:1103.1243
[physics.soc-ph], published as Phys. Rev. E 84, 046117 (2011
Entropy Crisis, Ideal Glass Transition and Polymer Melting: Exact Solution on a Husimi Cactus
We introduce an extension of the lattice model of melting of semiflexible
polymers originally proposed by Flory. Along with a bending penalty, present in
the original model and involving three sites of the lattice, we introduce an
interaction energy that corresponds to the presence of a pair of parallel bonds
and a second interaction energy associated with the presence of a hairpin turn.
Both these new terms represent four-site interactions. The model is solved
exactly on a Husimi cactus, which approximates a square lattice. We study the
phase diagram of the system as a function of the energies. For a proper choice
of the interaction energies, the model exhibits a first-order melting
transition between a liquid and a crystalline phase. The continuation of the
liquid phase below this temperature gives rise to a supercooled liquid, which
turns continuously into a new low-temperature phase, called metastable liquid.
This liquid-liquid transition seems to have some features that are
characteristic of the critical transition predicted by the mode-coupling
theory.Comment: To be published in Physical Review E, 68 (2) (2003
Irradiation of benzene molecules by ion-induced and light-induced intense fields
Benzene, with its sea of delocalized -electrons in the valence orbitals,
is identified as an example of a class of molecules that enable establishment
of the correspondence between intense ion-induced and laser-light-induced
fields in experiments that probe ionization dynamics in temporal regimes
spanning the attosecond and picosecond ranges.Comment: 4 ps figure
A Measurement of Time-Averaged Aerosol Optical Depth using Air-Showers Observed in Stereo by HiRes
Air fluorescence measurements of cosmic ray energy must be corrected for
attenuation of the atmosphere. In this paper we show that the air-showers
themselves can yield a measurement of the aerosol attenuation in terms of
optical depth, time-averaged over extended periods. Although the technique
lacks statistical power to make the critical hourly measurements that only
specialized active instruments can achieve, we note the technique does not
depend on absolute calibration of the detector hardware, and requires no
additional equipment beyond the fluorescence detectors that observe the air
showers. This paper describes the technique, and presents results based on
analysis of 1258 air-showers observed in stereo by the High Resolution Fly's
Eye over a four year span.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication by Astroparticle Physics
Journa
Multipartite entangled states in coupled quantum dots and cavity-QED
We investigate the generation of multipartite entangled state in a system of
N quantum dots embedded in a microcavity and examine the emergence of genuine
multipartite entanglement by three different characterizations of entanglement.
At certain times of dynamical evolution one can generate multipartite entangled
coherent exciton states or multiqubit states by initially preparing the
cavity field in a superposition of coherent states or the Fock state with one
photon, respectively. Finally we study environmental effects on multipartite
entanglement generation and find that the decay rate for the entanglement is
proportional to the number of excitons.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
CHERCAM: the Cherenkov imager of the CREAM experiment, results in Z=1 test beams
International audienceThe CREAM experiment investigates the high energy spectrum of nuclear elements from H to Fe in the cosmic ray flux up to eV, with an instrument designed to achieve individual elements separation over the whole mass range. A proximity focused Cherenkov imager, CHERCAM (CHERenkov CAMera), will provide both a good topological signature (Cherenkov ring) for downgoing Z=1 particles, and a charge independent individual element separation through the considered range of nuclear charges. It will be implemented in the forthcoming CREAM flight 3. The contribution reports on the CHERCAM main features and on the preliminary results from in-beam tests at CERN
Atomic X-ray Spectroscopy of Accreting Black Holes
Current astrophysical research suggests that the most persistently luminous
objects in the Universe are powered by the flow of matter through accretion
disks onto black holes. Accretion disk systems are observed to emit copious
radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, each energy band providing
access to rather distinct regimes of physical conditions and geometric scale.
X-ray emission probes the innermost regions of the accretion disk, where
relativistic effects prevail. While this has been known for decades, it also
has been acknowledged that inferring physical conditions in the relativistic
regime from the behavior of the X-ray continuum is problematic and not
satisfactorily constraining. With the discovery in the 1990s of iron X-ray
lines bearing signatures of relativistic distortion came the hope that such
emission would more firmly constrain models of disk accretion near black holes,
as well as provide observational criteria by which to test general relativity
in the strong field limit. Here we provide an introduction to this phenomenon.
While the presentation is intended to be primarily tutorial in nature, we aim
also to acquaint the reader with trends in current research. To achieve these
ends, we present the basic applications of general relativity that pertain to
X-ray spectroscopic observations of black hole accretion disk systems, focusing
on the Schwarzschild and Kerr solutions to the Einstein field equations. To
this we add treatments of the fundamental concepts associated with the
theoretical and modeling aspects of accretion disks, as well as relevant topics
from observational and theoretical X-ray spectroscopy.Comment: 63 pages, 21 figures, Einstein Centennial Review Article, Canadian
Journal of Physics, in pres
Toy model for a two-dimensional accretion disk dominated by Poynting flux
We discuss the effect of the Poynting flow on the magnetically dominated thin
accretion disk, which is simplified to a two-dimensional disk on the equatorial
plane. It is shown in the relativistic formulation that the Poynting flux by
the rotating magnetic field with Keplerian angular velocity can balance the
energy and angular momentum conservation of a steady accretion flow.Comment: 17 pages, no figure
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