Quantum Zeno tomography

We show that the resolution "per absorbed particle" of standard absorption tomography can be outperformed by a simple interferometric setup, provided that the different levels of "gray" in the sample are not uniformly distributed. The technique hinges upon the quantum Zeno effect and has been tested in numerical simulations. The scheme we propose could be implemented in experiments with UV-light, neutrons or X-rays.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Reflection and Transmission in a Neutron-Spin Test of the Quantum Zeno Effect

The dynamics of a quantum system undergoing frequent "measurements", leading to the so-called quantum Zeno effect, is examined on the basis of a neutron-spin experiment recently proposed for its demonstration. When the spatial degrees of freedom are duely taken into account, neutron-reflection effects become very important and may lead to an evolution which is totally different from the ideal case.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure

Quantum Squeezing and Cosmological Entropy Production

The entropy growth in a cosmological process of pair production is completely determined by the associated squeezing parameter, and is insensitive to the number of particles in the initial state. The total produced entropy may represent a significant fraction of the entropy stored today in the cosmic black-body radiation, provided pair production originates from a change in the background metric at a curvature scale of the Planck order.Comment: 7 pages, plain TEX, to appear in Class.Quantum Grav., CERN-TH.6954/9

London Penetration Length and String Tension in SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory

We study the distribution of the color fields due to a static quark-antiquark pair in SU(2) lattice gauge theory. We find evidence of dual Meissner effect. We put out a simple relation between the penetration length and the string tension.Comment: uuencoded compressed Postscript file (text+figures

Dual Superconductor Mechanism of Confinement on the Lattice

We investigate the dual superconductor mechanism of confinement for pure SU(2) lattice gauge theory in the maximally abelian gauge. We focus on the the dual Meissner effect. We find that the transverse distribution of the longitudinal chromoelectric field due to a static quark-antiquark pair satisfies the dual London equation. Moreover we show that the size of the flux tube scales according to asymptotic freedom.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, 6 figures available as a PostScript file from L. Cosmai, BARI - TH 110/9

Gravitational waves in non-singular string cosmologies

We study the evolution of tensor metric fluctuations in a class of non-singular models based on the string effective action, by including in the perturbation equation the higher-derivative and loop corrections needed to regularise the background solutions. We discuss the effects of such higher-order corrections on the final graviton spectrum, and we compare the results of analytical and numerical computations.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figure

Selfdecomposability and selfsimilarity: a concise primer

We summarize the relations among three classes of laws: infinitely divisible, selfdecomposable and stable. First we look at them as the solutions of the Central Limit Problem; then their role is scrutinized in relation to the Levy and the additive processes with an emphasis on stationarity and selfsimilarity. Finally we analyze the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes driven by Levy noises and their selfdecomposable stationary distributions, and we end with a few particular examples.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures; corrected misprint in the title; redactional modifications required by the referee; added references from [16] to [28];. Accepted and in press on Physica

Hints of theta_13>0 from global neutrino data analysis

Nailing down the unknown neutrino mixing angle theta_13 is one of the most important goals in current lepton physics. In this context, we perform a global analysis of neutrino oscillation data, focusing on theta_13, and including recent results [Neutrino 2008, Proceedings of the XXIII International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2008 (unpublished)]. We discuss two converging hints of theta_13>0, each at the level of ~1sigma: an older one coming from atmospheric neutrino data, and a newer one coming from the combination of solar and long-baseline reactor neutrino data. Their combination provides the global estimate sin^2(theta_13) = 0.016 +- 0.010 (1sigma), implying a preference for \theta_13>0 with non-negligible statistical significance (~90% C.L.). We discuss possible refinements of the experimental data analyses, which might sharpen such intriguing indication.Comment: Minor changes in the text. Matches published version in PR

Maxwell-Kosteleck\'y Electromagnetism and Cosmic Magnetization

The Lorentz violating term in the photon sector of Standard Model Extension, \mathcal{L}_K = -{\frac14} (k_F)_{\alpha \beta \mu \nu} F^{\alpha \beta} F^{\mu \nu} (here referred to as the Kosteleck\'{y} term), breaks conformal invariance of electromagnetism and enables a superadiabatic amplification of magnetic vacuum fluctuations during inflation. For a wide range of values of parameters defining Lorentz symmetry violation and inflation, the present-day magnetic field can have an intensity of order of nanogauss on megaparsec scales and then could explain the large-scale magnetization of the universe.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, minor revisions; accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Testing the Isotropy of the Universe with Type Ia Supernovae

We analyze the magnitude-redshift data of type Ia supernovae included in the Union and Union2 compilations in the framework of an anisotropic Bianchi type I cosmological model and in the presence of a dark energy fluid with anisotropic equation of state. We find that the amount of deviation from isotropy of the equation of state of dark energy, the skewness \delta, and the present level of anisotropy of the large-scale geometry of the Universe, the actual shear \Sigma_0, are constrained in the ranges -0.16 < \delta < 0.12 and -0.012 < \Sigma_0 < 0.012 (1\sigma C.L.) by Union2 data. Supernova data are then compatible with a standard isotropic universe (\delta = \Sigma_0 = 0), but a large level of anisotropy, both in the geometry of the Universe and in the equation of state of dark energy, is allowed.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Union2 analysis added. New references added. To appear in Phys. Rev.