Corrections to Einstein’s Relation for Brownian Motion in a Tilted Periodic Potential

In this paper we revisit the problem of Brownian motion in a tilted periodic potential. We use homogenization theory to derive general formulas for the effective velocity and the effective diffusion tensor that are valid for arbitrary tilts. Furthermore, we obtain power series expansions for the velocity and the diffusion coefficient as functions of the external forcing. Thus, we provide systematic corrections to Einstein’s formula and to linear response theory. Our theoretical results are supported by extensive numerical simulations. For our numerical experiments we use a novel spectral numerical method that leads to a very efficient and accurate calculation of the effective velocity and the effective diffusion tensor.     

A Generalization of Wigner’s Law

We present a generalization of Wigner’s semicircle law: we consider a sequence of probability distributions , with mean value zero and take an N × N real symmetric matrix with entries independently chosen from p _N and analyze the distribution of eigenvalues. If we normalize this distribution by its dispersion we show that as N → ∞ for certain p _N the distribution weakly converges to a universal distribution. The result is a formula for the moments of the universal distribution in terms of the rate of growth of the k ^th moment of p _N (as a function of N), and describe what this means in terms of the support of the distribution. As a corollary, when p _N does not depend on N we obtain Wigner’s law: if all moments of a distribution are finite, the distribution of eigenvalues is a semicircle.     

Notes on Entropic Uncertainty Relations Beyond the Scope of Riesz’s Theorem

We discuss those relations for entropies of two quantum measurements that do not follow from the Riesz theorem and its varieties. As measures of an uncertainty, both the Rényi entropies and Tsallis entropies are utilized. It is assumed that values of entropic parameters do not share the usual relation which is required for application of Riesz’s theorem. As is shown, the question is quite reduced to estimating from below the sum or the product of norm-like functions of two generated probability distributions. The considered approach is developed in details within the two examples. In the first example, entropic uncertainty relations are given for a pair of spin-1/2 components along two non-orthogonal axes. The second example deals with two measurements for state discrimination. The former projective measurement is assigned to the Helstrom scheme, the second POVM is related to the B92 protocol of quantum key distribution.     

PGB′s Corrections to Top-Quark Production in Topcolor-assisted Multiscale Technicolor Model

In topcolor-assisted multiscale technicolor (TOPCMTC) model.we calculate the corrections of Pseudo Goldstone bosons (technipions,top-pions)to the cross section of the process qq→tt at the Fermilab Tevatron.Our results show that the corrections mainly come form top pions.With reasonable value of the parameters.the correction can increase the total tt production corss section σtt by as much as 17%.This may provide a window to detect tpo-pions.     

Uniqueness of Mass-Conserving Self-similar Solutions to Smoluchowski’s Coagulation Equation with Inverse Power Law Kernels

Uniqueness of mass-conserving self-similar solutions to Smoluchowski’s coagulation equation is shown when the coagulation kernel K is given by \(K(x,x_*)=2(x x_*)^{-\alpha }\), \((x,x_*)\in (0,\infty )^2\), for some \(\alpha >0\).     

A Note on Fick’s Law with Phase Transitions

Journal of Statistical Physics - We characterize the non equilibrium stationary states in two classes of systems where phase transitions are present. We prove that the interface in the limit is a...     

Corrections to Kramers’ formula for the fission rate of excited nuclei

A Kramers?? formulas with corrections of the first and second infinitesimal orders, R _F and R _S , are derived from the integral Kramers?? formula. In these corrections, we consider higher derivatives of the potential and the distance between the saddle and scission points in R _F . The rates R _F and R _S are compared with the results of dynamic simulations R _D . It is shown that R _F and R _I agree with R _D equally well. The calculations are performed for different forms of the potential. Although the corrections are derived for the overdamping mode they can be used for the case of medium friction.     

Weyl’s Law and Connes’ Trace Theorem for Noncommutative Two Tori

We prove the analogue of Weyl’s law for a noncommutative Riemannian manifold, namely the noncommutative two torus ${\mathbb{T}_{\theta}^{2}}$ equipped with a general translation invariant conformal structure and a Weyl conformal factor. This is achieved by studying the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of the perturbed Laplacian on ${\mathbb{T}_{\theta}^{2}}$ . We also prove the analogue of Connes’ trace theorem by showing that the Dixmier trace and a noncommutative residue coincide on pseudodifferential operators of order ?2 on ${\mathbb{T}_{\theta}^{2}}$ .     

Loschmidt, Stefan, and Stigler’s Law of Eponymy

Josef Loschmidt (1821–1895) and Josef Stefan (1835–1893) were eminent scientists in the Institute of Physics at the University of Vienna during the second half of the nineteenth century but are not well known today, as their legacies have been recognized differently by the scientific community. Loschmidt first described the structure of the benzene molecule and determined the size of air molecules, from which the number of molecules per unit volume can easily be determined, yet others received the credit for these achievements. Stefan posited the fourth-power temperature radiation law, but neither he nor his student Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906) calculated the proportionality constant now known as the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. These are instances of Stigler’s Law of Eponymy. Besides these achievements, perhaps the greatest unheralded contribution of both Loschmidt and Stefan was the experimental evidence they provided in support of the emerging kinetic theory of gases.     

A Mechanical Model for Fourier’s Law of Heat Conduction

Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics close to equilibrium is a physically satisfactory theory centered on the linear response formula of Green-Kubo. This formula results from a formal first order perturbation calculation without rigorous justification. A rigorous derivation of Fourier’s law for heat conduction from the laws of mechanics remains thus a major unsolved problem. In this note we present a deterministic mechanical model of a heat-conducting chain with nontrivial interactions, where kinetic energy fluctuations at the nodes of the chain are removed. In this model the derivation of Fourier’s law can proceed rigorously.     

Is Quantum Mechanics Incompatible with Newton’s First Law?

Quantum mechanics (QM) clearly violates Newton’s First Law of Motion (NFLM) in the quantum domain for one of the simplest problems, yielding an effect in a force-free region much like the Aharonov-Bohm effect. In addition, there is an incompatibility between the predictions of QM in the classical limit, and that of classical mechanics (CM) with respect to NFLM. A general argument is made that such a disparity may be found commonly for a wide variety of quantum predictions in the classical limit. Alternatives to the Schrödinger equation are considered that might avoid this problem. The meaning of the classical limit is examined. Critical views regarding QM by Schrödinger, Bohm, Bell, Clauser, and others are presented to provide a more complete perspective.     

Coulomb corrections to Delbrück scattering

The emission of high-energy-rays in the deexcitation of hot⁴⁰Ca and³⁹K nuclei formed in heavy-ion fusion reactions at excitation energyE _x 90 MeV has been studied. The high energy-rays were measured in coincidence with evaporation residues or light charged particles. The spectrum from the self-conjugated compound nucleus⁴⁰Ca shows an appreciable yield suppression in the Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) energy region with respect to the³⁹K, due to isospin selection rules in the dipole-decay. The spectral line shapes of the spectra are well reproduced by using a statistical code which treats explicitly the isospin quantum number in evaluating level densities and transmission coefficients. The GDR parameters determined from the present coincidence measurements are in good agreement with the systematic in theA 40 mass region at lower bombarding energy based on the analysis of inclusive spectra.We thank M. Caldogno for technical support in the development of evaporation residues detectors. We acknowledge the participation of M. Anghinolfi, P. Corvisiero, M. Taiuti and A. Zucchiatti in the early stages of this work. Thanks are due to M. Kicinska-Habior for providing the isospin-dependent code. Discussions with B. Fornal are also gratefully acknowledged.     

Towards a Derivation of Fourier’s Law for Coupled Anharmonic Oscillators

We consider a Hamiltonian system made of weakly coupled anharmonic oscillators arranged on a three dimensional lattice , and subjected to stochastic forcing mimicking heat baths of temperatures T ₁ and T ₂ on the hyperplanes at 0 and N. We introduce a truncation of the Hopf equations describing the stationary state of the system which leads to a nonlinear equation for the two-point stationary correlation functions. We prove that these equations have a unique solution which, for N large, is approximately a local equilibrium state satisfying Fourier law that relates the heat current to a local temperature gradient. The temperature exhibits a nonlinear profile. Partially supported by the Academy of Finland.     

The blogosphere as an excitable social medium: Richter’s and Omori’s Law in media coverage

We study the dynamics of public media attention by monitoring the content of online blogs. Social and media events can be traced by the propagation of word frequencies of related keywords. Media events are classified as exogenous–where blogging activity is triggered by an external news item–or endogenous where word frequencies build up within a blogging community without external influences. We show that word occurrences exhibit statistical similarities to earthquakes. Moreover the size distribution of events scales with a similar exponent as found in the Gutenberg–Richter law. The dynamics of media events before and after the main event can be satisfactorily modeled as a type of process which has been used to understand fore–and aftershock rate distributions in earthquakes–the Omori law. We present empirical evidence that for media events of endogenous origin the overall public reception of the event is correlated with the behavior of word frequencies at the beginning of the event, and is to a certain degree predictable. These results imply that the process of opinion formation in a human society might be related to effects known from excitable media.     

Carl Neumann’s Contributions to Electrodynamics

I examine the publications of Carl Neumann (1832–1925) on electrodynamics, which constitute a major part of his work and which illuminate his approach to mathematical physics. I show how Neumann contributed to physics at an important stage in its development and how his work led to a polemic with Hermann Helmholtz (1821–1894). Neumann advanced and extended the ideas of the Königsberg school of mathematical physics. His investigations were aimed at founding a mathematically exact physical theory of electrodynamics, following the approach of Carl G.J. Jacobi (1804–1851) on the foundation of a physical theory as outlined in Jacobis lectures on analytical mechanics. Neumanns work also shows how he clung to principles that impeded him in appreciating and developing new ideas such as those on field theory that were proposed by Michael Faraday (1791–1867) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879).Karl-Heinz Schlote works as a historian of mathematics in the Arbeitsgruppe für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik at the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften in Leipzig, Germany.     

Generalized Sturm expansions of the Coulomb Green’s function and two-photon Gordon formulas

The radial component of the Coulomb Green’s function (CGF) is written in the form of a double series in Laguerre polynomials (Sturm’s functions in the Coulomb problem), which contains two free parameters α and α′. The obtained result is applicable both in the nonrelativistic case and for the CGF of the squared Dirac equation with a Coulomb potential. The CGF is decomposed into the resonance and potential components (the latter is a smooth function of energy) for α = α′. In the momentum representation, the CGF with the free parameters is written in the form of an expansion in four-dimensional spherical functions. The choice of the parameters α and α ′ in accordance with the specific features of the given problem radically simplifies the calculation of the composite matrix elements for electromagnetic transitions. Closed analytic expressions (in terms of hypergeometric functions) are obtained for the amplitudes of bound-bound and bound-free two-photon transitions in the hydrogen atom from an arbitrary initial state ¦nl〉, which generalize the known (one-photon) Gordon formulas. The dynamic polarizability tensor components α_nlm(ω) for an arbitrary n are expressed in terms of the hypergeometric function ₂ F ₁ depending only on l and $\tilde \omega $ and through the polynomial functions $f_{nl} (\tilde \omega )$ of frequency $\tilde \omega = {{\hbar \omega } \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\hbar \omega } {\left| {E_n } \right|}}} \right. \kern-0em} {\left| {E_n } \right|}}$ . The Rydberg (n ? 1) and threshold (?ω ～ ¦ E _n¦) asymptotic forms of polarizabilities are investigated.     

General Considerations on the Finite-Size Corrections for Coulomb Systems in the Debye--Hückel Regime

We study the statistical mechanics of classical Coulomb systems in a low coupling regime (Debye--Hückel regime) in a confined geometry with Dirichlet boundary conditions for the electric potential. We use a method recently developed by the authors which relates the grand partition function of a Coulomb system in a confined geometry with a certain regularization of the determinant of the Laplacian on that geometry with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We study several examples of fully confining geometry in two and three dimensions and semi-confined geometries where the system is confined only in one or two directions of the space. We also generalize the method to study systems confined in arbitrary geometries with smooth boundary. We find a relation between the expansion for small argument of the heat kernel of the Laplacian and the large-size expansion of the grand potential of the Coulomb system. This allow us to find the finite-size expansion of the grand potential of the system in general. We recover known results for the bulk grand potential (in two and three dimensions) and the surface tension (for two-dimensional systems). We find the surface tension for three-dimensional systems. For two-dimensional systems our general calculation of the finite-size expansion gives a proof of the existence a universal logarithmic finite-size correction predicted some time ago, at least in the low coupling regime. For three-dimensional systems we obtain a prediction for the curvature correction to the grand potential of a confined system.