Can Dilaton Fields in Astrophysical Objects be Detected?

We analyze a new class of static exact solutions of Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton gravity with arbitrary scalar coupling constant , representing a gravitational body endowed with electromagnetic dipole moment. This class possesses mass, dipole and scalar charge parameters. A discussion of the geodesic motion shows that the scalar field interaction is so weak that it cannot be measured in gravitational fields like the sun, but it could perhaps be detected in gravitational fields like pulsars. The scalar force can be attractive or repulsive. This gives rise to the hypothesis that the magnetic field of some astrophysical objects could be fundamental.     

Can CP violation be observed in heavy-ion collisions?

We demonstrate that, at least at present, there is no convincing way to detect CP violation in heavy-ion collisions.     

Can ion-acoustic waves in plasma be backward waves?

The dispersion relation for ion-acoustic waves in plasma with ion flow has been analyzed. It is shown that these waves may exist (under certain conditions) in the form of backward waves with antiparallel group and phase velocities. The range of ion flow velocities allowing implementation of backward ion-acoustic waves is found.     

Can Quantum Gravity be Exposed in the Laboratory?

I propose an experiment that may be performed, with present low temperature and cryogenic technology, to reveal Wheeler’s quantum foam. It involves coupling an optical photon’s momentum to the center of mass motion of a macroscopic transparent block with parameters such that the latter is displaced in space by approximately a Planck length. I argue that such displacement is sensitive to quantum foam and will react back on the photon’s probability of transiting the block. This might allow determination of the precise scale at which quantum fluctuations of space–time become large, and so differentiate between the brane-world and the traditional scenarios of spacetime.     

Can spinor dipolar effects be observed in Bose-Einstein condensates?

Weak dipolar effects in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) have recently been predicted to develop spin textures. However, observation of the spin textures requires us to decrease the magnetic field down to approximately 10 microG for spin-1 alkali BECs, so that they are not washed out by the Zeeman effect. We present a scheme to observe the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction in alkali BECs under a realistic magnetic field of approximately 100 mG. Our scheme enables us to extract genuine dipolar effects and should apply also to (52)Cr BECs.     

Can induced theta vacua be created in heavy-Ion collisions?

We discuss a phenomenon important to the development of the early Universe which may be experimentally testable in heavy-ion collisions. An arbitrary induced straight theta vacuum state should be created in heavy-ion collisions, similar to the creation of the disoriented chiral condensate. It should be a large domain with a wrong straight theta(ind) not equal0 orientation which will mimic the physics of the early Universe when it is believed that the fundamental parameter straight theta(fund) not equal0. We test this idea numerically in a simple model where we study the evolution of the phases of the chiral condensates in QCD with two quark flavors with nonzero straight theta(ind) parameter. We see the formation of a nonzero straight theta(ind) vacuum on a time scale of 10(-23) s.     

Can Hawking temperatures be negative?

It has been widely believed that the Hawking temperature for a black hole is uniquely determined by its metric and positive. But, I argue that this might not be true in the recently discovered black holes which include the exotic black holes and the black holes in the three-dimensional higher curvature gravities. I argue that the Hawking temperatures, which are measured by the quantum fields in thermal equilibrium with the black holes, might not be the usual Hawking temperature but the new temperatures that have been proposed recently and can be negative. The associated new entropy formulae, which are defined by the first and second laws of thermodynamics, versus the black hole masses show some genuine effects of the black holes which do not occur in the spin systems. Some cosmological implications and physical origin of the discrepancy with the standard analysis are noted also.     

Can Spacetime be a Condensate?

We explore further the proposal [Hu, B. L. (1996). General relativity as geometro-hydrodynamics. (Invited talk at the Second Sakharov Conference, Moscow, May 1996); gr-qc/9607070.] that general relativity is the hydrodynamic limit of some fundamental theories of the microscopic structure of spacetime and matter, i.e., spacetime described by a differentiable manifold is an emergent entity and the metric or connection forms are collective variables valid only at the low-energy, long-wavelength limit of such micro-theories. In this view it is more relevant to find ways to deduce the microscopic ingredients of spacetime and matter from their macroscopic attributes than to find ways to quantize general relativity because it would only give us the equivalent of phonon physics, not the equivalents of atoms or quantum electrodynamics.It may turn out that spacetime is merely a representation of certain collective state of matter in some limiting regime of interactions, which is the view expressed by Sakharov [Sakharov, A. D. (1968). Soviet Physics-Doklady 12, 1040–1041; Sakharov, A. D. (1967). Vacuum quantum fluctuations in curved space and the theory of gravitation. Doklady Akad. Nauk S.S.R. 177, 70; Adler, S. L. (1982). Reviews of Modern Physics 54, 729]. In this talk, working within the conceptual framework of geometro-hydrodynamics, we suggest a new way to look at the nature of spacetime inspired by Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) physics. We ask the question whether spacetime could be a condensate, even without the knowledge of what the‘atom of spacetime’ is. We begin with a summary of the main themes for this new interpretation of cosmology and spacetime physics, and the ‘bottom-up’ approach to quantum gravity. We then describe the ‘Bosenova’ experiment of controlled collapse of a BEC and our cosmology-inspired interpretation of its results. We discuss the meaning of a condensate in different context. We explore how far this idea can sustain, its advantages and pitfalls, and its implications on the basic tenets of physics and existing programs of quantum gravity.     

Can MBPT and QED be merged in a systematic way?

The possiblities of merging QED with the standard many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) for atomic systems in a rigorous and systematic way are analysed. Time-dependent MBPT, based on the time-evolution operator, a technique well developed particularly in nuclear theory, is used and somewhat reformulated to be consistent with the covariant QED formalism. An effective QED Hamiltonian, free from singularities, is constructed. The procedure can be applied to degenerate and quasi-degenerate systems (extended model space), which is not possible with the standard QED technique based upon the S-matrix formulation. To include in the model space closely lying energy levels, such as fine-structure levels, can have a dramatic effect on the convergence rate. The electron-electron interaction is investigated in detail, and it is shown that it can be separated into irreducible multi-photon interactions, which in principle can be iterated as in standard MBPT. Singularities do not appear, and a simple procedure for evaluating residual finite contributions is described. Comparison is made with the closely related Green's function technique. The procedure is presently being tested on the fine-structure levels of He-like ions.     

Can a non-unitary effect be prominent in neutrino oscillation measurements?

Subject to neutrino experiments, the mixing matrix of ordinary neutrinos can still have small vi-olation from unitarity. We introduce a quasi-unitary matrix to interpret this violation and propose a natural scheme to parameterize it. A quasi-unitary factor △QF is defined to be measured in neutrino oscillation exper-iments and the numerical results show that the improvement in experimental precision may help us figure out the secret of neutrino mixing.     

Can Everett be Interpreted Without Extravaganza?

Everett’s relative states interpretation of quantum mechanics has met with problems related to probability, the preferred basis, and multiplicity. The third theme, I argue, is the most important one. It has led to developments of the original approach into many-worlds, many-minds, and decoherence-based approaches. The latter especially have been advocated in recent years, in an effort to understand multiplicity without resorting to what is often perceived as extravagant constructions. Drawing from and adding to arguments of others, I show that proponents of decoherence-based approaches have not yet succeeded in making their ontology clear.