Effect of thermal inhomogeneity on the performance of a Brownian heat engine

We explore the effect of thermal inhomogeneity on the performance of a Brownian heat engine by considering exactly solvable models. We first consider a Brownian heat engine which is modeled as a Brownian particle in a ratchet potential moving through a highly viscous medium driven by the thermal kick it receives from a linearly decreasing background temperature. We show that even though the energy transfer due to kinetic energy is neglected, Carnot efficiency cannot be achieved at quasistatic limit. At quasistatic limit, the efficiency for such a Brownian heat engine approaches the efficiency of endoreversible engine η = 1 ? √T _c /T _h [F.L. Curzon, B. Ahlborn, Am. J. Phys. 43, 22 (1975)]. Moreover, the dependence of the current, the efficiency and the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator on the model parameters is also explored via Brownian dynamic simulations and analytically. We show that such a Brownian heat engine has a higher performance when acting as a refrigerator than when operating as a device subjected to a piecewise constant temperature [M. Asfaw, M. Bekele, Eur. Phys. J. B 38, 457 (2004), M. Asfaw, M. Bekele, Physica A 384, 346 (2007)]. Furthermore, for a Brownian heat engine driven by a piecewise constant temperature, we show that systematic removal of the inhomogeneous medium leads to a homogeneous medium with a uniform temperature where the effect of temperature inhomogeneity is replaced by an effective load.     

Constraints on the central density and chemical composition of the white dwarf RX J0648.0-4418 with a record period of rotation in a model with the equation of state of an ideal degenerate electron gas

A system of equations and inequalities that allows one to determine the constraints on central density ρ _c and the chemical composition, which is governed by parameter μ _e , of the white dwarf RX J0648.0- 4418 with a record short period of rotation T = 13.18s and mass m = (1.28 ± 0.05)m⊙, has been derived. The analysis of numerical solutions of this system reveal a complex dependence of μ _e on ρ _c . The intervals of variation of μ _e and ρ _c are as follows: 1.09 ≤ μ _e ≤ 1.21 and 9.04 ≤ μ _e /ρ₀ ≤ 10³ (ρ₀ = 0.98 × 10⁶ g/cm³). This range of μ _e values suggests that the white dwarf RX J0648.0-4418 is not made of pure hydrogen and should contain 9–21% of heavy elements. Calculations have been performed with the equation of state of an ideal degenerate electron gas. Approximate analytic expressions (with an accuracy of 10^-3) for the minimum period T _min and mass m of the white dwarf are obtained. It is demonstrated that the white-dwarf mass is almost doubled (compared to the case of no rotation at a fixed central density) as period T approaches T _min.     

The robustness of contextuality and the contextuality cost of empirical models

In this paper, we introduce and discuss the robustness of contextuality (RoC) R_C(e) and the contextuality cost C(e) of an empirical model e. The following properties of them are proved. (i) An empirical model e is contextual if and only if R_C(e) > 0; (ii) the RoC function R_C is convex, lower semi-continuous and un-increasing under an affine mapping on the set EM of all empirical models; (iii) e is non-contextual if and only if C(e) = 0; (iv) e is contextual if and only if C(e) > 0; (v) e is strongly contextual if and only if C(e) = 1. Also, a relationship between R_C(e) and C(e) is obtained. Lastly, the RoC of three empirical models is computed and compared. Especially, the RoC of the PR boxes is obtained and the supremum 0.5 is found for the RoC of all no-signaling type (2, 2, 2) empirical models.     

Converting heat to electricity by a graphene stripe with heavy chiral fermions

A conversion of thermal energy into electricity is considered in the electricallypolarized graphene stripes with zigzag edges where the heavy chiral fermion (HCF) statesare formed. The stripes are characterized by a high electric conductance G _e and by a significantSeebeck coefficient S. The electric current in the stripes is induced due toa non-equilibrium thermal injection of “hot” electrons. This thermoelectric generationprocess might be utilized for building of thermoelectric generators with an exceptionallyhigh figure of merit ZδT ?1 and with an appreciable electric power densities ~1 MW/cm².     

Electroweak tests with τ leptons at LEP

We report on two sensitive tests of lepton universality carried out by the 4 LEP experiments at the Z⁰ pole. From measurements of the τ polarization in e⁺ e^?→τ ⁺ τ ^?, the ratios of the vector and axial vector coupling constants of the electron and the tau lepton to the weak neutral current are obtained to beg _{v e} /g _{a e} =0.066±0.015 andg _{V τ} /g _{A τ} =0.070±0.009 respectively. From measurement of the τ lifetime and the τ leptonic branching ratios, the ratio of the coupling constants describing weak leptonic decays of the τ and the μ is measured to beG _τ /G _μ =0.996±0.008.     

Analysis of the production of Higgs boson pairs at the one-loop level in the minimal supersymmetric standard model

Within theminimal supersymmetric standardmodel, the amplitudes and total cross sections for the processes e ⁺ e ^? → hh, e ⁺ e ^? → hH, e ⁺ e ^? → HH, and e ⁺ e ^? → AA are calculated in the first order of perturbation theory with allowance for a complete set of one-loop diagrams in the m _e → 0 approximation. Analytic expressions are obtained for the quantities under consideration; numerical results are presented in a graphical form. It is shown that the cross section for the process e ⁺ e ^? → hh is larger than those for the other processes (and is on the same order of magnitude as the cross section for the corresponding processes in the Standard Model). In the case of the collision energy equal to √s = 500 GeV, an integrated luminosity in the region ∫ ? ≥ 500 fb^?1, and a longitudinal polarization of the e ⁺ e ? beams used, 520, 320, and 300 production events are possible in the processes e ⁺ e ^? → hh (at M _h = 115 GeV), e ⁺ e ^? → HH, and e ⁺ e ^? → AA (at M _H,A = 120 GeV), respectively. Even at M _H,A ≈ 500 GeV and √s = 1.5 TeV, not less than 200 events for each of the processes can be accumulated. The cross section for the process e ⁺ e ^? → hH is small (about 10^?2 fb), which complicates the detection of the sought signal significantly.     

Feynman formulas generated by self-adjoint extensions of the Laplace operator

The Feynman formulas give a representation of a solution of the Cauchy problem for a Schrödinger-type equation (in a special case, for a heat-type equation) using the limit of integrals of finite multiplicity over Cartesian powers of the phase space (in the special case of the configuration space). The limit thus obtained, defining an explicit representation of a one-parameter unitary group e ^it? or a similar object (in our case, this concerns the semigroup e ^t? , which is often referred to in the literature as the Schrödinger semigroup) by integral operators, is interpreted by using Feynman integrals, whereas the expression thus obtained is referred in turn as the Feynman formula. As a rule, the Chernoff theorem, which is a generalization of the well known Trotter formula, is used in the derivation of the Feynman formula.In the paper, Feynman formulas for Schrödinger semigroups e ^t? are obtained, where the role of ? is played by the operator ? _a +V which is a perturbation of the self-adjoint extension of the Laplace operator (parametrized by some a ∈ (?∞, ∞]).     

Temperature Dependence of the Thermal Conductivity of a Trapped Dipolar Bose-Condensed Gas

The thermal conductivity of a trapped dipolar Bose condensed gas is calculated as a function of temperature in the framework of linear response theory. The contributions of the interactions between condensed and noncondensed atoms and between noncondensed atoms in the presence of both contact and dipole-dipole interactions are taken into account to the thermal relaxation time, by evaluating the self-energies of the system in the Beliaev approximation. We will show that above the Bose-Einstein condensation temperature (T?>?T _BEC ) in the absence of dipole-dipole interaction, the temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity reduces to that of an ideal Bose gas. In a trapped Bose-condensed gas for temperature interval k _B T?<<?n ₀ g _B , E _p ?<<?k _B T (n ₀ is the condensed density and g _B is the strength of the contact interaction), the relaxation rates due to dipolar and contact interactions between condensed and noncondensed atoms change as \( {\tau}_{dd12}^{-1}\propto {e}^{-E/{k}_BT} \) and τ _c12?∝?T ^?5, respectively, and the contact interaction plays the dominant role in the temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity, which leads to the T ^?3 behavior of the thermal conductivity. In the low-temperature limit, k _B T?<<?n ₀ g _B , E _p ?>>?k _B T, since the relaxation rate \( {\tau}_{c12}^{-1} \) is independent of temperature and the relaxation rate due to dipolar interaction goes to zero exponentially, the T ² temperature behavior for the thermal conductivity comes from the thermal mean velocity of the particles. We will also show that in the high-temperature limit (k _B T?>?n ₀ g _B ) and low momenta, the relaxation rates \( {\tau}_{c12}^{-1} \) and \( {\tau}_{dd12}^{-1} \) change linearly with temperature for both dipolar and contact interactions and the thermal conductivity scales linearly with temperature.     

Notes on number density fluctuations and the scattering cross section for electromagnetic waves scattered from a thermal nonequilibrium plasma

The scattering cross section and the Doppler spectrum for electromagnetic waves scattered by the electron density fluctuations of a plasma, where the mean kinetic temperature of the electronsT _e may differ from that of the ionsT _i , has been obtained among others byFejer, Buneman, Renau, Camnitz andFlood, andSalpeter. These authors use different methods of approach to calculate the autocovariance of the electron number-density fluctuations (from the mean) and then obtain the scattering cross section. Because of the differing results, the methods, concepts, and derivations of the scattering cross section are carefully examined in this paper. It is shown that the short-time dynamical considerations incorporated in the formulation of the statistical theory of the electron number-density fluctuations of the plasma as used by several authors (for instanceFejer, Buneman, Salpeter,) leads to results of limited validity. In addition, a fundamental error in calculating the electron density fluctuations leads these latter authors to an incorrect scattering cross section. The theory of scattering of electromagnetic waves from a plasma, where the electrons arenot in thermal equilibrium with the ions but statistical equilibrium exists, is developed in a general way. The covariance of the number-density fluctuations from the mean of the charged species of the plasma and the scattering cross sectionσ(q) are obtained. In particular it is shown that for a wavelength λ much greater than the effective Debye lengthd, the backscattering cross section increases and approaches complete incoherent scattering asT _e /T _i increases. This result is explained by noting that in the case of thermal equilibrium, the predicted value of the back-scattering cross section is smaller than that of the backscattering cross section from completely uncorrelated electron density fluctuations because the electrostatic interaction between the charged particles of the plasma, which is a function ofT _e andT _i , introduces a certain amount of organization in otherwise completely uncorrelated electron density fluctuations. When the mean temperature of the electrons increases relative to that of the ions, the organization introduced in the fluctuations diminishes because of the increasing thermal agitation of the electrons relative to that of the ions, and the backscattering process approaches that of incoherent backscattering (Thomson-type scattering). The spectrum function of incoherent scattering of electromagnetic waves from a nonequilibrium plasma is obtained and some cases of current interest are plotted.     

Study of photon electroproduction on the nucleon at high and low energy by Virtual Compton Scattering

Virtual Compton Scattering (VCS) and Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) on the nucleon are two processes accessed via the photon electroproduction reaction (eN → eγN). In the first part of this paper we are interested by the DVCS on the neutron. We measured the (D(e, eγ)X-H(e, e'γ)X) unpolarized cross section and we extracted, for the first time, a non-zero contribution of (neutron-DVCS + coherent- deuteron-DVCS) at Q ² = 1.75 GeV² and x _B = 36 from Jefferson Lab experiment E08-025. VCS on the proton has been studied at Mainz Microtron MAMI at the four-momentum transfer squared Q ² = 0.5 GeV², below the pion production threshold. In the second part of this paper we present our preliminary results of the structure functions (P _LL ? (P _TT/ε)) and P _LT, and the electric and magnetic generalized polarizabilities α _E (Q ²) and β _M (Q ²) extracted from this experiment.     

Probing the sign-changeable interaction between dark energy and dark matter with current observations

We consider the models of vacuum energy interacting with cold dark matter in this study, in which the coupling can change sigh during the cosmological evolution. We parameterize the running coupling b by the form b(a) = b_0 a + b_e(1-a), where at the earlytime the coupling is given by a constant b_e and today the coupling is described by another constant b_0. We explore six specific models with(i) Q = b(a)H_0ρ_0,(ii) Q = b(a)H_0ρ_(de),(iii) Q = b(a)H_0ρ_c,(iv) Q = b(a)Hρ_0,(v) Q = b(a)Hρ_(de), and(vi) Q = b(a)Hρ_c.The current observational data sets we use to constrain the models include the JLA compilation of type Ia supernova data, the Planck 2015 distance priors data of cosmic microwave background observation, the baryon acoustic oscillations measurements,and the Hubble constant direct measurement. We find that, for all the models, we have b_0 0 and b_e 0 at around the 1σ level,and b_0 and b_e are in extremely strong anti-correlation. Our results show that the coupling changes sign during the evolution at about the 1σ level, i.e., the energy transfer is from dark matter to dark energy when dark matter dominates the universe and the energy transfer is from dark energy to dark matter when dark energy dominates the universe.     

Energy scan of cross sections for <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>+</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>–</Superscript> annihilation into quarkonia and light hadrons in the Belle experiment

The cross sections of the reactions e⁺e^– → ?(nS)π⁺π^? (n = 1, 2,3) and e⁺e^– → h _b (nP)π⁺π^? (n = 1, 2) are measured as a function of the cms collision energy from their thresholds up to 11.02 GeV using the data of the Belle experiment operating at the KEKB e⁺e^– collider. The peaks of the ?(10 860) and ?(11020) resonances are observed in the cross sections with an insignificant contribution of the continuum. The decay ?(11020) → h _b (nP)π⁺π^? is found to fully proceed through intermediate isovector states Z _b (10610) and Z _b (10650).     

Single and double spin asymmetries in the elastic <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis> scattering and their dependence on the deuteron wave function

Single and double spin asymmetries in the elastic electron-deuteron (e-d ) scattering were investigated. The tensor-deuteron asymmetries T_2i(i = 0, 1, 2) and the beam-vector-deuteron asymmetries T ^e _1i(i = 0, 1) were calculated and compared with the available experimental data. The sensitivity of the results for these spin asymmetries to the deuteron wave function has been investigated. The predicted asymmetries were found to be agree with one another and with experiment. It was found that, the double spin asymmetry T ^e ₁₀ is much smaller than the T ^e ₁₁-asymmetry. Therefore, in addition to the single tensor-deuteron asymmetry T₂₀, the doubly beam-vector-deuteron asymmetry T ^e ₁₁ can be used as an another tool for extracting the deuteron electromagnetic form factors.     

Effect of FCNC mediated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> boson on lepton flavor violating decays

We study the three body lepton flavor violating (LFV) decays μ ^?→e ^? e ⁺ e ^?, \(\tau^{-} \to l_{i}^{-} l_{j}^{+} l_{j}^{-}\) and the semileptonic decay τ→μφ in the flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) mediated Z boson model. We also calculate the branching ratios for LFV leptonic B decays, B _d,s →μe, B _d,s →τe, B _d,s →τμ and the conversion of muon to electron in Ti nucleus. The new physics parameter space is constrained by using the experimental limits on μ ^?→e ^? e ⁺ e ^? and τ ^?→μ ^? μ ⁺ μ ^?. We find that the branching ratios for τ→eee and τ→μφ processes could be as large as \({\sim}{\mathcal{O}}(10^{-8})\) and \(\mathrm{Br}(B_{d,s} \to \tau \mu,~ \tau e) \sim {\mathcal{O}}(10^{-10})\). For other LFV B decays the branching ratios are found to be too small to be observed in the near future.     

Effect of Hall current and chemical reaction on MHD flow along a fluctuating porous flat plate with internal heat absorption/generation

Effect of Hall current on the unsteady free convection flow of a viscous incompressible and electrically conducting fluid past a fluctuating porous flat plate with internal heat absorption/generation in the presence of foreign gasses (such as H₂, CO₂, H₂O, NH₃) was investigated. The results are discussed with the effect of the parameters m, the Hall current, Mt, the hydromagnetic parameter, G _r the Grashoff number for heat transfer, G _c , the Grashoff number for mass transfer, S, the internal heat absorption/generation parameter, α, the transpiration parameter, S _c , the Schmidt parameter, and K _c the chemical reaction parameter for Prandtl number P _r = 0.71, which represents air. Further, the present study accounts for the 1st order chemical reaction affecting the flow characteristics. The governing equations are solved in closed form applying Hh _n (x) function. The effects of pertinent parameters characterizing the flow field are discussed with the help of graphs and tables. The important observation of the present study is that heat generation/absorption modifies the flow of current simultaneously to a magnetic force and thermal bouncy force. Heat generation combined with blowing leads to a sharp fall of temperature.     

Magnetische Suszeptibilität der flüssigen B-Elemente

From experimental data of the magnetic susceptibilityχ for various B-elements (Tab. 2 and 3) the contributionχ _e from electrons of the outer shell has been derived. Theχ _e-values of theliquid B-elements are found to be distributed systematically in the periodic table (Tab. 4). Most of these values can readily be interpreted by simplified theories (Larmor-Langevin-term for non-metallic, Pauli-Landau-term offree electrons for metallic melts). Some complicated cases (e.g. liquid Te) can be explained by considering the chemical bond. Besidesχ _e, the temperature dependency of the susceptibility and its change by melting are discussed in detail (Tab. 6 and 7).     

The 3–3–1 Model with RH Neutrinos and Associated ZH Production at High-Energy ${\bf \textit{e}}^{+}{\bf \textit{e}}^{-}$ Collider

In the context of SU(3) _C ?? SU(3) _L ?? U(1) _X (3–3–1) model with right-handed neutrinos, we study the Higgsstrahlung process e ^?+? e ^???→ZH and calculate the cross section of this process at leading order. Our numerical results showed that the production cross sections for this process can be significantly large as \(M_{Z'}\approx \sqrt{s}\). With reasonable values of the Z′ mass M _Z′, Z′ exchange can generate large corrections to the cross sections of this process, which might be detected in the future high-energy linear e ^?+? e ^??? collider experiments.     

A strongly asymmetric single-electron transistor operating as a zero-biased electrometer

We have studied a strongly asymmetric Al single-electron transistor with R₁ ? R₂ and C₁ ? C₂, where R_{1, 2} and C_{1, 2} are the tunnel resistances and capacitances of the first and second junction respectively. Due to the asymmetry in its electric parameters leading to strong asymmetry of the nonlinear I–V curve at zero bias (V = 0), the transistor demonstrated a remarkable current response to an AC signal at the values of the gate charge Q₀ close to (n + 1/2)e, where n is integer. A rather delicate regime of the transistor operation (V ? e/C_Σ) being important for unperturbed measurements was examined. The measured curves are in good agreement with a model based on the orthodox theory of single electron tunneling. This specific zero bias regime of an asymmetric transistor opens new opportunities for a single-electron transistor as an ultrasensitive charge/field sensor.     

37 Years with the light scalar mesons. The learned lessons

Attention is paid to the production mechanisms of light scalars that reveal their nature. We reveal the chiral shielding of the σ(600) meson. We show that the kaon loop mechanism of the ? radiative decays, ratified by experiment, is four-quark transition and points to the four-quark nature of light scalars. We show also that the light scalars are produced in the two photon collisions via four-quark transitions in contrast to the classic P wave tensor qq? mesons that are produced via two-quark transitions γγ → qq?. We study the mechanism of production of the light scalar mesons in the D _s ⁺ → π⁺π^? e ⁺ν decays: D _s ⁺ → ss?e ⁺ν → [σ(600) + f ₀(980)]e ⁺ν → π⁺π^? e ⁺ν, and compare it with the mechanism of production of the light pseudoscalar mesons in the D _s ⁺ → (η/η′)e ⁺ν decays: D _s ⁺ → ss?e ⁺ν → (η/η′)e ⁺ν. As a result we find support to four-quark nature of light scalars. In the end, we outline the future research program.     

Excitonic representation: Collective excitation spectra in the quantized Hall regime and spin biexciton

The excitonic representation method for describing collective excitations in the quantized Hall regime makes it possible to simplify analysis of the spectra and to obtain new results in the strong magnetic field limit, when E _C ??ω_c (ω_c is the cyclotron frequency and E_C is the characteristic Coulomb energy). For an integer odd filling factor ν greater than unity (i.e., for ν = 3, 5, 7,...), the spectra of one-cyclotron magneto-plasma excitations are calculated. For unit filling factor, the existence of a spin biexciton (bound state of two spin waves) corresponding to excitation with a spin change (δ_S = δ_Sz = ?2) is proved. The exact equation determining the ground state of the biexciton is derived in the thermodynamic limit N_Φ → ∞ (_N? is the system degeneracy). The exchange energy of this state is lower than for a single spin wave (with δ_S = δ_Sz = ?1) for the same value of the 2D wavevector q. In the limit q → ∞ corresponding to the decay of a biexciton into a pair of quasiparticles one of which is a trion with a spin of ?3/2, the energy is found to be lower than the energy (e²/εl _B )√π/2 required for exciting an electron-hole pair in the strictly 2D case (l_B is the magnetic length and ε is the dielectric constant), although this energy is higher than another “classical” result (e²/εl _B )√π/2, corresponding to the excitation of a skyrmion-antiskyrmion pair (|δS|=|δS _z |?1). The solution of the exact equation gives the trion binding energy and the activation gap for quasiparticles whose excitation corresponds to a change in the total spin by δS = δ S_z =?3. The energy of a spin biexciton is calculated for values of the wavevector such that ql _B ?1.