Mathematics and turbulence: where do we stand?

This contribution covers the topics presented by the authors at the “Fundamental Problems of Turbulence, 50 Years after the Marseille Conference 1961” meeting that took place in Marseille in 2011. It focuses on some of the mathematical approaches to fluid dynamics and turbulence. This contribution does not pretend to cover or answer, as the reader may discover, the fundamental questions in turbulence, however, it aims toward presenting some of the most recent advances in attacking these questions using rigorous mathematical tools. Moreover, we consider that the proofs of the mathematical statements (concerning, for instance, finite time regularity, weak solutions and vanishing viscosity) may contain information as relevant, to the understanding of the underlying problem, as the statements themselves.     

Why do we observe a classical spacetime?

The smallness of the Planck length alone does not explain the absence of quantum effects of gravitation. Instead, in order to become classical, spacetime has to be continuosly measured by matter. Therefore the geometry of spacetime appears classical because our universe is not empty.     

Sauna,sweat and science II – do we sweat what we drink?

ABSTRACT

Inspired by a previous ‘Sauna, sweat and science’ study [Zech et al. Isot Environ Health Stud. 2015;51(3):439–447] and out of curiosity and enthusiasm for stable isotope and sauna research we aimed at answering the question ‘do we sweat (isotopically) what we drink’? We, therefore, pulse-labelled five test persons in a sauna experiment with beverages that were ²H-enriched at about +25,600?‰. Sweat samples were collected during six sauna rounds and the hydrogen isotope composition δ²H_sweat was determined using an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Before pulse labelling, δ²H_sweat – reflecting by approximation body water – ranged from –32 to –22?‰. This is ～35?‰ enriched compared to usual mid-European drinking water and can be explained with hydrogen-bearing food as well as with the respiratory loss of ²H-depleted vapour. The absence of a clearly detectable ²H pulse in sweat after pulse labelling and δ²H_sweat results of ≤+250?‰ due to a fast ²H equilibration with body water are moreover a clearly negative answer to our research question also in a short-term consideration. Given that the recovery of the tracer based on an isotope mass balance calculation is clearly below 100?%, we finally answer the question ‘where did the rest of the tracer go?’     

Comparative atomistic and coarse-grained study of water: What do we lose by coarse-graining?

We employ the inverse Boltzmann method to coarse-grain three commonly used three-site water models (TIP3P, SPC and SPC/E) where one molecule is replaced with one coarse-grained particle with isotropic two-body interactions only. The shape of the coarse-grained potentials is dominated by the ratio of two lengths, which can be rationalized by the geometric constraints of the water clusters. It is shown that for simple two-body potentials either the radial distribution function or the geometrical packing can be optimized. In a similar way, as needed for multiscale methods, either the pressure or the compressibility can be fitted to the all atom liquid. In total, a speed-up by a factor of about 50 in computational time can be reached by this coarse-graining procedure.     

Lorentz invariance and quantum gravity: an additional fine-tuning problem?

Trying to combine standard quantum field theories with gravity leads to a breakdown of the usual structure of space time at around the Planck length, 1.6x10(-35) m, with possible violations of Lorentz invariance. Calculations of preferred-frame effects in quantum gravity have further motivated high precision searches for Lorentz violation. Here, we explain that combining known elementary particle interactions with a Planck-scale preferred frame gives rise to Lorentz violation at the percent level, some 20 orders of magnitude higher than earlier estimates, unless the bare parameters of the theory are unnaturally strongly fine tuned. Therefore an important task is not just the improvement of the precision of searches for violations of Lorentz invariance, but also the search for theoretical mechanisms for automatically preserving Lorentz invariance.     

Discrete quantum breathers: what do we know about them?

The knowledge about discrete quantum breathers, accumulated during the last two decades, is reviewed. "Prehistory" of the problem is described and some important properties differentiating localized and extended vibrational modes are outlined. The state of art of our understanding of the principal features of the quantum discrete breathers is presented.     

Quantum teleportation and Kerr-Newman spacetime

We consider the teleportation in the background of Kerr-Newman spacetime. Because of the Hawking effect, the fidelity of the teleportation is reduced. The results also show the fidelity is closely related to the mass, charge and rotating velocity of the black hole: high fidelity can be reached for massive, slowly rotating Kerr-Newman black holes.     

Where do inertial particles go in fluid flows?

We derive a general reduced-order equation for the asymptotic motion of finite-size particles in unsteady fluid flows. Our inertial equation is a small perturbation of passive fluid advection on a globally attracting slow manifold. Among other things, the inertial equation implies that particle clustering locations in two-dimensional steady flows can be described rigorously by the Q parameter, i.e., by one-half of the squared difference of the vorticity and the rate of strain. Use of the inertial equation also enables us to solve the numerically ill-posed problem of source inversion, i.e., locating initial positions from a current particle distribution. We illustrate these results on inertial particle motion in the Jung-Tél-Ziemniak model of vortex shedding behind a cylinder in crossflow.     

Quark and Gluon Orbital Angular Momentum: Where Are We?

The orbital angular momentum of quarks and gluons contributes significantly to the proton spin budget and attracted a lot of attention in the recent years, both theoretically and experimentally. We summarize the various definitions of parton orbital angular momentum together with their relations with parton distributions functions. In particular, we highlight current theoretical puzzles and give some prospects.     

Can gravity distinguish between Dirac and Majorana neutrinos?

We show that spin-gravity interaction can distinguish between Dirac and Majorana neutrino wave packets propagating in a Lense-Thirring background. Using time-independent perturbation theory and the gravitational phase to generate a perturbation Hamiltonian with spin-gravity coupling, we show that the associated matrix element for the Majorana neutrino differs significantly from its Dirac counterpart. This difference can be demonstrated through significant gravitational corrections to the neutrino oscillation length for a two-flavor system, as shown explicitly for SN 1987A.     

Primordial perturbations and non-gaussianities in Ho?ava-Lifshitz gravity

We investigate primordial perturbations and non-gaussianities in the Ho?ava-Lifshitz theory of gravitation. In the UV limit, the scalar perturbation in the Ho?ava theory is naturally scale-invariant, ignoring the details of the expansion of the Universe. One may thus relax the exponential inflation and the slow-roll conditions for the inflaton field. As a result, it is possible that the primordial non-gaussianities, which are " slow-roll suppressed” in the standard scenarios, become large. We calculate the non-gaussianities from the bispectrum of the perturbation and find that the equilateral-type non-gaussianity is of the order of unity, while the local-type non-gaussianity remains small, as in the usual single-field slow-roll inflation model in general relativity. Our result is a new constraint on Ho?ava-Lifshitz gravity.     

What do we learn from the CMB observations?

We give an account, at nonexpert and quantitative level, of physics behind the CMB temperature anisotropy and polarization and their peculiar features. We discuss, in particular, how cosmological parameters are determined from the CMB measurements and their combinations with other observations. We emphasize that CMB is the major source of information on the primordial density perturbations and, possibly, gravitational waves, and discuss the implication for our understanding of the extremely early Universe.     

Where do the H atoms reside in PdH x systems?

We present an ab initio density-functional theory study of PdH _x systems. We evaluated the total energy of PdH _x systems with the H atoms occupying interstitial (octahedral and tetrahedral) sites of a Pd supercell, allowing for the relaxation of the coordinates and supercell dimensions. The majority of our calculations were based on supercells consisting of four Pd atoms, and up to four H atoms, covering the range from x = 0.25 to x = 1. In addition some larger calculations are reported. In order to compare the relative stability of systems at different values of x (at fixed pressure and temperature T = P = 0), we computed the enthalpy of formation ΔH _f (x) of the (non)stoichiometric systems. In the regime x = 0 → 1, the ΔH _f (x) decrease in a manner indicative of the existence of attractive interactions between the dissolved H atoms. Ideal-solution theory cannot be applied to this system. Furthermore, we find that tetrahedral occupation is favoured over octahedral occupation at high x, leading to the formation of a zincblende structure at x = 1. A preliminary vibrational analysis of normal modes has been performed. Inclusion of vibrational zero-point energies in a harmonic approximation leads us to conclude, tentatively, that the observed stability of octahedral site occupation is due to more favourable zero-point energies of the H atoms in those sites. The results indicate that a proper understanding of this system must take into account the quantum nature of the dissolved hydrogen.     

Stick-slip motion in spite of a slippery contact: do we get what we see in atomic friction?

Atomic force microscopy provides direct atomic-scale access to friction. In this paper, unexpected and potentially dramatic consequences of the tip elasticity are discussed. Under certain natural conditions an essentially new, nontrivial regime can be entered. Although the tip appears to perform typical stick-slip motion, the tip-surface contact is fully "lubricated" by fast thermal motion of the tip apex. The interpretation of the observations needs to be changed completely in this case.