Fine structure constant variation or spacetime anisotropy?

The European Physical Journal C - We try to understand the recently observed anomalous behavior of the photon-to-pion transition form factor in the holographic QCD approach. First the holographic...     

Thermoelastic constant or thermoelastic parameter?

Recently, some evidence has been reported in the literature which indicates that the thermoelastic ‘constant’ of a material is significantly dependent on the mean stress applied. This paper presents the theory which supports the possibility of such a phenomenon. It is shown that the stress dependence of the thermoelastic constant can be explained by the temperature dependence of the elastic properties of the material. Excellent agreement between the theoretical predictions and experimental data is achieved.     

On the enigmatic Λ – A true constant of spacetime

Had Einstein followed the Bianchi differential identity for the derivation of his equation of motion for gravitation, Λ would have emerged as a true new constant of spacetime on the same footing as the velocity of light? It is then conceivable that he could have perhaps made the most profound prediction that the Universe may suffer accelerated expansion some time in the future! Further we argue that its identification with the quantum vacuum energy is not valid as it should have to be accounted for like the gravitational field energy by enlarging the basic framework of spacetime and not through a stress tensor. The acceleration of the expansion of the Universe may indeed be measuring its value for the first time observationally.     

Is spacetime hole-free?

Here, we examine hole-freeness—a condition sometimes imposed to rule out seemingly artificial spacetimes. We show that under existing definitions (and contrary to claims made in the literature) there exist inextendible, globally hyperbolic spacetimes which fail to be hole-free. We then propose an updated formulation of the condition which enables us to show the intended result. We conclude with a few general remarks on the strength of the definition and then formulate a precise question which may be interpreted as: Are all physically reasonable spacetimes hole-free?     

Surface anisotropy in nanomagnets: transverse or Néel?

Through the hysteresis loop and magnetization spatial distribution we study and compare two models for surface anisotropy in nanomagnets: a model with transverse anisotropy axes and Néel's model. While surface anisotropy in the transverse model induces several jumps in the hysteresis loop because of the cluster-wise switching of spins, in the Néel model the jumps correspond to successive coherent partial rotations of the whole bunch of spins. These calculations together with some hints from available experimental results, suggest that Néel's model for surface anisotropy is more appropriate.     

Is the weak interaction constant really constant?

A comparison is made of the probability of the process of two-neutrino double beta decay for ⁸²Se and ⁹⁶Zr in direct (counter) and geochemical experiments. The experimental data for ¹³⁰Te are also analyzed. It is shown that the probability is systematically lower in geochemical experiments, which characterize the probability of (2) decay 10⁹ y ago. It is proposed that this could be due to a change in the weak interaction constant with time. It is proposed that a series of new, precise measurements be performed with the aid of counters and geochemical experiments.     

The Carter constant and Petrov classification of the Vaidya–Einstein–Kerr spacetime

The existence of the Carter constant in the Vaidya–Einstein–Kerr (VEK) spacetime and its relation to the Petrov type is investigated. This spacetime is an example of a black hole in an asymptotically non-flat background. We construct the Carter constant and obtain the Killing tensor in the VEK spacetime. The Newman–Penrose formalism is employed to obtain the spin coefficients. We present a complete (Petrov) classification of the VEK spacetime and the special case of the non-rotating Vaidya–Einstein–Schwarzschild spacetime. We demonstrate explicitly that both spacetimes are of type-D.     

Fine structure in the α decay of202Rn

The α decay of mass-separated²⁰²Rn is studied at the ISOLDE separator. Time sequential α-singles spectra together with α-X-t and α-e-t coincidence events are collected. Fine structure in the α decay is observed and feeding of a low-lying 0 ₂ ⁺ state at 816 keV in¹⁹⁸Po is evidenced. This 0⁺ state can be interpreted as the bandhead of an intruder-state based deformed band, coexisting with the spherical groundstate band. Mixing between normal and intruder states is discussed. A preliminary α-decay study of²⁰⁰Rn did not yet reveal any fine structure.     

Differential structure on the κ-Minkowski spacetime from twist

We study four-dimensional κ  -Minkowski spacetime constructed by the twist deformation of U(igl(4,R))$U(\mathit{igl}(4,R))$. We demonstrate that the differential structure of such twist-deformed κ-Minkowski spacetime is closed in four dimensions contrary to the construction of κ-Poincaré bicovariant calculus which needs an extra fifth dimension. Our construction holds in arbitrary dimensional spacetimes.     

Fine structure ofαdecay in222Pa

With the help of the gas-filled recoil spectrometer SHANS and a digital data acquisition system,the fine structure of the α decay for²²²Pa was studied.The nuclides were produced through the 1p3n evaporation channel via the heavy-ion induced fusion evaporation reaction ⁴⁰Ar+¹⁸⁶W.Based on the ER-α1-α2-α3 andα-γcorrelation measurement,three new α decays were observed in addition to the three branches known previously.The one with the largestαdecay energy was regarded as the ground state to ground state transition.The newly measuredαdecay properties of ²²²Pa were examined in a framework of reduced width.     

Fine structure of the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance in Ca due to Landau damping?

The fragmentation of the Isoscalar Giant Quadrupole Resonance (ISGQR) in ⁴⁰Ca has been investigated in high energy-resolution experiments using proton inelastic scattering at Ep=200 MeV$E_{\mathrm{p}}=200\text{MeV}$. Fine structure is observed in the region of the ISGQR and its characteristic energy scales are extracted from the experimental data by means of a wavelet analysis. The experimental scales are well described by Random Phase Approximation (RPA) and second-RPA calculations with an effective interaction derived from a realistic nucleon–nucleon interaction by the Unitary Correlation Operator Method (UCOM). In these results characteristic scales are already present at the mean-field level pointing to their origination in Landau damping, in contrast to the findings in heavier nuclei and also to SRPA calculations for ⁴⁰Ca based on phenomenological effective interactions, where fine structure is explained by the coupling to two-particle–two-hole (2p–2h) states.     

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.     

Which Fine-Tuning Arguments Are Fine?

Fine-tuning arguments are a frequent find in the literature on quantum field theory. They are based on naturalness—an aesthetic criterion that was given a precise definition in the debates on the Higgs mechanism. We follow the history of such definitions and of their application at the scale of electroweak symmetry breaking. They give rise to a special interpretation of probability, which we call Gedankenfrequency. Finally, we show that the argument from naturalness has been extended to comparing different models of the physics beyond the Standard Model and that naturalness in this case can at best be understood a socio-historic heuristic.     

Quantizing gravity and spacetime: Where do we stand ?

We review five possible solutions to the riddle posed by Quantum Gravity: (1) Gravity should stay as a classical theory (L. Rosenfeld); (2) Quantum Gravity requires a formalism which will take the human mind (or the intelligent observer) into account, resolving at the same time the riddle of the collapse of the wave function/state vector in Quantum Mechanics in general (Penrose); (3) Perturbative Quantization; (4) Hamiltonian Quantization (Dirac, Ashtekar); (5) String Theory. We also discuss the quantization of spacetime.