“Teleparallel” dark energy

Using the “teleparallel” equivalent of General Relativity as the gravitational sector, which is based on torsion instead of curvature, we add a canonical scalar field, allowing for a nonminimal coupling with gravity. Although the minimal case is completely equivalent to standard quintessence, the nonminimal scenario has a richer structure, exhibiting quintessence-like or phantom-like behavior, or experiencing the phantom-divide crossing. The richer structure is manifested in the absence of a conformal transformation to an equivalent minimally-coupled model.     

Photorefractive “camera obscura”

We demonstrate a novel scheme for lensless image formation which combines the properties of an amplifying dynamic hologram and a pinhole camera. The scheme is realized on the base of a SPS:Sb1% photorefractive crystal working at 633 nm.     

“q-hat” and jet quenching

We discuss bremsstrahlung rates for a weakly coupled fast jet propagating in dense nuclear matter. A time-dependent radiation rate which smoothly merges with previous limits is introduced, exhibiting a clear transition between two regimes after a traversed length of order one to several fermis. The different physical processes probed in the two regimes are discussed.     

The “sources” of plasma physics

This paper is the text of the Plasma Science and Applications Committee Prize address given in Santa Fe, NM, on June 7, 1994. The principal thesis is that major advances in the development of the science of plasmas have frequently been triggered by the invention of a new plasma source. Examples are given from the work of many colleagues in basic plasma research. A retrospective of the author's experiments on basic plasma physics, magnetic fusion, and inertial fusion is given, many of these sharing the common theme of transverse electric fields. The author's present and future work concern new plasma sources that are needed for the application of plasma technology to materials processing     

“Step-up” versus “step-down” scattering asymmetry in the neutralization of H on free-electron vicinal metal surfaces

The charge transfer between H⁻ and a free-electron vicinal metallic surface is studied using a wave-packet propagation method. We apply a statistical Thomas-Fermi-von Weizsäcker model with a local density approximation for the exchange-correlation energy to compute the ground-state electronic structure of the substrate. The long-range image charge effects in the electron transfer are included on a phenomenological level. We obtain the ion-survival probability from a rate equation for a set of realistic scattering trajectories of projectiles that are incident with a kinetic energy of 50 eV. Our calculations reveal a pronounced substrate orientation dependence of the charge transfer dynamics expressed in a “left-right” (or “step-up-step-down”) scattering asymmetry in the final ion-survival probability, which is caused by an enhancement of electron loss on the outgoing part of those ion trajectories which approach steps from below.     

Response to “Comment on paper ‘The bulk modulus and Poisson's ratio of “incompressible” materials’”

The incorrectness of the common assumption that rubbery polymers are incompressible does not preclude its yielding accurate determinations of the elastic modulus for nonlinear deformations.     

Comments on “Scale-free networks without growth”

In [Y.-B. Xie, T. Zhou, B.-H. Wang, Scale-free networks without growth, Physica A 387 (2008) 1683-1688], a nongrowing scale-free network model has been introduced, which shows that the degree distribution of the model varies from the power-law form to the Poisson form as the free parameter α increases, and indicates that the growth may not be necessary for a scale-free network structure to emerge. However, the model implicitly assumes that self-loops and multiple-links are allowed in the model and counted in the degree distribution. In many real-life networks, such an assumption may not be reasonable. We showed here that the degree distribution of the emergent network does not obey a power-law form if self-loops and multiple-links are allowed in the model but not counted in the degree distribution. We also observed the same result when self-loops and multiple-links are not allowed in the model. Furthermore, we showed that the effect of self-loops and multiple-links on the degree distribution weakens as α increases and even becomes negligible when α is sufficiently large.     

Valence of “divalent” rare earth metals

It is generally recognized that light rare earths change their valence from 2 to 3 when forming a bulk metal while remaining divalent at the surface. However, performed DFT calculations ultimately indicate that the higher-binding-energy peaks in photoemission spectra (like the −5.3 eV peak for Sm), characteristic of the trivalent 4fⁿ⁻¹5d¹ configuration, correspond not to the ground state, but to excited states induced by radiation. This means that the trivalent state is not inherent for the bulk of divalent rare earths, and therefore they do not become trivalent.     

A comment on “The Photon Momentum”

In the paper “The Photon Momentum” [1], Dr. Umul makes the erroneous assumption that a photon can be absorbed by a free electron and then discusses the paradoxical consequences of this assumption. In this comment the correct physics is discussed (i.e. Compton scattering [2]).     

The “small-world” topology of rock fracture networks

In this contribution we show that natural rock fracture networks, acting as media for the delivery of a variety of geological fluids, can be studied by using the principles of complex systems. Natural networks at different length scales (from the metre to the micrometer) have been analysed by evaluating their connectivity at global and local scale and results show that they share topological properties of “small-worlds”, a class of networks characterised by high global and local transport efficiency. This may have important geological implications for a variety of geological processes related to the transfer of fluids within the Earth, from the delivery of magmas to the Earth surface to the dispersion of pollutants in shallow aquifers.     

Consequences of “one dimensional” electron energy bands

Recently a “one-dimensional” band hypothesis was invoked to explain giant low temperature specific heats in (Ti₂O₃)_x (V₂O₃)_1−x, 0.9 ? x ? 1.0. We discuss the consequences of “one-dimensionality” and show that, for Ti₂O₃, theory and resistivity experiments do not support this hypothesis.     

Contact potential measurements on “clean” CdS surfaces

Contact potential difference (cpd) measurements were carried out on {112̄} surfaces of high conductivity CdS cleaved in ultrahigh vacuum. A modified Kelvin method was employed. A change in cpd upon illumination with white light (surface photovoltage) was observed, indicating the presence of intrinsic surface states in these surfaces. Long exposure (about 24 hr) to water vapor (2 × 10⁻⁸ torr) caused an increase of about 1.0 V in cpd and a reduction in surface photovoltage. This increase in cpd was attributed primarily to a decrease in the electron affinity of the surfaces brought about by the molecular dipole moment of physically adsorbed water molecules. The “clean” surfaces exhibited no appreciable affinitity for spectroscopically pure oxygen, except under white light illumination apparently due to the increase of the density free electrons at the surface.     

“Antiferromagnetism” in social relations and Bonabeau model

We here present a fixed agents version of an original model of the emergence of hierarchies among social agents first introduced by Bonabeau et al. Having interactions occurring on a social network rather than among “walkers” does not drastically alter the dynamics. But it makes social structures more stable and give a clearer picture of the social organisation in a “mixed” regime, where finite ordered domains appear.     

Rebuttal on “anti-gravitation” by S. Hossenfelder

Hossenfelder proposes in [S. Hossenfelder, Phys. Lett. B 636 (2006) 119] and [S. Hossenfelder, gr-qc/0605083] a symmetry between gravitating and anti-gravitating particles by superposing a negative charge to classical relativity. This Letter explicitly shows that the latter proposal does not address any of the difficulties that arise in such context. On the contrary, the “world-lines” of the anti-gravitating particles are defined as observer-dependent entities and no attempt whatsoever to dynamically restore local boost invariance is made. Both papers simply focus on the erroneous construction of a new bundle attached to a preferred timelike vector field, although the author gives the impression that no such preference is needed.     

Singular unitarity in “quantization commutes with reduction”

Let M$M$ be a connected compact quantizable Kähler manifold equipped with a Hamiltonian action of a connected compact Lie group G$G$. Let M//G=?⁻¹(0)/G=_M0$M//G={?}^{-1}\left(0\right)/G=M_0$ be the symplectic quotient at value 0 of the moment map ?$?$. The space _M0$M_0$ may in general not be smooth. It is known that, as vector spaces, there is a natural isomorphism between the quantum Hilbert space over _M0$M_0$ and the G$G$-invariant subspace of the quantum Hilbert space over M$M$. In this paper, without any regularity assumption on the quotient _M0$M_0$, we discuss the relation between the inner products of these two quantum Hilbert spaces under the above natural isomorphism; we establish asymptotic unitarity to leading order in Planck’s constant of a modified map of the above isomorphism under a “metaplectic correction” of the two quantum Hilbert spaces.