General H-Theorem for Hard Spheres

The maximum entropy formalism is used to investigate the growth of entropy (H-theorem) for an isolated system of hard spheres in an external potential under general boundary geometry. Assuming that only correlations of a finite number of particles are controlled and the rest maximizes entropy, we obtain an H-theorem for such a system The limiting cases such as the modified Enskog equation and linear kinetic theory are discussed.     

The Kadomtsev-Petviashvili II equation on the half-plane

The KPII equation is an integrable nonlinear PDE in 2+1 dimensions (two spatial and one temporal), which arises in several physical circumstances, including fluid mechanics, where it describes waves in shallow water. It provides a multidimensional generalisation of the renowned KdV equation. In this work, we employ a novel approach recently introduced by one of the authors in connection with the Davey-Stewartson equation (Fokas (2009) [13]), in order to analyse the initial-boundary value problem for the KPII equation formulated on the half-plane. The analysis makes crucial use of the so-called d-bar formalism, as well as of the so-called global relation. A novel feature of boundary as opposed to initial value problems in 2+1 is that the d-bar formalism now involves a function in the complex plane which is discontinuous across the real axis.     

Alpha-Particles within Nuclei

We present a formalism describing the bound state of a large number of bosons and apply it to study nuclei consisting of A α particles. The method has its roots in a few-body approach and is based on the expansion of the many-body Faddeev components in Potential Harmonics, and the subsequent reduction of the Faddeev equation into a two-variable, integro-differential equation. For A → ∞ this equation is transformed into a new simpler integro-differential equation, which is easy to use in calculations for A up to as large as 1000. We use both integro-differential equations to investigate the behavior of nuclei subject to the assumption that they are composed of α particles. Various α α forces were employed. For the Ali-Bodmer potential we found that the A = 5 system (i.e. ²⁰Ne) is the most stable, while for the A = 10 system (i.e. ⁴⁰Ca) the binding energy has a maximum. The formalism predicts α-decay for larger nuclei, but the value of A where this begins to happen is strongly dependent on the α α potential.     

On classical and quantum relativistic dynamics

A canonical formalism for the relativistic classical mechanics of many particles is proposed. The evolution equations for a charged particle in an electromagnetic field are obtained and the relativistic two-body problem with an invariant interaction is treated. Along the same line a quantum formalism for the spinless relativistic particle is obtained by means of imprimitivity systems according to Mackey theory. A quantum formalism for the spin-1/2 particle is constructed and a new definition of spin1/2 in relativity is proposed. An evolution equation for the spin-1/2 particle in an external electromagnetic field is given. The Bargmann Michel, and Telegdi equation follows from this formalism as a quasiclassical approximation. Finally, a new relativistic model for hydrogenlike atoms is proposed. The spectrum predicted is in agreement with Dirac's when radiative corrections have been added.     

The Master Equation for Two-Level Accelerated Systems at Finite Temperature

In this work, we study the behaviour of two weakly coupled quantum systems, described by a separable density operator; one of them is a single oscillator, representing a microscopic system, while the other is a set of oscillators which perform the role of a reservoir in thermal equilibrium. From the Liouville-Von Neumann equation for the reduced density operator, we devise the master equation that governs the evolution of the microscopic system, incorporating the effects of temperature via Thermofield Dynamics formalism by suitably redefining the vacuum of the macroscopic system. As applications, we initially investigate the behaviour of a Fermi oscillator in the presence of a heat bath consisting of a set of Fermi oscillators and that of an atomic two-level system interacting with a scalar radiation field, considered as a reservoir, by constructing the corresponding master equation which governs the time evolution of both sub-systems at finite temperature. Finally, we calculate the energy variation rates for the atom and the field, as well as the atomic population levels, both in the inertial case and at constant proper acceleration, considering the two-level system as a prototype of an Unruh detector, for admissible couplings of the radiation field.     

Kinetic equations within the formalism of non-equilibrium thermo field dynamics

After reviewing the real-time formalism of dissipative quantum field theory, i.e. non-equilibrium thermo field dynamics (NETFD), a kinetic equation, a self-consistent equation for the dissipation coefficient and a “mass” or “chemical potential” renormalization equation for non-equilibrium transient situations are extracted out of the two-point Green's function of the Heisenberg field, in their most general forms upon the basic requirements of NETFD. The formulation is applied to the electron-phonon system, as an example, where the gradient expansion and the quasi-particle approximation are performed. The formalism of NETFD is reinvestigated in connection with the kinetic equations.     

Direct solution of the equation of transfer using frequency- and angle-averaged photon escape probabilities,with application to a multistage,multilevel aluminum plasma

A formalism is developed which permits direct steady-state solution of the transfer equation using escape probabilities averaged over angle and frequency. A matrix of probability-based coupling coefficients, which are related to the kernel function K₁, is used to obtain the source function for a Doppler profile in plane-parallel geometry. Comparison is made with exact solutions, establishing the high accuracy of the technique. The method is extendable to different physical situations by simply modifying the coupling coefficients. As an example of a more realistic application of the formalism, we have solved for the ionization-excitation state of a planar aluminum plasma at 600 eV in collisional-radiative equilibrium. The results agree well with those obtained from the conventional multifrequency-multiangle formalism. Additionally, we have used the technique to gauge the effects of transport of lines connecting excited states with each other.     

Method for solving the many-body bound state nuclear problem

We present a method based on hyperspherical harmonics to solve the nuclear many-body problem. It is an extension of accurate methods used for studying few-body systems to many bodies and is based on the assumption that nucleons in nuclei interact mainly via pairwise forces. This leads to a two-variable integro-differential equation which is easy to solve. Unlike methods that utilize effective interactions, the present one employs directly nucleon-nucleon potentials and therefore nuclear correlations are included in an unambiguous way. Three body forces can also be included in the formalism. Details on how to obtain the various ingredients entering into the equation for the A-body system are given. Employing our formalism we calculated the binding energies for closed and open shell nuclei with central forces where the bound states are defined by a single hyperspherical harmonic. The results found are in agreement with those obtained by other methods.     

A consistent formulation of the excluded volume effect in hadron gas at high densities

Thermodynamics of a gas of nucleons and antinucleons at nonzero temperatureT and nonzero chemical potential μ is formulated by taking into account the nuclear repulsive force as an excluded volume effect. A thermodynamical potential Ω(T, μ, V) is constructed by replacing the true volumeV of the system with the effective volume in a formula which is valid for a free pointlike hadron gas. The general thermodynamical relationV ^?1?Ω/?μ=?n (n is the net baryon number density) yields a differential equation forn. The equation is solved in a compact integral form. The behavior of the solution is examined numerically for typical ranges ofT and μ which are relevant to the hadron-quark phase transition. The numerical results show that our previous formalism of the excluded volume effect is a good approximation of the present rigorous formalism. The baryon number susceptibility ?n/?μ|_μ=0 is also calculated numerically, and is compared with the result from the QCD Monte Carlo simulation by Gottlieb et al. [5].     

Statistical bootstrap of fireball decay spectra

We propose a generalized statistical bootstrap equation for the generating functional of the fireball decay spectra which includes the bootstrap of the hadronic mass spectrum. In the form of an integral representation a solution is given for some n-particle distributions as well as multiplicity moments in the case of identical particles. Within this formalism we are able to discuss decay-chain end effects and to treat quantum number conservation explicity. The general equation is approximated by a simpler bootstrap equation for the linear decay chain with quantum-number conservation. An asymptotic solution for the single particle distributions according to this equation is discussed.     

The entropy function for the extremal Kerr-(anti-)de Sitter black holes

Based on Sen's entropy function formalism, we consider the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the extremal Kerr-(anti-)de Sitter black holes in 4-dimensions. Unlike the extremal Kerr black hole case with flat asymptotic geometry, where the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S is proportional to the angular momentum J, we get a quartic algebraic relation between S and J by using the known solution to the Einstein equation. We recover the same relation in the entropy function formalism. Instead of full geometry, we write down an ansatz for the near horizon geometry only. The exact form of the unknown functions and parameters in the ansatz are obtained by solving the differential equations which extremize the entropy function. The results agree with the nontrivial relation between S and J.We also study the Gauss-Bonnet correction to the entropy exploiting the entropy function formalism. We show that the term, though being topological thus does not affect the solution, contributes a constant addition to the entropy because the term shifts the Hamiltonian by that amount.     

A multi-cluster,n-particle generalization of the three-particle faddeev wavefunction equations

Recent work applying certain forms of many-body scattering theory to problems such as molecular potential energy surfaces and equations for nonequilibrium statistical mechanics indicates that a formulation of the theory based directly on multi-cluster, n-particle, wave function components could be of some utility. Such a formulation is derived in this paper using techniques from the Baer-Kouri-Levin-Tobocman and Bencze-Redish-Sloan-Polyzou theories of multi-particle scattering. It is based on components corresponding to the various multi-cluster partitions of an n-particle scattering system and is a generalization of the three-body Faddeev wave function formalism, to which it reduces when n = 3. Except for the full breakup partition, which does not enter the equations, the new components are defined for all possible m-cluster partitions of the n-particles, 2 ≤ m ≤ n ? 1. The sum of all the components yields the solution to the Schrödinger equation for scattering and either the Schrödinger equation solution or an easily identified spurious solution in the case of bound states. Both the two-cluster components and two-cluster transition operators are shown to be solutions of equations involving quantities carrying only two-cluster partition labels. Discussions of the Born term and a multiple scattering representation for the non-rearrangement transition operator and the inclusion of distortion operators in the formalism are also included.     

Partial diagonalization of Bethe-Salpeter type equations

We consider an equation of the Bethe-Salpeter type, with arbitrary potential and kernel, respectively, for space-like momentum transfer. The invariance group of the equation is then the Lorentz-group in three dimensions, the O(1, 2) group. The standard procedure for the diagonalization of such equations (valid for square integrable solutions only) is generalized to include the case of power bounded solutions, by means of a generalized O(1, 2) expansion formalism. The result is a two-dimensional integral equation for the O(1, 2) expansion coefficients. The right-most l-plane singularities of these determine the asymptotic behaviour of the amplitudes as in ordinary Regge theory. The formalism can be applied to other dynamical equations possessing O(1, 2) symmetry.     

Pre-equilibrium nuclear reactions: The overlapping-doorway model for multi-step compound processes

Griffin's simple exciton model, designed to describe the spectra of pre-equilibrium particles emitted in compound-nuclear reactions, has recently been developed into a full-fledged doorway theory of multi-step compound reactions by three separate groups: Feshbach et al., Agassi et al., and Friedman et al. All three groups employ a time-independent scattering formalism, but since the time-sequence in which probability diffuses through the system of N doorway classes (e.g., 2p-1h, 3p-2h, etc. in the exciton model) is essential to a full understanding of the process, we have re-analyzed the problem in a time-dependent formalism. This shows explicitly how the statistical assumptions of the theory produce an irreversible flow of probability through the classes, described by a master equation. The solution of this equation demonstrates that the occupation probability of the compound system decays in time like a superposition of exponentials, with decay rates equal to the energy autocorrelation widths of the N “eigenclasses” of the system.Althrough intercomparison of the three theoretical approaches is also given, indicating which ones can be derived from the others and pointing out the differences in their basic statistical assumptions.     

The Hamilton-Cartan formalism for higher order conserved currents: 1. Regular first order Lagrangians

The Hamilton–Cartan formalism for regular first order Lagrangian field theories is extended to deal with conserved currents which depend on higher order derivatives of the field variables. These conserved currents are characterized. Exterior differential systems I^{(k + 1)} and I equivalent to the k-th and infinite prolongations of the Euler-Lagrange equations are defined. It is shown that to each conserved current is associated an equivalence class of infinitesimal symmetries of I. Conserved charges are defined and a Poisson bracket is constructed by analogy with the usual definition. The sine-Gordon equation is treated briefly as an application of the formalism.     

From three nucleons to three quarks

Some short history of three-body methods originated from the famous Skornyakov-Ter-Martirosyan equation is given, including the latest development of Faddeev formalism and Efimov states. The 3q system is shown to require an alternative, which is provided by the hyperspherical method (K harmonics), highly successful for baryons.     

On the Mass Difference between π and ρ Using a Relativistic Two-Body Model

The big mass difference between the pion (π) and rho meson (ρ) possibly originates from the spin-dependent nature of the interactions in the two states since these two states are similar except for spin. Both π and ρ are quark-antiquark systems which can be treated using the two-body Dirac equations (TBDE) of constraint dynamics. This relativistic approach for two-body system has the advantage over the non-relativistic treatment in the sense that the spin-dependent nature is automatically coming out from the formalism. We employed Dirac’s relativistic constraint dynamics to describe quark-antiquark systems. Within this formalism, the 16-component Dirac equation is reduced to the 4-component 2nd-order differential equation and the radial part of this equation is simply a Schrödinger-type equation with various terms calculated from the basic radial potential. We used a modified Richardson potential for quark-antiquark systems which satisfies the conditions of confinement and asymptotic freedom. We obtained the wave functions for these two mesons which are not singular at short distances. We also found that the cancellation between the Darwin and spin-spin interaction terms occurs in the π mass but not in the ρ mass and this is the main source of the big difference in the two meson masses.     

Non-equilibrium statistical mechanics in the general theory of relativity: II. Linear fields in a kinetic approximation

The first paper in this series introduced a new, manifestly covariant approach to non-equilibrium statistical mechanics in classical general relativity. The object of this second paper is to apply that formalism to the evolution of a collection of particles that interact via linear fields in a fixed curved background spacetime. Given the viewpoint adopted here, the fundamental objects of the theory are a many-particle distribution function, which lives in a many-particle phase space, and a many-particle conservation equation which this distribution satisfies. By viewing a composite N-particle system as interacting one- and (N ? 1)-particle subsystems, one can derive exact coupled equations for appropriately defined reduced one- and (N ? 1)-particle distribution functions. Alternatively, by treating all the particles on an identical footing, one can extract an exact closed equation involving only the one-particle distribution. The implementation of plausible assumptions, which constitute straightforward generalizations of standard non-relativistic “kinetic approximations”, then permits the formulation of an approximate kinetic equation for the one-particle distribution function. In the obvious non-relativistic limit, one recovers the well-known Vlasov-Landau equation. The explicit form for the relativistic expression is obtained for three concrete examples, namely, interactions via an electromagnetic field, a massive scalar field, and a symmetric second rank tensor field. For a large class of interactions, of which these three examples are representative, the kinetic equation will admit a relativistic Maxwellian distribution as an exact stationary solution; and, for these interactions, an H-theorem may be proved.     

Kinetic theory of dense fluids

A kinetic theory of dense fluids is presented in this series of papers. The theory is based on a kinetic equation for subsystems which represents a subset of equations structurally invariant to the sizes of the subsystem that includes the Boltzmann equation as an element at the low density limit. There exists a H-function for the kinetic equation and the equilibrium solution is uniquely given by the canonical distribution functions for the subsystems comprising the entire system. The cluster expansion is discussed for the N-body collision operator appearing in the kinetic equation. The kinetic parts of transport coefficients are obtained by means of a moment method and their density expansions are formally obtained. The Chapman-Enskog method is discussed in the subsequent paper.