Asymptotics of heavy atoms in high magnetic fields: II. Semiclassical regions

The ground state energy of an atom of nuclear chargeZe in a magnetic fieldB is exactly evaluated to leading order asZ in the following three regions:BZ ^4/3,BZ ^4/3 andZ ^4/3BZ³. In each case this is accomplished by a modified Thomas-Fermi (TF) type theory. We also analyze these TF theories in detail, one of their consequences being the nonintuitive fact that atoms are spherical (to leading order) despite the leading order change in energy due to theB field. This paper complements and completes our earlier analysis [1], which was primarily devoted to the regionsBZ ³ andBZ³ in which a semiclassical TF analysis is numerically and conceptually wrong. There are two main mathematical results in this paper, needed for the proof of the exactitude of the TF theories. One is a generalization of the Lieb-Thirring inequality for sums of eigenvalues to include magnetic fields. The second is a semiclassical asymptotic formula for sums of eigenvalues that isuniform in the fieldB.Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant PHY90-19433 A02Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant DMS 92-03829Work partially supported by the Heraeus Stiftung and the Research Fund of the University of Iceland.     

Brownian motion with restoring drift: The petit and micro-canonical ensembles

Letf(Q) be odd and positive near +∞. Then the non-linear wave equation ?² Q/?t ²??² Q/?x ²?f(Q)=0, considered on the circle 0≤x<L, can be written in Hamiltonian formQ ^⊙ =?H/?P, P ^⊙ =??H/?Q with $$P = Q^\cdot and H = \tfrac{1}{2}\mathop \smallint \limits_0^L (Q')^2 + \mathop \smallint \limits_0^L F(Q) + \tfrac{1}{2}\mathop \smallint \limits_0^L P^2 ;$$ the corresponding flow preserves the (suitably interpreted) “petit ensemble”e ^?H d ^∞ Qd ^∞ P; and forL↓∞,Q settles down to the stationary diffusion with infinitesimal operator 1/2 ?²/?Q ²+m(Q)?/?Q,m being the logarithmic derivative of the ground state of ?d ²/dQ ² ‖F(Q). This diffusion is the “Brownian motion with restoring drift”; see McKean-Vaninsky [1993(1)]. For reasons suggested by the paper of Lebowitz-Rose-Speer [1988] on NLS, it is interesting to study the “micro-canonical ensemble” obtained by restricting to the sphere $\int\limits_0^L {Q^2 } = N$ and makingL↓∞ with fixedD=N/L. Now, forF(Q)/Q ²→∞, the same type of diffusion appears, but with drift arising from the modified potentialF(Q)+cQ ²,c being chosen so that the mean ofQ ² is the assigned numberD. The proof employs Döblin's method of “loops” [1937] and steepest descent. The same is true forF(Q)=m ² Q ², only now the proof is elementary. The outcome is also the same ifF(Q)/Q ²→0, providedD is smaller than the petit canonical mean ofQ ²; forD larger than this mean, the matter is more subtle and the outcome is unknown.     

An investigation of intermittency in proton-gold, oxygen-gold, sulphur-gold and sulphur-sulphur interactions at 200 GeV per nucleon

The intermittency phenomenon is investigated in proton-gold, oxygen-gold, sulphur-gold and sulphur-sulphur collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon. The data were taken with the NA 35 streamer chamber detector at the CERN SPS. The data samples are carefully corrected for double counting of tracks and for contamination from photon conversions, particle decays and secondary interactions. The analysis is carried out in terms of factorial moments, using a new definition, and of correlation integrals. Both methods show the presence of nonstatistical fluctuations (intermittency). The main conclusions are: The observation of the effect for pairs of hadrons with negative charges and its near absence for pairs of opposite charges is consistent with the assumption that Bose-Einstein correlations yield the dominant contribution. The intermittency effect is not proportional to (dn/dy)^–1 which would be expected in superposition models. The measured relation between the second and third factorial moment for negative hadrons indicates that genuine 3-particle correlations are small. The predictions of a Monte Carlo simulation which is based on the Lund Fritiof model with the inclusion of Bose-Einstein correlations agree with the experimental results.Deceased     

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Spin correlations in amorphous Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox

Zero and longitudinal field SR has been used to probe the magnetic state of amorphous Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_x prepared by rapid quenching from the melt. The results suggest quasi-static spin correlations between extremely dilute Cu²⁺ ions.Work performed while at the J J Thomson Physical Laboratory, University of Reading.     

Spectroscopy of excited state positronium

Electric dipole transitions in the microwave range have been induced between the fine-structure levels of positronium in the excited staten=2. As an indication of the transitions, we used the increase in Lyman- radiation when the metastable 2³S₁-level is depopulated. The results for the transitions 2³S₁2³P_0,1,2 are ₀=18499.65±1.20±4.00 MHz, ₁=13012.42 ±0.65±1.54 MHz and ₂=8624.38±0.54±1.40 MHz. The first error is statistical and the second systematic. The precision of the present measurement has improved by a factor of 3, compared to previous data. Recent bound state QED-calculations have been extended to the orderR _t8 ⁴ln ^–1. The not yet completely calculated orderR _t8 ⁴ is estimated to contribute less than 1 MHz. Our experimental results are in good agreement with theory. By applying a weak magnetic field, we were able to observe the transition 2³S₁2¹P₁ which is strictly forbidden byC-invariance in zero field. Our result, corrected for Zeeman- and motional Starkeffect, is ₃=11180.0±5.0±4.0 MHz. An upper limit for theC-violating matrix element of MHz could be deduced. Our experiment used moderated slow positrons from the bremsstrahlung and pair production of a pulsed electron linear accelerator (TEPOS facility at the university of Giessen).