Comment on “The Free Will Theorem”

In a recent paper Conway and Kochen, Found. Phys. 36, 2006, claim to have established that theories of the Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber (RW) type, i.e., of spontaneous wave function collapse, cannot be made relativistic. On the other hand, relativistic GRW-type theories have already been presented, in my recent paper, J. Stat. Phys. 125, 2006, and by Dowker and Henson, J. Stat. Phys. 115, 2004. Here, I elucidate why these are not excluded by the arguments of Conway and Kochen.      

How many black holes fit on the head of a pin?

The Bekenstein–Hawking entropy of certain black holes can be computed microscopically in string theory by mapping the elusive problem of counting microstates of a strongly gravitating black hole to the tractable problem of counting microstates of a weakly coupled D-brane system, which has no event horizon, and indeed comfortably fits on the head of a pin. We show here that, contrary to widely held beliefs, the entropy of spherically symmetric black holes can easily be dwarfed by that of stationary multi-black-hole “molecules” of the same total charge and energy. Thus, the corresponding pin-sized D-brane systems do not even approximately count the microstates of a single black hole, but rather those of a zoo of entropically dominant multicentered configurations. Fourth Award in the 2007 Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation.     

Algebro-Geometric Approach in the Theory of Integrable Hydrodynamic Type Systems

The algebro-geometric approach for integrability of semi-Hamiltonian hydrodynamic type systems is presented. The class of symmetric hydrodynamic type systems is defined and the calculation of the associated Riemann surfaces is greatly simplified for this class. Many interesting and physically motivated examples are investigated.     

Microstructural evolution of decagonal quasicrystal in the undercooled Al72Ni12Co16 alloy melts

The microstructure evolution of decagonal quasicrystals in Al₇₂Ni₁₂Co₁₆ alloy was investigated by the electromagnetic melting and cyclic superheating method. Single-phase decagonal quasicrystals have been obtained when the undercoolings were larger than 60 K. The decagonal quasicrystals formed at various undercoolings show different microstructural morphologies. Furthermore, grain refinement was found near the undercooling of 120 K. Based on current thermodynamic and dendrite growth theories, a dimensionless superheating parameter was adopted to explain the effect of processing conditions on the microstructure of Al₇₂Ni₁₂Co₁₆ alloy. The result indicate that the fine equiaxied microstructure of decagonal quasicrystal (D-phase) formed near on undercooling of 120 K originates from the break-up of dendrites.     

Bio-Plasmonics: Nano/micro Structure of Surface Plasmon Resonance Devices for Biomedicine

We have reported a novel design of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) device, which uses alternating dielectric layers to enhance the SPR signal quality and modulate its resonant position. Admittance loci method of thin film design has been used in the design of such a device. The use of biomolecular thin film, such as DNAs or Porteins, in this design can result in resonant condition of wavelength changes as well. Bio-plasmonics is proposed for the research and development of novel devices, which use biomolecules as a part of the plasmon oscillation system to actively interact with nano/micro structure.     

On the Zero-Energy-Limit Solution for the Modified Gross–Pitaevskii Equation

The modified Gross–Pitaevskii equation was derived and solved to obtain the 1D solution in the zero-energy limit. This stationary solution could account for the dominated contributions due to the kinetic effect as well as the chemical potential in inhomogeneous Bose gases.     

Novel UV‐induced photografting process for preparing poly(tetrafluoroethylene)‐based proton‐conducting membranes

A novel process comprising the UV‐induced photografting of styrene into poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films and subsequent sulfonation has been developed for preparing proton‐conducting membranes. Although under UV irradiation the initial radicals were mainly generated on the surface of the PTFE films by the action of photosensitizers such as xanthone and benzoyl peroxide, the graft chains were readily propagated into the PTFE films. The sulfonation of the grafted films was performed in a chlorosulfonic acid solution. Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the grafted and sulfonated membranes. With a view to use in fuel cells, the proton conductivity, water uptake, and mechanical properties of the prepared membranes were measured. Even through the degree of grafting was lower than 10%, the proton conductivity in the thickness direction of the newly prepared membranes could reach a value similar to that of a Nafion membrane. In comparison with γ‐ray radiation grafting, UV‐induced photografting is very simple and safe and is less damaging to the membranes because significant degradation of the PTFE main chains can be avoided. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2624–2637, 2007     

Estimating the Scale Parameter of a Lévy-stable Distribution via the Extreme Value Approach

The characteristic exponent α of a Lévy-stable law S _α (σ, β, μ) was thoroughly studied as the extreme value index of a heavy tailed distribution. For 1 < α < 2, Peng (Statist. Probab. Lett. 52: 255–264, 2001) has proposed, via the extreme value approach, an asymptotically normal estimator for the location parameter μ. In this paper, we derive by the same approach, an estimator for the scale parameter σ and we discuss its limiting behavior.