15106810
Stress Tensor Fluctuations and Passive Quantum Gravity
The quantum fluctuations of the stress tensor of a quantum field are discussed, as are the resulting space-time metric fluctuations. Passive quantum gravity is an approximation in which gravity is not directly quantized, but fluctuations of the space-time geometry are driven by stress tensor fluctuations. We discuss a decomposition of the stress tensor correlation function into three parts, and consider the physical implications of each part. The operational significance of metric fluctuations and the possible limits of validity of semiclassical gravity are discussed.
119279483
Gravity Waves from Quantum Stress Tensor Fluctuations in Inflation
We consider the effects of the quantum stress tensor fluctuations of a conformal field in generating gravity waves in inflationary models. We find a non-scale invariant, non-Gaussian contribution which depends upon the total expansion factor between an initial time and the end of inflation. This spectrum of gravity wave perturbations is an illustration of a negative power spectrum, which is possible in quantum field theory. We discuss possible choices for the initial conditions. If the initial time is taken to be sufficiently early, the fluctuating gravity waves are potentially observable both in the CMB radiation and in gravity wave detectors, and could offer a probe of transplanckian physics. The fact that they have not yet been observed might be used to constrain the duration and energy scale of inflation.
119118161
Quantum noise in the mirror-field system: A field theoretic approach
Abstract We revisit the quantum noise problem in the mirror–field system by a field-theoretic approach. Here a perfectly reflecting mirror is illuminated by a single-mode coherent state of the massless scalar field. The associated radiation pressure is described by a surface integral of the stress-tensor of the field. The read-out field is measured by a monopole detector, from which the effective distance between the detector and mirror can be obtained. In the slow-motion limit of the mirror, this field-theoretic approach allows to identify various sources of quantum noise that all in all leads to uncertainty of the read-out measurement. In addition to well-known sources from shot noise and radiation pressure fluctuations, a new source of noise is found from field fluctuations modified by the mirror’s displacement. Correlation between different sources of noise can be established in the read-out measurement as the consequence of interference between the incident field and the field reflected off the mirror. In the case of negative correlation, we found that the uncertainty can be lowered than the value predicted by the standard quantum limit. Since the particle-number approach is often used in quantum optics, we compared results obtained by both approaches and examine its validity. We also derive a Langevin equation that describes the stochastic dynamics of the mirror. The underlying fluctuation–dissipation relation is briefly mentioned. Finally we discuss the backreaction induced by the radiation pressure. It will alter the mean displacement of the mirror, but we argue this backreaction can be ignored for a slowly moving mirror.
53600200
Nonequilibrium dynamics of moving mirrors in quantum fields : Influence functional and the Langevin equation
We employ the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism to study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the mirror with perfect reflection moving in a quantum field. In the case where the mirror undergoes the small displacement, the coarse-grained effective action is obtained by integrating out the quantum field with the method of influence functional. The semiclassical Langevin equation is derived, and is found to involve two levels of backreaction effects on the dynamics of mirrors: radiation reaction induced by the motion of the mirror and backreaction dissipation arising from fluctuations in quantum field via a fluctuation-dissipation relation. Although the corresponding theorem of fluctuation and dissipation for the case with the small mirror's displacement is of model independence, the study from the first principles derivation shows that the theorem is also independent of the regulators introduced to deal with short-distance divergences from the quantum field. Thus, when the method of regularization is introduced to compute the dissipation and fluctuation effects, this theorem must be fulfilled as the results are obtained by taking the short-distance limit in the end of calculations. The backreaction effects from vacuum fluctuations on moving mirrors are found to be hardly detected while those effects from thermal fluctuations may be detectable.
119185780
Quantum Stress Tensor Fluctuations of a Conformal Field and Inflationary Cosmology
We discuss the additional perturbation introduced during inflation by quantum stress tensor fluctuations of a conformally invariant field such as the photon. We consider both a kinematical model, which deals only with the expansion fluctuations of geodesics, and a dynamical model which treats the coupling of the stress tensor fluctuations to a scalar inflaton. In neither model do we find any growth at late times, in accordance with a theorem due to Weinberg. What we find instead is a correction which becomes larger the earlier one starts inflation. This correction is non-Gaussian and highly scale dependent, so the absence of such effects from the observed power spectra may imply a constraint on the total duration of inflation. We discuss different views about the validity of perturbation theory at very early times during which currently observable modes are trans-Planckian.
124998001
Nonequilibrium backreaction on a moving charge and mirror in quantum fields
121914363
RELATIVISTIC AND SCREENING EFFECTS IN RADIATIVE ELECTRON CAPTURE
120538673
A streamer chamber used in a search for double beta decay
Abstract A 53 cm dia., 8 cm deep helium-filled streamer chamber is described. At a field strength of 6.2 kV/cm, streamers extend over the entire space between the plates of the chamber and the particle track is shown by bright, narrow regions in the streamers. The mechanism of electrical breakdown in this mode of operation and other modes was investigated. The streamer theory of Raether correctly predicts breakdown-time and dead-space. Penning effect by impurities in the chamber gas appears to influence discharge development significantly at the low field strengths used in track-projecting chambers but not at the high field strengths used in streamer chambers.
121147087
The Angular Correlation of Scattered Annihilation Radiation
126195733
Double beta decay‐an experimental review
In this review, a brief discussion on the experimental objectives and theoretical conceptions of the neutrinos was introduced. Two different types of experimental methods and their results were presented and discussed.
92250019
Isotopic Variations of the Nuclear Charge Distribution in Nd
It is well established that the optical isotope shifts for pairs of isotopes with 88 and 90 neutrons in 60Nd, 62Sm and 63Eu are anomalously large.(1) This is directly related to a change in the neutron-shell configuration. The sudden onset of permanent deformation occurs at a neutron number of 90, as predicted by the nuclear model of Nilsson. It is the increase in nuclear deformation, coupled with the usual increase in nuclear volume, that gives origin to such anomalous isotope shifts.