54 research outputs found
Aharonov–Bohm Electrodynamics in Material Media: A Scalar e.m. Field Cannot Cause Dissipation in a Medium
No full textIn the extension of Maxwell equations based on the Aharonov–Bohm Lagrangian, the e.m. field has an additional degree of freedom, namely, a scalar field generated by charge and currents that are not locally conserved. We analyze the propagation of this scalar field through two different media (a pure dielectric and an ohmic conductor) and study its property over a frequency range where the properties of the media are frequency-independent. We find that an electromagnetic (e.m.) scalar wave cannot propagate in a material medium. If a scalar wave in vacuum impinges on a material medium it is reflected, at most exciting in the medium a pure “potential” wave (which we also call a “gauge” wave) propagating at c, the speed of light in vacuum, with a vector potential whose Fourier amplitude is related to that of the scalar potential by (Formula presented.), where (Formula presented.).Fil: Minotti, Fernando Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; ArgentinaFil: Modanese, Giovanni. Free University of Bozen-Bolzano; Itali
Oscillating dipole with fractional quantum source in Aharonov-Bohm electrodynamics
No full textWe show, in the case of a special dipolar source, that electromagnetic fields in fractional quantum mechanics have an unexpected space dependence: propagating fields may have non-transverse components, and the distinction between near-field zone and wave zone is blurred. We employ an extension of Maxwell theory, Aharonov-Bohm electrodynamics, which is compatible with currents jν conserved globally but not locally; we have derived in another work the field equation ∂μFμν=jν+iν, where iν is a non-local function of jν, called “secondary current”. Y. Wei has recently proved that the probability current in fractional quantum mechanics is in general not locally conserved. We compute this current for a Gaussian wave packet with fractional parameter a=3/2 and find that in a suitable limit it can be approximated by our simplified dipolar source. Currents which are not locally conserved may be present also in other quantum systems whose wave functions satisfy non-local equations. The combined electromagnetic effects of such sources and their secondary currents are very interesting both theoretically and for potential applications. Keywords: Generalized Maxwell theory, Fractional Schrödinger equation, Local current conservatio
Quantum-Only Metrics in Spherically Symmetric Gravity
No full textThe Einstein action for the gravitational field has some properties which make of it, after quantization, a rare prototype of systems with quantum configurations that do not have a classical analogue. Assuming spherical symmetry in order to reduce the effective dimensionality, we have performed a Monte Carlo simulation of the path integral with transition probability e − β | S | . Although this choice does not allow to reproduce the full dynamics, it does lead us to find a large ensemble of metric configurations having action | S | ≪ ħ by several magnitude orders. These vacuum fluctuations are strong deformations of the flat space metric (for which S = 0 exactly). They exhibit a periodic polarization in the scalar curvature R. In the simulation we fix a length scale L and divide it into N sub-intervals. The continuum limit is investigated by increasing N up to ∼ 10 6 ; the average squared action ⟨ S 2 ⟩ is found to scale as 1 / N 2 and thermalization of the algorithm occurs at a very low temperature (classical limit). This is in qualitative agreement with analytical results previously obtained for theories with stabilized conformal factor in the asymptotic safety scenario
Large ‘Dipolar’ Vacuum Fluctuations in Quantum Gravity
No full textWe study a novel set of gravitational field configurations, called “dipolar zero modes”, which give an exactly null contribution to the Einstein action and are thus candidates to become large fluctuations in the quantized theory. They are generated by static unphysical sources satisfying (up to terms of order G2) the simple condition � d3xT00(x) = 0. We give two explicit examples of virtual sources: (i) a “mass dipole ” consisting of two separated mass distributions with different signs; (ii) two concentric “+/- shells”. The field fluctuations can be large even at macroscopic scale. There are some, for instance, which last ∼ 1 s or more and correspond to the field generated by a virtual source with size ∼ 1 cm and mass ∼ 106 g.This appears paradoxical, for several reasons, both theoretical and phenomenological. We also give an estimate of possible suppression effects following the addition to the pure Einstein action of cosmological or R2 terms. 04.20.-q Classical general relativity. 04.60.-m Quantum gravity.
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