Casimir Force between two Half Spaces of Vortex Matter in Anisotropic Superconductors

We present a new approach to calculate the attractive long-range vortex-vortex interaction of the van der Waals type present in anisotropic and layered superconductors. The mapping of the statistical mechanics of two-dimensional charged bosons allows us to define a Casimir problem: Two half spaces of vortex matter separated by a gap of width R are mapped to two dielectric half planes of charged bosons interacting via a massive gauge field. We determine the attractive Casimir force between the two half planes and show that it agrees with the pairwise summation of the van der Waals force between vortices.Comment: Submitted to Physica C (4 pages, 2 figures

Fixed point actions and on-shell tree-level Symanzik improvement

In this paper it is argued that the properties of the fixed point action of a renormalization group transformation can be used to implement the on-shell tree-level Symanzik improvement of lattice actions to any given order in the expansion in the lattice spacing, in a way which does not involve any perturbative calculations. In particular, a well-known technique for the lowest order improvement of SU(N) lattice gauge theories is revisited from the point of view of fixed point actions, which allows to shed light on some subtle points.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, 1 TeX figur

Comparison and verification of enthalpy schemes for polythermal glaciers and ice sheets with a one-dimensional model

The enthalpy method for the thermodynamics of polythermal glaciers and ice sheets is tested and verified by a one-dimensional problem (parallel-sided slab). The enthalpy method alone does not include explicitly the transition conditions at the cold-temperate transition surface (CTS) that separates the upper cold from the lower temperate layer. However, these conditions are important for correctly determining the position of the CTS. For the numerical solution of the polythermal slab problem, we consider a two-layer front-tracking scheme as well as three different one-layer schemes (conventional one-layer scheme, one-layer melting CTS scheme, one-layer freezing CTS scheme). Computed steady-state temperature and water-content profiles are verified with exact solutions, and transient solutions computed by the one-layer schemes are compared with those of the two-layer scheme, considered to be a reliable reference. While the conventional one-layer scheme (that does not include the transition conditions at the CTS) can produce correct solutions for melting conditions at the CTS, it is more reliable to enforce the transition conditions explicitly. For freezing conditions, it is imperative to enforce them because the conventional one-layer scheme cannot handle the associated discontinuities. The suggested numerical schemes are suitable for implementation in three-dimensional glacier and ice-sheet models.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Dynamical resurrection of the visibility in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer

We study a single-electron pulse injected into the chiral edge-state of a quantum Hall device and subject to a capacitive Coulomb interaction. We find that the scattered multi-particle state remains unentangled and hence can be created itself by a suitable classical voltage-pulse $V(t)$. The application of the inverse pulse $-V(-t)$ corrects for the shake-up due to the interaction and resurrects the original injected wave packet. We suggest an experiment with an asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer where the application of such pulses manifests itself in an improved visibility.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Hydraulic fluid interaction servovalves Monthly technical report, 1 Feb. - 1 Mar. 1966

Hydraulic fluid interaction servovalves - valve design, torque motor specification, environment tests, and vortex valve test