The structure of Green functions in quantum field theory with a general state

In quantum field theory, the Green function is usually calculated as the expectation value of the time-ordered product of fields over the vacuum. In some cases, especially in degenerate systems, expectation values over general states are required. The corresponding Green functions are essentially more complex than in the vacuum, because they cannot be written in terms of standard Feynman diagrams. Here, a method is proposed to determine the structure of these Green functions and to derive nonperturbative equations for them. The main idea is to transform the cumulants describing correlations into interaction terms.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

A Hybrid N-body--Coagulation Code for Planet Formation

We describe a hybrid algorithm to calculate the formation of planets from an initial ensemble of planetesimals. The algorithm uses a coagulation code to treat the growth of planetesimals into oligarchs and explicit N-body calculations to follow the evolution of oligarchs into planets. To validate the N-body portion of the algorithm, we use a battery of tests in planetary dynamics. Several complete calculations of terrestrial planet formation with the hybrid code yield good agreement with previously published calculations. These results demonstrate that the hybrid code provides an accurate treatment of the evolution of planetesimals into planets.Comment: Astronomical Journal, accepted; 33 pages + 11 figure

Optical precursors in transparent media

We theoretically study the linear propagation of a stepwise pulse through a dilute dispersive medium when the frequency of the optical carrier coincides with the center of a natural or electromagnetically induced transparency window of the medium (slow-light systems). We obtain fully analytical expressions of the entirety of the step response and show that, for parameters representative of real experiments, Sommerfeld-Brillouin precursors, main field and second precursors "postcursors" can be distinctly observed, all with amplitudes comparable to that of the incident step. This behavior strongly contrasts with that of the systems generally considered up to now

Degenerate Landau-Zener model: Exact analytical solution

The exact analytical solution of the degenerate Landau-Zener model, wherein two bands of degenerate energies cross in time, is presented. The solution is derived by using the Morris-Shore transformation, which reduces the fully coupled system to a set of independent nondegenerate two-state systems and a set of decoupled states. Due to the divergence of the phase of the off-diagonal element of the propagator in the original Landau-Zener model, not all transition probabilities exist for infinite time duration. In general, apart from some special cases, only the transition probabilities between states within the same degenerate set exist, but not between states of different sets. An illustration is presented for the transition between the magnetic sublevels of two atomic levels with total angular momenta J=2 and 1

Operator approach to analytical evaluation of Feynman diagrams

The operator approach to analytical evaluation of multi-loop Feynman diagrams is proposed. We show that the known analytical methods of evaluation of massless Feynman integrals, such as the integration by parts method and the method of "uniqueness" (which is based on the star-triangle relation), can be drastically simplified by using this operator approach. To demonstrate the advantages of the operator method of analytical evaluation of multi-loop Feynman diagrams, we calculate ladder diagrams for the massless $\phi^3$ theory (analytical results for these diagrams are expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms). It is shown how operator formalism can be applied to calculation of certain massive Feynman diagrams and investigation of Lipatov integrable chain model.Comment: 16 pages. To appear in "Physics of Atomic Nuclei" (Proceedings of SYMPHYS-XII, Yerevan, Armenia, July 03-08, 2006

Photonic mode density effects on single-molecule fluorescence blinking

We investigated the influence of the photonic mode density (PMD) on the triplet dynamics of individual chromophores on a dielectric interface by comparing their response in the presence and absence of a nearby gold film. Lifetimes of the excited singlet state were evaluated in ordet to measure directly the PMD at the molecules position. Triplet state lifetimes were simultaneously determined by statistical analysis of the detection time of the fluorescence photons. The observed singlet decay rates are in agreement with the predicted PMD for molecules with different orientations. The triplet decay rate is modified in a fashion correlated to the singlet decay rate. These results show that PMD engineering can lead to an important suppression of the fluorescence, introducing a novel aspect of the physical mechanism to enhance fluorescence intensity in PMD-enhancing systems such as plasmonic devices

Selfdual Spin 2 Theory in a 2+1 Dimensional Constant Curvature Space-Time

The Lagrangian constraint analysis of the selfdual massive spin 2 theory in a 2+1 dimensional flat space-time and its extension to a curved one, are performed. Demanding consistence of degrees of freedom in the model with gravitational interaction, gives rise to physical restrictions on non minimal coupling terms and background. Finally, a constant curvature scenario is explored, showing the existence of forbidden mass values. Causality in these spaces is discussed. Aspects related with the construction of the reduced action and the one-particle exchange amplitude, are noted.Comment: 20 pages, references added, little modifications performe