The definition tag is used in situations where the question is either about how some term or concept is define or where the validity of an answer depends on a subtle definition of some term or concept used in the question.

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10
votes
1answer
370 views

What accounts for the discrepancies in my calculations of year lengths?

A common exercise in many introductory astronomy texts is to use the lengths of various kinds days to calculate the approximate length of the corresponding year. For example, ratio $k$ of the length ...
2
votes
1answer
49 views

Hamiltonians, density of state, BECs

When working with Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in potentials, how can one tell what the density of state of a system of identical bosons given the Hamiltonian, $H$? (I have been told that it is ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views

Question on Radiance equation

The radiance equation is $$ L = \frac{d}{dA} \frac{2(\phi)}{dW cos(\theta)} (watt/srm^2) $$ where $\phi$ is the flux. I am thinking, should not be the cosine term on the numerator instead of the ...
0
votes
1answer
26 views

Viewing a reference frame from inside of it?

Can one observe one's own frame of reference without moving out side the frame? For example, if you are on a train and you throw ball in the air up and down. When you are on the train (frame 1) you ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views

A physical sense of an Inertial frame

Definition clarification needed, please: I am hoping to get physical sense of an "inertial frame". Do inertial reference frames all have zero curvature for their spacetime? So is an inertial frame ...
0
votes
1answer
151 views

Definition of energy

What is the definition of energy $E$ given a dispersion relation $\omega=\omega(k)$ where $k=|\vec k|$ and $\omega$ is not necessarily linearly proportional to $k$? What about momentum $\vec p$? This ...
3
votes
0answers
97 views

Holonomy twisting

There is Witten's topological twist of standard SUSY QFTs with enough SUSY into Witten-type TQFTs. What is a holonomy twist?
3
votes
0answers
20 views

Is renormalization associated with a volume scale or with an energy-momentum and length scale?

Given that real-space renormalization blocks together small volume elements to construct larger volume elements, is it more appropriate/helpful to consider the renormalization scale to be a volume ...
0
votes
0answers
61 views

Curvilinear abscissa confusion

How's exactly defined the curvilinear abscissa in kinematics? Surfing on the net I found different definitions: a) Fixed a point $O$ and a direction, the curvilinear abscissa $s$ at a point $P$ is ...
0
votes
0answers
194 views

How is the term “Born level” usually defined?

How is the term "Born level" usually defined, e.g. in talking about the $pp\to Z/\gamma^*\to e^+e^-$ cross section at Born level?
0
votes
0answers
18 views

Rice Allnatt distribution function

Can anyone give me an article of which explains Rice Allnatt distribution function or can you explain the function here?