Use this tag for questions seeking a single specific paper or a short, non-open-ended list of references, like "What paper first discovered X?", "Where can I find the original derivation of X?", or "What is the canonical source for X?" etc.
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4answers
383 views
References for conceptual issues in Quantum Field Theory
I realize this question is very broad but may be I will still get a helpful answers. References and textbooks for the development of the technical and mathematical aspects of QFT abound. However, I ...
4
votes
2answers
130 views
Quantum Mechanics in terms of *-algebras
I'm currently trying to find my way into the geometric description of Quantum Mechanics. I therefor started reading:
Geometry of state spaces. In: Entanglement and Decoherence (A. Buchleitner et ...
4
votes
1answer
98 views
What Cat States of light have been experimentally produced?
I'm specifically looking for Schrödinger's Cat states involving superpositions of two, or if it's been done more, coherent states, i.e. monomodal states of the form ...
4
votes
5answers
573 views
Introduction to differential forms in thermodynamics
I've studied differential geometry just enough to be confident with differential forms. Now I want to see application of this formalism in thermodynamics.
I'm looking for a small reference, to learn ...
4
votes
1answer
226 views
How do we measure $i[\hat\phi(x),\hat\phi(y)]$ in QFT?
What operational procedure is required to measure $i[\hat\phi(x),\hat\phi(y)]$ in an interacting (or non-interacting) QFT? [assume smearing by test-functions, or give an answer in Fourier space, for ...
4
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2answers
310 views
Where did the idea of a neutrino come from?
Exactly what paper by W. Pauli introduced the idea for the existence of a neutrino and how was its existence confirmed experimentally (who did that and in what paper)?
4
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2answers
271 views
In what order should the subjects be studied in order to get to String Theory
I know:
Quantum Mechanics (Griffiths Level, currently doing Sakurai Level)
Mechanics (Newtonian+ Lagrangian/Hamiltonian but at level lower than Goldstein/Landau)
Classical Electrodynamics ...
4
votes
3answers
284 views
Good (citable) paper on Laser Physics
I am looking for reference papers and/or books on the principles of LASER. I've understood that
Gould, R. Gordon (1959). "The LASER, Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"
...
4
votes
1answer
145 views
Can Ohm's law break in metals?
I was rereading Purcell's Electricity and Magnetism as research for another question, and I found this passage:
In metals Ohm's law is obeyed exceedingly accurately up to current densities far ...
4
votes
1answer
92 views
Direction of planetary tilt
I am building a 3d solar system simulation using WebGL and have come across the problem of establishing the direction of tilt of the various planets. No I know the tilt of the planets in degrees what ...
4
votes
1answer
129 views
The difference between projection operators and field operators in QFT?
Is there a good reference for the distinction between projection operators in QFT, with an eigenvalue spectrum of $\{1,0\}$, representing yes/no measurements, the prototype of which is the Vacuum ...
4
votes
2answers
253 views
Why model space with real numbers?
Are there any good papers discussing why we use $\mathbb{R}^{3}$as a model for space? More specifically are there any that explain why we don't use other number systems such as extensions of the real ...
4
votes
4answers
817 views
That 10km/day error predicted if GPS satellite clocks not corrected for relativity
Some authorities have stated publicly and without explanation that if the theories of Special and General Relativity were not taken into account in the design of the GPS (by building the satellite ...
4
votes
1answer
386 views
When will the Hubble volume coincide with the volume of the observable Universe?
The Hubble volume is the volume that corresponds to objects so far from the Earth that the space between us and them is expanding faster than the speed of light. (I.e. objects outside this volume ...
4
votes
1answer
230 views
First Chern number, monoples and quantum Hall states
The first Chern number $\cal C$ is known to be related to various physical objects.
Gauge fields are known as connections of some principle bundles. In particular, principle $U(1)$ bundle is said to ...
4
votes
2answers
127 views
How to learn celestial mechanics?
I'm a PhD student in math and am really excited about celestial mechanics.
I was wondering if anyone could give me a roadmap for learning this subject. The amount of information about it on the ...
4
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1answer
152 views
What is replica symmetry breaking, and what is a good resource for learning it?
M. Mezard, G. Parisi and coworkers have written about replica symmetry and its breaking in spin glasses, structural glasses, and hard computational problems.
I am just getting acquainted with this ...
4
votes
2answers
173 views
Physics talk with an emphasis on Mathematics [closed]
I have to give a 10 minute physics talk that have to involve a fair bit of mathematics -- i.e. not just qualitative/handwaving material to some undergrads. I have wasted the last 3 hours looking for ...
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0answers
117 views
Question about the HVZ theorem
In this paper1 the authors cite the HVZ theorem2 saying that it follows from the method used by M. Reed & B. Simon without modifications; I don't really understand this point.
Is there anyone who ...
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0answers
67 views
Electric potential of a spheroidal gaussian
I'm looking for results that compute the electrostatic potential due to a spheroidal gaussian distribution. Specifically, I'm looking for solutions of equations of the form
$$
...
4
votes
0answers
38 views
Experimental tests of Cluster Decmposition
How tight are experimental and astrophysical tests on whether Cluster Decomposition is satisfied at various space-like separations?
Is there a review paper or a standard reference on the question?
I ...
4
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0answers
132 views
An introductory resource for learning AdS space
Can someone please point me to introductory resources about the geometry of Anti DeSitter Space ? What are some examples of other spaces used in theoretical physics ?.I'm learning Differential ...
4
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0answers
48 views
functional representations of free quantum fields
The free real quantum field, satisfying $[\hat\phi(x),\hat\phi(y)]=\mathrm{i}\!\Delta(x-y)$, $\hat\phi(x)^\dagger=\hat\phi(x)$, with the conventional vacuum state, which has a moment generating ...
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0answers
33 views
Status of large-scale structure formation within cosmology today
Since the CMB results of the past decade, would it be fair to say that the consensus among cosmologists is that cosmic strings are no longer considered as a (major) source for density perturbations?
...
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0answers
94 views
Relation between isophotal radius and virial radius in spiral galaxies?
Is there any (proposed) relation between the B-band isophotal radius of a spiral galaxy and its virial radius (r_200)?
If you know of such a relation, please post a reference paper.
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0answers
78 views
Can the Lamb shift be expressed in more-or-less closed form in terms of the renormalized 2-, 3-,…,n-point VEVs of QED?
I see here that there are three contributions to the Lamb shift, from vacuum polarization (-27 MHz), from electron mass renormalization(+1017 MHz), and from the anomalous magnetic moment (+68 MHz).
...
4
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0answers
227 views
What is the 2-point correlation function of the electron field in QED?
The Feynman propagator for the free electron field is the Fourier transform w.r.t. $y$ of the time-ordered 2-point VEV $\left<0\right|\mathcal{T}[\hat\psi(x)\hat\psi(x+y)]\left|0\right>$, taking ...
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0answers
99 views
K3 gravitational instanton
Could you please recommend a sufficiently elementary introduction to K3 gravitational instanton in general relativity and the problem of finding its explicit form?
Under 'sufficiently elementary' I ...
3
votes
4answers
587 views
Lagrangian to Hamiltonian in Quantum Field Theory
While deriving Hamiltonian from Lagrangian density, we use the formula
$$\mathcal{H} ~=~ \pi \dot{\phi} - \mathcal{L}.$$
But since we are considering space and time as parameters, why the formula
...
3
votes
3answers
467 views
Books for linear operator and spectral theory
I need some books to learn the basis of linear operator theory and the spectral theory with, if it's possible, physics application to quantum mechanics. Can somebody help me?
3
votes
2answers
369 views
Where do I start with Non-Euclidean Geometry?
I've been trying to grok General Relativity for a while now, and I've been having some trouble. Many physics textbooks gloss over the subject with an "it's too advanced for this medium", and many ...
3
votes
3answers
331 views
How can I find a very old paper by W.L. Bragg from 1913?
I'm often looking for old physics papers that had a big impact on science (Nobel prize, for example). But I can't seem to find a lot of them. Is there a reason why some papers are not digitally ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
How can you distinguish between projections of quantum states?
Consider this problem in quantum cryptography:
We have two pure states $\phi_1,\phi_2$ as input and constants $0 \leq \alpha <\beta \leq 1 $, where "Yes instances" are those for which ...
3
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4answers
143 views
Effects of surface roughness on specularity
Say you have a piece of glass, which looks specular if propery cut/polished. But if you sand the surface using say sand paper, it will look hazy and glossy. I'm wondering how much surface roughness ...
3
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1answer
104 views
Official definition of astronomical units
As it is relatively easy to find an official value for a large number of physical constants, (thanks to CODATA), it is not so easy for some units widely used in astronomy (Wikipedia, Google and IAU ...
3
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1answer
89 views
Is there any literature that compares the candle-power to the candela?
I am unable to find anything in the literature to back up the claim that appears all over the internet that:
...
3
votes
2answers
169 views
Linearizing Gravity to ${\cal O}(h^3)$
I've seen the action of linearized gravity in many places. We basically have
$${\cal L} \sim \frac{1}{G_N}\left( - \frac{1}{2}h^{\alpha\beta} \Box h_{\alpha\beta} + \frac{1}{4} h \Box h + {\cal ...
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2answers
855 views
Good quantum physics textbooks [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Learn algebra and interpretation of QM
I'm a physics student it's my last year and I find my self struggling with usage of quantum mechanics. Now I'm starting to learn ...
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votes
3answers
242 views
Dirac paper quoted at Wikipedia
From Wikipedia's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle:
In 1936 Dirac offered a precise definition and derivation of the time-energy uncertainty relation in a relativistic quantum ...
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2answers
545 views
Effect of temperature on radioactivity?
I'm researching the effect of temperature on uranium radioactivity, however I can't find any solid empirical evidence to prove the notion that temperature does not affect radioactivity.
Can anyone ...
3
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1answer
87 views
false vacuum original paper
I'm trying to track down the origin of the False Vacuum paradigm. Is it Coleman and de Luccia's "Gravitational Effects on and of Vacuum Decay"
...
3
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3answers
355 views
Equations of fluid dynamics and differential geometry
Where can I look for equations of fluid motion written in terms of nifty things from differential geometry like exterior derivative, Hodge dual, musical isomorphism?
Preferably both with and without ...
3
votes
1answer
55 views
Good references for specific heats
Does anyone know of a good reference for specific heats? It seems that it is no longer popular to publish values. I am especially interested in the specific heats of polymers.
3
votes
1answer
241 views
LQG Demystified Book?
Does a similar easy to read introduction like David Mc Mohan s Demystified books exist for LQG? I d like something easier to start with than a paper but deeper than a popular book...
3
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3answers
105 views
Neutron star references?
I'm looking for contemporary reviews on neutron stars. Seems like this area is pretty active, so even reviews from five or ten years ago are somewhat lacking, though certainly not worthless. Does ...
3
votes
1answer
42 views
References on wave solutions in continuum mechanics [closed]
I am interested in literature on known wave solutions in continnum mechanics, precisely the following mechanical equation:
$$\rho\partial_t^2u_i = C_{ijkl}\nabla_j\nabla_ku_{l}$$
My interest is spread ...
3
votes
1answer
191 views
Where to find information on the pulsar map written to Voyager's golden record?
Where might I find details about the pulsar map written on the Voyager's golden record?
This diagram defines the location of our Sun utilizing 14
pulsars of known directions from our sun. ...
3
votes
1answer
334 views
Online lecture videos on QCD? [duplicate]
I would like to know if there are any online collections of lecture videos on QCD or non-Abelian QFT at a graduate level (at the level of volume 2 of Weinberg's QFT books?)
For example:
In String ...
3
votes
2answers
260 views
Web references for Nelson's “Quantum Fluctuations”?
Edward Nelson's book "Quantum Fluctuations" (Princeton UP, 1985) gives an alternative way to introduce trajectories, quite different to the trajectories of de Broglie-Bohm type approaches. I've read ...
3
votes
1answer
190 views
Klein-Gordon inner product
Studying the scalar field and Klein-Gordon equation in quantum field theory I came across this definition for the inner product in the space of the solutions of the K.G. equation:
$\langle \Phi_1 | ...
