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Domenico Giulini

Publications and source records attributed to Domenico Giulini.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

Dynamical and Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity

This is a substantially expanded version of a chapter-contribution to "The Springer Handbook of Spacetime", edited by Abhay Ashtekar and Vesselin Petkov, published by Springer Verlag in 2014. This contribution introduces the reader to the reformulation of Einstein's field equations of General Relativity as a constrained evolutionary system of Hamiltonian type and discusses some of its uses, together with some technical and conceptual aspects. Attempts were made to keep the presentation self contained and accessible to first-year graduate students. This implies a certain degree of explicitness and occasional reviews of background material.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2015

Energy-Momentum Tensors and Motion in Special Relativity

The notions of "motion" and "conserved quantities", if applied to extended objects, are already quite non-trivial in Special Relativity. This contribution is meant to remind us on all the relevant mathematical structures and constructions that underlie these concepts, which we will review in some detail. Next to the prerequisites from Special Relativity, like Minkowski space and its automorphism group, this will include the notion of a body in Minkowski space, the momentum map, a characterisation of the habitat of globally conserved quantities associated with Poincaré symmetry -- so called Poincaré charges --, the frame-dependent decomposition of global angular momentum into Spin and an orbital part, and, last not least, the likewise frame-dependent notion of centre of mass together with a geometric description of the Moeller Radius, of which we also list some typical values. Two Appendices present some mathematical background material on Hodge duality and group actions on manifolds. This is a contribution to the book: "Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity", edited by Dirk Puetzfeld and Claus Laemmerzahl, to be published by Springer Verlag.

math-ph↗
arXiv2014

Quantum Tests of the Einstein Equivalence Principle with the STE-QUEST Space Mission

We present in detail the scientific objectives in fundamental physics of the Space-Time Explorer and QUantum Equivalence Space Test (STE-QUEST) space mission. STE-QUEST was pre-selected by the European Space Agency together with four other missions for the cosmic vision M3 launch opportunity planned around 2024. It carries out tests of different aspects of the Einstein Equivalence Principle using atomic clocks, matter wave interferometry and long distance time/frequency links, providing fascinating science at the interface between quantum mechanics and gravitation that cannot be achieved, at that level of precision, in ground experiments. We especially emphasize the specific strong interest of performing equivalence principle tests in the quantum regime, i.e. using quantum atomic wave interferometry. Although STE-QUEST was finally not selected in early 2014 because of budgetary and technological reasons, its science case was very highly rated. Our aim is to expose that science to a large audience in order to allow future projects and proposals to take advantage of the STE-QUEST experience.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2014

An exact static two-mass solution using Nariai spacetime

We show the existence of static, spherically symmetric spacetimes containing two stars of incompressible matter, possibly oppositely charged. The stars are held apart by the negative pressure of a positive cosmological constant but there is no cosmological horizon separating them. The spacetime between the stars is given by the Nariai solution, or a slight generalisation thereof in the charged case.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2014

Centre-of-mass motion in multi-particle Schroedinger-Newton dynamics

We investigate the implication of the non-linear and non-local multi-particle Schroedinger-Newton equation for the motion of the mass centre of an extended multi-particle object, giving self-contained and comprehensible derivations. In particular, we discuss two opposite limiting cases. In the first case, the width of the centre-of-mass wave packet is assumed much larger than the actual extent of the object, in the second case it is assumed much smaller. Both cases result in non-linear deviations from ordinary free Schroedinger evolution for the centre of mass. On a general conceptual level we include some discussion in order to clarify the physical basis and intention for studying the Schroedinger-Newton equation.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2013

Does cosmological expansion affect local physics?

In this contribution I wish to address the question whether, and how, the global cosmological expansion influences local physics. I argue that a pseudo Newtonian picture can be quite accurate if "expansion" is taken to be an attribute of the inertial structure rather than of "space" in some substantivalist sense. This contradicts the often-heard suggestion to imagine cosmological expansion as that of "space itself". Regarding General Relativity, I emphasise the need for proper geometric characterisations in order to meaningfully compare localised systems in different spacetimes, like black holes in static and expanding environments. Examples of this sort are discussed in some detail to clearly map out the problems.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2013

Gravitation, Equivalence Principle, and Quantum Mechanics

Gravitation, according to General Relativity, is an attribute of space-time's geometry and hence not a force in the Newtonian sense. This is a consequence of Einstein's equivalence principle, which so far passed all experimental tests with high precision. However, the search for possible violations continues, for they, as the case may be, are expected to point towards more fundamental theoretical extensions of General Relativity. In particular, it is expected that useful insights are gained by studying the interaction between gravitational fields and genuine quantum-mechanical systems, like atoms or molecules. But this raises some fundamental issues, for General Relativity and Quantum Theory rest on partially incompatible sets of concepts. This article tries to explain in an elementary fashion how these issues recently entered modern research in atom interferometry. A shorter and editorially adapted version of this paper will appear in "Spektrum der Wissenschaft" -- the German edition of "Scientific American".

physics.pop-ph↗
arXiv2013

Einstein's "Prague field-equation" -- another perspective

I reconsider Einstein's 1912 "Prague-Theory" of static gravity based on a scalar field obeying a non-linear field equation. I point out that this equation follows from the self-consistent implementation of the principle that all energies source the gravitational field according to E=m(c-squared). This makes it an interesting toy-model for the "flat-space approach" to General Relativity, as pioneered by Kraichnan and later Feynman. Solutions modelling stars show features familiar from GR, e.g., Buchdahl-like inequalities. The relation to full GR is also discussed. This lends this toy theory also some pedagogical significance.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2013

Instants in physics - point mechanics and general relativity

Theories in physics usually do not address ``the present''or ``the now''. However, they usually have a precise notion of an ``instant'' (or state). I review how this notion appears in relational point mechanics and how it suffices to determine durations - a fact that is often ignored in modern presentations of analytical dynamics. An analogous discussion is attempted for General Relativity. Finally I critically remark on the difference between relationalism in point mechanics and field theory and the problematic foundational dependencies between fields and spacetime.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2013

On Max Born's "Vorlesungen ueber Atommechanik, Erster Band"

A little more than half a year before Matrix Mechanics was born, Max Born finished his book "Vorlesungen ueber Atommechanik, Erster Band", which is a state-of-the-art presentation of Bohr-Sommerfeld quantisation. This book, which today seems almost forgotten, is remarkable for its epistemological as well as technical aspects. Here I wish to highlight one aspect in each of these two categories, the first being concerned with the rôle of axiomatisation in the heuristics of physics, the second with the problem of quantisation proper before Heisenberg and Schrödinger. This paper is a contribution to the project "History and Foundations of Quantum Physics" of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Sciences in Berlin and will appear in the book "Research and Pedagogy. The History of Quantum Physics through its Textbooks", edited by M.Badino and J.Navarro.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2013

Gravitationally induced inhibitions of dispersion according to a modified Schrödinger-Newton equation for a homogeneous-sphere potential

We modify the time dependent Schrödinger-Newton equation by using a potential for a solid sphere suggested by Jääskeläinen (Jääskeläinen 2012 Phys. Rev. A 86 052105) as well as a hollow-sphere potential. Compared to our recent paper (Giulini and Großardt 2011 Class. Quantum Grav. 28 195026) where a single point-particle, i.e. a Coulomb potential, was considered this has been suggested to be a more realistic model for a molecule. Surprisingly, compared to our previous results, inhibitions of dispersion of a Gaussian wave packet occur at even smaller masses for the solid-sphere potential, given that the width of the wave packet is not exceeded by the radius of the sphere.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2011

Equivalence principle, quantum mechanics, and atom-interferometric tests

That gravitation can be understood as purely metric phenomenon depends crucially on the validity of a number of hypotheses which are summarised by the Einstein Equivalence Principle, the least well tested part of which being the Universality of Gravitational Redshift. A recent and currently widely debated proposal (Nature 463 (2010) 926-929) to re-interpret some 10-year old experiments in atom interferometry would imply, if tenable, substantial reductions on upper bounds for possible violations of the Universality of Gravitational Redshift by four orders of magnitude. This interpretation, however, is problematic and raises various compatibility issues concerning basic principles of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. I review some relevant aspects of the equivalence principle and its import into quantum mechanics, and then turn to the problems raised by the mentioned proposal. I conclude that this proposal is too problematic to warrant the claims that were launched with it.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2011

Gravitationally induced inhibitions of dispersion according to the Schrödinger-Newton Equation

We re-consider the time dependent Schrödinger-Newton equation as a model for the self-gravitational interaction of a quantum system. We numerically locate the onset of gravitationally induced inhibitions of dispersion of Gaussian wave packets and find them to occur at mass values more than 6 orders of magnitude higher than reported by Salzman and Carlip (2006, 2008), namely at about $10^{10}\,\mathrm{u}$. This fits much better to simple analytical estimates but unfortunately also questions the experimental realisability of the proposed laboratory test of quantum gravity in the foreseeable future, not just because of large masses, but also because of the need to provide sufficiently long coherence times.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2009

Matter from Space

General Relativity offers the possibility to model attributes of matter, like mass, momentum, angular momentum, spin, chirality etc. from pure space, endowed only with a single field that represents its Riemannian geometry. I review this picture of `Geometrodynamics' and comment on various developments after Einstein.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2009

Influence of global cosmological expansion on local dynamics and kinematics

We review attempts to estimate the influence of global cosmological expansion on local systems. Here `local' is taken to mean that the sizes of the considered systems are much smaller than cosmologically relevant scales. For example, such influences can affect orbital motions as well as configurations of compact objects, like black holes. We also discuss how measurements based on the exchange of electromagnetic signals of distances, velocities, etc. of moving objects are influenced. As an application we compare orders of magnitudes of such effects with the scale set by the apparently anomalous acceleration of the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecrafts, which is 10^-9 m/s^2. We find no reason to believe that the latter is of cosmological origin. However, the general problem of gaining a qualitative and quantitative understanding of how the cosmological dynamics influences local systems remains challenging, with only partial clues being so far provided by exact solutions to the field equations of General Relativity.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2009

On the generalization of McVittie's model for an inhomogeneity in a cosmological spacetime

McVittie's spacetime is a spherically symmetric solution to Einstein's equation with an energy-momentum tensor of a perfect fluid. It describes the external field of a single quasi-isolated object with vanishing electric charge and angular momentum in an environment that asymptotically tends to a Friedmann--Lemaitre--Robertson--Walker universe. We critically discuss some recently proposed generalizations of this solution, in which radial matter accretion as well as heat currents are allowed. We clarify the hitherto unexplained constraints between these two generalizing aspects as being due to a geometric property, here called spatial Ricci-isotropy, which forces solutions covered by the McVittie ansatz to be rather special. We also clarify other aspects of these solutions, like whether they include geometries which are in the same conformal equivalence class as the exterior Schwarzschild solution, which leads us to contradict some of the statements in the recent literature.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2009

Superselection Rules

This note provides a summary of the meaning of the term `Superselection Rule' in Quantum Mechanics and Quantum-Field Theory. It is a slightly extended version of a contribution to the Compendium of Quantum Physics: Concepts, Experiments, History and Philosophy, edited by Friedel Weinert, Klaus Hentschel, Daniel Greenberger, and Brigitte Falkenburg.

quant-ph↗