arXiv subjects

Ian H. Redmount

Publications and source records attributed to Ian H. Redmount.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Testing Tachyon-Dominated Cosmology with Type Ia Supernovae

An open or hyperbolic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime dominated by tachyonic dark matter can exhibit an ``inflected'' expansion -- initially decelerating, later accelerating -- similar but not identical to that of now-standard $Λ$CDM models dominated by dark energy. The features of the tachyonic model can be extracted by fitting the redshift-distance relation of the model to data obtained by treating Type Ia supernovae as standard candles. Here such a model is fitted to samples of 186 and 1048 Type Ia supernovae from the literature. The fits yield values of $H_0=(66.6\pm1.5)~\hbox{km/s/Mpc}$ and $H_0=(69.6\pm0.4)~\hbox{km/s/Mpc}$, respectively, for the current-time Hubble parameter, and $t_0=(8.35\pm0.68)~\hbox{Gyr}$ and $t_0=(8.15\pm0.36)~\hbox{Gyr}$, respectively, for the comoving-time age of the Universe. Tests of the model against other observations will be undertaken in subsequent works.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Observable Features of Tachyon-Dominated Cosmology

A Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model dominated by tachyonic -- faster-than-light -- dark matter can exhibit features similar to those of a standard dark energy/dark matter or $Lambda$CDM model. It can undergo expansion which decelerates to a minimum rate, passes through a "cosmic jerk," then accelerates. But some features of a tachyon-dominated model are sufficiently distinct from those of the standard model that the two possibilities might be distinguished observationally. As a demonstration of concept, the distance-redshift relation of such a model is compared here with some observations of Type Ia supernovae. Other measures of the third time derivative of the cosmic scale factor -- the true cosmic jerk -- might be found to test a tachyonic-dark-matter hypothesis.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Dynamics of Tachyonic Dark Matter

Usually considered highly speculative, tachyons can be treated via straightforward Einsteinian dynamics. Kinetic theory and thermodynamics for a gas of ``dark'' tachyons are readily constructed. Such a gas exhibits density and pressure which, for the dominant constituent of a suitable Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime, can drive cosmic evolution with features both similar to and distinct from those of a standard dark-energy/dark-matter model. Hence, tachyons might bear further consideration as a cosmic dark-matter candidate.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Music of the Spheres: Teaching Quantum Field Theory at the Introductory Level

Quantum field theory has formed the conceptual framework of most of physics for more than sixty years. It incorporates a complete revision of our conception of the nature of matter and existence itself. Yet it is rarely taught, or even mentioned, in introductory physics---from high school, college, and university survey courses through upper-division "modern physics" courses. This omission is not necessary: This paper describes an approach through which the fundamental concepts and consequent insights of quantum field theory can be grasped, building upon familiar notions from classical and quantum mechanics.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2005

Localized Particle States and Dynamics Gravitational Effects

Scalar particles--i.e., scalar-field excitations--in de Sitter space exhibit behavior unlike either classical particles in expanding space or quantum particles in flat spacetime. Their energies oscillate forever, and their interactions are spread out in energy. Here it is shown that these features characterize not only normal-mode excitations spread out over all space, but localized particles or wave packets as well. Both one-particle and coherent states of a massive, minimally coupled scalar field in de Sitter space, associated with classical wave packets, are constructed explicitly. Their energy expectation values and corresponding Unruh-DeWitt detector response functions are calculated. Numerical evaluation of these quantities for a simple set of classical wave packets clearly displays these novel features. Hence, given the observed accelerating expansion of the Universe, it is possible that observation of an ultralow-mass scalar particle could yield direct confirmation of distinct predictions of quantum field theory in curved spacetime.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2004

Coupled Classical and Quantum Oscillators

Some of the most enduring questions in physics--including the quantum measurement problem and the quantization of gravity--involve the interaction of a quantum system with a classical environment. Two linearly coupled harmonic oscillators provide a simple, exactly soluble model for exploring such interaction. Even the ground state of a pair of identical oscillators exhibits effects on the quantum nature of one oscillator, e.g., a diminution of position uncertainty, and an increase in momentum uncertainty and uncertainty product, from their unperturbed values. Interaction between quantum and classical oscillators is simulated by constructing a quantum state with one oscillator initially in its ground state, the other in a coherent or Glauber state. The subsequent wave function for this state is calculated exactly, both for identical and distinct oscillators. The reduced probability distribution for the quantum oscillator, and its position and momentum expectation values and uncertainties, are obtained from this wave function. The oscillator acquires an oscillation amplitude corresponding to a beating between the normal modes of the system; the behavior of the position and momentum uncertainties can become quite complicated. For oscillators with equal unperturbed frequencies, i.e., at resonance, the uncertainties exhibit a time-dependent quantum squeezing which can be extreme.

quant-ph↗

arXiv1999

``Natural'' Vacua in Hyperbolic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Spacetimes

Recent evidence indicates that the Universe is open, i.e., spatially hyperbolic, longstanding theoretical preferences to the contrary notwithstanding. This makes it possible to select a vacuum state, Fock space, and particle definition for a quantized field, by requiring concordance with ordinary flat-spacetime theory at late times. The particle-number basis states thus identified span the physical state space of the field at all times. This construction is demonstrated here explicitly for a massive, minimally coupled, linear scalar field in an open, radiation-dominated Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1992

Is Quantum Spacetime Foam Unstable?

A very simple wormhole geometry is considered as a model of a mode of topological fluctutation in Planck-scale spacetime foam. Quantum dynamics of the hole reduces to quantum mechanics of one variable, throat radius, and admits a WKB analysis. The hole is quantum-mechanically unstable: It has no bound states. Wormhole wave functions must eventually leak to large radii. This suggests that stability considerations along these lines may place strong constraints on the nature and even the existence of spacetime foam.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1992

Path integration in relativistic quantum mechanics

The simple physics of a free particle reveals important features of the path-integral formulation of relativistic quantum theories. The exact quantum-mechanical propagator is calculated here for a particle described by the simple relativistic action proportional to its proper time. This propagator is nonvanishing outside the light cone, implying that spacelike trajectories must be included in the path integral. The propagator matches the WKB approximation to the corresponding configuration-space path integral far from the light cone; outside the light cone that approximation consists of the contribution from a single spacelike geodesic. This propagator also has the unusual property that its short-time limit does not coincide with the WKB approximation, making the construction of a concrete skeletonized version of the path integral more complicated than in nonrelativistic theory.

gr-qc↗