arXiv subjects

Jan-Willem van Holten

Publications and source records attributed to Jan-Willem van Holten.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

On Huygens' derivation of the laws of elastic collisions

In this note I sketch the work of Christiaan Huygens to develop a theory of motion and its application to elastic collisions. In this theory he uses the relativity of uniform linear motion to derive the conservation of momentum and kinetic energy (at the time referred to as living force or vis viva). The conservation of living force was used subsequently by Leibniz as a basic general principle of dynamics, an alternative to that of Newton set forth in the Principia Mathematica.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2024

Polar magnetic fields in black-hole space-times

To model magnetic fields of compact objects we solve the Maxwell equations in the background of the exterior static Schwarzschild and slowly rotating Kerr space-times. We impose the boundary condition that the electromagnetic fields are to vanish at infinity. A full set of solutions is obtained, describing axially symmetric magnetic fields, supplemented by axial electric fields in the case of non-vanishing rotation of the gravitational background. We study the motion of charged test particles in these combined gravitational and electromagnetic fields, in particular considering the conditions for circular equatorial orbits. Such orbits always exist in odd-multipole magnetic fields, and they can exist for particular radii in a combination of two or more even-multipole magnetic fields. Combinations of several odd-multipole fields can give rise to radial variation in the field orientation and the direction of motion of charged particles. Deviations from circularity are described using a perturbative approach. This also allows to study the stability of the parent circular orbits.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

World-line perturbation theory

The motion of a compact body in space and time is commonly described by the world line of a point representing the instantaneous position of the body. In General Relativity such a world-line formalism is not quite straightforward because of the strict impossibility to accommodate point masses and rigid bodies. In many situations of practical interest it can still be made to work using an effective hamiltonian or energy-momentum tensor for a finite number of collective degrees of freedom of the compact object. Even so exact solutions of the equations of motion are often not available. In such cases families of world lines of compact bodies in curved space-times can be constructed by a perturbative procedure based on generalized geodesic deviation equations. Examples for simple test masses and for spinning test bodies are presented.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Time-reparametrization invariance and Hamilton-Jacobi approach to the cosmological sigma-model

The construction of physical models with local time-reparametrization invariance is reviewed. Negative-energy contributions to the hamiltonian are shown to be crucial for the realization of this reparametrization symmetry. The covariant formulation of the dynamics is used to develop a time and gauge invariant Hamilton-Jacobi theory. This formalism is applied to solve for the cosmology of a homogeneous universe of the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker type. After a discussion of empty universes, the FLRW theory is extended with homogeneous scalar fields generically described by a $\sg$-model on some scalar manifold. An explicit gauge-invariant solution is constructed for the non-linear O(N)-models.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

Generalized particle dynamics in anti de Sitter spaces: A source for dark energy

We consider the generalized particle dynamics, proposed by us, in brane world formalisms for an asymptotically anti de Sitter background. The present framework results in a new model that accounts for the late acceleration of the universe. An effective Dark Energy equation of state, exhibiting a phantom like behaviour, is generated. The model is derived by embedding the physical FRW universe in a $(4+1)$-dimensional effective space-time, induced by the generalized particle dynamics. We corroborate our results with present day observed cosmological parameters.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Nonrelativistic Chern-Simons Vortices on the Torus

A classification of all periodic self-dual static vortex solutions of the Jackiw-Pi model is given. Physically acceptable solutions of the Liouville equation are related to a class of functions which we term Omega-quasi-elliptic. This class includes, in particular, the elliptic functions and also contains a function previously investigated by Olesen. Some examples of solutions are studied numerically and we point out a peculiar phenomenon of lost vortex charge in the limit where the period lengths tend to infinity, that is, in the planar limit.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Generalized particle dynamics: modifying the motion of particles and branes

We construct a generalized dynamics for particles moving in a symmetric space-time, i.e. a space-time admitting one or more Killing vectors. The generalization implies that the effective mass of particles becomes dynamical. We apply this generalized dynamics to the motion of test particles in a static, spherically symmetric metric. A significant consequence of the new framework is to generate an effective negative pressure on a cosmological surface whose expansion is manifest by the particle trajectory via embedding geometry \cite{bwg,embed2,embed,pal}. This formalism thus may give rise to a source for dark energy in modeling the late accelerating universe.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2002

Exploring the QED vacuum with laser interferometers

It is demonstrated that the nonlinear, and as yet unobserved, QED effect of slowing down light by application of a strong magnetic field may be observable with large laser interferometers like for instance LIGO or GEO600.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

Geodesic Deviation in Kaluza-Klein Theories

We study in detail the equations of the geodesic deviation in multidimensional theories of Kaluza-Klein type. We show that their 4-dimensional space-time projections are identical with the equations obtained by direct variation of the usual geodesic equation in the presence of the Lorentz force, provided that the fifth component of the deviation vector satisfies an extra constraint derived here.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1999

An index theorem for non-standard Dirac operators

On manifolds with non-trivial Killing tensors admitting a square root of the Killing-Yano type one can construct non-standard Dirac operators which differ from, but commute with, the standard Dirac operator. We relate the index problem for the non-standard Dirac operator to that of the standard Dirac operator. This necessitates a study of manifolds with torsion and boundary and we summarize recent results obtained for such manifolds.

hep-th↗