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Michael K. -H. Kiessling

Publications and source records attributed to Michael K. -H. Kiessling.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Radiation-Reaction on the Straight-Line Motion of a Point Charge accelerated by a constant applied Electric Field in an Electromagnetic Bopp-Landé-Thomas-Podolsky vacuum

The radiation-reaction problem of standard Lorentz electrodynamics with point charges is pathological, standing in contrast to Bopp--Landé--Thomas--Podolsky (BLTP) electrodynamics where it is in fact well-defined and calculable, as reported in a previous publication. To demonstrate the viability of BLTP electrodynamics, we consider the BLTP analogue of the radiation reaction of a classical point charge accelerated from rest by a static homogeneous capacitor plate field, and calculate it up to $O(\varkappa^4)$ in a formal expansion about $\varkappa=0$ in powers of $\varkappa$, Bopp's reciprocal length, a new electrodynamics parameter introduced by BLTP theory. In a paper by Carley and Kiessling (arXiv:2303.01720 [physics.class-ph]) the radiation-reaction corrections to test-particle motion were explicitly computed to $O(\varkappa^3)$, the first non-vanishing order. In this article a crucial question regarding this ``small-$\varkappa$'' expansion, raised by Carley and Kiessling, is answered as follows: The motions computed with terms $O(\varkappa^3)$ included are mathematically accurate approximations to {physically reasonable} solutions of the actual BLTP initial value problem for short times $t$, viz. when $\varkappa c t \ll 1$, where $c$ is the speed of light in vacuo, but their unphysical behavior over {much} longer times does not accurately approximate the actual BLTP solutions even when the dimensionless parameter $\varkappa e^2 / |m_b| c^2 \ll 1$, where $e$ is the elementary charge and $m_b$ the bare rest mass of the electron. This has the important implication that BLTP electrodynamics remains a viable contender for an accurate classical electrodynamics with point charges that does not suffer from the infinite self-interaction problems of textbook Lorentz electrodynamics with point charges.

physics.class-ph↗
arXiv2025

A note on the minimal pairwise distance in optimal Lennard-Jones $N$-body clusters

Good a-priori bounds on the smallest pairwise distance $r_{\rm{min}}(\mbox{LJ}_N^{\rm{gmin}})$ for a three-dimensional (3D) Lennard-Jones $N$-body cluster of globally minimal energy can significantly reduce the computational search space in the NP-hard problem to find this configuration. In this contribution the virial theorem is exploited for this purpose. We prove that if a configuration ${C}^{(N)}$ is a member of $\mbox{LJ}_N^{\rm{equ}}$ (the stationary points), then $r_{\rm{min}}({C}^{(N)}) \leq r_{\rm{min}}(\mbox{LJ}_2^{\rm{gmin}})$. It is also shown that if ${C}^{(N)}\in$ LJ$_N^{\rm{gmin}}\subset$ LJ$_N^{\rm{equ}}$, equality holds if and only if $N\in\{2,3,4\}$. We conjecture that $r_{\rm{min}}(\mbox{LJ}_N^{\rm{gmin}}) >1$ in units for which $r_{\rm{min}}(\mbox{LJ}_2^{\rm{gmin}})= 2^\frac16 \approx 1.122462048$. This conjectured lower bound, if correct, would improve the best lower bound currently known, $r_{\rm{min}}(\mbox{LJ}_N^{\rm{gmin}})\geq 0.767764$, by about 25$\%$. In these units the smallest minimal pair distance found through numerical searches for LJ$_N^{\rm{gmin}}$ with $N\leq 1000$ is $r_{\rm{min}}(\mbox{LJ}_{923}^{\rm{gmin}}) \approx 1.01361$, so the conjectured lower bound would presumably be close to optimal. From the virial theorem we obtain an identity for any ${C}^{(N)}\in \mbox{LJ}_N^{\rm{equ}}$, which expresses $r_{\rm{min}}({C}^{(N)})$ in terms of the distribution of relative distances in ${C}^{(N)}$. This result reveals interesting connections with the Erdős distance, and related problems.

physics.atm-clus↗
arXiv2025

Bounds on $T_c$ in the Eliashberg theory of Superconductivity. II: Dispersive phonons

The standard Eliashberg theory of superconductivity is studied, in which the effective electron-electron interactions are mediated by generally dispersive phonons, with Eliashberg spectral function $α^2 F(ω)\geq 0$ that is $\proptoω^2$ for small $ω>0$ and vanishes for large $ω$. The Eliashberg function also defines the electron-phonon coupling strength $λ:= 2 \int_0^\infty\frac{α^2 F(ω)}ωdω$. Setting $\frac{2α^2 F(ω)}ωdω=: λP(dω)$, formally defining a probability measure $P(dω)$ with compact support, and assuming as usual that the phase transition between normal and superconductivity coincides with the linear stability boundary $\mathscr{S}_{\!c}$ of the normal region against perturbations toward the superconducting region, it is shown that $\mathscr{S}_{\!c}$ is a graph of a function $Λ(P,T)$ that is determined by a variational principle: if $(λ,P,T)\in\mathscr{S}_{\!c}$, then $λ= 1/\mathfrak{k}(P,T)$, where $\mathfrak{k}(P,T)>0$ is the largest eigenvalue of a compact self-adjoint operator $\mathfrak{K}(P,T)$ on $\ell^2$ sequences constructed in the paper. Given $P$, sufficient conditions on $T$ are stated under which the map $T\mapsto λ= Λ(P,T)$ is invertible. For sufficiently large $λ$ this yields: (i) the existence of a critical temperature $T_c$ as function of $λ$ and $P$; (ii) a sequence of lower bounds on $T_c(λ,P)$ that converges to $T_c(λ,P)$. Also obtained is an upper bound on $T_c(λ,P)$. It agrees with the asymptotic form $T_c(λ,P) \sim C \sqrt{\langle ω^2\rangle} \sqrtλ$ valid for $λ\sim\infty$, given $P$, though with a constant $C$ that is a factor $\approx 2.034$ larger than the sharp constant. Here, $\langleω^2\rangle := \int_0^\infty ω^2 P(dω)$.

math-ph↗
arXiv2025

Bounds on $T_c$ in the Eliashberg theory of Superconductivity. I: The $γ$-model

Using the recent reformulation for the Eliashberg theory of superconductivity in terms of a classical interacting Bloch spin chain model, rigorous upper and lower bounds on the critical temperature $T_c$ are obtained for the $γ$ model -- a version of Eliashberg theory in which the effective electron-electron interaction is proportional to $(g/|ω_n-ω_m|)^γ$, where $ω_n-ω_m$ is the transferred Matsubara frequency, $g>0$ a reference energy, and $γ>0$ a parameter. The rigorous lower bounds are based on a variational principle that identifies $(T_c/g)^γ$ with the largest (positive) eigenvalue of an explicitly constructed compact, self-adjoint operator $\mathfrak{G}(γ)$. These lower bounds form an increasing sequence that converges to $T_c(g,γ)$. The upper bound on $T_c(g,γ)$ is based on fixed point theory, proving linear stability of the normal state for $T$ larger than the upper bound on $T_c(g,γ)$.

math-ph↗
arXiv2025

Bounds on $T_c$ in the Eliashberg theory of Superconductivity. III: Einstein phonons

The dispersionless limit of the standard Eliashberg theory of superconductivity is studied. The effective electron-electron interactions are mediated by Einstein phonons of frequency $Ω>0$, equipped with electron-phonon coupling strength $λ$. This allows for a detailed evaluation of the general results on $T_c$ for phonons with non-trivial dispersion relation, obtained in a previous paper, (II), by the authors. The variational principle for the linear stability boundary $\mathscr{S}_{\!c}$ of the normal state region against perturbations toward the superconducting region, obtained in (II), simplifies as follows: If $(λ,Ω,T)\in\mathscr{S}_{\!c}$, then $λ= 1/\mathfrak{h}(\varpi)$, where $\varpi:=Ω/2πT$, and where $\mathfrak{h}(\varpi)>0$ is the largest eigenvalue of a compact self-adjoint operator $\mathfrak{H}(\varpi)$ on $\ell^2$ sequences; $\mathfrak{H}(\varpi)$ is the dispersionless limit $P(dω)\toδ(ω-Ω)dω$ of the operator $\mathfrak{K}(P,T)$ of (II). It is shown that when $\varpi \leq \sqrt{2}$, then the map $\varpi\mapsto\mathfrak{h}(\varpi)$ is invertible. For $λ>0.77$ this yields: (i) the existence of a critical temperature $T_c(λ,Ω) = Ωf(λ)$; (ii) a sequence of lower bounds on $f(λ)$ that converges to $f(λ)$. Also obtained is an upper bound on $T_c(λ,Ω)$, which agrees with the asymptotic behavior $T_c(λ,Ω) \sim C Ω\sqrtλ$ for $λ\sim\infty$, given $Ω$, though with $C\approx 2.034 C_\infty$, where $C_\infty := \frac{1}{2π}\mathfrak{k}(2)^\frac12 =0.1827262477...$ is the optimal constant, and $\mathfrak{k}(γ)>0$ the largest eigenvalue of a compact self-adjoint operator for the $γ$ model, determined in the first paper, (I), on $T_c$ by the authors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2025

Noetherian Conservation Laws for Photons

We review the formulation of a Lorentz-covariant bispinorial wave function and wave equation for a single photon on a flat background. We show the existence of a 10-dimensional set of conservation laws for this equation, and prove that 8 of these can be used to obtain global, gauge-invariant, ADM-like quantities that together define a covariantly constant self-dual bispinor.

math-ph↗
arXiv2025

On the discrete Dirac spectrum of general-relativistic hydrogenic ions with anomalous magnetic moment

The Reissner-Weyl-Nordström (RWN) spacetime of a point nucleus features a naked singularity for the empirically known nuclear charges $Ze$ and masses $M = A(Z,N)m_{\mathrm{p}}$, where $m_{\mathrm{p}}$ is the proton mass and $A(Z,N)\approx Z+N$ the atomic mass number, with $Z$ the number of protons and $N$ the number of neutrons in the nucleus. The Dirac Hamiltonian for a test electron with mass $m_{\mathrm{e}}$, charge $-e$, and anomalous magnetic moment $μ_a (\approx - \frac{1}{4π}\frac{e^3}{m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2})$ in the electrostatic RWN spacetime of such a 'naked point nucleus' is known to be essentially self-adjoint, with a spectrum that consists of the union of the essential spectrum $(-\infty, m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2]\cup[m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2, \infty)$ and a discrete spectrum of infinitely many eigenvalues in the gap $(-m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2,m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2)$, having $m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2$ as accumulation point. In this paper the discrete spectrum is characterized in detail for the first time, for all $Z\leq 45$ and $A$ that cover all known isotopes. The eigenvalues are mapped one-to-one to those of the traditional Dirac Hydrogen spectrum. Numerical evaluations that go beyond $Z=45$ into the realm of not-yet-produced hydrogenic ions are presented, too. A list of challenging open problems concludes this publication.

math-ph↗
arXiv2023

On the global minimum of the classical potential energy for clusters bound by many-body forces

This note establishes, first of all, the monotonic increase with $N$ of the average $K$-body energy of classical $N$-body ground state configurations with $N\geq K$ monomers that interact solely through a permutation-symmetric $K$-body potential, for any fixed integer $K\geq 2$. For the special case $K=2$ this result had previously been proved, and used successfully as a test criterion for optimality of computer-generated lists of putative ground states of $N$-body clusters for various types of pairwise interactions. Second, related monotonicity results are established for $N$-monomer ground state configurations whose monomers interact through additive mixtures of certain types of $k$-meric potentials, $k\in\{1,...,K\}$, with $K\geq 2$ fixed and $N\geq K$. All the monotonicity results furnish simple necessary conditions for optimality that any pertinent list of computer-generated putative global minimum energies for $N$-monomer clusters has to satisfy. As an application, databases of $N$-body cluster energies computed with an additive mix of the dimeric Lennard-Jones and trimeric Axilrod--Teller interactions are inspected. We also address how many local minima satisfy the upper bound inferred from the monotonicity conditions, both from a theoretical and from an empirical perspective.

physics.atm-clus↗
arXiv2023

Testing Lennard-Jones Clusters for Optimality

This note advertises a simple necessary condition for optimality that any list $N\mapsto v^x(N)$ of computer-generated putative lowest average pair energies $v^x(N)$ of clusters that consist of $N$ monomers has to satisfy, whenever the monomers interact with each other through pair forces satisfying Newton's ``actio equals re-actio.'' These can be quite complicated, as for instance in the TIP5P model with five-site potential for a rigid tetrahedral-shaped H$_2$O monomer of water, or as simple as the Lennard-Jones single-site potential for the center of an atomic monomer (which is also used for one site of the H$_2$O monomer in the TIP5P model, that in addition has four peripheral sites with Coulomb potentials). The empirical usefulness of the necessary condition is demonstrated by testing a list of publicly available Lennard-Jones cluster data that have been pooled from 17 sources, covering the interval $2\leq N\leq 1610$ without gaps. The data point for $N=447$ failed this test, meaning the listed $447$-particle Lennard-Jones cluster energy was not optimal. To implement this test for optimality in search algorithms for putatively optimal configurations is an easy task. Publishing only the data that pass the test would increase the odds that these are actually optimal, without guaranteeing it, though.

physics.atm-clus↗
arXiv2023

A study of the radiation-reaction on a point charge that moves along a constant applied electric field in an electromagnetic Bopp-Landé-Thomas-Podolsky vacuum

The relativistic problem of motion of a classical electrical point charge that has been placed between the plates of a charged capacitor and then released from rest is well-posed in Bopp-Landé-Thomas-Podolsky (BLTP) electrodynamics. That theory introduces a single new parameter, Bopp's $\varkappa$, a reciprocal length. The present article concerns the small-$\varkappa$ regime. Radiation-reaction effects on the motion are shown to appear at order $\varkappa^3$. It is found that in the initial phase the motion is accurately accounted for by test particle theory, with the inertia determined by the bare mass of the particle. Subsequently, radiation-reaction effects cause substantial deviations from the test particle motion.

physics.class-ph↗
arXiv2023

Covariant Guiding Laws for Fields

After reviewing what is known about the passage from the classical Hamilton--Jacobi formulation of non-relativistic point-particle dynamics to the non-relativistic quantum dynamics of point particles whose motion is guided by a wave function that satisfies Schrödinger's or Pauli's equation, we study the analogous question for the Lorentz-covariant dynamics of fields on spacelike slices of spacetime. We establish a relationship, between the DeDonder--Weyl--Christodoulou formulation of covariant Hamilton--Jacobi equations for the classical field evolution, and the Lorentz-covariant Dirac-type wave equation proposed by Kanatchikov amended by our proposed guiding equation for such fields. We show that Kanatchikov's equation is well-posed and generally solvable, and we establish the correspondence between plane-wave solutions of Kanatchikov's equation and solutions of the covariant Hamilton--Jacobi equations of DeDonder--Weyl--Christodoulou. We propose a covariant guiding law for the temporal evolution of fields defined on constant time slices of spacetime, and show that it yields, at each spacetime point, the existence of a finite measure on the space of field values at that point that is equivariant with respect to the flow induced by the solution of Kanatchikov's equation that is guiding the actual field, so long as it is a plane-wave solution. We show that our guiding law is local in the sense of Einstein's special relativity, and therefore it cannot be used to analyze Bell-type experiments. We conclude by suggesting directions to be explored in future research.

math-ph↗
arXiv2022

Superconductivity near a quantum critical point in the extreme retardation regime

We study fermions at quantum criticality with extremely retarded interactions of the form $V(ω_l)=(g/|ω_l|)^γ$, where $ω_l$ is the transferred Matsubara frequency. This system undergoes a normal-superconductor phase transition at a critical temperature $T=T_c$. The order parameter is the frequency-dependent gap function $Δ(ω_n)$ as in the Eliashberg theory. In general, the interaction is extremely retarded for $γ\gg 1$, except at low temperatures $γ>3$ is sufficient. We evaluate the normal state specific heat, $T_c$, the jump in the specific heat, $Δ(ω_n)$ near $T_c$, and the Landau free energy. Our answers are asymptotically exact in the limit $γ\to\infty$. At low temperatures, we prove that the global minimum of the free energy is nondegenerate and determine the order parameter, the free energy, and the specific heat. These answers are exact for $T\to0$ and $γ>3$. We also uncover and investigate an instability of the $γ$ model: negative specific heat at $T\to0$ and just above $T_c$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2021

On the discrete Dirac spectrum of a point electron in the zero-gravity Kerr-Newman spacetime

The discrete spectrum of the Dirac operator for a point electron in the maximal analytically extended Kerr--Newman spacetime is determined in the zero-$G$ limit (z$G$KN), under some restrictions on the electrical coupling constant and on the radius of the ring-singularity of the z$G$KN spacetime. The spectrum is characterized by a triplet of integers, associated with winding numbers of orbits of dynamical systems on cylinders. A dictionary is established that relates the spectrum with the known hydrogenic Dirac spectrum. Numerical illustrations are presented. Open problems are listed.

math-ph↗
arXiv2021

Weak second Bianchi identity for static, spherically symmetric spacetimes with timelike singularities

The (twice-contracted) second Bianchi identity is a differential curvature identity that holds on any smooth manifold with a metric. In the case when such a metric is Lorentzian and solves Einstein's equations with an (in this case inevitably smooth) energy-momentum-stress tensor of a "matter field" as the source of spacetime curvature, this identity implies the physical laws of energy and momentum conservation for the "matter field". The present work inquires into whether such a Bianchi identity can still hold in a weak sense for spacetimes with curvature singularities associated with timelike singularities in the "matter field". Sufficient conditions that establish a distributional version of the twice-contracted second Bianchi identity are found. In our main theorem, a large class of spherically symmetric static Lorentzian metrics with timelike one-dimensional singularities is identified, for which this identity holds. As an important first application we show that the well-known Reissner-Weyl-Nordström spacetime of a point charge does not belong to this class, but that Hoffmann's spacetime of a point charge with negative bare mass in the Born-Infeld electromagnetic vacuum does.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2021

Semi-relativistic $N$-body quantum mechanics of electrons and photons, with fixed nuclei

It is argued that by the end of the 1920s a quantum-mechanical model could have been in place, that not only produces the atomic and molecular energy levels of the many-body Pauli equation with Coulomb interactions and external classical electro- and magneto-static fields without putting these interactions in by hand, but that also accurately describes the interaction of charged particles with electromagnetic radiation, in particular the transitions between atomic or molecular energy levels associated with emission or absorption of radiation. This model suggests a re-interpretation of Maxwell's electromagnetic field equations on spacetime as quantum-mechanical expected values of wave equations on time X configuration space for photons and electrons. The creation / annihilation formalism for photons emerges without invoking second-quantizing the classical Maxwell equations, and without involving the concept of creation / annihilation, thus suggesting an alternative physical interpretation of this formalism. Furthermore, the model suggests that Lorentz covariance of macroscopic physics models emerges through a law of large numbers from a fundamental microscopic model that is not itself Lorentz covariant.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2021

On the asymptotic decay of the Schrödinger--Newton ground state

The asymptotics of the ground state $u(r)$ of the Schrödinger--Newton equation in $\mathbb{R}^3$ was determined by V. Moroz and J. van Schaftingen to be $u(r) \sim A e^{-r}/ r^{1 - \|u\|_2^2/8π}$ for some $A>0$, in units that fix the exponential rate to unity. They left open the value of $\|u\|_2^2$, the squared $L^2$ norm of $u$. Here it is rigorously shown that $2^{1/3}3π^2\leq \|u\|_2^2\leq 2^{3}π^{3/2}$. It is reported that numerically $\|u\|_2^2\approx 14.03π$, revealing that the monomial prefactor of $e^{-r}$ increases with $r$ in a concave manner. Asymptotic results are proposed for the Schrödinger--Newton equation with external $\sim - K/r$ potential, and for the related Hartree equation of a bosonic atom or ion.

math.AP↗
arXiv2021

On the Dirac operator for a test electron in a Reissner--Weyl--Nordström black hole spacetime

The present paper studies the Dirac Hamiltonian of a test electron with a domain of bi-spinor wave functions supported on the static region inside the Cauchy horizon of the subextremal RWN black hole spacetime, respectively inside the event horizon of the extremal RWN black hole spacetime. It is found that this Dirac Hamiltonian is not essentially self-adjoint, yet has infinitely many self-adjoint extensions. Including a sufficiently large anomalous magnetic moment interaction in the Dirac Hamiltonian restores essential self-adjointness; the empirical value of the electron's anomalous magnetic moment is large enough. The spectrum of the subextremal self-adjoint Dirac operator with anomalous magnetic moment is purely absolutely continuous and consists of the whole real line; in particular, there are no eigenvalues. The same is true for the spectrum of any self-adjoint extension of the Dirac operator without anomalous magnetic moment interaction, in the subextremal black hole context. In the extremal black hole sector the point spectrum, if non-empty, consists of a single eigenvalue, which is identified.

math-ph↗