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Ray J. Rivers

Publications and source records attributed to Ray J. Rivers.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

An extensive universe avoids phantom dark energy

A major challenge in cosmology and astrophysics is the phantom dark energy used to explain the data of DESI DR2 BAO. Assuming that the degrees of freedom of the universe are (d=3) extensive, we find that the linearised Hubble parameter in Tsallis Entropic cosmology is consistent with Cosmic Chronometers (CC) and DESI DR2 data upto z<2.33, avoiding the need for phantom energy while keeping the observed CMB acoustic angular scale constraint. It also obviates the need for a significant density of CDM.

astro-ph.GA

Large phonon time-of-flight fluctuations in expanding flat condensates of cold fermi gases

We reexamine how quantum density fluctuations in condensates of ultra-cold fermi gases lead to fluctuations in phonon times-of-flight, an effect that increases as density is reduced. We suggest that these effects should be measurable in pancake-like (two-dimensional) condensates on their release from their confining optical traps, providing their initial (width/thickness) aspect ratio is suitably large.

cond-mat.quant-gas

When are two fermions a simple boson? New Gross-Pitaevskii actions for cold Fermi condensates

The BEC regime of a cold fermi gas is characterised by coupled atoms (dimers) which, superficially, look like elementary bosons. We examine how simply-bosonic they really are; firstly, in the Bogoliubov approximation and further, through new actions for the BEC regime in which dimers are represented by coupled Gross-Pitaevskii fields. We find identity at the level of the Bogoliubov approximation in the deep BEC regime, permitting a simple Gross-Pitaevskii description. This fails rapidly as we move towards the BCS regime. However, even in the deep BEC regime there is an intrinsic difference if we go beyond the Bogoliubov approximation. To exemplify this we construct vortex solutions.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Was Thebes Necessary? Contingency in Spatial Modelling

When data is poor we resort to theory modelling. This is a two-step process. We have first to identify the appropriate type of model for the system under consideration and then to tailor it to the specifics of the case. To understand settlement formation, which is the concern of this paper, this not only involves choosing input parameter values such as site separations but also input functions which characterises the ease of travel between sites. Although the generic behaviour of the model is understood, the details are not. Different choices will necessarily lead to different outputs (for identical inputs). We can only proceed if choices that are "close" give outcomes are similar. Where there are local differences it suggests that there was no compelling reason for one outcome rather than the other. If these differences are important for the historic record we may interpret this as sensitivity to contingency. We re-examine the rise of Greek city states as first formulated by Rihll and Wilson in 1979, initially using the same "retail" gravity model. We suggest that, whereas cities like Athens owe their position to a combination of geography and proximity to other sites, the rise of Thebes is the most contingent, whose success reflects social forces outside the grasp of simple network modelling.

physics.soc-ph

A Baseline model for Modified Newtonian Mechanics I: The Early Universe

In modelling galaxy structure formation, neither Cold Dark Matter (CDM) nor canonical Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) (Milgrom [1]) can easily accommodate the appearance of massive galaxies at early times [2]. As a baseline We propose a new single-metric universe which fits within the MOND frame in that there is no new matter in the stress-momentum tensor, to reset the cosmological time scale at which cold dark matter may have a role. The metric interpolates smoothly between the Schwarzschild metric of central masses at small scales and the Friedmann Lemaitre Robertson Walker (FLRW) metric of an expanding universe at large scales without discrete boundaries. Within the framework of interpolations proposed by Baker [3] it is unique where the Newtonian free fall velcoity plays the role of peculiar velocity in an expanding background. Our model looks old-fashioned in that it superficially resembles a vacuole model wtih all the artificialities that this implies, but whereas traditional vacuole models do their best to hide boundary effects, all the new physics in our model arises from the smooth early-universe transitioning of one regime to the other. This metric inherits from MOND the existence of an acceleration scale a0 below which Newtonian gravity is modified. This is no longer the constant of traditional MOND [1] but depends on the background density, most simply as a0 ~1/2 H^2 r, where r is the relevant distance scalce. As a result, there are additional strong forces at high red-shifts sufficient at galactic scales, we believe, to trigger galaxy formation with needing to invoke the fimailar targets of LCDM searches. We have largely restricted ourselves here to galaxy and galaxy-cluster distances. We are agnostic as to whether we need further ingredients at large scales but, if we do, the metric provides a solid baseline.

astro-ph.CO

Quantum stochastic behaviour in cold Fermi gases: Phonon propagation

We examine the effect of quantum fluctuations in a tunable cold Fermi gas on the propagation of phonons. We show that these fluctuations can be interpreted as inducing a stochastic (acoustic) space-time. The variation in times of flight induced by this stochastic behaviour can be significant in the transition region between BEC and BCS regimes.

cond-mat.quant-gas

The role of Causality in Tunable Fermi Gas Condensates

We develop a new formalism for the description of the condensates of cold Fermi atoms whose speed of sound can be tuned with the aid of a narrow Feshbach resonance. We use this to look for spontaneous phonon creation that mimics spontaneous particle creation in curved space-time in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker and other model universes.

gr-qc

Path Integrals for (Complex) Classical and Quantum Mechanics

An analysis of classical mechanics in a complex extension of phase space shows that a particle in such a space can behave in a way redolant of quantum mechanics; additional degrees of freedom permit 'tunnelling' without recourse to instantons and lead to time/energy uncertainty. In practice, 'classical' particle trajectories with additional degrees of freedom have arisen in several different formulations of quantum mechanics. In this talk we compare the extended phase space of the closed time-path formalism with that of complex classical mechanics, to suggest that $\hbar$ has a role in our understanding of the latter. However, differences in the way that trajectories are used make a deeper comparison problematical. We conclude with some thoughts on quantisation as dimensional reduction.

quant-ph

Nonequilibrium Damping of Collective Motion of Homogeneous Cold Fermi Condensates with Feshbach Resonances

Collisionless damping of a condensate of cold Fermi atoms, whose scattering is controlled by a Feshbach resonance, is explored throughout the BCS and BEC regimes when small perturbations on its phase and amplitude modes are turned on to drive the system slightly out of equilibrium. Using a one-loop effective action, we first recreate the known result that for a broad resonance the amplitude of the condensate decays as $t^{-1/2}$ at late times in the BCS regime whereas it decays as $t^{-3/2}$ in the BEC regime. We then examine the case of an idealized narrow resonance, and find that this collective mode decays as $t^{-3/2}$ throughout both the BCS and BEC regimes. Although this seems to contradict earlier results that damping is identical for both broad and narrow resonances, the breakdown of the narrow resonance limit restores this universal behaviour. More measureably, the phase perturbation may give a shift on the saturated value to which the collective amplitude mode decays, which vanishes only in the deep BCS regime when the phase and amplitude modes are decoupled.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Fluxoid formation: size effects and non-equilibrium universality

Simple causal arguments put forward by Kibble and Zurek suggest that the scaling behaviour of condensed matter at continuous transitions is related to the familiar universality classes of the systems at quasi-equilibrium. Although proposed 25 years ago or more, it is only in the last few years that it has been possible to devise experiments from which scaling exponents can be determined and in which this scenario can be tested. In previous work, an unusually high Kibble-Zurek scaling exponent was reported for spontaneous fluxoid production in a single isolated superconducting Nb loop, albeit with low density. Using analytic approximations backed up by Langevin simulations, we argue that densities as small as these are too low to be attributable to scaling, and are conditioned by the small size of the loop. We also reflect on the physical differences between slow quenches and small rings, and derive some criteria for these differences, noting that recent work on slow quenches does not adequately explain the anomalous behaviour seen here.

cond-mat.supr-con

The Non-universal behaviour of Cold Fermi Condensates with Narrow Feshbach Resonances

In this paper we construct an effective field theory for a condensate of cold Fermi atoms whose scattering is controlled by a narrow Feshbach resonance. We show how, from first principles, it permits a hydrodynamic description of the BEC-BCS crossover from which the equation of state, intimately related to the speed of sound, can be derived. Specifically, we stress the non-universal behaviour of the equation of state at the unitary limit of infinite scattering length that arises when either, or both, of the range of the inter-atomic force and the scale of the molecular field become large.

cond-mat.supr-con

Derivation of hydrodynamics for the gapless mode in the BEC-BCS crossover from the exact one-loop effective action

We show that many hydrodynamical properties of the BEC/BCS crossover in the presence of a Feshbach resonance at T=0 can be derived easily from the derivative expansion of the (exact) fully renormalized one-loop effective action. In particular, we calculate the velocity of sound throughout the BCS and BEC regimes and derive the generalized superfluid continuity equations for the composite two-fluid system.

cond-mat.other

Domain Formation: Decided Before, or After the Transition?

There is increasing evidence that causality provides useful bounds in determining the domain structure after a continuous transition. In devising their scaling laws for domain size after such a transition, Zurek and Kibble presented arguments in which causality is important both before and after the time at which the transition begins to be implemented. Using numerical simulations of kinks in 1+1 dimensions, we explain how the domain structure is determined exclusively by what happens after the transition, even though the correlation length freezes in before the transition.

hep-ph

The Creation of Defects with Core Condensation

Defects in superfluid 3He, high-Tc superconductors, QCD colour superfluids and cosmic vortons can possess (anti)ferromagnetic cores, and their generalisations. In each case there is a second order parameter whose value is zero in the bulk which does not vanish in the core. We examine the production of defects in the simplest 1+1 dimensional scalar theory in which a second order parameter can take non-zero values in a defect core. We study in detail the effects of core condensation on the defect production mechanism.

hep-ph

The Effects of Multiplicative Noise in Relativistic Phase Transitions

Effective stochastic equations for the continuous transitions of relativistic quantum fields inevitably contain multiplicative noise. We examine the effect of such noise in a numerical simulation of a temperature quench in a 1+1 dimensional scalar theory. We look at out-of-equilibrium defect formation and compare our results with those of stochastic equations with purely additive noise.

hep-ph

Spontaneous Fluxon Formation in Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions

It has been argued by Zurek and Kibble that the likelihood of producing defects in a continuous phase transition depends in a characteristic way on the quench rate. In this paper we discuss our experiment for measuring the Zurek-Kibble scaling exponent sigma for the production of fluxons in annular symmetric Josephson Tunnel Junctions. The predicted exponent is sigma = 0.25, and we find sigma = 0.27 +/- 0.05. Further, there is agreement with the ZK prediction for the overall normalisation.

cond-mat.supr-con