arXiv subjects

Thomas Müller

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Müller.

87 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

The Herschel PACS photometer calibration - A time dependent flux calibration for the PACS chopped point-source photometry AOT mode

We present a flux calibration scheme for the PACS chopped point-source photometry observing mode based on the photometry of five stellar standard sources. This mode was used for science observations only early in the mission. Later, it was only used for pointing and flux calibration measurements. Its calibration turns this type of observation into fully validated data products in the Herschel Science Archive. Systematic differences in calibration with regard to the principal photometer observation mode, the scan map, are derived and amount to 5-6%. An empirical method to calibrate out an apparent response drift during the first 300 Operational Days is presented. The relative photometric calibration accuracy (repeatability) is as good as 1% in the blue and green band and up to 5% in the red band. Like for the scan map mode, inconsistencies among the stellar calibration models become visible and amount to 2% for the five standard stars used. The absolute calibration accuracy is therefore mainly limited by the model uncertainty, which is 5% for all three bands.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2013

Numerical Chladni figures

Chladni patterns of vibrating membranes or thin plates faszinated the people already in the eighteenth century. As a simple way to visualize acoustic phenomena it is a valuable experiment for beginners' courses. In this paper I present NumChladni, an interactive tool for studying arbitrary two-dimensional vibrating membranes based on the Finite Element method. I also describe the straightforward approach of the underlying mathematical details and give some examples. NumChladni is directly applicable in the undergraduate classroom as, for example, complementary application to experimental setups.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2013

Scalar conservation laws on moving hypersurfaces

We consider conservation laws on moving hypersurfaces. In this work the velocity of the surface is prescribed. But one may think of the velocity to be given by PDEs in the bulk phase. We prove existence and uniqueness for a scalar conservation law on the moving surface. This is done via a parabolic regularization of the hyperbolic PDE. We then prove suitable estimates for the solution of the regularized PDE, that are independent of the regularization parameter. We introduce the concept of an entropy solution for a scalar conservation law on a moving hypersurface. We also present some numerical experiments. As in the Euclidean case we expect discontinuous solutions, in particular shocks. It turns out that in addition to the "Euclidean shocks" geometrically induced shocks may appear.

math.AP↗

arXiv2013

A circuit analysis of an in situ tunable radio-frequency quantum point contact

A detailed analysis of the tunability of a radio-frequency quantum point contact setup using a C-LCR circuit is presented. We calculate how the series capacitance influences resonance frequency and charge-detector resistance for which matching is achieved as well as the voltage and power delivered to the load. Furthermore, we compute the noise contributions in the system and compare our findings with measurements taken with an etched quantum point contact. While our considerations mostly focus on our specific choice of matching circuit, the discussion of the influence of source-to-load power transfer on the signal-to-noise ratio is valid generally.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Circular orbits in the extreme Reissner-Nordstrøm dihole metric

We study the motion of neutral test particles in the gravitational field of two charged black holes described by the extreme Reissner-Nordstrøm dihole metric where the masses and charges of the black holes are chosen such that the gravitational attraction is compensated by the electrostatic repulsion. We investigate circular orbits in the equatorial plane between the two black holes with equal masses as well as the case of circular orbits outside this symmetry plane. We show that the first case reduces to an effective two-body problem with a behavior similar to a system described by the Reissner-Nordstrøm spacetime. The main focus is directed to the second case with circular orbits outside the equatorial plane.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Charged particles constrained to a curved surface

We study the motion of charged particles constrained to arbitrary two-dimensional curved surfaces but interacting in three-dimensional space via the Coulomb potential. To speed-up the interaction calculations, we use the parallel compute capability of the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) of todays graphics boards. The particles and the curved surfaces are shown using the Open Graphics Library (OpenGL). The paper is intended to give graduate students, who have basic experiences with electrostatics and differential geometry, a deeper understanding in charged particle interactions and a short introduction how to handle a many particle system using parallel computing on a single home computer

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2012

Scalar conservation laws on constant and time-dependent Riemannian manifolds

In this paper we establish well-posedness for scalar conservation laws on closed manifolds M endowed with a constant or a time-dependent Riemannian metric for initial values in L^\infty(M). In particular we show the existence and uniqueness of entropy solutions as well as the L^1 contraction property and a comparison principle for these solutions. Throughout the paper the flux function is allowed to depend on time and to have non-vanishing divergence. Furthermore, we derive estimates of the total variation of the solution for initial values in BV(M), and we give, in the case of a time-independent metric, a simple geometric characterisation of flux functions that give rise to total variation diminishing estimates.

math.AP↗

arXiv2011

Detailed study of null and time-like geodesics in the Alcubierre Warp spacetime

The Alcubierre warp spacetime yields a fascinating chance for comfortable interstellar travel between arbitrary distant places without the time dilation effect as in special relativistic flights. Even though the warp spacetime needs exotic matter for its construction and is thus far from being physically feasible, it offers a rich playground for studying geodesics in the general theory of relativity. This paper is addressed to graduate students who have finished a first course in general relativity to give them a deeper inside in the calculation of non-affinely parametrized null and time-like geodesics and a straightforward approach to determine the gravitational lensing effect due to curved spacetime by means of the Jacobi equation. Both topics are necessary for a thorough discussion of the visual effects as observed by a traveller inside the warp bubble or a person looking from outside. The visual effects of the traveller can be reproduced with an interactive Java application.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Studying null and time-like geodesics in the classroom

In a first course of general relativity it is usually quite difficult for students to grasp the concept of a geodesic. It is supposed to be straight (auto-parallel) and yet it 'looks' curved. In these situations it is very useful to have some explicit examples available which show the different behaviour of geodesics. In this paper we present the GeodesicViewer, an interactive tool for studying the behaviour of geodesics in many different space-times. The geodesics can be represented in several ways, depending on the space-time in question. The use of a local reference frame and 'Cartesian-like' coordinates helps the students to develop some intuition in various situations. We present the various features of the GeodesicViewer in the form of readily formulated exercises for the students.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

An in-situ tunable radio-frequency quantum point contact

Incorporating a variable capacitance diode into a radio-frequency matching circuit allows us to in-situ tune the resonance frequency of an RF quantum point contact, increasing the versatility of the latter as a fast charge sensor of a proximal quantum circuit. The performance of this method is compared in detail to conventional low-frequency charge detection. The approach is also applicable to other RF-detection schemes, such as RF-SET circuits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Twin Paradox in de Sitter Spacetime

The "twin paradox" of special relativity offers the possibility to make interstellar flights within a lifetime. For very long journeys with velocities close to the speed of light, however, we have to take into account the expansion of the universe. Inspired by the work of Rindler on hyperbolic motion in curved spacetime, we study the worldline of a uniformly accelerated observer in de Sitter spacetime and the communication between the traveling observer and an observer at rest.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Decomposition numbers for finite Coxeter groups and generalised non-crossing partitions

Given a finite irreducible Coxeter group $W$, a positive integer $d$, and types $T_1,T_2,...,T_d$ (in the sense of the classification of finite Coxeter groups), we compute the number of decompositions $c=\si_1\si_2 cdots\si_d$ of a Coxeter element $c$ of $W$, such that $\si_i$ is a Coxeter element in a subgroup of type $T_i$ in $W$, $i=1,2,...,d$, and such that the factorisation is "minimal" in the sense that the sum of the ranks of the $T_i$'s, $i=1,2,...,d$, equals the rank of $W$. For the exceptional types, these decomposition numbers have been computed by the first author. The type $A_n$ decomposition numbers have been computed by Goulden and Jackson, albeit using a somewhat different language. We explain how to extract the type $B_n$ decomposition numbers from results of Bóna, Bousquet, Labelle and Leroux on map enumeration. Our formula for the type $D_n$ decomposition numbers is new. These results are then used to determine, for a fixed positive integer $l$ and fixed integers $r_1\le r_2\le ...\le r_l$, the number of multi-chains $π_1\le π_2\le ...\le π_l$ in Armstrong's generalised non-crossing partitions poset, where the poset rank of $π_i$ equals $r_i$, and where the "block structure" of $π_1$ is prescribed. We demonstrate that this result implies all known enumerative results on ordinary and generalised non-crossing partitions via appropriate summations. Surprisingly, this result on multi-chain enumeration is new even for the original non-crossing partitions of Kreweras. Moreover, the result allows one to solve the problem of rank-selected chain enumeration in the type $D_n$ generalised non-crossing partitions poset, which, in turn, leads to a proof of Armstrong's $F=M$ Conjecture in type $D_n$.

math.CO↗

arXiv2009

Quantum dots investigated with charge detection techniques

The detection of the quantum dot charge state using a quantum point contact charge detector has opened a new exciting route for the investigation of quantum dot devices in recent years. In particular, time-resolved charge detection allowed the precise measurement of quantum dot shot noise at sub-femtoampere current levels, and the full counting statistics of the current. The technique can be applied to different material systems and holds promise for the future application in quantum dot based quantum information processing implementations. We review recent experiments employing this charge detection technique, including the self-interference of individual electrons and back-action phenomena.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Branch dependence in the "consistent histories" approach to quantum mechanics

In the consistent histories formalism one specifies a family of histories as an exhaustive set of pairwise exclusive descriptions of the dynamics of a quantum system. We define branching families of histories, which strike a middle ground between the two available mathematically precise definitions of families of histories, viz., product families and Isham's history projector operator formalism. The former are too narrow for applications, and the latter's generality comes at a certain cost, barring an intuitive reading of the ``histories''. Branching families retain the intuitiveness of product families, they allow for the interpretation of a history's weight as a probability, and they allow one to distinguish two kinds of coarse-graining, leading to reconsidering the motivation for the consistency condition.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

Equations in finite semigroups: Explicit enumeration and asymptotics of solution numbers

We study the number of solutions of the general semigroup equation in one variable, $X^\al=X^\be$, as well as of the system of equations $X^2=X, Y^2=Y, XY=YX$ in $H\wr T_n$, the wreath product of an arbitrary finite group $H$ with the full transformation semigroup $T_n$ on $n$ letters. For these solution numbers, we provide explicit exact formulae, as well as asymptotic estimates. Our results concerning the first mentioned problem generalize earlier results by Harris and Schoenfeld (J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 3 (1967), 122-135) on the number of idempotents in $T_n$, and a partial result of Dress and the second author (Adv. in Math. 129 (1997), 188-221). Among the asymptotic tools employed are Hayman's method for the estimation of coefficients of analytic functions and the Poisson summation formula.

math.CO↗