Related papers: How degeneracies can obscure interesting physics
The framework to describe natural phenomena at their basics being quantum mechanics, there exist a large number of common global phenomena occurring in different branches of natural sciences. One such global phenomenon is spontaneous…
We classify possible supersymmetry-preserving relevant, marginal, and irrelevant deformations of unitary superconformal theories in $d \geq 3$ dimensions. Our method only relies on symmetries and unitarity. Hence, the results are model…
This paper presents reflections on the validity of a series of mathematical methods and technical assumptions that are encrusted in macrophysics (related to gravitational interaction), that seem to have little or no physical significance.…
Here we continue with the ideas expressed in "On the strangeness of quantum mechanics" aiming to demonstrate more concretely how this philosophical outlook might be used as a key for resolving the measurement problem. We will address in…
In this pedestrian approach I give my personal point of view on the various problems posed by dark matter in the universe. After a brief historical overview I discuss the various solutions stemming from high energy particle physics, and the…
Top physics provides a fertile ground for new-physics searches. At present, most top observables appear to be in good agreement with the respective Standard Model predictions. However, in the case of decay modes that are suppressed in the…
We prove theoretically that when a soft solid is subjected to an extreme deformation, wrinkles can form on its surface at an angle that is oblique to a principal direction of stretch. These oblique wrinkles occur for a strain that is…
Cosmological observations allow the possibility that dark energy is caused by phantom fields. These fields typically lead to the occurrence of singularities in the late Universe. We review here the status of phantom singularities and their…
This paper is a pedagogical yet critical introduction to the quantum description of unstable systems, mostly at the level of a graduate quantum mechanics course. Quantum decays appear in many different fields of physics, and their…
Gravitational and plasma lensing share the same mathematical formalism in the limit of geometrical optics. Both phenomena can be effectively described by a projected, two-dimensional deflection potential whose gradient causes an…
Probability theory can be modified in essentially one way while maintaining consistency with the basic Bayesian framework. This modification results in copies of standard probability theory for real, complex or quaternion probabilities.…
It goes without saying that we are stuck with the universe we have. Nevertheless, we would like to go beyond simply describing our observed universe, and try to understand why it is that way rather than some other way. Physicists and…
Anomalies can be anticipated at the classical level without changing the classical cohomology, by introducing extra degrees of freedom. In the process, the anomaly does not quite disappear. We show that, in fact, it is shifted to new…
It is believed that classical behavior emerges in a quantum system due to decoherence. It has also been proposed that gravity can be a source of this decoherence. We examine this in detail by studying a number of quantum systems, including…
If quantum mechanics is taken for granted the randomness derived from it may be vacuous or even delusional, yet sufficient for many practical purposes. "Random" quantum events are intimately related to the emergence of both space-time as…
After some historical remarks concerning Schroedinger's discovery of wave mechanics, we present a unified formalism for the mathematical description of classical and quantum-mechanical systems, utilizing elements of the theory of operator…
In condensed matter systems, the atoms, electrons or spins can sometimes arrange themselves in ways that result in unexpected properties but that cannot be detected by conventional experimental probes. Several historical and contemporary…
The foundations of environment-induced decoherence theory are discussed and the role of unphysical assumptions is pointed out. An alternative interpretation of decoherence is proposed.
In this paper a new approach to investigation of Quantum and Statistical Mechanics of the Early Universe (Planck scale) - density matrix deformation - is proposed. The deformation is understood as an extension of a particular theory by…
Superscattering, induced by degenerate resonances, breaks the fundamental single-channel limit of scattering cross section of subwavelength structures; in principle, an arbitrarily large total cross section can be achieved via…