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-3 votes
1 answer
80 views
Problem in understanding the proof of Wigner-Eckart in Sakurai
if you write the recurrence as a homogeneous linear system $A\mathbf x=0$, a necessary and sufficient condition for proportionality of (nonzero) solutions is that $\dim\ker A=1$. For a simple ...
1 vote
1 answer
292 views
What is the relativistic form of the dynamic pressure of a fluid? Is it a Lorentz-invariant quantity?
If one moves a plate through the air at a uniform velocity $v$, the pressure exerted on the area $A$ of the plate is: $$p=\frac{1}{2}\rho_{air}v^2 \space .$$ This pressure is measured by the ...
6 votes
2 answers
206 views
Can the Universe stop expanding?
Im a 7th grader so I'm not good in physics that much, but I'm just a curious boy which wants to become a cosmologist.Can the amount of energy or particles run out? For example pizza dough can be ...
0 votes
1 answer
27 views
Callen's Thermodynamics - how can equilibrium states be specified by internal energy?
I am currently reflecting a bit on the formal structure of the theory presented in Callen's classic text Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics. I was originally going to post a more ...
0 votes
1 answer
249 views
How did the book derive the following Unitary Operator expression in Mach Zehnder experiment?
I'm reading Renato Portugal's "Quantum Walks and Search Algorithms". In The Postulates of Quantum Mechanics, under the heading 'Evolution Postulate', there is the Mach Zehnder experiment, with the ...
9 votes
2 answers
672 views
Is it possible for quarks and charged leptons to 'oscillate' analogously to neutrinos?
In a hypothetical scenario where the coupling of the fermions to the gauge fields were extremely small, would it be possible to observe quark and charged leptons oscillate in the same manner as we ...
0 votes
3 answers
506 views
Why does moving an electrostatically charged object near a compass only attract it temporarily?
I've noticed that if I rub a plastic spoon with some fabric for ~20 seconds and hold it near a compass, it will attract its nearest pole. However, if I keep the spoon stationary, the needle will drift ...
5 votes
2 answers
112 views
How close do two fermions need to be for them to behave like a boson?
A system made of an even number of fermions behaves like a boson in terms of quantum statistics. One example for that would be the hydrogen atom consisting of one proton (spin-1/2) and one electron (...
0 votes
1 answer
30 views
Invariance of the interval in Schutz - maths error?
Reading Schutz's book on GR: On page 9, there's a derivation (reproduced in the picture below) that I don't follow. If all the barred coordinates are combinations of the unbarred coordinates, then ...
3 votes
1 answer
389 views
Inflation and the build up of an inflaton condensate
Recently I've been reading up a bit on inflation and the subsequent reheating of the early universe. What has left me a bit confused, however, is that in all of the notes/papers that I've read so far ...
0 votes
1 answer
57 views
How do entangled particles stay correlated if they do not interact with each other at measurement? [closed]
I'm having trouble understanding how two entangled particles stay correlated once they are measured. As an example, if they are anti-correlated in their spins, and one particle is measured to have a ...
-3 votes
0 answers
102 views
Can Pauli repulsion and BEC be used to probe the fundmental interactions?
Pauli repulsion and Bose--Einstein condensation (BEC) arise from quantum statistics and are not considered fundamental forces. That is, they are neither gravitational nor electrostatic in nature, ...
0 votes
1 answer
648 views
Equivalence between LHV and energy balance in combustion
I have seen in many textbooks the following equation for a combustion chamber $$ \eta \, m_{fuel} LHV = m_{out}h_{out}(T_{out}) - m_{in}h_{in}(T_{in}). \quad (1) $$ Consider now the stoichiometric ...
3 votes
2 answers
2k views
Understanding the Static Structure Factor of a Liquid
I am trying to understand static structure factors, $S(Q)$, for liquids. This function represents pairwise correlations in reciprocal space and can be measured experimentally using X-ray or neutron ...
2 votes
1 answer
330 views
Momentum distribution Fermi liquid and spectral representation
In a Fermi liquid the momentum distribution shows a jump at the Fermi surface, i.e. \begin{equation}\langle n_{k_F-\delta k} - n_{k_F+\delta k}\rangle = Z_{k_F}\end{equation} with $Z_k$ the strength ...