Effects of turmeric and its active principle, curcumin, on bleomycin-induced chromosome aberrations in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

COMPLEX KOHN VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLE FOR 2-NUCLEON BOUND-STATE AND SCATTERING WITH THE TENSOR POTENTIAL

Complex Kohn variational principle is applied to the numerical solution of the fully off-shell Lippmann-Schwinger equation for nucleon-nucleon scattering for various partial waves including the coupled S-3(1), D-3(1), channel. Analytic expressions are obtained for all the integrals in the method for a suitable choice of expansion functions. Calculations with the partial waves S-1(0), P-1(1), D-1(2), and S-3(1)-D-3(1) of the Reid soft core potential show that the method converges faster than other solution schemes not only for the phase shift but also for the off-shell t matrix elements. We also show that it is trivial to modify this variational principle in order to make it suitable for bound-state calculation. The bound-state approach is illustrated for the S-3(1)-D-3(1) channel of the Reid soft-core potential for calculating the deuteron binding, wave function, and the D state asymptotic parameters. (c) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.

Testing the principle of equivalence by supernova neutrinos

We study the possible impact of the neutrino oscillation which could be induced by a tiny violation of equivalence principle (VEP) on the observation of neutrinos emitted from supernova driven by gravitational collapse. We show that using supernova neutrinos, one can probe very small values of VEP parameters, delta(tau) less than or similar to O(10(-31)) for massless or degenerated neutrinos and delta(tau) less than or similar to O(10(-16)) x (Deltam(2)/10(-5) eV(2)) for massive neutrinos. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Fluctuating dimension in a discrete model for quantum gravity based on the spectral principle

The spectral principle of Connes and Chamseddine is used as a starting point to define a discrete model for Euclidean quantum gravity. Instead of summing over ordinary geometries, we consider the sum over generalized geometries where topology, metric, and dimension can fluctuate. The model describes the geometry of spaces with a countable number n of points, and is related to the Gaussian unitary ensemble of Hermitian matrices. We show that this simple model has two phases. The expectation value , the average number of points in the Universe, is finite in one phase and diverges in the other. We compute the critical point as well as the critical exponent of . Moreover, the space-time dimension delta is a dynamical observable in our model, and plays the role of an order parameter. The computation of is discussed and an upper bound is found, < 2.

Kinetics of the polarization reversal process in a non-constant applied electric field and the generalized superposition principle

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Fourier duality as a quantization principle

The Weyl-Wigner prescription for quantization on Euclidean phase spaces makes essential use of Fourier duality. The extension of this property to more general phase spaces requires the use of Kac algebras, which provide the necessary background for the implementation of Fourier duality on general locally compact groups. Kac algebras - and the duality they incorporate - are consequently examined as candidates for a general quantization framework extending the usual formalism. Using as a test case the simplest nontrivial phase space, the half-plane, it is shown how the structures present in the complete-plane case must be modified. Traces, for example, must be replaced by their noncommutative generalizations - weights - and the correspondence embodied in the Weyl-Wigner formalism is no longer complete. Provided the underlying algebraic structure is suitably adapted to each case, Fourier duality is shown to be indeed a very powerful guide to the quantization of general physical systems.

The δ expansion and the principle of minimal sensitivity

The δ-expansion is a nonperturbative approach for field theoretic models which combines the techniques of perturbation theory and the variational principle. Different ways of implementing the principle of minimal sensitivity to the δ-expansion produce in general different results for observables. For illustration we use the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model for chiral symmetry restoration at finite density and compare results with those obtained with the Hartree-Fock approximation.

Road segment delineation using active testing principle and an edge-based post-processing strategy

This paper presents a semi-automated method for extracting road segments from medium-resolution images based on active testing and edge analysis. The method is based on two sequential and independent stages. Firstly, an active testing method is used to extract an approximated road centreline which is based on a sequential and local exploitation of the image. Secondly, an iterative strategy based on edge analysis and the approximated centreline is used to measure precisely the road centreline. Based on the results obtained using medium-resolution test images, the method seems to be very promising. In general, the method proved to be very accurate whenever the roads are characterized by two well-defined anti-parallel edges and robust even in the presence of larger obstacles such as trees and shadows.

Schwinger's principle and gauge fixing in the free electromagnetic field

A manifestly covariant treatment of the free quantum eletromagnetic field, in a linear covariant gauge, is implemented employing Schwinger's variational principle and the B-field formalism. It is also discussed the Abelian Proca model as an example of a system without constraints. © Società Italiana di Fisica.

Is the equivalence principle doomed forever to Dante's Inferno on account of quantum mechanics?

It is commonly assumed that the equivalence principle can coexist without conflict with quantum mechanics. We shall argue here that, contrary to popular belief, this principle does not hold in quantum mechanics. We illustrate this point by computing the second-order correction for the scattering of a massive scalar boson by a weak gravitational field, treated as an external field. The resulting cross-section turns out to be mass-dependent. A way out of this dilemma would be, perhaps, to consider gravitation without the equivalence principle. At first sight, this seems to be a too much drastic attitude toward general relativity. Fortunately, the teleparallel version of general relativity - a description of the gravitational interaction by a force similar to the Lorentz force of electromagnetism and that, of course, dispenses with the equivalence principle - is equivalent to general relativity, thus providing a consistent theory for gravitation in the absence of the aforementioned principle. © World Scientific Publishing Company.

Conflict between the classical equivalence principle and quantum mechanics

As far as external gravitational fields described by Newton's theory are concerned, theory shows that there is an unavoidable conflict between the universality of free fall (Galileo's equivalence principle) and quantum mechanics - a result confirmed by experiment. Is this conflict due perhaps to the use of Newton's gravity, instead of general relativity, in the analysis of the external gravitational field? The response is negative. To show this we compute the low corrections to the cross-section for the scattering of different quantum particles by an external gravitational field, treated as an external field, in the framework of Einstein's linearized gravity. To first order the cross-sections are spin-dependent; if the calculations are pushed to the next order they become dependent upon energy as well. Therefore, the Galileo's equivalence and, consequently, the classical equivalence principle, is violated in both cases. We address these issues here.