We calculate the bound-state energy spectrum of the Dirac Equation in a Schwarzschild black hole background using a minimax variational method. Our method extends that of Talman to the case of non-Hermitian interactions, such as a black hole. The trial … Continued
We present a new approach to constructing inflationary models in closed universes. Conformal embedding of closed-universe models in a de Sitter background suggests a quantisation condition on the available conformal time. This condition implies that the universe is closed at … Continued
We study the absorption of massive spin-half particles by a small Schwarzschild black hole by numerically solving the single-particle Dirac equation in Painleve-Gullstrand coordinates. We calculate the absorption cross section for a range of gravitational couplings Mm/m_P^2 and incident particle … Continued
We compute the spectrum of normalizable fermion bound states in a Schwarzschild black hole background. The eigenstates have complex energies. The real part of the energies, for small couplings, closely follow a hydrogen-like spectrum. The imaginary parts give decay times … Continued
In the surface acoustic wave quantum computer, the spin state of an electron trapped in a moving quantum dot comprises the physical qubit of the scheme. Via detailed analytic and numerical modeling of the qubit dynamics, we discuss the effect … Continued
A new framework for analysing the gravitational fields in a stationary, axisymmetric configuration is introduced. The method is used to construct a complete set of field equations for the vacuum region outside a rotating source. These equations are under-determined. Restricting … Continued
The differential cross section for scattering of a Dirac particle in a black hole background is found. The result is the gravitational analog of the Mott formula for scattering in a Coulomb background. The equivalence principle is neatly embodied in … Continued
Our formalism described recently in (Dolby et al, hep-th/0103228) is applied to the study of particle creation in spatially uniform electric fields, concentrating on the cases of a time-invariant electric field and a so-called `adiabatic’ electric field. Several problems are … Continued
The Spacetime Algebra provides an elegant language for studying the Dirac equation. We show how to perform cross section calculations following a method suggested by Hestenes (1982). The S-matrix is replaced with an operator which rotates the initial states into … Continued
A reformulation of fermionic QFT in electromagnetic backgrounds is presented which uses methods analogous to those of conventional multiparticle quantum mechanics. Emphasis is placed on the (Schrodinger picture) states of the system, described in terms of Slater determinants of Dirac … Continued