Astrophysical observations: lensing and eclipsing Einstein's theories

Albert Einstein postulated the equivalence of energy and mass, developed the theory of special relativity, explained the photoelectric effect, and described Brownian motion in five papers, all published in 1905, 100 years ago. With these papers, Einstein provided the framework for understanding modern astrophysical phenomena. Conversely, astrophysical observations provide one of the most effective means for testing Einstein's theories. Here, I review astrophysical advances precipitated by Einstein's insights, including gravitational redshifts, gravitational lensing, gravitational waves, the Lense-Thirring effect, and modern cosmology. A complete understanding of cosmology, from the earliest moments to the ultimate fate of the universe, will require developments in physics beyond Einstein, to a unified theory of gravity and quantum physics.     

Physics

From massive quarks deep in the hearts of atomic nuclei to the catastrophic collapse of giant stars in the farthest reaches of the universe, from the partial realization of Einstein's dream of a unified theory of the forces of nature to the most practical applications in technology, medicine, and throughout contemporary society, physics continues to have a profound impact on man's view of the universe and on the quality of life. The author argues that the past few years, in terms of new discoveries, new insight-and the new questions-have been among the most productive in the history of the field and puts into context his selection of some of the most important new developments in this fundamental science.     

Entropy in an expanding universe

The question of how the observed evolution of organized structures from initial chaos in the expanding universe can be reconciled with the laws of statistical mechanics is studied, with emphasis on effects of the expansion and gravity. Some major sources of entropy increase are listed. An expanding "causal" region is defined in which the entropy, though increasing, tends to fall further and further behind its maximum possible value, thus allowing for the development of order. The related questions of whether entropy will continue increasing without limit in the future, and whether such increase in the form of Hawking radiation or radiation from positronium might enable life to maintain itself permanently, are considered. Attempts to find a scheme for preserving life based on solid structures fail because events such as quantum tunneling recurrently disorganize matter on a very long but fixed time scale, whereas all energy sources slow down progressively in an expanding universe. However, there remains hope that other modes of life capable of maintaining themselves permanently can be found.     

The role of intuition

"Intuition," as used by the modern mathematician, means an accumulation of attitudes (including beliefs and opinions) derived from experience, both individual and cultural. It is closely associated with mathematical knowledge, which forms the basis of intuition. This knowledge contributes to the growth of intuition and is in turn increased by new conceptual materials suggested by intuition. The major role of intuition is to provide a conceptual foundation that suggests the directions which new research should take. The opinion of the individual mathematician regarding existence of mathematical concepts (number, geometric notions, and the like) are provided by this intuition; these opinions are frequently so firmly held as to merit the appellation "Platonic." The role of intuition in research is to provide the "educated guess," which may prove to be true or false; but in either case, progress cannot be made without it and even a false guess may lead to progress. Thus intuition also plays a major role in the evolution of mathematical concepts. The advance of mathematical knowledge periodically reveals flaws in cultural intuition; these result in "crises," the solution of which result in a more mature intuition. The ultimate basis of modern mathematics is thus mathematical intuition. and it is in this sense that the Intuitionistic doctrine of Brouwer and his followers is correct. Modern instructional methods recognize this role of intuition by replacing the "do this, do that" mode of teaching by a "what should be done next?" attitude which appeals to the intuitive background already developed. It is in this way that understanding and appreciation of new mathematical knowledge may be properly instilled in the student.     

General relativity at 75: how right was einstein?

The status of experimental tests of general relativity is reviewed on the occasion of its 75th anniversary. Einstein's equivalence principle is well supported by experiments such as the E?tv?s experiment, tests of special relativity, and the gravitational redshift experiment. Tests of general relativity have reached high precision, including the light deflection and the perihelion advance of Mercury, proposed by Einstein 75 years ago, and new tests such as the Shapiro time delay and the Nordtvedt effect in lunar motion. Gravitational wave damping has been detected to an accuracy of 1 percent on the basis of measurements of the binary pulsar. The status of the "fifth force" is discussed, along with the frontiers of experimental relativity, including proposals for testing relativistic gravity with advanced technology and spacecraft.     

The hubble constant

The Hubble constant is the constant of proportionality between recession velocity and distance in the expanding universe. It is a fundamental property of cosmology that sets both the scale and the expansion age of the universe. It is determined by measurement of galaxy The Hubble constant is the constant of proportionality between recession velocity and development of new techniques for the measurements of galaxy distances, both calibration uncertainties and debates over systematic errors remain. Current determinations still range over nearly a factor of 2; the higher values favored by most local measurements are not consistent with many theories of the origin of large-scale structure and stellar evolution.     

Throwing light on dark energy

Supernova observations show that the expansion of the universe has been speeding up. This unexpected acceleration is ascribed to a dark energy that pervades space. Supernova data, combined with other observations, indicate that the universe is about 14 billion years old and is composed of about 30%matter and 70%dark energy. New observational programs can trace the history of cosmic expansion more precisely and over a larger span of time than has been done to date to learn whether the dark energy is a modern version of Einstein's cosmological constant or another form of dark energy that changes with time. Either conclusion is an enigma that points to gaps in our fundamental understanding of gravity.     

The most distant known galaxies

Ever since the proposal of the idea of an expanding universe more than 50 years ago, each generation of investigators has found that some current theory could be (marginally) tested by the properties of the most distant known galaxies. There has consequently been a continuing effort to identify very remote objects, especially to confront theories of the evolution of galaxies (since galaxies are seen as they were at prior epochs) and to confront cosmological theories (which make predictions about the overall dynamics of the expansion of the universe). These theories have yet to be definitively tested, but a new generation of optical telescopes and detectors provides hope for significant progress during this decade.     

Size and age of the universe

The age of the universe based on abundances of isotopes is in the range 10 billion to 15 billion years. This is consistent with the age range 12 billion to 20 billion years calculated from the evolution of the oldest galactic stars. A third estimate of the age of the universe is based on the Hubble relation between the velocities of galaxies and their distances from us, where the inverse of the Hubble parameter H is a measure of the age of a uniformly expanding universe. Evidence that has been accumulating over the past few years indicates that the expansion of the universe may exhibit a rather large local perturbation due to the gravitational attraction of the Virgo supercluster. Different types of observations still produce conflicting evidence about the velocity with which the Local Group of galaxies (of which our Milky Way system is a member) is falling into the Virgo cluster. The results to date indicate that this velocity lies somewhere in the range 0 to 500 kilometers per second. The resulting ambiguity in the flow pattern for relatively nearby galaxies makes values of H derived from galaxies with radial velocities less than 2000 kilometers per second particularly uncertain, and this restricts determinations of H to distant galaxies, for which distances are particularly uncertain. The best that can be said at present is that H(-1) yields a maximum time scale in the range 10 billion to 20 billion years.     

基于节水灌溉技术的民勤绿洲土地利用空间布局和利用方式调整

为改善导致民勤绿洲下游地区土地次生盐化严重、土地退化和生态失衡的不合理土地利用模式,通过历史文献法研究了民勤绿洲农业开发与土地利用空间格局演变史,用遥感方法获取了2008年绿洲土地利用/覆被数据,结合对地貌、地下水和土壤的分布规律的分析,研究表明:1)绿洲农业开垦起源于水源充足、土壤持水性好的中下游区域,并逐渐向外围及上游发展;2)绿洲种植结构不合理,农业用水空间配置不合理,下游灌溉且主要用矿化度高的地下水灌溉导致严重次生盐渍化;3)传统农业模式下绿洲下游已出现生产-生活-生态环境恶化,且农民生计无法保证。为此,本研究提出通过"流"的方式重构土地利用空间布局,即农村居民点向上游迁移,使用膜下滴灌技术发展特色林果,在提高农业经济效益的同时,节约农业用水并利用上游回水为下游地区腾退的农业用地恢复耐盐植被,从而改善绿洲生态系统。     

The uncertainty principle determines the nonlocality of quantum mechanics

Two central concepts of quantum mechanics are Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and a subtle form of nonlocality that Einstein famously called "spooky action at a distance." These two fundamental features have thus far been distinct concepts. We show that they are inextricably and quantitatively linked: Quantum mechanics cannot be more nonlocal with measurements that respect the uncertainty principle. In fact, the link between uncertainty and nonlocality holds for all physical theories. More specifically, the degree of nonlocality of any theory is determined by two factors: the strength of the uncertainty principle and the strength of a property called "steering," which determines which states can be prepared at one location given a measurement at another.     

Quarks and the cosmos

Cosmology is in the midst of a period of revolutionary discovery, propelled by bold ideas from particle physics and by technological advances from gigapixel charge-coupled device cameras to peta-scale computing. The basic features of the universe have now been determined: It is 13.7 billion years old, spatially flat, and expanding at an accelerating rate; it is composed of atoms (4%), exotic dark matter (20%), and dark energy (76%); and there is evidence that galaxies and other structures were seeded by quantum fluctuations. Although we know much about the universe, we understand far less. Poised to dramatically advance our understanding of both the universe and the laws that govern it, cosmology is on the verge of a golden age.     

Erratum

In the article "The new inflationary universe" by M. Mitchell Waldrop (Research News, 28 Jan., p. 375), it was stated incorrectly that, in the standard model, the expanding universe cooled below 10(27) degrees Kelvin about 10(35) seconds after the Big Bang. The correct time is 10(-35) second.     

Protostar formation in the early universe

The nature of the first generation of stars in the universe remains largely unknown. Observations imply the existence of massive primordial stars early in the history of the universe, and the standard theory for the growth of cosmic structure predicts that structures grow hierarchically through gravitational instability. We have developed an ab initio computer simulation of the formation of primordial stars that follows the relevant atomic and molecular processes in a primordial gas in an expanding universe. The results show that primeval density fluctuations left over from the Big Bang can drive the formation of a tiny protostar with a mass 1% that of the Sun. The protostar is a seed for the subsequent formation of a massive primordial star.     

Mapping the universe

Maps of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe reveal large coherent structures. The extent of the largest features is limited only by the size of the survey. Voids with a density typically 20 percent of the mean and with diameters of 5000 km s(-1) are present in every survey large enough to contain them. Many galaxies lie in thin sheet-like structures. The largest sheet detected so far is the "Great Wall" with a minimum extent of 60 h(-1) Mpc x 170 h(-1) Mpc, where h is the Hubble constant in units of 100 km s(-1) Mpc(-1). The frequent occurrence of these structures is one of several serious challenges to our current understanding of the origin and evolution of the large-scale distribution of matter in the universe.     

A simple description of the 3 k cosmic microwave background

An intuitive model for the expansion of the universe is developed in which special relativity is used to describe events seen by a hypothetical observer in a Lorentz frame of reference. The cosmic microwave background photons he sees are the red-shifted remnants of hot photons emitted from the matter flying rapidly away from him. This special relativistic model, also called the Milne model, represents the extreme case of a Friedmann (general relativistic) universe in the limit of vanishingly small density of matter. The special relativistic model approximates an open universe (one that expands forever) with increasing accuracy as time evolves.     

论《弗洛斯河上的磨坊》对《白孔雀》的影响

从《白孔雀》的环境景物描写、作品的人物形象塑造和结构方式几个方面进行比较分析 ,得出结论 :劳伦斯的《白孔雀》受到乔治·艾略特的《弗洛斯河上的磨坊》的影响