Variations On Constants

This monograph focuses on optimal flow analysis of sequential and parallel programs. It studies algorithmic properties of various versions of the well-known constant-propagation problem, combining techniques from such diverse areas as linear algebra, computable ring theory, abstract interpretation, program verification and complexity theory. This combination of techniques is the key to further progress in automatic analysis and constant-propagation illustrates this point in a theoretical study.

This thesis explores the possibility of searching for new effects of dark matter that are linear in g, an approach that offers enormous advantages over conventional schemes, since the interaction constant g is very small, g“1. Further, the thesis employs an investigation of linear effects to derive new limits on certain interactions of dark matter with ordinary matter that improve on previous limits by up to 15 orders of magnitude. The first-ever limits on several other interactions are also derived. Astrophysical observations indicate that there is five times more dark matter—an ‘invisible’ form of matter, the identity and properties of which still remain shrouded in mystery—in the Universe than the ordinary ‘visible’ matter that makes up stars, planets, dust and interstellar gases. Conventional schemes for the direct detection of dark matter involve processes (such as collisions with, absorption by or inter-conversion with ordinary matter) that are either quartic (g4) or quadratic (g2) in an underlying interaction constant g.

The workshop on The Cosmology of Extra Dimensions and Varying Fundamental Constants, which was part of JENAM 2002, was held at the Physics Department of the University of Porto (FCUP) from the 3rd to the 5th of September 2002. It was regularly attended by about 110 participants, of which 65 were officially registered in the VFC workshop, while the others came from the rest of the JENAM workshops. There were also a few science correspondents from the national and international press. During the 3 days of the scientific programme, 8 Invited Reviews and 30 Oral Communications were presented. The speakers came from 11 different European countries, and also from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.S.A. There were also speakers from six Portuguese research institutions, and nine of the speak ers were Ph.D. students. The contributions are presented in these proceedings in chronological order. The workshop brought together string theorists, particle physicists, theoretical and observational cosmologists, relativists and observational astrophysicists. It was generally agreed that this inter-disciplinarity was the greatest strength of the work shop, since it provided people coming into this very recent topic from the various different backgrounds with an opportunity to understand each other's language and thereby gain a more solid understanding of the overall picture.

In Deleuze and Art Anne Sauvagnargues, one of the world's most renowned Deleuze scholars, offers a unique insight into the constitutive role played by art in the formation of Deleuze's thought. By reproducing Deleuze's social and intellectual references, Sauvagnargues is able to construct a precise map of the totality of Deleuze's work, pinpointing where key Deleuzian concepts first emerge and eventually disappear. This innovative methodology, which Sauvagnargues calls "periodization", provides a systematic historiography of Deleuze's philosophy that remains faithful to his affirmation of the principle of exteriority. By analyzing the external relations between Deleuze's self-proclaimed three philosophical periods, Sauvagnargues gives the reader an inside look into the conceptual and artistic landscape that surrounded Deleuze and the creation of his philosophy. With extreme clarity and precision, Sauvagnargues provides an important glimpse into Deleuze's philosophy by reconstructing the social and intellectual contexts that contributed to the trajectory of his thought. This book is the product of insightful and careful research, which has not been made available to English readers of Deleuze before now.

Einstein's Special Relativity (E-SR) is the cornerstone of physics. De Sitter invariant SR (dS/AdS-SR) is a natural extension of E-SR, hence it relates to the foundation of physics. This book provides a description to dS/AdS-SR in terms of Lagrangian-Hamiltonian formulation associated with spacetime metric of inertial reference frames. One of the outstanding features of the book is as follows: All discussions on SR are in the inertial reference frames. This is a requirement due to the first principle of SR theory. The descriptions on dS/AdS-SR in this book satisfy this principle. For the curved spacetime in dS/AdS-SR theory, it is highly non-trivial. Contents:General IntroductionOverview of Einstein's Special Relativity (E-SR)De Sitter Invariant Special RelativityDe Sitter Invariant General RelativityDynamics of Expansion of the Universe in General RelativityRelativistic Quantum Mechanics for de Sitter Invariant Special RelativityDistant Hydrogen Atom in CosmologyTemporal and Spatial Variation of the Fine Structure ConstantDe Sitter Invariance of Generally Covariant Dirac Equation Readership: Students and professionals who are interested in de Sitter and anti-de Sitter invariant Special Relativity. Key Features:This is the first book to describe dS/AdS-SR systematically and comprehensivelyThe crucial contributions to dS/AdS-SR due to Lu–Zou–Guo's work (1970's) are interpreted in detail in this book. The conceptions of dS/AdS-SR Mechanics, dS/AdS-SR Quantum Mechanics, dS/AdS-SR General Relativity, and effects of dS/AdS-SR Cosmology are introduced in the book. In the descriptions, many techniques are involvedThe author, Professor Mu-Lin Yan, is an expert in SR, GR, Black Hole Physics, and Particle Physics. He is one of the discoverers of Nieh–Yan topological identity (1982), High genus solution of Yang–Baxter equation of chiral Potts model (1987), and some unusual hadron's states (2005). He also has contributions to the calculations of entropies of black holes, and to the studies of non-perturbative QCDKeywords:De Sitter Invariant Special Relativity;Special Relativity;De Sitter Group