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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 65

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The teacher of the gattini (kittens)
The figure of Raoul Gatto, who died in 2017, is remembered here, with an illustration of his career and the main results of his research, along with the personal memories of some of those who worked…
Roberto Casalbuoni, Daniele DominiciOct 6, 2018
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The Geometry of Reduction: Model Embedding, Compound Reduction, and Overlapping State Space Domains
The relationship according to which one physical theory encompasses the domain of empirical validity of another is widely known as "reduction." Here it is argued that one popular methodology for…
Joshua RosalerOct 5, 2018
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Algol as Horus in the Cairo Calendar: the possible means and the motives of the observations
An ancient Egyptian Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky Days, the Cairo Calendar (CC), assigns luck with the period of 2.850 days. Previous astronomical, astrophysical and statistical analyses of CC…
Sebastian Porceddu, Lauri Jetsu, Tapio Markkanen et al.Oct 5, 2018
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Quantum Black Holes
In 1974 Jacob Bekenstein has noticed that the area of the black hole behaves as adiabatic invariant and hence most likely must be quantized in integers of the Planckian area. In these notes I will…
Viatcheslav MukhanovOct 4, 2018
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Ya. B. Zeldovich and foundation of the accretion theory
This short review is dedicated to academician Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich, the science of his epoch and the creation of modern accretion theory.
Nikolay ShakuraSep 28, 2018
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Three weird facts about quantum mechanics: What Bohr, Schr\"odinger, and Einstein actually said
The procedure used to "do physics" in the macroscopic world is familiar: You take an object, start it off with a particular position and velocity, subject it to known forces (say gravity or friction,…
M. A. ReynoldsSep 27, 2018
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On the Empirical Consequences of the AdS/CFT Duality
We provide an analysis of the empirical consequences of the AdS/CFT duality with reference to the application of the duality in a fundamental theory, effective theory and instrumental context.…
Radin Dardashti, Richard Dawid, Sean Gryb et al.Sep 27, 2018
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Naturalness, Wilsonian Renormalization, and "Fundamental Parameters" in Quantum Field Theory
The Higgs naturalness principle served as the basis for the so far failed prediction that signatures of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) would be discovered at the LHC. One influential…
Joshua Rosaler, Robert HarlanderSep 25, 2018
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The Great Aurora of January 1770 observed in Spain
An analysis is made of the records made by Spanish observers of a notable aurora on 18 January 1770 in order to study the characteristics of this event. The records indicate that the phenomenon was…
V. M. S. Carrasco, E. Aragones, J. Ordaz et al.Sep 23, 2018
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When Fields Are Not Degrees of Freedom
We show that in the Maxwell-Lorentz theory of classical electrodynamics most initial values for fields and particles lead to an ill-defined dynamics, as they exhibit singularities or discontinuities…
Vera Hartenstein, Mario HubertSep 22, 2018
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Physics Beyond the Multiverse - Naturalness and the Quest for a Fundamental Theory
Finetuning and Naturalness are extra-empirical theory assessments that reflect our expectation how scientific theories should provide an intuitive understanding about the foundations underlying the…
Heinrich PäsSep 17, 2018
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Theology and Metaphysics in Sombre, Scientific Times
In view of the sobering findings of science, theology and to a lesser degree metaphysics is confronted with a humiliating loss, and a need for reinterpretation, of allegories and narratives which…
Karl SvozilSep 14, 2018
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Who discovered positron annihilation?
In the early 1930s, the positron, pair production, and, at last, positron annihilation were discovered. Over the years, several scientists - commonly, Thibaud and Joliot - have been credited with the…
Tim DunkerSep 13, 2018
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Arrow(s) of Time without a Past Hypothesis
The paper discusses recent proposals by Carroll and Chen, as well as Barbour, Koslowski, and Mercati to explain the (thermodynamic) arrow of time without a Past Hypothesis, i.e., the assumption of a…
Dustin Lazarovici, Paula ReichertSep 12, 2018
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On Boltzmann vs. Gibbs and the Equilibrium in Statistical Mechanics
In a recent article, Werndl and Frigg discuss the relationship between the Boltzmannian and Gibbsian framework of statistical mechanics, addressing in particular the question when equilibrium values…
Dustin LazaroviciSep 12, 2018
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Finetuned Cancellations and Improbable Theories
It is argued that the x-y cancellation model (XYCM) is a good proxy for discussions of finetuned cancellations in physical theories. XYCM is then analyzed from a statistical perspective, where it…
James D. WellsSep 10, 2018
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Probabilism for Stochastic Theories
I defend an analog of probabilism that characterizes rationally coherent estimates for chances. Specifically, I demonstrate the following accuracy-dominance result for stochastic theories in the…
Jeremy SteegerSep 9, 2018
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Twin Suns in Australian Aboriginal Traditions
The oral traditions of Aboriginal cultures across Australia contain references to the presence of multiple Suns in the sky at the same time. Explanations of this have been largely regarded as…
Duane W. Hamacher, Rubina R. VisuvanathanSep 7, 2018
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Hubble Law or Hubble-Lema\itre Law? The IAU Resolution
The Hubble law, widely considered the first observational basis for the expansion of the universe, may in the future be known as the Hubble-Lema\itre law. This is what the General Assembly of the…
Helge KraghSep 7, 2018
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Against Fields
Using the example of classical electrodynamics, I argue that the concept of fields as mediators of particle interactions is fundamentally flawed and reflects a misguided attempt to retrieve Newtonian…
Dustin LazaroviciSep 4, 2018
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Milestone developments in quantum Information and No-Go theorems
In this article we present milestone developments in the theory and applications of quantum information from historical perspectives. The domain of quantum information is very promising to develop…
Kapil K. Sharma, Vladimir P. Gerdt, Pyotr V. GerdtSep 1, 2018
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On Geometric Objects, the Non-Existence of a Gravitational Stress-Energy Tensor, and the Uniqueness of the Einstein Field Equation
The question of the existence of gravitational stress-energy in general relativity has exercised investigators in the field since the inception of the theory. Folklore has it that no adequate…
Erik CurielAug 27, 2018
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My Life and My Journey through Solar Physics
This is the talk I gave at the workshop "Solar-Stellar Magnetism: Past, Present and Future" held in Jaipur on 18 February 2018 on the occasion of my 60th year.
Arnab Rai ChoudhuriAug 26, 2018
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Women Scientists Who Made Nuclear Astrophysics
Female role models reduce the impact on women of stereotype threat, i.e., of being at risk of conforming to a negative stereotype about one's social, gender, or racial group. This can lead women…
C. V. Hampton, M. Lugaro, P. Papakonstantinou et al.Aug 25, 2018
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John Bell and the great enterprise
I outline Bell's vision of the "great enterprise" of science, and his view that conventional teachings about quantum mechanics constituted a betrayal of this enterprise. I describe a proposal of his…
Anthony SudberyAug 21, 2018
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