It is shown that when the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian is considered without any non-covariant modifications or change of variables, its Hamiltonian formulation leads to results consistent with principles of General Relativity. The first-class constraints of such a Hamiltonian formulation, with the metric tensor taken as a canonical variable, allow one to derive the generator of gauge transformations, which directly leads to diffeomorphism invariance. The given Hamiltonian formulation preserves general covariance of the transformations derivable from it. This characteristic should be used as the crucial consistency requirement that must be met by any Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity.(Published in Phys. Lett. A 372 (2008) 5101) *

Two standard physics problems are solved in terms of the Lambert ¡ function, in order to show the applicability of this recently defined function to physics. Other applications of the function are cited, but not described. The problems solved concern Wien's displacement law and the fringing fields of a capacitor, the latter problem being representative of some problems solved using conformal transformations. The physical content of the solutions remains unchanged, but they gain a new elegance and convenience.

We present some applications of the Lambert W function ͑W function͒ to the formalism of quantum statistics ͑QS͒. We consider the problem of finding extrema in terms of energy for a general QS distribution, which involves the solution of a transcendental equation in terms of the W function. We then present some applications of this formula including Bose-Einstein systems in d dimensions, MaxwellBoltzmann systems, and black body radiation. We also show that for the appropriate parameter values, this formula reduces to an analytic expression in connection with Wien's displacement law that was found in a previous study. In addition, we show that for Maxwell-Boltzmann and Bose-Einstein systems, the W function allows us to express the temperature of the system as a function of the thermodynamically relevant chemical potential, the particle density, and other parameters. Finally, we explore an indirect relationship of the W function to the polylogarithm function and to the Lambert transform.

We present the current status of the analytic theory of brown dwarf evolution and the lower mass limit of the hydrogen burning main sequence stars. In the spirit of a simplified analytic theory we also introduce some modifications to the existing models. We give an exact expression for the pressure of an ideal non-relativistic Fermi gas at a finite temperature, therefore allowing for non-zero values of the degeneracy parameter (ψ = kT µ F , where µ F is the Fermi energy). We review the derivation of surface luminosity using an entropy matching condition and the first-order phase transition between the molecular hydrogen in the outer envelope and the partially-ionized hydrogen in the inner region. We also discuss the results of modern simulations of the plasma phase transition, which illustrate the uncertainties in determining its critical temperature. Based on the existing models and with some simple modification we find the maximum mass for a brown dwarf to be in the range 0.064M ⊙ − 0.087M ⊙ . An analytic formula for the luminosity evolution allows us to estimate the time period of the non-steady state (i.e., non-main sequence) nuclear burning for substellar objects. Standard models also predict that stars that are just above the substellar mass limit can reach an extremely low luminosity main sequence after at least a few million years of evolution, and sometimes much longer. We estimate that ≃ 11% of stars take longer than 10 7 yr to reach the main-sequence, and ≃ 5% of stars take longer than 10 8 yr.