17,275 research outputs found
The CMB and the measure of the multiverse
In the context of eternal inflation, cosmological predictions depend on the
choice of measure to regulate the diverging spacetime volume. The spectrum of
inflationary perturbations is no exception, as we demonstrate by comparing the
predictions of the fat geodesic and causal patch measures. To highlight the
effect of the measure---as opposed to any effects related to a possible
landscape of vacua---we take the cosmological model, including the model of
inflation, to be fixed. We also condition on the average CMB temperature
accompanying the measurement. Both measures predict a 1-point expectation value
for the gauge-invariant Newtonian potential, which takes the form of a
(scale-dependent) monopole, in addition to a related contribution to the
3-point correlation function, with the detailed form of these quantities
differing between the measures. However, for both measures both effects are
well within cosmic variance. Our results make clear the theoretical relevance
of the measure, and at the same time validate the standard inflationary
predictions in the context of eternal inflation.Comment: 28 pages; v2: reference added, some clarification
Variational techniques in non-perturbative QCD
We review attempts to apply the variational principle to understand the
vacuum of non-abelian gauge theories. In particular, we focus on the method
explored by Ian Kogan and collaborators, which imposes exact gauge invariance
on the trial Gaussian wave functional prior to the minimization of energy. We
describe the application of the method to a toy model -- confining compact QED
in 2+1 dimensions -- where it works wonderfully and reproduces all known
non-trivial results. We then follow its applications to pure Yang-Mills theory
in 3+1 dimensions at zero and finite temperature. Among the results of the
variational calculation are dynamical mass generation and the analytic
description of the deconfinement phase transition.Comment: 71 pages, 1 figure. To be published in the memorial volume "From
Fields to Strings: Cirvumnavigating Theoretical Physics", World Scientific,
2004. Dedicated to the memory of Ian Koga
Accuracy of simulations for stochastic dynamic models
This paper provides a general framework for the simulation of stochastic dynamic models. Our analysis rests upon a continuity property of invariant distributions and a generalized law of large numbers. We then establish that the simulated moments from numerical approximations converge to their exact values as the approximation errors of the computed solutions converge to zero. These asymptotic results are of further interest in the comparative study of dynamic solutions, model estimation, and derivation of error bounds for the simulated moments
Field Theory On The World Sheet: Improvements And Generalizations
This article is the continuation of a project of investigating planar phi^3
model in various dimensions. The idea is to reformulate them on the world
sheet, and then to apply the classical (meanfield) approximation, with two
goals: To show that the ground state of the model is a solitonic configuration
on the world sheet, and the quantum fluctuations around the soliton lead to the
formation of a transverse string. After a review of some of the earlier work,
we introduce and discuss several generalizations and new results. In 1+2
dimensions, a rigorous upper bound on the solitonic energy is established. A
phi^4 interaction is added to stabilize the original phi^3 model. In 1+3 and
1+5 dimensions, an improved treatment of the ultraviolet divergences is given.
And significantly, we show that our approximation scheme can be imbedded into a
systematic strong coupling expansion. Finally, the spectrum of quantum
fluctuations around the soliton confirms earlier results: In 1+2 and 1+3
dimensions, a transverse string is formed on the world sheet.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures, several typos and eqs.(74) and (75) are
corrected, a comment added to section
ACCURACY OF SIMULATIONS FOR STOCHASTIC DYNAMIC MODELS
This paper provides a general framework for the simulation of stochastic dynamic models. Our analysis rests upon a continuity property of invariant distributions and a generalized law of large numbers. We then establish that the simulated moments from numerical approximations converge to their exact values as the approximation errors of the computed solutions converge to zero. These asymptotic results are of further interest in the comparative study of dynamic solutions, model estimation, and derivation of error bounds for the simulated moments.
Accuracy of simulations for stochastic dynamic models.
This paper provides a general framework for the simulation of stochastic dynamic models. Our analysis rests upon a continuity property of invariant distributions and a generalized law of large numbers. We then establish that the simulated moments from numerical approximations converge to their exact values as the approximation errors of the computed solutions converge to zero. These asymptotic results are of further interest in the comparative study of dynamic solutions, model estimation, and derivation of error bounds for the simulated moments.
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