Commutators and squares in free groups

Let F_2 be the free group generated by x and y. In this article, we prove that the commutator of x^m and y^n is a product of two squares if and only if mn is even. We also show using topological methods that there are infinitely many obstructions for an element in F_2 to be a product of two squares.Comment: Published by Algebraic and Geometric Topology at http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/agt/AGTVol4/agt-4-27.abs.htm

Quasi-Linear Cellular Automata

Simulating a cellular automaton (CA) for t time-steps into the future requires t^2 serial computation steps or t parallel ones. However, certain CAs based on an Abelian group, such as addition mod 2, are termed ``linear'' because they obey a principle of superposition. This allows them to be predicted efficiently, in serial time O(t) or O(log t) in parallel. In this paper, we generalize this by looking at CAs with a variety of algebraic structures, including quasigroups, non-Abelian groups, Steiner systems, and others. We show that in many cases, an efficient algorithm exists even though these CAs are not linear in the previous sense; we term them ``quasilinear.'' We find examples which can be predicted in serial time proportional to t, t log t, t log^2 t, and t^a for a < 2, and parallel time log t, log t log log t and log^2 t. We also discuss what algebraic properties are required or implied by the existence of scaling relations and principles of superposition, and exhibit several novel ``vector-valued'' CAs.Comment: 41 pages with figures, To appear in Physica

N=4 SYM to Two Loops: Compact Expressions for the Non-Compact Symmetry Algebra of the su(1,1|2) Sector

We begin a study of higher-loop corrections to the dilatation generator of N=4 SYM in non-compact sectors. In these sectors, the dilatation generator contains infinitely many interactions, and therefore one expects very complicated higher-loop corrections. Remarkably, we find a short and simple expression for the two-loop dilatation generator. Our solution for the non-compact su(1,1|2) sector consists of nested commutators of four O(g) generators and one simple auxiliary generator. Moreover, the solution does not require the planar limit; we conjecture that it is valid for any gauge group. To obtain the two-loop dilatation generator, we find the complete O(g^3) symmetry algebra for this sector, which is also given by concise expressions. We check our solution using published results of direct field theory calculations. By applying the expression for the two-loop dilatation generator to compute selected anomalous dimensions and the bosonic sl(2) sector internal S-matrix, we confirm recent conjectures of the higher-loop Bethe ansatz of hep-th/0412188.Comment: 28 pages, v2: additional checks against direct field theory calculations, references added, minor corrections, v3: additional minor correction

Second Quantization of the Wilson Loop

Treating the QCD Wilson loop as amplitude for the propagation of the first quantized particle we develop the second quantization of the same propagation. The operator of the particle position $\hat{\cal X}_{\mu}$ (the endpoint of the "open string") is introduced as a limit of the large $N$ Hermitean matrix. We then derive the set of equations for the expectation values of the vertex operators \VEV{ V(k_1)\dots V(k_n)} . The remarkable property of these equations is that they can be expanded at small momenta (less than the QCD mass scale), and solved for expansion coefficients. This provides the relations for multiple commutators of position operator, which can be used to construct this operator. We employ the noncommutative probability theory and find the expansion of the operator $\hat{\cal X}_\mu$ in terms of products of creation operators $a_\mu^{\dagger}$. In general, there are some free parameters left in this expansion. In two dimensions we fix parameters uniquely from the symplectic invariance. The Fock space of our theory is much smaller than that of perturbative QCD, where the creation and annihilation operators were labelled by continuous momenta. In our case this is a space generated by $d = 4$ creation operators. The corresponding states are given by all sentences made of the four letter words. We discuss the implication of this construction for the mass spectra of mesons and glueballs.Comment: 41 pages, latex, 3 figures and 3 Mathematica files uuencode