Matrix Theory Black Holes and the Gross Witten Transition

Large N gauge theories have so called Gross-Witten phase transitions which typically can occur in finite volume systems. In this paper we relate these transitions in supersymmetric gauge theories to transitions that take place between black hole solutions in general relativity. The correspondence between gauge theory and gravitation is through matrix theory which represents the gravitational system in terms of super Yang Mills theories on finite tori. We also discuss a related transition that was found by Banks, Fischler, Klebanov and Susskind.Comment: 8 pages, phyzz

A Model of Mesons based on χ\chiSB in the Light-Front Frame

Spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry is discussed in the light-cone framework. The essential ingredient is an infinite number of constituents near zero light-cone momentum. These high (light-cone) energy degrees of freedom freeze out and leave behind some explicit symmetry breaking in the low (light-cone) energy effective Hamiltonian. Connections with Regge theory and soft pion theorems are discussed. Taking the order parameter to be the 4-th component of a chiral 4-vector, the effect of the spontaneous symmetry breaking on meson masses and decay width is calculated and compared with experimental data.Comment: 10 pages, LATE

The Holographic Bound in Anti-de Sitter Space

The correspondence between string theory in Anti-de Sitter space and super Yang Mills theory is an example of the Holographic principle according to which a quantum theory with gravity must be describable by a boundary theory. However, arguments given so far are incomplete because, while the bulk theory has been related to a boundary theory, the holographic bound saying that the boundary theory has only one bit of information per Planck area has not been justified. We show here that this bound is the physical interpretation of one of the unusual aspects of the correspondence between Anti-de Sitter space and the boundary conformal field theory, which is that infrared effects in the bulk theory are reflected as ultraviolet effects in the boundary theory.Comment: 10 pages, phyzz

Partons and Black Holes

A light-front renormalization group analysis is applied to study matter which falls into massive black holes, and the related problem of matter with transplankian energies. One finds that the rate of matter spreading over the black hole's horizon unexpectedly saturates the causality bound. This is related to the transverse growth behavior of transplankian particles as their longitudinal momentum increases. This growth behavior suggests a natural mechanism to impliment 'tHooft's scenario that the universe is an image of data stored on a 2 + 1 dimensional hologram-like projection.Comment: 23 pages LaTeX + 10 figs. (epsf.sty needed for figs.). Based on lectures given by L.S. at the `Theory of Hadrons and Light-front QCD' workshop in Zakopane, Poland, August 199

Holography and Cosmology

A cosmological version of the holographic principle is proposed. Various consequences are discussed including bounds on equation of state and the requirement that the universe be infinite.Comment: uses phyzzx macros,7 pages typos corrected,minor change

Black Hole Entropy in Canonical Quantum Gravity and Superstring Theory

In this paper the entropy of an eternal Schwarzschild black hole is studied in the limit of infinite black hole mass. The problem is addressed from the point of view of both canonical quantum gravity and superstring theory. The entropy per unit area of a free scalar field propagating in a fixed black hole background is shown to be quadratically divergent near the horizon. It is shown that such quantum corrections to the entropy per unit area are equivalent to the quantum corrections to the gravitational coupling. Unlike field theory, superstring theory provides a set of identifiable configurations which give rise to the classical contribution to the entropy per unit area. These configurations can be understood as open superstrings with both ends attached to the horizon. The entropy per unit area is shown to be finite to all orders in superstring perturbation theory. The importance of these conclusions to the resolution of the problem of black hole information loss is reiterated.Comment: 30 pages (including figures). (Replaced with version to appear in Physical Review D. Incorrect hep-th number fixed.) SU-ITP-94-

Black Holes, Interactions, and Strings

We give some examples in which neglecting the interactions between particles or truncating the description of a black hole to the spherically symmetric mode leads to unphysical results. The restoration of the interactions and higher angular momentum modes resolves these problems. It is argued that mathematical consistency of the description of black holes in the Schwarzschild coordinate system requires that we neither truncate the theory nor ignore the interactions. We present two hypotheses on how matter must behave under large Lorentz boosts in order for black holes to be consistent with quantum mechanics. Finally, we argue that string theory exhibits these properties. Talk presented at the PASCOS meeting in Syracuse, New York, May 1994.Comment: SU-ITP-94-35, 18 pages plus 6 figures, phyzz

Electroweak Symmetry Breaking due to Confinement

Within the framework of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking, we consider an electroweak symmetry breaking pattern in which there is no conventional $\mu$ term. The pattern is made appealing through realizing it as low energy effective description of a supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory which is of confinement. Phenomenological implications are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, revtex, no figure, the discussion on effective superpotential refine

Space/Time Non-Commutativity and Causality

Field theories based on non-commutative spacetimes exhibit very distinctive nonlocal effects which mix the ultraviolet with the infrared in bizarre ways. In particular if the time coordinate is involved in the non-commutativity the theory seems to be seriously acausal and inconsistent with conventional Hamiltonian evolution. To illustrate these effects we study the scattering of wave packets in a field theory with space/time non-commutativity. In this theory we find effects which seem to precede their causes and rigid rods which grow instead of Lorentz contract as they are boosted. These field theories are evidently inconsistent and violate causality and unitarity. On the other hand open string theory in a background electric field is expected to exhibit space/time non-commutativity. This raises the question of whether they also lead to acausal behavior. We show that this is not the case. Stringy effects conspire to cancel the acausal effects that are present for the non-commutative field theory.Comment: New version replacing previous incorrect versio

Comments Concerning the CFT Description of Small Objects in AdS

In this paper we resolve a contradiction posed in a recent paper by Horowitz and Hubeny. The contradiction concerns the way small objects in AdS space are described in the holographic dual CFT description.Comment: 8 pages, no figure