Zeta Functions in Brane World Cosmology

We present a calculation of the zeta function and of the functional determinant for a Laplace-type differential operator, corresponding to a scalar field in a higher dimensional de Sitter brane background, which consists of a higher dimensional anti-de Sitter bulk spacetime bounded by a de Sitter section, representing a brane. Contrary to the existing examples, which all make use of conformal transformations, we evaluate the zeta function working directly with the higher dimensional wave operator. We also consider a generic mass term and coupling to curvature, generalizing previous results. The massless, conformally coupled case is obtained as a limit of the general result and compared with known calculations. In the limit of large anti-de Sitter radius, the zeta determinant for the ball is recovered in perfect agreement with known expressions, providing an interesting check of our result and an alternative way of obtaining the ball determinant.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

Field localization on a brane intersection in anti-de Sitter spacetime

We discuss the localization of scalar, fermion, and gauge field zero modes on a $3-$brane that resides at the intersection of two $4-$branes in six-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. This set-up has been introduced in the context of brane world models and, higher-dimensional versions of it, in string theory. In both six- and ten-dimensional cases, it has been shown that four-dimensional gravity can be reproduced at the intersection, due to the existence of a massless, localized graviton zero-mode. However, realistic scenarios require also the Standard Model to be localized on the $3-$brane. In this paper, we discuss under which conditions a higher-dimensional field theory, propagating on the above geometry, can have a zero-mode sector localized at the intersection and find that zero modes can be localized only if masses and couplings to the background curvature satisfy certain relations. We also consider the case when other 4-branes cut the bulk at some distance from the intersection and argue that, in the probe brane approximation, there is no significant effect on the localization properties at the $3-$brane. The case of bulk fermions is particularly interesting, since the properties of the geometry allow localization of chiral modes independently.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, the version to be published in PR

Quark-antiquark contribution to the BFKL kernel

The quark-antiquark contribution to the BFKL kernel is calculated. Using the effective vertex for the $q\bar q$ pair production in the Reggeon-Reggeon collision we find this contribution by integrating the square of this vertex over relative transverse momenta and fractions of longitudinal momenta of produced particles.Comment: 12 pages, Late

A Kinematically Complete Analysis of the CLAS data on the Proton Structure Function F2F_2 in a Regge-Dual model

The recently measured inclusive electron-proton cross section in the nucleon resonance region, performed with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson Laboratory, has provided new data for the nucleon structure function $F_2$ with previously unavailable precision. In this paper we propose a description of these experimental data based on a Regge-dual model for $F_2$. The basic inputs in the model are nonlinear complex Regge trajectories producing both isobar resonances and a smooth background. The model is tested against the experimental data, and the $Q^2-$ dependence of the moments is calculated. The fitted model for the structure function (inclusive cross section) is a limiting case of the more general scattering amplitude equally applicable to deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS). The connection between the two is discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, revtex style. Misprints in eqs. (15,17) are corrected. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Branes and Black holes in Collision

We study the collision of a brane with a black hole. Our aim is to explore the topology changing process of perforation of a brane. The brane is described as a field theoretical domain wall in the context of an axion-like model consisting of a complex scalar effective field theory with approximate U(1) symmetry. We simulate numerically the dynamics of the collision and illustrate the transition from the configuration without a hole to the pierced one with the aid of a phase diagram. The process of perforation is found to depend on the collisional velocity, and, contrary to our expectation, we observe that above a critical value of the velocity, the black hole has no chance to perforate the wall. That is: high energy collisions do not assist piercing. We also show that, only when the model parameters are fine-tuned so that the energy scale of the string is very close to that of the domain wall, the collision of the wall with the black hole has a possibility to provide a mechanism to erase domain walls, if the hole expands. However, in such cases, domain walls will form with many holes edged by a string and therefore disappear eventually. Therefore this mechanism is unlikely to be a solution to the cosmological domain wall problem, although it may cause some minor effects on the evolution of a domain wall network.Comment: 14 pages; 9 figure

Quantized bulk scalar fields in the Randall-Sundrum brane-model

We examine the lowest order quantum corrections to the effective action arising from a quantized real scalar field in the Randall-Sundrum background spacetime. The leading term is the familiar vacuum, or Casimir, energy density. The next term represents an induced gravity term that can renormalize the 4-dimensional Newtonian gravitational constant. The calculations are performed for an arbitrary spacetime dimension. Two inequivalent boundary conditions, corresponding to twisted and untwisted field configurations, are considered. A careful discussion of the regularization and renormalization of the effective action is given, with the relevant counterterms found. It is shown that the requirement of self-consistency of the Randall-Sundrum solution is not simply a matter of minimizing the Casimir energy density. The massless, conformally coupled scalar field results are obtained as a special limiting case of our results. We clarify a number of differences with previous work.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figur