Abelian Gauge Theory in de Sitter Space

Quantization of spinor and vector free fields in 4-dimensional de Sitter space-time, in the ambient space notation, has been studied in the previous works. Various two-points functions for the above fields are presented in this paper. The interaction between the spinor field and the vector field is then studied by the abelian gauge theory. The U(1) gauge invariant spinor field equation is obtained in a coordinate independent way notation and their corresponding conserved currents are computed. The solution of the field equation is obtained by use of the perturbation method in terms of the Green's function. The null curvature limit is discussed in the final stage.Comment: 10 pages, typos corrected, reference adde

On the plane-wave cubic vertex

The exact bosonic Neumann matrices of the cubic vertex in plane-wave light-cone string field theory are derived using the contour integration techniques developed in our earlier paper. This simplifies the original derivation of the vertex. In particular, the Neumann matrices are written in terms of \mu-deformed Gamma-functions, thus casting them into a form that elegantly generalizes the well-known flat-space solution. The asymptotics of the \mu-deformed Gamma-functions allow one to determine the large-\mu behaviour of the Neumann matrices including exponential corrections. We provide an explicit expression for the first exponential correction and make a conjecture for the subsequent exponential correction terms.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure; harvmac (b); v4: minor corrections in appendix

On the exact open-closed vertex in plane-wave light-cone string field theory

The open-closed vertex in the maximally supersymmetric type IIB plane-wave light-cone string field theory is considered and an explicit solution for the bosonic part of the vertex is derived, valid for all values of the mass parameter, \mu. This vertex is of relevance to IIB plane-wave orientifolds, as well as IIB plane-wave strings in the presence of D-branes and their gauge theory duals. Methods of complex analysis are used to develop a systematic procedure for obtaining the solution. This procedure is first applied to the vertex in flat space and then extended to the plane-wave case. The plane-wave solution for the vertex requires introducing certain ``\mu-deformed Gamma functions'', which are generalizations of the ordinary Gamma function. The behaviour of the Neumann matrices is graphically illustrated and their large-\mu asymptotics are analysed.Comment: 35 pages, 7 figures; v4: minor changes in appendi

Quantum Entropy Function from AdS(2)/CFT(1) Correspondence

We review and extend recent attempts to find a precise relation between extremal black hole entropy and degeneracy of microstates using AdS_2/CFT_1 correspondence. Our analysis leads to a specific relation between degeneracy of black hole microstates and an appropriately defined partition function of string theory on the near horizon geometry, -- named the quantum entropy function. In the classical limit this reduces to the usual relation between statistical entropy and Wald entropy.Comment: LaTeX file, 27 pages, A modified and extended version of the talk given at Strings 200

PP-Wave Light-Cone Free String Field Theory at Finite Temperature

In this paper, a real-time formulation of light-cone pp-wave string field theory at finite temperature is presented. This is achieved by developing the thermo field dynamics (TFD) formalism in a second quantized string scenario. The equilibrirum thermodynamic quantities for a pp-wave ideal string gas are derived directly from expectation values on the second quantized string thermal vacuum. Also, we derive the real-time thermal pp-wave closed string propagator. In the flat space limit it is shown that this propagator can be written in terms of Theta functions, exactly as the zero temperature one. At the end, we show how supestrings interactions can be introduced, making this approach suitable to study the BMN dictionary at finite temperature.Comment: 27 pages, revtex

Light-cone Superstring Field Theory, pp-wave background and integrability properties

We show that the three strings vertex coefficients in light--cone open string field theory satisfy the Hirota equations for the dispersionless Toda lattice hierarchy. We show that Hirota equations allow us to calculate the correlators of an associated quantum system where the Neumann coefficients represent the two--point functions. We consider next the three strings vertex coefficients of the light--cone string field theory on a maximally supersymmetric pp--wave background. Using the previous results we are able to show that these Neumann coefficients satisfy the Hirota equations for the full Toda lattice hierarchy at least up to second order in the 'string mass' $\mu$.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, footnote and references adde

Squeezed States in the de Sitter Vacuum

We discuss the treatment of squeezed states as excitations in the Euclidean vacuum of de Sitter space. A comparison with the treatment of these states as candidate no-particle states, or alpha-vacua, shows important differences already in the free theory. At the interacting level alpha-vacua are inconsistent, but squeezed state excitations seem perfectly acceptable. Indeed, matrix elements can be renormalized in the excited states using precisely the standard local counterterms of the Euclidean vacuum. Implications for inflationary scenarios in cosmology are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, no figures. One new citation in version 3; no other change

Collinear and Soft Limits of Multi-Loop Integrands in N=4 Yang-Mills

It has been argued in arXiv:1112.6432 that the planar four-point integrand in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory is uniquely determined by dual conformal invariance together with the absence of a double pole in the integrand of the logarithm in the limit as a loop integration variable becomes collinear with an external momentum. In this paper we reformulate this condition in a simple way in terms of the amplitude itself, rather than its logarithm, and verify that it holds for two- and three-loop MHV integrands for n>4. We investigate the extent to which this collinear constraint and a constraint on the soft behavior of integrands can be used to determine integrands. We find an interesting complementarity whereby the soft constraint becomes stronger while the collinear constraint becomes weaker at larger n. For certain reasonable choices of basis at two and three loops the two constraints in unison appear strong enough to determine MHV integrands uniquely for all n.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures; v2: very minor change

Superstring Interactions in a pp-wave Background

We construct light-cone gauge superstring field theory in a pp-wave background with Ramond-Ramond flux. The leading term in the interaction Hamiltonian is determined up to an overall function of $p^+$ by requiring closure of the pp-wave superalgebra. The bosonic and fermionic Neumann matrices for this cubic vertex are derived, as is the interaction point operator. We comment on the development of a $1/\mu p^+$ expansion for these results.Comment: 35 pages, 3 figures. v3:typos fixed, a couple of helpful remarks added (including one un-commented out from the v1 source file