154 research outputs found
SO(2N) and SU(N) gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions
We perform an exploratory investigation of how rapidly the physics of SO(2N)
gauge theories approaches its N=oo limit. This question has recently become
topical because SO(2N) gauge theories are orbifold equivalent to SU(N) gauge
theories, but do not have a finite chemical potential sign problem. We consider
only the pure gauge theory and, because of the inconvenient location of the
lattice strong-to-weak coupling 'bulk' transition in 3+1 dimensions, we largely
confine our numerical calculations to 2+1 dimensions. We discuss analytic
expectations in both D=2+1 and D=3+1, show that the SO(6) and SU(4) spectra do
indeed appear to be the same, and show that a number of mass ratios do indeed
appear to agree in the large-N limit. In particular SO(6) and SU(3) gauge
theories are quite similar except for the values of the string tension and
coupling, both of which differences can be readily understood.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figure
Casimir scaling of domain wall tensions in the deconfined phase of D=3+1 SU(N) gauge theories
We perform lattice calculations of the spatial 't Hooft k-string tensions in
the deconfined phase of SU(N) gauge theories for N=2,3,4,6. These equal (up to
a factor of T) the surface tensions of the domain walls between the
corresponding (Euclidean) deconfined phases. For T much larger than Tc our
results match on to the known perturbative result, which exhibits Casimir
Scaling, being proportional to k(N-k). At lower T the coupling becomes stronger
and, not surprisingly, our calculations show large deviations from the
perturbative T-dependence. Despite this we find that the behaviour proportional
to k(N-k) persists very accurately down to temperatures very close to Tc. Thus
the Casimir Scaling of the 't Hooft tension appears to be a `universal' feature
that is more general than its appearance in the low order high-T perturbative
calculation. We observe the `wetting' of these k-walls at T around Tc and the
(almost inevitable) `perfect wetting' of the k=N/2 domain wall. Our
calculations show that as T tends to Tc the magnitude of the spatial `t Hooft
string tension decreases rapidly. This suggests the existence of a (would-be)
't Hooft string condensation transition at some temperature which is close to
but below Tc. We speculate on the `dual' relationship between this and the
(would-be) confining string condensation at the Hagedorn temperature that is
close to but above Tc.Comment: 40 pages, 14 figure
An ideal toy model for confining, walking and conformal gauge theories: the O(3) sigma model with theta-term
A toy model is proposed for four dimensional non-abelian gauge theories
coupled to a large number of fermionic degrees of freedom. As the number of
flavors is varied the gauge theory may be confining, walking or conformal. The
toy model mimicking this feature is the two dimensional O(3) sigma model with a
theta-term. For all theta the model is asymptotically free. For small theta the
model is confining in the infra red, for theta = pi the model has a non-trivial
infra red fixed point and consequently for theta slightly below pi the coupling
walks. The first step in investigating the notoriously difficult systematic
effects of the gauge theory in the toy model is to establish non-perturbatively
that the theta parameter is actually a relevant coupling. This is done by
showing that there exist quantities that are entirely given by the total
topological charge and are well defined in the continuum limit and are
non-zero, despite the fact that the topological susceptibility is divergent.
More precisely it is established that the differences of connected correlation
functions of the topological charge (the cumulants) are finite and non-zero and
consequently there is only a single divergent parameter in Z(theta) but
otherwise it is finite. This divergent constant can be removed by an
appropriate counter term rendering the theory completely finite even at theta >
0.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, minor modification, references adde
Quasiperiodic oscillations in a strong gravitational field around neutron stars testing braneworld models
The strong gravitational field of neutron stars in the brany universe could
be described by spherically symmetric solutions with a metric in the exterior
to the brany stars being of the Reissner-Nordstrom type containing a brany
tidal charge representing the tidal effect of the bulk spacetime onto the star
structure. We investigate the role of the tidal charge in orbital models of
high-frequency quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in neutron star
binary systems. We focus on the relativistic precession model. We give the
radial profiles of frequencies of the Keplerian (vertical) and radial epicyclic
oscillations. We show how the standard relativistic precession model modified
by the tidal charge fits the observational data, giving estimates of the
allowed values of the tidal charge and the brane tension based on the processes
going in the vicinity of neutron stars. We compare the strong field regime
restrictions with those given in the weak-field limit of solar system
experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure
Quantum kink and its excitations
We show how detailed properties of a kink in quantum field theory can be
extracted from field correlation functions. This makes it possible to study
quantum kinks in a fully non-perturbative way using Monte Carlo simulations. We
demonstrate this by calculating the kink mass as well as the spectrum and
approximate wave functions of its excitations. This way of measuring the kink
mass has clear advantages over the existing approaches based on creation and
annihilation operators or the kink free energy. Our methods are straightforward
to generalise to more realistic theories and other defect types.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, v2: typos corrected, references adde
Forced oscillations in a hydrodynamical accretion disk and QPOs
This is the second of a series of papers aimed to look for an explanation on
the generation of high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in
accretion disks around neutron star, black hole, and white dwarf binaries. The
model is inspired by the general idea of a resonance mechanism in the accretion
disk oscillations as was already pointed out by Abramowicz & Klu{\'z}niak
(\cite{Abramowicz2001}). In a first paper (P\'etri \cite{Petri2005a}, paper I),
we showed that a rotating misaligned magnetic field of a neutron star gives
rise to some resonances close to the inner edge of the accretion disk. In this
second paper, we suggest that this process does also exist for an asymmetry in
the gravitational potential of the compact object. We prove that the same
physics applies, at least in the linear stage of the response to the
disturbance in the system. This kind of asymmetry is well suited for neutron
stars or white dwarfs possessing an inhomogeneous interior allowing for a
deviation from a perfectly spherically symmetric gravitational field. We show
by a linear analysis that the disk initially in a cylindrically symmetric
stationary state is subject to three kinds of resonances: a corotation
resonance, a Lindblad resonance due to a driven force and a parametric sonance.
The highest kHz QPOs are then interpreted as the orbital frequency of the disk
at locations where the response to the resonances are maximal. It is also found
that strong gravity is not required to excite the resonances.Comment: Accepte
Holographic Conformal Window - A Bottom Up Approach
We propose a five-dimensional framework for modeling the background geometry
associated to ordinary Yang-Mills (YM) as well as to nonsupersymmetric gauge
theories possessing an infrared fixed point with fermions in various
representations of the underlying gauge group. The model is based on the
improved holographic approach, on the string theory side, and on the
conjectured all-orders beta function for the gauge theory one. We first analyze
the YM gauge theory. We then investigate the effects of adding flavors and show
that, in the holographic description of the conformal window, the geometry
becomes AdS when approaching the ultraviolet and the infrared regimes. As the
number of flavors increases within the conformal window we observe that the
geometry becomes more and more of AdS type over the entire energy range.Comment: 20 Pages, 3 Figures. v2: references adde
Monitoring the Dusty S-Cluster Object (DSO/G2) on its Orbit towards the Galactic Center Black Hole
We analyse and report in detail new near-infrared (1.45 - 2.45 microns)
observations of the Dusty S-cluster Object (DSO/G2) during its approach to the
black hole at the center of the Galaxy that were carried out with ESO
VLT/SINFONI between February and September 2014. Before May 2014 we detect
spatially compact Br-gamma and Pa-alpha line emission from the DSO at about
40mas east of SgrA*. The velocity of the source, measured from the red-shifted
emission, is 2700+-60 km/s. No blue-shifted emission above the noise level is
detected at the position of SgrA* or upstream the presumed orbit. After May we
find spatially compact Br-gamma blue-shifted line emission from the DSO at
about 30mas west of SgrA* at a velocity of -3320+-60 km/s and no indication for
significant red-shifted emission. We do not detect any significant extension of
velocity gradient across the source. We find a Br-gamma-line full width at half
maximum of 50+-10 Angstroem before and 15+-10 Angstroem after the peribothron
transit, i.e. no significant line broadening with respect to last year is
observed. Br-gamma line maps show that the bulk of the line emission originates
from a region of less than 20mas diameter. This is consistent with a very
compact source on an elliptical orbit with a peribothron time passage in
2014.39+-0.14. For the moment, the flaring activity of the black hole in the
near-infrared regime has not shown any statistically significant increment.
Increased accretion activity of SgrA* may still be upcoming. We discuss details
of a source model according to which the DSO is rather a young accreting star
than a coreless gas and dust cloud.Comment: 32 pages - 3 tables - 17 figure - accepted by Ap
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