Bigravity and Lorentz-violating Massive Gravity

Bigravity is a natural arena where a non-linear theory of massive gravity can be formulated. If the interaction between the metrics $f$ and $g$ is non-derivative, spherically symmetric exact solutions can be found. At large distances from the origin, these are generically Lorentz-breaking bi-flat solutions (provided that the corresponding vacuum energies are adjusted appropriately). The spectrum of linearized perturbations around such backgrounds contains a massless as well as a massive graviton, with {\em two} physical polarizations each. There are no propagating vectors or scalars, and the theory is ghost free (as happens with certain massive gravities with explicit breaking of Lorentz invariance). At the linearized level, corrections to GR are proportional to the square of the graviton mass, and so there is no vDVZ discontinuity. Surprisingly, the solution of linear theory for a static spherically symmetric source does {\em not} agree with the linearization of any of the known exact solutions. The latter coincide with the standard Schwarzschild-(A)dS solutions of General Relativity, with no corrections at all. Another interesting class of solutions is obtained where $f$ and $g$ are proportional to each other. The case of bi-de Sitter solutions is analyzed in some detail.Comment: 25 pages. v3 Typos corrected, references added. v4 Introduction extende

Generalized sine-Gordon/massive Thirring models and soliton/particle correspondences

We consider a real Lagrangian off-critical submodel describing the soliton sector of the so-called conformal affine $sl(3)^{(1)}$ Toda model coupled to matter fields (CATM). The theory is treated as a constrained system in the context of Faddeev-Jackiw and the symplectic schemes. We exhibit the parent Lagrangian nature of the model from which generalizations of the sine-Gordon (GSG) or the massive Thirring (GMT) models are derivable. The dual description of the model is further emphasized by providing the relationships between bilinears of GMT spinors and relevant expressions of the GSG fields. In this way we exhibit the strong/weak coupling phases and the (generalized) soliton/particle correspondences of the model. The $sl(n)^{(1)}$ case is also outlined.Comment: 22 pages, LaTex, some comments and references added, conclusions unchanged, to appear in J. Math. Phy

Three-dimensional massive gravity and the bigravity black hole

We study three-dimensional massive gravity formulated as a theory with two dynamical metrics, like the f-g theories of Isham-Salam and Strathdee. The action is parity preserving and has no higher derivative terms. The spectrum contains a single massive graviton. This theory has several features discussed recently in TMG and NMG. We find warped black holes, a critical point, and generalized Brown-Henneaux boundary conditions.Comment: 8 pages, Revtex. Minor change. References adde

Transverse Symmetry and Spin-3/2 Fields

We study the possible covariant Lagrangians that describe the propagation of pure spin-3/2 particles. We show that, apart from the well-known Rarita-Schwinger Lagrangian, there is another possibility where the field is described by a gamma-traceless combination and that both Lagrangians yield the same physical predictions for the interaction of conserved sources. We also prove that for the case when the spin-2 field is described by a traceless field, there is no possible spin-3/2 action that makes the system supersymmetric. Nevertheless, the interaction between this field andthe spin-3/2 field may be possible.Comment: 12 pages. To appear in Peyresq XII proceeding

The Vainshtein mechanism in the Decoupling Limit of massive gravity

We investigate static spherically symmetric solutions of nonlinear massive gravities. We first identify, in an ansatz appropriate to the study of those solutions, the analog of the decoupling limit (DL) that has been used in the Goldstone picture description. We show that the system of equations left over in the DL has regular solutions featuring a Vainshtein-like recovery of solutions of General Relativity (GR). Hence, the singularities found to arise integrating the full nonlinear system of equations are not present in the DL, despite the fact those singularities are usually thought to be due to a negative energy mode also seen in this limit. Moreover, we show that the scaling conjectured by Vainshtein at small radius is only a limiting case in an infinite family of non singular solutions each showing a Vainshtein recovery of GR solutions below the Vainshtein radius but a different common scaling at small distances. This new scaling is shown to be associated with a zero mode of the nonlinearities left over in the DL. We also show that, in the DL, this scaling allows for a recovery of GR solutions even for potentials where the original Vainshtein mechanism is not working. Our results imply either that the DL misses some important features of nonlinear massive gravities or that important features of the solutions of the full nonlinear theory have been overlooked. They could also have interesting outcomes for the DGP model and related proposals.Comment: 52 pages, 7 figures; v3: minor typos corrected, discussion of the validity of the Decoupling Limit extended; accepted for publication in JHE

Remarks on the Scalar Graviton Decoupling and Consistency of Horava Gravity

Recently Horava proposed a renormalizable gravity theory with higher derivatives by abandoning the Lorenz invariance in UV. But there have been confusions regarding the extra scalar graviton mode and the consistency of the Horava model. I reconsider these problems and show that, in the Minkowski vacuum background, the scalar graviton mode can be consistency decoupled from the usual tensor graviton modes by imposing the (local) Hamiltonian as well as the momentum constraints.Comment: Some clarifications regarding the projectable case added, Typos corrected, Comments (Footnote No.9, Note Added) added, References updated, Accepted in CQ

CMB photons shedding light on dark matter

The annihilation or decay of Dark Matter (DM) particles could affect the thermal history of the universe and leave an observable signature in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. We update constraints on the annihilation rate of DM particles in the smooth cosmological background, using WMAP7 and recent small-scale CMB data. With a systematic analysis based on the Press-Schechter formalism, we also show that DM annihilation in halos at small redshift may explain entirely the reionization patterns observed in the CMB, under reasonable assumptions concerning the concentration and formation redshift of halos. We find that a mixed reionization model based on DM annihilation in halos as well as star formation at a redshift z~6.5 could simultaneously account for CMB observations and satisfy constraints inferred from the Gunn-Peterson effect. However, these models tend to reheat the inter-galactic medium (IGM) well above observational bounds: by including a realistic prior on the IGM temperature at low redshift, we find stronger cosmological bounds on the annihilation cross-section than with the CMB alone.Comment: 35 pages, 14 figures; version accepted in JCAP after minor revision

Instability and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Alternans in Paced Cardiac Tissue

We derive an equation that governs the spatiotemporal dynamics of small amplitude alternans in paced cardiac tissue. We show that a pattern-forming linear instability leads to the spontaneous formation of stationary or traveling waves whose nodes divide the tissue into regions with opposite phase of oscillation of action potential duration. This instability is important because it creates dynamically an heterogeneous electrical substrate for inducing fibrillation if the tissue size exceeds a fraction of the pattern wavelength. We compute this wavelength analytically as a function of three basic length scales characterizing dispersion and inter-cellular electrical coupling.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR

Positive self-evaluation versus negative other-evaluation in the political genre of pre-election debates.

The present study explores the language of evaluation in a sub-genre of political discourse, pre-electoral debates, and its potential persuasive function for gaining voters via a contraposition of positive self-evaluation and negative evaluation of the other candidate. A further aim of this research is to check whether the candidate¿s ideology has a bearing on the entities that get evaluated. After a brief examination of the characteristics of the sub-genre at hand, specifically in the Spanish context, we present the results of an evaluation analysis carried out in a corpus of 19,849 words, which is the extension of the most recent pre-electoral debate held in Spain between the candidates of the two main political parties. Taking into account Van Dijk¿s CDA framework (2005) for parliamentary debates as global semantic strategies of positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation, Martin and White¿s (2005) method was adopted as an analytical tool. The results showed that, although each candidate had different preferences in the choice of evaluative devices, they both used them as a strategy to win electoral votes while deprecating the opposing party and, therefore, minimizing their chances of winning the elections. On the other hand, and despite their opposing ideology, they both seem to defend those policies that are more widely accepted in order not to risk losing voters: public services and egalitarian social policies

Patterns of Soft Masses from General Semi-Direct Gauge Mediation

We give a general formulation of semi-direct gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking where the messengers interact with the hidden sector only through a weakly gauged group. Using this general formulation, we provide an explicit proof that the MSSM gaugino masses are vanishing to leading order in the gauge couplings. On the other hand, the MSSM sfermion masses have, generically, a non-vanishing leading contribution. We discuss how such a mechanism can successfully be combined with other mediation schemes which give tachyonic sfermions, such as sequestered anomaly mediation and some direct gauge mediation models.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures; v2: refs added; v3: minor corrections, clarifications added, mainly in section