An Introduction to Pure Spinor Superstring Theory

In these lecture notes presented at the 2015 Villa de Leyva Summer School, we give an introduction to superstring theory. We begin by studying the particle and superparticle in order to get a better understanding on the superstring side. Afterwards, we review the pure spinor formalism and end by computing the scattering amplitude for three gravitons at tree-level.Comment: Villa de Leyva Summer School 2015 proceedings, 28 pages, 2 figure

On a certain formulation of the Einstein equations

We define a certain differential system on an open set of $R^6$. The system locally defines a Lorentzian 4-manifold satisfying the Einstein equations. The converse statement is indicated and its details are postponed to the furthcoming paper.Comment: 7 pages, Late

Localization of Energy in General Relativity

In the framework of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity the energy density of asymptoticaly flat gravitational fields can be naturally and unambiguously defined. Upon integration of the energy density over the whole three dimensional space we obtain the ADM energy. We use this energy density to calculate the energy inside a Schwarzschild black hole.Comment: 12 pages, LaTex file, no figure

A three-qubit interpretation of BPS and non-BPS STU black holes

Following the recent trend we develop further the black hole analogy between quantum information theory and the theory of extremal stringy black hole solutions. We show that the three-qubit interpretation of supersymmetric black hole solutions in the STU model can be extended also to include non-supersymmetric ones. First we show that the black hole potential can be expressed as one half the norm of a suitably chosen three-qubit entangled state containing the quantized charges and the moduli. The extremization of the black hole potential in terms of this entangled state amounts to either supressing bit flip errors (BPS-case) or allowing very special types of flips transforming the states between different classes of non-BPS solutions. We are illustrating our results for the example of the D2-D6 system. In this case the bit flip errors are corresponding to sign flip errors of the charges originating from the number of D2 branes. After moduli stabilization the states depending entirely on the charges are maximally entangled graph states (of the triangle graph) well-known from quantum information theory. An N=8 interpretation of the STU-model in terms of a mixed state with fermionic purifications is also given.Comment: 35 page

Axions in gravity with torsion

We study a scenario allowing a solution of the strong charge parity problem via the Peccei-Quinn mechanism, implemented in gravity with torsion. In this framework there appears a torsion-related pseudoscalar field known as Kalb-Ramond axion. We compare it with the so-called Barbero-Immirzi axion recently proposed in the literature also in the context of the gravity with torsion. We show that they are equivalent from the viewpoint of the effective theory. The phenomenology of these torsion-descended axions is completely determined by the Planck scale without any additional model parameters. These axions are very light and very weakly interacting with ordinary matter. We briefly comment on their astrophysical and cosmological implications in view of the recent BICEP2 and Planck data.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, comments and references added, published versio

The Motion of a Body in Newtonian Theories

A theorem due to Bob Geroch and Pong Soo Jang ["Motion of a Body in General Relativity." Journal of Mathematical Physics 16(1), (1975)] provides the sense in which the geodesic principle has the status of a theorem in General Relativity (GR). Here we show that a similar theorem holds in the context of geometrized Newtonian gravitation (often called Newton-Cartan theory). It follows that in Newtonian gravitation, as in GR, inertial motion can be derived from other central principles of the theory.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. This is the version that appeared in JMP; it is only slightly changed from the previous version, to reflect small issue caught in proo

Geometrical Interpretation of BRST Symmetry in Topological Yang-Mills-Higgs Theory

We study topological Yang-Mills-Higgs theories in two and three dimensions and topological Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions in a unified framework of superconnections. In this framework, we first show that a classical action of topological Yang-Mills type can provide all three classical actions of these theories via appropriate projections. Then we obtain the BRST and anti-BRST transformation rules encompassing these three topological theories from an extended definition of curvature and a geometrical requirement of Bianchi identity. This is an extension of Perry and Teo's work in the topological Yang-Mills case. Finally, comparing this result with our previous treatment in which we used the ``modified horizontality condition", we provide a meaning of Bianchi identity from the BRST symmetry viewpoint and thus interpret the BRST symmetry in a geometrical setting.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX fil

Formal rigidity of the Witt and Virasoro Algebra

The formal rigidity of the Witt and Virasoro algebras was first established by the author in [4]. The proof was based on some earlier results of the author and Goncharowa, and was not presented there. In this paper we give an elementary proof of these facts.Comment: 5 page

N-dimensional geometries and Einstein equations from systems of PDE's

The aim of the present work is twofold: first, we show how all the $n$-dimensional Riemannian and Lorentzian metrics can be constructed from a certain class of systems of second-order PDE's which are in duality to the Hamilton-Jacobi equation and second we impose the Einstein equations to these PDE's

Phase transitions in spinor quantum gravity on a lattice

We construct a well-defined lattice-regularized quantum theory formulated in terms of fundamental fermion and gauge fields, the same type of degrees of freedom as in the Standard Model. The theory is explicitly invariant under local Lorentz transformations and, in the continuum limit, under diffeomorphisms. It is suitable for describing large nonperturbative and fast-varying fluctuations of metrics. Although the quantum curved space turns out to be on the average flat and smooth owing to the non-compressibility of the fundamental fermions, the low-energy Einstein limit is not automatic: one needs to ensure that composite metrics fluctuations propagate to long distances as compared to the lattice spacing. One way to guarantee this is to stay at a phase transition. We develop a lattice mean field method and find that the theory typically has several phases in the space of the dimensionless coupling constants, separated by the second order phase transition surface. For example, there is a phase with a spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry. The effective low-energy Lagrangian for the ensuing Goldstone field is explicitly diffeomorphism-invariant. We expect that the Einstein gravitation is achieved at the phase transition. A bonus is that the cosmological constant is probably automatically zero.Comment: 37 pages, 12 figures Discussion of dimensions and of the Berezinsky--Kosterlitz--Thouless phase adde