695 research outputs found
A Novel Approach to the Cosmological Constant Problem
We propose a novel infinite-volume brane world scenario where we live on a
non-inflating spherical 3-brane, whose radius is somewhat larger than the
present Hubble size, embedded in higher dimensional bulk. Once we include
higher curvature terms in the bulk, we find completely smooth solutions with
the property that the 3-brane world-volume is non-inflating for a continuous
range of positive values of the brane tension, that is, without fine-tuning. In
particular, our solution, which is a near-BPS background with supersymmetry
broken on the brane around TeV, is controlled by a single integration constant.Comment: 20 pages, revte
Is Quantum Gravity a Chern-Simons Theory?
We propose a model of quantum gravity in arbitrary dimensions defined in
terms of the BV quantization of a supersymmetric, infinite dimensional matrix
model. This gives an (AKSZ-type) Chern-Simons theory with gauge algebra the
space of observables of a quantum mechanical Hilbert space H. The model is
motivated by previous attempts to formulate gravity in terms of
non-commutative, phase space, field theories as well as the Fefferman-Graham
curved analog of Dirac spaces for conformally invariant wave equations. The
field equations are flat connection conditions amounting to zero curvature and
parallel conditions on operators acting on H. This matrix-type model may give a
better defined setting for a quantum gravity path integral. We demonstrate that
its underlying physics is a summation over Hamiltonians labeled by a conformal
class of metrics and thus a sum over causal structures. This gives in turn a
model summing over fluctuating metrics plus a tower of additional modes-we
speculate that these could yield improved UV behavior.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures, references added, version to appear in
PR
Simulating Stochastic Dynamics Using Large Time Steps
We present a novel approach to investigate the long-time stochastic dynamics
of multi-dimensional classical systems, in contact with a heat-bath. When the
potential energy landscape is rugged, the kinetics displays a decoupling of
short and long time scales and both
Molecular Dynamics (MD) or Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are generally
inefficient. Using a field theoretic approach, we perform analytically the
average over the short-time stochastic fluctuations. This way, we obtain an
effective theory, which generates the same long-time dynamics of the original
theory, but has a lower time resolution power. Such an approach is used to
develop an improved version of the MC algorithm, which is particularly suitable
to investigate the dynamics of rare conformational transitions. In the specific
case of molecular systems at room temperature, we show that elementary
integration time steps used to simulate the effective theory can be chosen a
factor ~100 larger than those used in the original theory. Our results are
illustrated and tested on a simple system, characterized by a rugged energy
landscape.Comment: 17 pager, 7 figure
Quantum Gravity and Causal Structures: Second Quantization of Conformal Dirac Algebras
It is postulated that quantum gravity is a sum over causal structures coupled
to matter via scale evolution. Quantized causal structures can be described by
studying simple matrix models where matrices are replaced by an algebra of
quantum mechanical observables. In particular, previous studies constructed
quantum gravity models by quantizing the moduli of Laplace, weight and
defining-function operators on Fefferman-Graham ambient spaces. The algebra of
these operators underlies conformal geometries. We extend those results to
include fermions by taking an osp(1|2) "Dirac square root" of these algebras.
The theory is a simple, Grassmann, two-matrix model. Its quantum action is a
Chern-Simons theory whose differential is a first-quantized, quantum mechanical
BRST operator. The theory is a basic ingredient for building fundamental
theories of physical observables.Comment: 4 pages, LaTe
On the low energy limit of one loop photon-graviton amplitudes
We present first results of a systematic study of the structure of the low
energy limit of the one-loop photon-graviton amplitudes induced by massive
scalars and spinors. Our main objective is the search of KLT-type relations
where effectively two photons merge into a graviton. We find such a relation at
the graviton-photon-photon level. We also derive the diffeomorphism Ward
identity for the 1PI one graviton - N photon amplitudes.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure. Final version to be published in Physics Letters
Topological properties of the bond-modulated honeycomb lattice
We study the combined effects of lattice deformation, e-e interaction and
spin-orbit coupling in a two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice. We adopt
different kinds of hopping modulation--generalized dimerization and a Kekule
distortion--and calculate topological invariants for the non-interacting system
and for the interacting system. We identify the parameter range (Hubbard U,
hopping modulation, spin-orbit coupling) where the 2D system behaves as a
trivial insulator or Quantum Spin Hall Insulator.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures: discussion improved, typos corrected, references
updated. Matches version published in PR
A Solitonic 3-Brane in 6D Bulk
We construct a solitonic 3-brane solution in the 6-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert-Gauss-Bonnet theory with a (negative) cosmological term. This solitonic brane world is delta-function-like. Near the brane the metric is that for a product of the 4-dimensional flat Minkowski space with a 2-dimensional ``wedge'' with a deficit angle (which depends on the solitonic brane tension). Far from the brane the metric approaches that for a product of the 5-dimensional AdS space and a circle. This solitonic solution exists for a special value of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling (for which we also have a delta-function-like codimension-1 solitonic solution), and the solitonic brane tension can take values in a continuous range. We discuss various properties of this solitonic brane world, including coupling between gravity and matter localized on the brane
6D trace anomalies from quantum mechanical path integrals
We use the recently developed dimensional regularization (DR) scheme for quantum mechanical path integrals in curved space and with a finite time interval to compute the trace anomalies for a scalar field in six dimensions. This application provides a further test of the DR method applied to quantum mechanics. It shows the efficiency in higher loop computations of having to deal with covariant counterterms only, as required by the DR scheme
Topological invariants in interacting Quantum Spin Hall: a Cluster Perturbation Theory approach
Using Cluster Perturbation Theory we calculate Green's functions,
quasi-particle energies and topological invariants for interacting electrons on
a 2-D honeycomb lattice, with intrinsic spin-orbit coupling and on-site e-e
interaction. This allows to define the parameter range (Hubbard U vs spin-orbit
coupling) where the 2D system behaves as a trivial insulator or Quantum Spin
Hall insulator. This behavior is confirmed by the existence of gapless
quasi-particle states in honeycomb ribbons. We have discussed the importance of
the cluster symmetry and the effects of the lack of full translation symmetry
typical of CPT and of most Quantum Cluster approaches. Comments on the limits
of applicability of the method are also provided.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures: discussion improved, one figure added, references
updated. Matches version published in New J. Phy
Dressed Dirac propagator from a locally supersymmetric N=1 spinning particle
We study the Dirac propagator dressed by an arbitrary number N of photons by means of a worldline approach, which makes use of a supersymmetric N=1 spinning particle model on the line, coupled to an external Abelian vector field. We obtain a compact off-shell master formula for the tree level scattering amplitudes associated to the dressed Dirac propagator. In particular, unlike in other approaches, we express the particle fermionic degrees of freedom using a coherent state basis, and consider the gauging of the supersymmetry, which ultimately amounts to integrating over a worldline gravitino modulus, other than the usual worldline einbein modulus which corresponds to the Schwinger time integral. The path integral over the gravitino reproduces the numerator of the dressed Dirac propagator
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