2,246 research outputs found
Quantum Effective Action in Spacetimes with Branes and Boundaries
We construct quantum effective action in spacetime with branes/boundaries.
This construction is based on the reduction of the underlying Neumann type
boundary value problem for the propagator of the theory to that of the much
more manageable Dirichlet problem. In its turn, this reduction follows from the
recently suggested Neumann-Dirichlet duality which we extend beyond the tree
level approximation. In the one-loop approximation this duality suggests that
the functional determinant of the differential operator subject to Neumann
boundary conditions in the bulk factorizes into the product of its Dirichlet
counterpart and the functional determinant of a special operator on the brane
-- the inverse of the brane-to-brane propagator. As a byproduct of this
relation we suggest a new method for surface terms of the heat kernel
expansion. This method allows one to circumvent well-known difficulties in heat
kernel theory on manifolds with boundaries for a wide class of generalized
Neumann boundary conditions. In particular, we easily recover several lowest
order surface terms in the case of Robin and oblique boundary conditions. We
briefly discuss multi-loop applications of the suggested Dirichlet reduction
and the prospects of constructing the universal background field method for
systems with branes/boundaries, analogous to the Schwinger-DeWitt technique.Comment: LaTeX, 25 pages, final version, to appear in Phys. Rev.
van Vleck determinants: geodesic focussing and defocussing in Lorentzian spacetimes
The van Vleck determinant is an ubiquitous object, arising in many physically
interesting situations such as: (1) WKB approximations to quantum time
evolution operators and Green functions. (2) Adiabatic approximations to heat
kernels. (3) One loop approximations to functional integrals. (4) The theory of
caustics in geometrical optics and ultrasonics. (5) The focussing and
defocussing of geodesic flows in Riemannian manifolds. While all of these
topics are interrelated, the present paper is particularly concerned with the
last case and presents extensive theoretical developments that aid in the
computation of the van Vleck determinant associated with geodesic flows in
Lorentzian spacetimes. {\sl A fortiori} these developments have important
implications for the entire array of topics indicated. PACS: 04.20.-q,
04.20.Cv, 04.60.+n. To appear in Physical Review D47 (1993) 15 March.Comment: plain LaTeX, 18 page
Fusion of neutron rich oxygen isotopes in the crust of accreting neutron stars
Fusion reactions in the crust of an accreting neutron star are an important
source of heat, and the depth at which these reactions occur is important for
determining the temperature profile of the star. Fusion reactions depend
strongly on the nuclear charge . Nuclei with can fuse at low
densities in a liquid ocean. However, nuclei with Z=8 or 10 may not burn until
higher densities where the crust is solid and electron capture has made the
nuclei neutron rich. We calculate the factor for fusion reactions of
neutron rich nuclei including O + O and Ne + Ne. We
use a simple barrier penetration model. The factor could be further
enhanced by dynamical effects involving the neutron rich skin. This possible
enhancement in should be studied in the laboratory with neutron rich
radioactive beams. We model the structure of the crust with molecular dynamics
simulations. We find that the crust of accreting neutron stars may contain
micro-crystals or regions of phase separation. Nevertheless, the screening
factors that we determine for the enhancement of the rate of thermonuclear
reactions are insensitive to these features. Finally, we calculate the rate of
thermonuclear O + O fusion and find that O should burn at
densities near g/cm. The energy released from this and similar
reactions may be important for the temperature profile of the star.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figs, minor changes, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Quantum gravity at a TeV and the renormalization of Newton's constant
We examine whether renormalization effects can cause Newton¿s constant to change dramatically with energy, perhaps even reducing the scale of quantum gravity to the TeV region without the introduction of extra dimensions. We examine a model that realizes this possibility and describe experimental signatures from the production of small black holes
Hydrogen-Helium Mixtures in the Interiors of Giant Planets
Equilibrium properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures under conditions similar
to the interior of giant gas planets are studied by means of first principle
density functional molecular dynamics simulations. We investigate the molecular
and atomic fluid phase of hydrogen with and without the presence of helium for
densities between gcm and gcm and
temperatures from K to . Helium has a crucial influence on
the ionic and electronic structure of the liquid. Hydrogen molecule bonds are
shortened as well as strengthened which leads to more stable hydrogen molecules
compared to pure hydrogen for the same thermodynamic conditions. The {\it ab
initio} treatment of the mixture enables us to investigate the validity of the
widely used linear mixing approximation. We find deviations of up to 8% in
energy and volume from linear mixing at constant pressure in the region of
molecular dissociation.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figures, submitted to PR
Restricted three-body problem in effective-field-theory models of gravity
One of the outstanding problems of classical celestial mechanics was the
restricted 3-body prob- lem, in which a planetoid of small mass is subject to
the Newtonian attraction of two celestial bodies of large mass, as it occurs,
for example, in the sun-earth-moon system. On the other hand, over the last
decades, a systematic investigation of quantum corrections to the Newtonian
potential has been carried out in the literature on quantum gravity. The
present paper studies the effect of these tiny quantum corrections on the
evaluation of equilibrium points. It is shown that, despite the extreme
smallness of the corrections, there exists no choice of sign of these
corrections for which all qualitative features of the restricted 3-body problem
in Newtonian theory remain unaffected. Moreover, first-order stability of
equilibrium points is characterized by solving a pair of algebraic equations of
fifth degree, where some coefficients depend on the Planck length. The
coordinates of stable equilibrium points are slightly changed with respect to
Newtonian theory, because the planetoid is no longer at equal distance from the
two bodies of large mass. The effect is conceptually interesting but too small
to be observed, at least for the restricted 3-body problems available in the
solar system.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 8 figure
Regularity of Cauchy horizons in S2xS1 Gowdy spacetimes
We study general S2xS1 Gowdy models with a regular past Cauchy horizon and
prove that a second (future) Cauchy horizon exists, provided that a particular
conserved quantity is not zero. We derive an explicit expression for the
metric form on the future Cauchy horizon in terms of the initial data on the
past horizon and conclude the universal relation A\p A\f=(8\pi J)^2 where
A\p and A\f are the areas of past and future Cauchy horizon respectively.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur
Fortress without a Roof: The Allied Bombing of the Third Reich, and Forged in Fire: Strategy and Decisions in the Air War over Europe, 1940-45
Trace Anomaly in Quantum Spacetime Manifold
In this paper we investigate the trace anomaly in a spacetime where single
events are de-localized as a consequence of short distance quantum coordinate
fluctuations. We obtain a modified form of heat kernel asymptotic expansion
which does not suffer from short distance divergences. Calculation of the trace
anomaly is performed using an IR regulator in order to circumvent the absence
of UV infinities. The explicit form of the trace anomaly is presented and the
corresponding 2D Polyakov effective action and energy momentumtensor are
obtained. The vacuum expectation value of the energy momentum tensor in the
Boulware, Hartle-Hawking and Unruh vacua is explicitly calculated in a
(rt)-section of a recently found, noncommutative geometry inspired,
Schwarzschild-like solution of the Einstein equations. The standard short
distance divergences in the vacuum expectation values are regularized in
agreement with the absence of UV infinities removed by quantum coordinate
fluctuations.Comment: 15pages, RevTex, no figures, 1 Tabl
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