11,698 research outputs found
Quantum Global Strings and Their Correlation Functions
A full quantum description of global vortex strings is presented in the
framework of a pure Higgs system with a broken global U(1) symmetry in 3+1D. An
explicit expression for the string creation operator is obtained, both in terms
of the Higgs field and in the dual formulation where a Kalb-Ramond
antisymmetric tensor gauge field is employed as the basic field. The quantum
string correlation function is evaluated and from this, the string energy
density is obtained. Potential application in cosmology (cosmic strings) and
condensed matter (vortices in superfluids) are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, latex, no figure
Are There Topologically Charged States Associated with Quantum Electrodynamics ?
We present a formulation of Quantum Electrodynamics in terms of an
antisymmetric tensor gauge field. In this formulation the topological current
of this field appears as a source for the electromagnetic field and the
topological charge therefore acts physically as an electric charge. The charged
states of QED lie in the sector where the topological charge is identical to
the matter charge. The antisymmetric field theory, however, admits new sectors
where the topological charge is more general. These nontrivial, electrically
charged, sectors contain massless states orthogonal to the vacuum which are
created by a gauge invariant operator and can be interpreted as coherent states
of photons. We evaluate the correlation functions of these states in the
absence of matter. The new states have a positive definite norm and do interact
with the charged states of QED in the usual way. It is argued that if these new
sectors are in fact realized in nature then a very intense background
electromagnetic field is necessary for the experimental observation of them.
The order of magnitude of the intensity threshold is estimated.Comment: 29 pages, 1 Figure (available from the author upon request
Local Charged States of the Gauge Field in Three Dimensional Maxwell-Type Theories
Gauge invariant local creation operators of charged states are introduced and
studied in pure gauge theories of the Maxwell type in 2+1D. These states are
usually unphysical because of the subsidiary condition imposed on the physical
subspace by Gauss' law. A dual Maxwell theory which possesses a topological
electric charge is introduced. Pure Electrodynamics lies in the sector where
the topological charge identically vanishes. Charge bearing operators fully
expressed in terms of the gauge field, however, can create physical states in
the nontrivial topological sectors which thereby generalize QED. An order
disorder structure exists relating the charged operators and the magnetic flux
creating (vortex) operators, both through commutation rules and correlation
functions. The relevance of this structure for bosonization in 2+1D is
discussed.Comment: Latex, 16 pages, two figures available upon request as postscript
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