32,527 research outputs found
A supersymmetric D-brane Model of Space-Time Foam
We present a supersymmetric model of space-time foam with two stacks of eight
D8-branes with equal string tensions, separated by a single bulk dimension
containing D0-brane particles that represent quantum fluctuations in the
space-time foam. The ground state configuration with static D-branes has zero
vacuum energy. However, gravitons and other closed-string states propagating
through the bulk may interact with the D0-particles, causing them to recoil and
the vacuum energy to become non zero. This provides a possible origin of dark
energy. Recoil also distorts the background metric felt by energetic massless
string states, which travel at less than the usual (low-energy) velocity of
light. On the other hand, the propagation of chiral matter anchored on the D8
branes is not affected by such space-time foam effects.Comment: 33 pages, latex, five figure
Prospects for Discovering Supersymmetry at the LHC
Supersymmetry is one of the best-motivated candidates for physics beyond the
Standard Model that might be discovered at the LHC. There are many reasons to
expect that it may appear at the TeV scale, in particular because it provides a
natural cold dark matter candidate. The apparent discrepancy between the
experimental measurement of g_mu - 2 and the Standard model value calculated
using low-energy e+ e- data favours relatively light sparticles accessible to
the LHC. A global likelihood analysis including this, other electroweak
precision observables and B-decay observables suggests that the LHC might be
able to discover supersymmetry with 1/fb or less of integrated luminosity. The
LHC should be able to discover supersymmetry via the classic missing-energy
signature, or in alternative phenomenological scenarios. The prospects for
discovering supersymmetry at the LHC look very good.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
Gravitational waves and cosmic magnetism; a cosmological approach
We present the formalism for the covariant treatment of gravitational
radiation in a magnetized environment and discuss the implications of the field
for gravity waves in the cosmological context. Our geometrical approach brings
to the fore the tension properties of the magnetic force lines and reveals
their intricate interconnection to the spatial geometry of a magnetised
spacetime. We show how the generic anisotropy of the field can act as a source
of gravitational wave perturbations and how, depending on the spatial curvature
distortion, the magnetic tension can boost or suppress waves passing through a
magnetized region.Comment: Minor changes. References added. To appear in Class. Quantum Gra
Dynamics of Inflationary Universes with Positive Spatial Curvature
If the spatial curvature of the universe is positive, then the curvature term
will always dominate at early enough times in a slow-rolling inflationary
epoch. This enhances inflationary effects and hence puts limits on the possible
number of e-foldings that can have occurred, independently of what happened
before inflation began and in particular without regard for what may have
happened in the Planck era. We use a simple multi-stage model to examine this
limit as a function of the present density parameter and the epoch
when inflation ends.Comment: 9 Pages RevTex4. Revised and update
Shrinking II -- The Distortion of the Area Distance-Redshift Relation in Inhomogeneous Isotropic Universes
This paper and the others in the series challenge the standard model of the
effects of gravitational lensing on observations at large distances. We show
that due to the cumulative effect of lensing, areas corresponding to an
observed solid angle can be quite different than would be estimated from the
corresponding Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre model, even when averaged over large
angular scales. This paper concentrates on the specific example of spherically
symmetric but spatially inhomogeneous dust universes, the
Lema\^{\i}tre-Tolman-Bondi models, and shows that radial lensing significantly
distorts the area distance-redshift and density-redshift relations in these
exact solutions compared with the standard ones for Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre
models. Thus inhomogeneity may introduce significant errors into distance
estimates based on the standard FL relations, even after all-sky averaging. In
addition a useful new gauge choice is presented for these models, solving the
problem of locating the past null cone exactly.Comment: Minor technical refinement, 16 pages, RevTex, 8 eps figure
Full one-loop amplitudes from tree amplitudes
We establish an efficient polynomial-complexity algorithm for one-loop
calculations, based on generalized -dimensional unitarity. It allows
automated computations of both cut-constructible {\it and} rational parts of
one-loop scattering amplitudes from on-shell tree amplitudes. We illustrate the
method by (re)-computing all four-, five- and six-gluon scattering amplitudes
in QCD at one-loop.Comment: 27 pages, revte
Gravity and Signature Change
The use of proper ``time'' to describe classical ``spacetimes'' which contain
both Euclidean and Lorentzian regions permits the introduction of smooth
(generalized) orthonormal frames. This remarkable fact permits one to describe
both a variational treatment of Einstein's equations and distribution theory
using straightforward generalizations of the standard treatments for constant
signature.Comment: Plain TeX, 6 pages; to appear in GR
Constraints on Inflationary Solutions in the Presence of Shear and Bulk Viscosity
Inflationary models and their claim to solve many of the outstanding problems
in cosmology have been the subject of a great deal of debate over the last few
years. A major sticking point has been the lack of both good observational and
theoretical arguments to single out one particular model out of the many that
solve these problems. Here we examine the degree of restrictiveness on the
dynamical relationship between the cosmological scale factor and the inflation
driving self-interaction potential of a minimally coupled scalar field, imposed
by the condition that the scalar field is required to be real during a
classical regime (the reality condition). We systema\-tically look at the
effects of this constraint on many of the inflationary models found in the
literature within the FLRW framework, and also look at what happens when
physically motivated perturbations such as shear and bulk viscosity are
introduced. We find that in many cases, either the models are totally excluded
or the reality condition gives rise to constraints on the scale factor and on
the various parameters of the model.Comment: 21 pages, LaTe
Hubble's law and faster than light expansion speeds
Naively applying Hubble's law to a sufficiently distant object gives a
receding velocity larger than the speed of light. By discussing a very similar
situation in special relativity, we argue that Hubble's law is meaningful only
for nearby objects with non-relativistic receding speeds. To support this
claim, we note that in a curved spacetime manifold it is not possible to
directly compare tangent vectors at different points, and thus there is no
natural definition of relative velocity between two spatially separated objects
in cosmology. We clarify the geometrical meaning of the Hubble's receding speed
v by showing that in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime if the
four-velocity vector of a comoving object is parallel-transported along the
straight line in flat comoving coordinates to the position of a second comoving
object, then v/c actually becomes the rapidity of the local Lorentz
transformation, which maps the fixed four-velocity vector to the transported
one.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Am. J. Phy
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