1,378 research outputs found
Observer dependence of bubble nucleation and Schwinger pair production
Pair production in a constant electric field is closely analogous to bubble
nucleation in a false vacuum. The classical trajectories of the pairs are
Lorentz invariant, but it appears that this invariance should be broken by the
nucleation process. Here, we use a model detector, consisting of other
particles interacting with the pairs, to investigate how pair production is
seen by different Lorentzian observers. We focus on the idealized situation
where a constant external electric field is present for an infinitely long
time, and we consider the in-vacuum state for a charged scalar field that
describes the nucleating pairs. The in-vacuum is defined in terms of modes
which are positive frequency in the remote past. Even though the construction
uses a particular reference frame and a gauge where the vector potential is
time dependent, we show explicitly that the resulting quantum state is Lorentz
invariant. We then introduce a "detector" particle which interacts with the
nucleated pairs, and show that all Lorentzian observers will see the particles
and antiparticles nucleating preferentially at rest in the detector's rest
frame. Similar conclusions are expected to apply to bubble nucleation in a
sufficiently long lived vacuum. We also comment on certain unphysical aspects
of the Lorentz invariant in-vacuum, associated with the fact that it contains
an infinite density of particles. This can be easily remedied by considering
Lorentz breaking initial conditions.Comment: 32 papes, 1 figure, minor corrections, references added, typos
correcte
Living with ghosts in Lorentz invariant theories
We argue that theories with ghosts may have a long lived vacuum state even if
all interactions are Lorentz preserving. In space-time dimension D = 2, we
consider the tree level decay rate of the vacuum into ghosts and ordinary
particles mediated by non-derivative interactions, showing that this is finite
and logarithmically growing in time. For D > 2, the decay rate is divergent
unless we assume that the interaction between ordinary matter and the ghost
sector is soft in the UV, so that it can be described in terms of non-local
form factors rather than point-like vertices. We provide an example of a
nonlocal gravitational-strength interaction between the two sectors, which
appears to satisfy all observational constraints.Comment: 17 pages, comments and references adde
Solutions to the cosmological constant problems
We critically review several recent approaches to solving the two
cosmological constant problems. The "old" problem is the discrepancy between
the observed value of and the large values suggested by particle
physics models. The second problem is the "time coincidence" between the epoch
of galaxy formation and the epoch of -domination t_\L. It is
conceivable that the "old" problem can be resolved by fundamental physics
alone, but we argue that in order to explain the "time coincidence" we must
account for anthropic selection effects. Our main focus here is on the
discrete- models in which can change through nucleation of
branes. We consider the cosmology of this type of models in the context of
inflation and discuss the observational constraints on the model parameters.
The issue of multiple brane nucleation raised by Feng {\it et. al.} is
discussed in some detail. We also review continuous-\L models in which the
role of the cosmological constant is played by a slowly varying potential of a
scalar field. We find that both continuous and discrete models can in principle
solve both cosmological constant problems, although the required values of the
parameters do not appear very natural. M-theory-motivated brane models, in
which the brane tension is determined by the brane coupling to the four-form
field, do not seem to be viable, except perhaps in a very tight corner of the
parameter space. Finally, we point out that the time coincidence can also be
explained in models where is fixed, but the primordial density
contrast is treated as a random variable.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures, two notes adde
Coincident brane nucleation and the neutralization of \Lambda
Nucleation of branes by a four-form field has recently been considered in
string motivated scenarios for the neutralization of the cosmological constant.
An interesting question in this context is whether the nucleation of stacks of
coincident branes is possible, and if so, at what rate does it proceed. Feng et
al. have suggested that, at high ambient de Sitter temperature, the rate may be
strongly enhanced, due to large degeneracy factors associated with the number
of light species living on the worldsheet. This might facilitate the quick
relaxation from a large effective cosmological constant down to the observed
value. Here, we analyse this possibility in some detail. In four dimensions,
and after the moduli are stabilized, branes interact via repulsive long range
forces. Because of that, the Coleman-de Luccia (CdL) instanton for coincident
brane nucleation may not exist, unless there is some short range interaction
which keeps the branes together. If the CdL instanton exists, we find that the
degeneracy factor depends only mildly on the ambient de Sitter temperature, and
does not switch off even in the case of tunneling from flat space. This would
result in catastrophic decay of the present vacuum. If, on the contrary, the
CdL instanton does not exist, coindident brane nucleation may still proceed
through a "static" instanton, representing pair creation of critical bubbles --
a process somewhat analogous to thermal activation in flat space. In that case,
the branes may stick together due to thermal symmetry restoration, and the pair
creation rate depends exponentially on the ambient de Sitter temperature,
switching off sharply as the temperature approaches zero. Such static instanton
may be well suited for the "saltatory" relaxation scenario proposed by Feng et
al.Comment: 38 pages, 6 figures. Replaced with typos correcte
Holographic multiverse and the measure problem
We discuss the duality, conjectured in earlier work, between the wave
function of the multiverse and a 3D Euclidean theory on the future boundary of
spacetime. In particular, we discuss the choice of the boundary metric and the
relation between the UV cutoff scale xi on the boundary and the hypersurfaces
Sigma on which the wave function is defined in the bulk. We propose that in the
limit of xi going to 0 these hypersurfaces should be used as cutoff surfaces in
the multiverse measure. Furthermore, we argue that in the inflating regions of
spacetime with a slowly varying Hubble rate H the hypersurfaces Sigma are
surfaces of constant comoving apparent horizon (CAH). Finally, we introduce a
measure prescription (called CAH+) which appears to have no pathological
features and coincides with the constant CAH cutoff in regions of slowly
varying H.Comment: A minor change: the discussion of unitarity on p.9 is clarifie
Some Dynamical Effects of the Cosmological Constant
Newton's law gets modified in the presence of a cosmological constant by a
small repulsive term (antigarvity) that is proportional to the distance.
Assuming a value of the cosmological constant consistent with the recent SnIa
data () we investigate the significance of this
term on various astrophysical scales. We find that on galactic scales or
smaller (less than a few tens of kpc) the dynamical effects of the vacuum
energy are negligible by several orders of magnitude. On scales of 1Mpc or
larger however we find that vacuum energy can significantly affect the
dynamics. For example we show that the velocity data in the Local Group of
galaxies correspond to galactic masses increased by 35% in the presence of
vacuum energy. The effect is even more important on larger low density systems
like clusters of galaxies or superclusters.Comment: 5 two column pages, 2 figure
Quantum Fluctuations in Open Pre-Big Bang Cosmology
We solve exactly the (linear order) equations for tensor and scalar
perturbations over the homogeneous, isotropic, open pre-big bang model recently
discussed by several authors. We find that the parametric amplification of
vacuum fluctuations (i.e. particle production) remains negligible throughout
the perturbative pre-big bang phase.Comment: 12 pages, ReVTeX, Discussion of relation to Ref.[8] modifie
The Accelerated Universe and the Moon
Cosmologically motivated theories that explain small acceleration rate of the
Universe via modification of gravity at very large, horizon or super-horizon
distances, can be tested by precision gravitational measurements at much
shorter scales, such as the Earth-Moon distance. Contrary to the naive
expectation the predicted corrections to the Einsteinian metric near
gravitating sources are so significant that fall within sensitivity of the
proposed Lunar Ranging experiments. The key reason for such corrections is the
van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity present in linearized versions of all
such theories, and its subsequent absence at the non-linear level ala
Vainshtein
Field theory models for variable cosmological constant
Anthropic solutions to the cosmological constant problem require seemingly
unnatural scalar field potentials with a very small slope or domain walls
(branes) with a very small coupling to a four-form field. Here we introduce a
class of models in which the smallness of the corresponding parameters can be
attributed to a spontaneously broken discrete symmetry. We also demonstrate the
equivalence of scalar field and four-form models. Finally, we show how our
models can be naturally embedded into a left-right extension of the standard
model.Comment: A reference adde
Cosmological Perturbations from the No Boundary Euclidean Path Integral
We compute, from first principles, the quantum fluctuations about instanton
saddle points of the Euclidean path integral for Einstein gravity coupled to a
scalar field. The Euclidean two-point correlator is analytically continued into
the Lorentzian region where it describes the quantum mechanical vacuum
fluctuations in the state described by no boundary proposal initial conditions.
We concentrate on the density perturbations in open inflationary universes
produced from cosmological instantons, describing the differences between
non-singular Coleman-De Luccia and singular Hawking-Turok instantons. We show
how the Euclidean path integral uniquely specifies the fluctuations in both
cases.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex file, including five postscript figure file
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