19,949 research outputs found
Branes as BIons
A BIon may be defined as a finite energy solution of a non-linear field
theory with distributional sources. By contrast a soliton is usually defined to
have no sources. I show how harmonic coordinates map the exteriors of the
topologically and causally non-trivial spacetimes of extreme p-branes to BIonic
solutions of the Einstein equations in a topologically trivial spacetime in
which the combined gravitational and matter energy momentum is located on
distributional sources. As a consequence the tension of BPS p-branes is
classically unrenormalized. The result holds equally for spacetimes with
singularities and for those, like the M-5-brane, which are everywhere
singularity free.Comment: Latex, 9 pages, no figure
A remark on kinks and time machines
We describe an elementary proof that a manifold with the topology of the
Politzer time machine does not admit a nonsingular, asymptotically flat Lorentz
metric.Comment: 4 page
Gravitational Instantons, Confocal Quadrics and Separability of the Schr\"odinger and Hamilton-Jacobi equations
A hyperk\"ahler 4-metric with a triholomorphic SU(2) action gives rise to a
family of confocal quadrics in Euclidean 3-space when cast in the canonical
form of a hyperk\"ahler 4-metric metric with a triholomorphic circle action.
Moreover, at least in the case of geodesics orthogonal to the U(1) fibres, both
the covariant Schr\"odinger and the Hamilton-Jacobi equation is separable and
the system integrable.Comment: 10 pages Late
The Dirac equation in Taub-NUT space
Using chiral supersymmetry, we show that the massless Dirac equation in the
Taub-NUT gravitational instanton field is exactly soluble and explain the
arisal and the use of the dynamical (super) symmetry.Comment: An importatn misprint in a reference is corrected. Plain Tex. 8 page
On the stability of naked singularities
We study the linearised stability of the nakedly singular negative mass
Schwarzschild solution against gravitational perturbations. There is a one
parameter family of possible boundary conditions at the singularity. We give a
precise criterion for stability depending on the boundary condition. We show
that one particular boundary condition is physically preferred and show that
the spacetime is stable with this boundary condition.Comment: 20 pages. 5 figure
Conformal Carroll groups
Conformal extensions of Levy-Leblond's Carroll group, based on geometric
properties analogous to those of Newton-Cartan space-time are proposed. The
extensions are labelled by an integer . This framework includes and extends
our recent study of the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) and Newman-Unti (NU) groups.
The relation to Conformal Galilei groups is clarified. Conformal Carroll
symmetry is illustrated by "Carrollian photons". Motion both in the
Newton-Cartan and Carroll spaces may be related to that of strings in the
Bargmann space.Comment: 31 pages, no figures. Minor misprints corrected and clarifications
added. To be published in J. Phys.
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