Existence and properties of p-tupling fixed points

We prove the existence of fixed points of p-tupling renormalization operators for interval and circle mappings having a critical point of arbitrary real degree r > 1. Some properties of the resulting maps are studied: analyticity, univalence, behavior as $r$ tends to infinity.Comment: LaTeX 2

Analyticity properties and thermal effects for general quantum field theory on de Sitter space-time

We propose a general framework for quantum field theory on the de Sitter space-time (i.e. for local field theories whose truncated Wightman functions are not required to vanish). By requiring that the fields satisfy a weak spectral condition, formulated in terms of the analytic continuation properties of their Wightman functions, we show that a geodesical observer will detect in the corresponding ``vacuum'' a blackbody radiation at temperature T=1/(2 \pi R). We also prove the analogues of the PCT, Reeh-Schlieder and Bisognano-Wichmann theorems.Comment: 32 pages, Latex. To appear on Commun. Math. Phy

de Sitter tachyons and related topics

We present a complete study of a family of tachyonic scalar fields living on the de Sitter universe. We show that for an infinite set of discrete values of the negative squared mass the fields exhibit a gauge symmetry and there exists for them a fully acceptable local and covariant quantization similar to the Feynman-Gupta-Bleuler quantization of free QED. For general negative squares masses we also construct positive quantization where the de Sitter symmetry is spontaneously broken. We discuss the sense in which the two quantizations may be considered physically inequivalent even when there is a Lorentz invariant subspace in the second one.Comment: Updated reference

Scalar tachyons in the de Sitter universe

We provide a construction of a class of local and de Sitter covariant tachyonic quantum fields which exist for discrete negative values of the squared mass parameter and which have no Minkowskian counterpart. These quantum fields satisfy an anomalous non-homogeneous Klein-Gordon equation. The anomaly is a covariant field which can be used to select the physical subspace (of finite codimension) where the homogeneous tachyonic field equation holds in the usual form. We show that the model is local and de Sitter invariant on the physical space. Our construction also sheds new light on the massless minimally coupled field, which is a special instance of it.Comment: 9 page

Towards a General Theory of Quantized Fields on the Anti-de Sitter Space-Time

We propose a general framework for studying quantum field theory on the anti-de-Sitter space-time, based on the assumption of positivity of the spectrum of the possible energy operators. In this framework we show that the n-point functions are analytic in suitable domains of the complex AdS manifold, that it is possible to Wick rotate to the Euclidean manifold and come back, and that it is meaningful to restrict AdS quantum fields to Poincare' branes. We give also a complete characterization of two-point functions which are the simplest example of our theory. Finally we prove the existence of the AdS-Unruh effect for uniformly accelerated observers on trajectories crossing the boundary of AdS at infinity, while that effect does not exist for all the other uniformly accelerated trajectories.Comment: LaTex, 43 pages, 2 figures. New introduction. Discussion of the AdS-Unruh effect expanded. Final section added. To be published on CM

The maximum principle and sign changing solutions of the hyperbolic equation with the Higgs potential

In this article we discuss the maximum principle for the linear equation and the sign changing solutions of the semilinear equation with the Higgs potential. Numerical simulations indicate that the bubbles for the semilinear Klein-Gordon equation in the de Sitter spacetime are created and apparently exist for all times

Anti de Sitter quantum field theory and a new class of hypergeometric identities

We use Anti-de Sitter quantum field theory to prove a new class of identities between hypergeometric functions related to the K\"all\'en-Lehmann representation of products of two Anti-de Sitter two-point functions. A rich mathematical structure emerges. We apply our results to study the decay of unstable Anti-de Sitter particles. The total amplitude is in this case finite and Anti-de Sitter invariant

de Sitter symmetry of Neveu-Schwarz spinors

We study the relations between Dirac fields living on the 2-dimensional Lorentzian cylinder and the ones living on the double-covering of the 2-dimensional de Sitter manifold, here identified as a certain coset space of the group $SL(2,R)$. We show that there is an extended notion of de Sitter covariance only for Dirac fields having the Neveu-Schwarz anti-periodicity and construct the relevant cocycle. Finally, we show that the de Sitter symmetry is naturally inherited by the Neveu-Schwarz massless Dirac field on the cylinder.Comment: 24 page

Particle decays and stability on the de Sitter universe

We study particle decay in de Sitter space-time as given by first order perturbation theory in a Lagrangian interacting quantum field theory. We study in detail the adiabatic limit of the perturbative amplitude and compute the "phase space" coefficient exactly in the case of two equal particles produced in the disintegration. We show that for fields with masses above a critical mass $m_c$ there is no such thing as particle stability, so that decays forbidden in flat space-time do occur here. The lifetime of such a particle also turns out to be independent of its velocity when that lifetime is comparable with de Sitter radius. Particles with mass lower than critical have a completely different behavior: the masses of their decay products must obey quantification rules, and their lifetime is zero.Comment: Latex, 38 pages, 1 PostScript figure; added references, minor corrections and remark

Banana integrals in configuration space

We reconsider the computation of banana integrals at different loops, by working in the configuration space, in any dimension. We show how the 2-loop banana integral can be computed directly from the configuration space representation, without the need to resort to differential equations, and we include the analytic extension of the diagram in the space of complex masses. We also determine explicitly the ε expansion of the two loop banana integrals, for d = j − 2ε, j = 2, 3, 4