TransPlanckian Particles and the Quantization of Time

Trans-Planckian particles are elementary particles accelerated such that their energies surpass the Planck value. There are several reasons to believe that trans-Planckian particles do not represent independent degrees of freedom in Hilbert space, but they are controlled by the cis-Planckian particles. A way to learn more about the mechanisms at work here, is to study black hole horizons, starting from the scattering matrix Ansatz. By compactifying one of the three physical spacial dimensions, the scattering matrix Ansatz can be exploited more efficiently than before. The algebra of operators on a black hole horizon allows for a few distinct representations. It is found that this horizon can be seen as being built up from string bits with unit lengths, each of which being described by a representation of the SO(2,1) Lorentz group. We then demonstrate how the holographic principle works for this case, by constructing the operators corresponding to a field in space-time. The parameter t turns out to be quantized in Planckian units, divided by the period R of the compactified dimension.Comment: 12 pages plain tex, 1 figur

Geometry of Scattering at Planckian Energies

We present an alternative derivation and geometrical formulation of Verlinde topological field theory, which may describe scattering at center of mass energies comparable or larger than the Planck energy. A consistent trunckation of 3+1 dimensional Einstein action is performed using the standard geometrical objects, like tetrads and spin connections. The resulting topological invariant is given in terms of differential forms.Comment: 8

Thermal photon dispersion law and modified black-body spectra

Based on the postulate that photon propagation is governed by an SU(2) gauge principle we numerically compute the one-loop dispersion for thermalized photon propagation on the radiatively induced mass shell. Formerly, the dispersion was addressed by assuming $p^2=0$. While this approximation turns out to be excellent for temperatures $\le 2 T_{\tiny{CMB}}$ the exact result exhibits a much faster (power-like) shrinking of the gap in the black-body spectral intensity with rising temperature. Our previous statements on anomalous large-angle CMB temperature-temperature correlations, obtained in the approximation $p^2=0$, remain valid.Comment: v2: 13 pages, 6 figures; sec. 2.1. added to explain effective theory; references added; matches journal published versio

Perturbative Confinement

A Procedure is outlined that may be used as a starting point for a perturbative treatment of theories with permanent confinement. By using a counter term in the Lagrangian that renormalizes the infrared divergence in the Coulomb potential, it is achieved that the perturbation expansion at a finite value of the strong coupling constant may yield reasonably accurate properties of hadrons, and an expression for the string constant as a function of the QCD Lambda parameter.Comment: Presented at QCD'02, Montpellier, July 2002. 12 pages LaTeX, 8 Figures PostScript, uses gthstyle.sty Reprt-no: ITF-2002/39; SPIN-2002/2

Heavy meson semileptonic decays in two dimensions in the large Nc

We study QCD in 1+1 dimensions in the large Nc limit using light-front Hamiltonian perturbation theory in the 1/Nc expansion. We use this formalism to exactly compute hadronic transition matrix elements for arbitrary currents at leading order in 1/Nc, which we use to write the semileptonic differential decay rate of a heavy meson and its moments. We then compare with the results obtained using an effective field theory approach based on perturbative factorization, with the intention of better understanding quark-hadron duality. A very good numerical agreement is obtained between the exact result and the result using effective theories.Comment: Talk given at the High-Energy Physics International Conference on Quantum Chromodynamics, 3-7 July (2006), Montpellier (France

Towards a Simulation of Quantum Computers by Classical Systems

We present a two-dimensional classical stochastic differential equation for a displacement field of a point particle in two dimensions and show that its components define real and imaginary parts of a complex field satisfying the Schroedinger equation of a harmonic oscillator. In this way we derive the discrete oscillator spectrum from classical dynamics. The model is then generalized to an arbitrary potential. This opens up the possibility of efficiently simulating quantum computers with the help of classical systems.Comment: Author Information under http://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/~kleinert/institution.html . Latest update of paper (including all PS fonts) at http://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/~kleinert/kleiner_re324/preprint.htm

Black hole unitarity and antipodal entanglement

Hawking particles emitted by a black hole are usually found to have thermal spectra, if not exactly, then by a very good approximation. Here, we argue differently. It was discovered that spherical partial waves of in-going and out-going matter can be described by unitary evolution operators independently, which allows for studies of space-time properties that were not possible before. Unitarity dictates space-time, as seen by a distant observer, to be topologically non-trivial. Consequently, Hawking particles are only locally thermal, but globally not: we explain why Hawking particles emerging from one hemisphere of a black hole must be 100 % entangled with the Hawking particles emerging from the other hemisphere. This produces exclusively pure quantum states evolving in a unitary manner, and removes the interior region for the outside observer, while it still completely agrees locally with the laws of general relativity. Unitarity is a starting point; no other assumptions are made. Region I and the diametrically opposite region II of the Penrose diagram represent antipodal points in a PT or CPT relation, as was suggested before. On the horizon itself, antipodal points are identified. A candidate instanton is proposed to describe the formation and evaporation of virtual black holes of the type described here. Some important explanations and discussion points are added. In the latest of the paper, again some minor inaccuracies are corrected.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur

The Grand View of Physics

Abdus Salam was known for his `grand views', grand views of science as well as grand views of society. In this talk the grand view of theoretical physics is put in perspective.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Presented at Salam +50, Imperial College, London, July 7, 200

The author replies

I respond to the Bernard et al. comment on my letter ``Chiral anomalies and rooted staggered fermions.''Comment: 3 pages. Rebuttal to arXiv:hep-lat/0603027. To appear in Physics Letters