Real and complex connections for canonical gravity

Both real and complex connections have been used for canonical gravity: the complex connection has SL(2,C) as gauge group, while the real connection has SU(2) as gauge group. We show that there is an arbitrary parameter $\beta$ which enters in the definition of the real connection, in the Poisson brackets, and therefore in the scale of the discrete spectra one finds for areas and volumes in the corresponding quantum theory. A value for $\beta$ could be could be singled out in the quantum theory by the Hamiltonian constraint, or by the rotation to the complex Ashtekar connection.Comment: 8 pages, RevTeX, no figure

Constraints and restraints in crystal structure analysis

The restraint-based procedure in least-squares refinement is critiqued and the advantages of using internal coordinates are discussed

The simplest Regge calculus model in the canonical form

Dynamics of a Regge three-dimensional (3D) manifold in a continuous time is considered. The manifold is closed consisting of the two tetrahedrons with identified corresponding vertices. The action of the model is that obtained via limiting procedure from the general relativity (GR) action for the completely discrete 4D Regge calculus. It closely resembles the continuous general relativity action in the Hilbert-Palatini (HP) form but possesses finite number of the degrees of freedom. The canonical structure of the theory is described. Central point is appearance of the new relations with time derivatives not following from the Lagrangian but serving to ensure completely discrete 4D Regge calculus origin of the system. In particular, taking these into account turns out to be necessary to obtain the true number of the degrees of freedom being the number of linklengths of the 3D Regge manifold at a given moment of time.Comment: LaTeX, 7 page

Fuzzy Nambu-Goldstone Physics

In spacetime dimensions larger than 2, whenever a global symmetry G is spontaneously broken to a subgroup H, and G and H are Lie groups, there are Nambu-Goldstone modes described by fields with values in G/H. In two-dimensional spacetimes as well, models where fields take values in G/H are of considerable interest even though in that case there is no spontaneous breaking of continuous symmetries. We consider such models when the world sheet is a two-sphere and describe their fuzzy analogues for G=SU(N+1), H=S(U(N-1)xU(1)) ~ U(N) and G/H=CP^N. More generally our methods give fuzzy versions of continuum models on S^2 when the target spaces are Grassmannians and flag manifolds described by (N+1)x(N+1) projectors of rank =< (N+1)/2. These fuzzy models are finite-dimensional matrix models which nevertheless retain all the essential continuum topological features like solitonic sectors. They seem well-suited for numerical work.Comment: Latex, 18 pages; references added, typos correcte