22,955 research outputs found
Abelian 2-form gauge theory: superfield formalism
We derive the off-shell nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) and
anti-BRST symmetry transformations for {\it all} the fields of a free Abelian
2-form gauge theory by exploiting the geometrical superfield approach to BRST
formalism. The above four (3 + 1)-dimensional (4D) theory is considered on a
(4, 2)-dimensional supermanifold parameterized by the four even spacetime
variables x^\mu (with \mu = 0, 1, 2, 3) and a pair of odd Grassmannian
variables \theta and \bar\theta (with \theta^2 = \bar\theta^2 = 0, \theta
\bar\theta + \bar\theta \theta = 0). One of the salient features of our present
investigation is that the above nilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry transformations
turn out to be absolutely anticommuting due to the presence of a Curci-Ferrari
(CF) type of restriction. The latter condition emerges due to the application
of our present superfield formalism. The actual CF condition, as is well-known,
is the hallmark of a 4D non-Abelian 1-form gauge theory. We demonstrate that
our present 4D Abelian 2-form gauge theory imbibes some of the key signatures
of the 4D non-Abelian 1-form gauge theory. We briefly comment on the
generalization of our supperfield approach to the case of Abelian 3-form gauge
theory in four (3 + 1)-dimensions of spacetime.Comment: LaTeX file, 23 pages, journal versio
Geometrical Aspects Of BRST Cohomology In Augmented Superfield Formalism
In the framework of augmented superfield approach, we provide the geometrical
origin and interpretation for the nilpotent (anti-)BRST charges, (anti-)co-BRST
charges and a non-nilpotent bosonic charge. Together, these local and conserved
charges turn out to be responsible for a clear and cogent definition of the
Hodge decomposition theorem in the quantum Hilbert space of states. The above
charges owe their origin to the de Rham cohomological operators of differential
geometry which are found to be at the heart of some of the key concepts
associated with the interacting gauge theories. For our present review, we
choose the two -dimensional (2D) quantum electrodynamics (QED) as a
prototype field theoretical model to derive all the nilpotent symmetries for
all the fields present in this interacting gauge theory in the framework of
augmented superfield formulation and show that this theory is a {\it unique}
example of an interacting gauge theory which provides a tractable field
theoretical model for the Hodge theory.Comment: LaTeX file, 25 pages, Ref. [49] updated, correct page numbers of the
Journal are give
An Alternative To The Horizontality Condition In Superfield Approach To BRST Symmetries
We provide an alternative to the gauge covariant horizontality condition
which is responsible for the derivation of the nilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry
transformations for the gauge and (anti-)ghost fields of a (3 + 1)-dimensional
(4D) interacting 1-form non-Abelian gauge theory in the framework of the usual
superfield approach to Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism. The above
covariant horizontality condition is replaced by a gauge invariant restriction
on the (4, 2)-dimensional supermanifold, parameterized by a set of four
spacetime coordinates x^\mu (\mu = 0, 1, 2, 3) and a pair of Grassmannian
variables \theta and \bar\theta. The latter condition enables us to derive the
nilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry transformations for all the fields of an
interacting 4D 1-form non-Abelian gauge theory where there is an explicit
coupling between the gauge field and the Dirac fields. The key differences and
striking similarities between the above two conditions are pointed out clearly.Comment: LaTeX file, 20 pages, journal versio
Nonmodal energy growth and optimal perturbations in compressible plane Couette flow
Nonmodal transient growth studies and estimation of optimal perturbations
have been made for the compressible plane Couette flow with three-dimensional
disturbances. The maximum amplification of perturbation energy over time,
, is found to increase with increasing Reynolds number ,
but decreases with increasing Mach number . More specifically, the optimal
energy amplification (the supremum of over both the
streamwise and spanwise wavenumbers) is maximum in the incompressible limit and
decreases monotonically as increases. The corresponding optimal streamwise
wavenumber, , is non-zero at M=0, increases with increasing
, reaching a maximum for some value of and then decreases, eventually
becoming zero at high Mach numbers. While the pure streamwise vortices are the
optimal patterns at high Mach numbers, the modulated streamwise vortices are
the optimal patterns for low-to-moderate values of the Mach number. Unlike in
incompressible shear flows, the streamwise-independent modes in the present
flow do not follow the scaling law , the reasons
for which are shown to be tied to the dominance of some terms in the linear
stability operator. Based on a detailed nonmodal energy analysis, we show that
the transient energy growth occurs due to the transfer of energy from the mean
flow to perturbations via an inviscid {\it algebraic} instability. The decrease
of transient growth with increasing Mach number is also shown to be tied to the
decrease in the energy transferred from the mean flow () in
the same limit
Gauge Transformations, BRST Cohomology and Wigner's Little Group
We discuss the (dual-)gauge transformations and BRST cohomology for the two
(1 + 1)-dimensional (2D) free Abelian one-form and four (3 + 1)-dimensional
(4D) free Abelian 2-form gauge theories by exploiting the (co-)BRST symmetries
(and their corresponding generators) for the Lagrangian densities of these
theories. For the 4D free 2-form gauge theory, we show that the changes on the
antisymmetric polarization tensor e^{\mu\nu} (k) due to (i) the (dual-)gauge
transformations corresponding to the internal symmetry group, and (ii) the
translation subgroup T(2) of the Wigner's little group, are connected with
each-other for the specific relationships among the parameters of these
transformation groups. In the language of BRST cohomology defined w.r.t. the
conserved and nilpotent (co-)BRST charges, the (dual-)gauge transformed states
turn out to be the sum of the original state and the (co-)BRST exact states. We
comment on (i) the quasi-topological nature of the 4D free 2-form gauge theory
from the degrees of freedom count on e^{\mu\nu} (k), and (ii) the Wigner's
little group and the BRST cohomology for the 2D one-form gauge theory {\it
vis-{\`a}-vis} our analysis for the 4D 2-form gauge theory.Comment: LaTeX file, 29 pages, misprints in (3.7), (3.8), (3.9), (3.13) and
(4.14)corrected and communicated to IJMPA as ``Erratum'
A Concise Introduction to Perturbation Theory in Cosmology
We give a concise, self-contained introduction to perturbation theory in
cosmology at linear and second order, striking a balance between mathematical
rigour and usability. In particular we discuss gauge issues and the active and
passive approach to calculating gauge transformations. We also construct
gauge-invariant variables, including the second order tensor perturbation on
uniform curvature hypersurfaces.Comment: revtex4, 16 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor changes, typos corrected,
reference added, version accepted by CQ
Linear stability, transient energy growth and the role of viscosity stratification in compressible plane Couette flow
Linear stability and the non-modal transient energy growth in compressible
plane Couette flow are investigated for two prototype mean flows: (a) the {\it
uniform shear} flow with constant viscosity, and (b) the {\it non-uniform
shear} flow with {\it stratified} viscosity. Both mean flows are linearly
unstable for a range of supersonic Mach numbers (). For a given , the
critical Reynolds number () is significantly smaller for the uniform shear
flow than its non-uniform shear counterpart. An analysis of perturbation energy
reveals that the instability is primarily caused by an excess transfer of
energy from mean-flow to perturbations. It is shown that the energy-transfer
from mean-flow occurs close to the moving top-wall for ``mode I'' instability,
whereas it occurs in the bulk of the flow domain for ``mode II''. For the
non-modal analysis, it is shown that the maximum amplification of perturbation
energy, , is significantly larger for the uniform shear case compared
to its non-uniform counterpart. For , the linear stability operator
can be partitioned into , and the
-dependent operator is shown to have a negligibly small
contribution to perturbation energy which is responsible for the validity of
the well-known quadratic-scaling law in uniform shear flow: . A reduced inviscid model has been shown to capture all salient
features of transient energy growth of full viscous problem. For both modal and
non-modal instability, it is shown that the {\it viscosity-stratification} of
the underlying mean flow would lead to a delayed transition in compressible
Couette flow
Augmented Superfield Approach To Unique Nilpotent Symmetries For Complex Scalar Fields In QED
The derivation of the exact and unique nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin
(BRST)- and anti-BRST symmetries for the matter fields, present in any
arbitrary interacting gauge theory, has been a long-standing problem in the
framework of superfield approach to BRST formalism. These nilpotent symmetry
transformations are deduced for the four (3 + 1)-dimensional (4D) complex
scalar fields, coupled to the U(1) gauge field, in the framework of augmented
superfield formalism. This interacting gauge theory (i.e. QED) is considered on
a six (4, 2)-dimensional supermanifold parametrized by four even spacetime
coordinates and a couple of odd elements of the Grassmann algebra. In addition
to the horizontality condition (that is responsible for the derivation of the
exact nilpotent symmetries for the gauge field and the (anti-)ghost fields), a
new restriction on the supermanifold, owing its origin to the (super) covariant
derivatives, has been invoked for the derivation of the exact nilpotent
symmetry transformations for the matter fields. The geometrical interpretations
for all the above nilpotent symmetries are discussed, too.Comment: LaTeX file, 17 pages, journal versio
Wigner's little group and BRST cohomology for one-form Abelian gauge theory
We discuss the (dual-)gauge transformations for the gauge-fixed Lagrangian
density and establish their intimate connection with the translation subgroup
T(2) of the Wigner's little group for the free one-form Abelian gauge theory in
four -dimensions (4D) of spacetime. Though the relationship between
the usual gauge transformation for the Abelian massless gauge field and T(2)
subgroup of the little group is quite well-known, such a connection between the
dual-gauge transformation and the little group is a new observation. The above
connections are further elaborated and demonstrated in the framework of
Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) cohomology defined in the quantum Hilbert
space of states where the Hodge decomposition theorem (HDT) plays a very
decisive role.Comment: LaTeX file, 17 pages, Journal-ref. give
Superfield Approach To Nilpotent Symmetries For QED From A Single Restriction: An Alternative To The Horizontality Condition
We derive together the exact local, covariant, continuous and off-shell
nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) and anti-BRST symmetry
transformations for the U(1) gauge field (A_\mu), the (anti-)ghost fields
((\bar C)C) and the Dirac fields (\psi, \bar\psi) of the Lagrangian density of
a four (3 + 1)-dimensional QED by exploiting a single restriction on the six
(4, 2)-dimensional supermanifold. A set of four even spacetime coordinates
x^\mu (\mu = 0, 1, 2, 3) and two odd Grassmannian variables \theta and
\bar\theta parametrize this six dimensional supermanifold. The new gauge
invariant restriction on the above supermanifold owes its origin to the (super)
covariant derivatives and their intimate relations with the (super) 2-form
curvatures (\tilde F^{(2)})F^{(2)} constructed with the help of (super) 1-form
gauge connections (\tilde A^{(1)})A^{(1)} and (super) exterior derivatives
(\tilde d)d. The results obtained separately by exploiting (i) the
horizontality condition, and (ii) one of its consistent extensions, are shown
to be a simple consequence of this new single restriction on the above
supermanifold. Thus, our present endeavour provides an alternative to (and, in
some sense, generalization of) the horizontality condition of the usual
superfield formalism applied to the derivation of BRST symmetries.Comment: LaTeX file, 15 pages, journal-versio
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