304 research outputs found
The Collapse of Large Extra Dimensions
In models of spacetime that are the product of a four-dimensional spacetime
with an ``extra'' dimension, there is the possibility that the extra dimension
will collapse to zero size, forming a singularity. We ask whether this collapse
is likely to destroy the spacetime. We argue, by an appeal to the
four-dimensional cosmic censorship conjecture, that--at least in the case when
the extra dimension is homogeneous--such a collapse will lead to a singularity
hidden within a black string. We also construct explicit initial data for a
spacetime in which such a collapse is guaranteed to occur and show how the
formation of a naked singularity is likely avoided.Comment: Uses revtex
Vortex microavalanches in superconducting Pb thin films
Local magnetization measurements on 100 nm type-II superconducting Pb thin
films show that flux penetration changes qualitatively with temperature. Small
flux jumps at the lowest temperatures gradually increase in size, then
disappear near T = 0.7Tc. Comparison with other experiments suggests that the
avalanches correspond to dendritic flux protrusions. Reproducibility of the
first flux jumps in a decreasing magnetic field indicates a role for defect
structure in determining avalanches. We also find a temperature-independent
final magnetization after flux jumps, analogous to the angle of repose of a
sandpile.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Holography from Conformal Field Theory
The locality of bulk physics at distances below the AdS length is one of the
remarkable aspects of AdS/CFT duality, and one of the least tested. It requires
that the AdS radius be large compared to the Planck length and the string
length. In the CFT this implies a large-N expansion and a gap in the spectum of
anomalous dimensions. We conjecture that the implication also runs in the other
direction, so that any CFT with a planar expansion and a large gap has a local
bulk dual. For an abstract CFT we formulate the consistency conditions, most
notably crossing symmetry, and show that the conjecture is true in a broad
range of CFT's, to first nontrivial order in 1/N^2: any CFT with a gap and a
planar expansion is generated via the AdS/CFT dictionary from a local bulk
interaction. We establish this result by a counting argument on each side, and
also investigate various properties of some explicit solutions.Comment: 49 pages. Minor corrections. Figure and references adde
Cosmology of codimension-two braneworlds
We present a comprehensive study of the cosmological solutions of 6D
braneworld models with azimuthal symmetry in the extra dimensions, moduli
stabilization by flux or a bulk scalar field, and which contain at least one
3-brane that could be identified with our world. We emphasize an unusual
property of these models: their expansion rate depends on the 3-brane tension
either not at all, or in a nonstandard way, at odds with the naive expected
dimensional reduction of these systems to 4D general relativity at low
energies. Unlike other braneworld attempts to find a self-tuning solution to
the cosmological constant problem, the apparent failure of decoupling in these
models is not associated with the presence of unstabilized moduli; rather it is
due to automatic cancellation of the brane tension by the curvature induced by
the brane. This provides some corroboration for the hope that these models
provide a distinctive step toward understanding the smallness of the observed
cosmological constant. However, we point out some challenges for obtaining
realistic cosmology within this framework.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figures; generalized result for nonconventional Friedmann
equation, added referenc
Lorentz invariance violation in top-down scenarios of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray creation
The violation of Lorentz invariance (LI) has been invoked in a number of ways
to explain issues dealing with ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (UHECR) production
and propagation. These treatments, however, have mostly been limited to
examples in the proton-neutron system and photon-electron system. In this paper
we show how a broader violation of Lorentz invariance would allow for a series
of previously forbidden decays to occur, and how that could lead to UHECR
primaries being heavy baryonic states or Higgs bosons.Comment: Replaced with heavily revised (see new Abstract) version accepted by
Phys. Rev. D. 6 page
Dynamical Stability of Six-Dimensional Warped Brane-Worlds
We study a generalization of the Randall-Sundrum mechanism for generating the
weak/Planck hierarchy, which uses two rather than one warped extra dimension,
and which requires no negative tension branes. A 4-brane with one exponentially
large compact dimension plays the role of the Planck brane. We investigate the
dynamical stability with respect to graviton, graviphoton and radion modes. The
radion is shown to have a tachyonic instability for certain models of the
4-brane stress-energy, while it is stable in others, and massless in a special
case. If stable, its mass is in the milli-eV range, for parameters of the model
which solve the hierarchy problem. The radion is shown to couple to matter with
gravitational strength, so that it is potentially detectable by
submillimeter-range gravity experiments. The radion mass can be increased using
a bulk scalar field in the manner of Goldberger and Wise, but only to order
MeV, due to the effect of the large extra dimension. The model predicts a
natural scale of 10^{13} GeV on the 4-brane, making it a natural setting for
inflation from the ultraviolet brane.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure
Interface electronic states and boundary conditions for envelope functions
The envelope-function method with generalized boundary conditions is applied
to the description of localized and resonant interface states. A complete set
of phenomenological conditions which restrict the form of connection rules for
envelope functions is derived using the Hermiticity and symmetry requirements.
Empirical coefficients in the connection rules play role of material parameters
which characterize an internal structure of every particular heterointerface.
As an illustration we present the derivation of the most general connection
rules for the one-band effective mass and 4-band Kane models. The conditions
for the existence of Tamm-like localized interface states are established. It
is shown that a nontrivial form of the connection rules can also result in the
formation of resonant states. The most transparent manifestation of such states
is the resonant tunneling through a single-barrier heterostructure.Comment: RevTeX4, 11 pages, 5 eps figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
Generalized Quantum Theory of Recollapsing Homogeneous Cosmologies
A sum-over-histories generalized quantum theory is developed for homogeneous
minisuperspace type A Bianchi cosmological models, focussing on the particular
example of the classically recollapsing Bianchi IX universe. The decoherence
functional for such universes is exhibited. We show how the probabilities of
decoherent sets of alternative, coarse-grained histories of these model
universes can be calculated. We consider in particular the probabilities for
classical evolution defined by a suitable coarse-graining. For a restricted
class of initial conditions and coarse grainings we exhibit the approximate
decoherence of alternative histories in which the universe behaves classically
and those in which it does not. For these situations we show that the
probability is near unity for the universe to recontract classically if it
expands classically. We also determine the relative probabilities of
quasi-classical trajectories for initial states of WKB form, recovering for
such states a precise form of the familiar heuristic "J d\Sigma" rule of
quantum cosmology, as well as a generalization of this rule to generic initial
states.Comment: 41 pages, 4 eps figures, revtex 4. Modest revisions throughout.
Physics unchanged. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Effects and Detectability of Quasi-Single Field Inflation in the Large-Scale Structure and Cosmic Microwave Background
Quasi-single field inflation predicts a peculiar momentum dependence in the
squeezed limit of the primordial bispectrum which smoothly interpolates between
the local and equilateral models. This dependence is directly related to the
mass of the isocurvatons in the theory which is determined by the
supersymmetry. Therefore, in the event of detection of a non-zero primordial
bispectrum, additional constraints on the parameter controlling the
momentum-dependence in the squeezed limit becomes an important question. We
explore the effects of these non-Gaussian initial conditions on large-scale
structure and the cosmic microwave background, with particular attention to the
galaxy power spectrum at large scales and scale-dependence corrections to
galaxy bias. We determine the simultaneous constraints on the two parameters
describing the QSF bispectrum that we can expect from upcoming large-scale
structure and cosmic microwave background observations. We find that for
relatively large values of the non-Gaussian amplitude parameters, but still
well within current uncertainties, galaxy power spectrum measurements will be
able to distinguish the QSF scenario from the predictions of the local model. A
CMB likelihood analysis, as well as Fisher matrix analysis, shows that there is
also a range of parameter values for which Planck data may be able distinguish
between QSF models and the related local and equilateral shapes. Given the
different observational weightings of the CMB and LSS results, degeneracies can
be significantly reduced in a joint analysis.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figure
Black Holes from Cosmic Rays: Probes of Extra Dimensions and New Limits on TeV-Scale Gravity
If extra spacetime dimensions and low-scale gravity exist, black holes will
be produced in observable collisions of elementary particles. For the next
several years, ultra-high energy cosmic rays provide the most promising window
on this phenomenon. In particular, cosmic neutrinos can produce black holes
deep in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to quasi-horizontal giant air showers.
We determine the sensitivity of cosmic ray detectors to black hole production
and compare the results to other probes of extra dimensions. With n \ge 4 extra
dimensions, current bounds on deeply penetrating showers from AGASA already
provide the most stringent bound on low-scale gravity, requiring a fundamental
Planck scale M_D > 1.3 - 1.8 TeV. The Auger Observatory will probe M_D as large
as 4 TeV and may observe on the order of a hundred black holes in 5 years. We
also consider the implications of angular momentum and possible exponentially
suppressed parton cross sections; including these effects, large black hole
rates are still possible. Finally, we demonstrate that even if only a few black
hole events are observed, a standard model interpretation may be excluded by
comparison with Earth-skimming neutrino rates.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figures; v2: discussion of gravitational infall, AGASA
and Fly's Eye comparison added; v3: Earth-skimming results modified and
strengthened, published versio
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