1,000 research outputs found
Mass generation for non-Abelian antisymmetric tensor fields in a three-dimensional space-time
Starting from a recently proposed Abelian topological model in (2+1)
dimensions, which involve the Kalb-Ramond two form field, we study a
non-Abelian generalization of the model. An obstruction for generalization is
detected. However we show that the goal is achieved if we introduce a vectorial
auxiliary field. Consequently, a model is proposed, exhibiting a non-Abelian
topological mass generation mechanism in D=3, that provides mass for the
Kalb-Ramond field. The covariant quantization of this model requires ghosts for
ghosts. Therefore in order to quantize the theory we construct a complete set
of BRST and anti-BRST equations using the horizontality condition.Comment: 8 pages. To appear in Physical Review
Effects of a torsion field on Big Bang nucleosynthesis
In this paper it is investigated whether torsion, which arises naturally in
most theories of quantum gravity, has observable implications for the Big Bang
nucleosynthesis. Torsion can lead to spin flips amongst neutrinos thus turning
them into sterile neutrinos. In the early Universe they can alter the helium
abundance which is tightly constrained by observations. Here I calculate to
what extent torsion of the string theory type leads to a disagreement with the
Big Bang nucleosynthesis predictions.Comment: accepted by General Relativity and Gravitatio
Interacting Particles and Strings in Path and Surface Representations
Non-relativistic charged particles and strings coupled with abelian gauge
fields are quantized in a geometric representation that generalizes the Loop
Representation. We consider three models: the string in self-interaction
through a Kalb-Ramond field in four dimensions, the topological interaction of
two particles due to a BF term in 2+1 dimensions, and the string-particle
interaction mediated by a BF term in 3+1 dimensions. In the first case one
finds that a consistent "surface-representation" can be built provided that the
coupling constant is quantized. The geometrical setting that arises corresponds
to a generalized version of the Faraday's lines picture: quantum states are
labeled by the shape of the string, from which emanate "Faraday`s surfaces". In
the other models, the topological interaction can also be described by
geometrical means. It is shown that the open-path (or open-surface) dependence
carried by the wave functional in these models can be eliminated through an
unitary transformation, except by a remaining dependence on the boundary of the
path (or surface). These feature is closely related to the presence of
anomalous statistics in the 2+1 model, and to a generalized "anyonic behavior"
of the string in the other case.Comment: RevTeX 4, 28 page
The Dual Formulation of Cosmic Strings and Vortices
We study four dimensional systems of global, axionic and local strings. By
using the path integral formalism, we derive the dual formulation of these
systems, where Goldstone bosons, axions and missive vector bosons are described
by antisymmetric tensor fields, and strings appear as a source for these tensor
fields. We show also how magnetic monopoles attached to local strings are
described in the dual formulation. We conclude with some remarks.Comment: 18 pages, CU-TP-588 and CERN-TH.6780/9
Abelian 2-form gauge theory: special features
It is shown that the four -dimensional (4D) free Abelian 2-form
gauge theory provides an example of (i) a class of field theoretical models for
the Hodge theory, and (ii) a possible candidate for the quasi-topological field
theory (q-TFT). Despite many striking similarities with some of the key
topological features of the two -dimensional (2D) free Abelian (and
self-interacting non-Abelian) gauge theories, it turns out that the 4D free
Abelian 2-form gauge theory is {\it not} an exact TFT. To corroborate this
conclusion, some of the key issues are discussed. In particular, it is shown
that the (anti-)BRST and (anti-)co-BRST invariant quantities of the 4D 2-form
Abelian gauge theory obey the recursion relations that are reminiscent of the
exact TFTs but the Lagrangian density of this theory is not found to be able to
be expressed as the sum of (anti-)BRST and (anti-)co-BRST exact quantities as
is the case with the {\it topological} 2D free Abelian (and self-interacting
non-Abelian) gauge theories.Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages, journal ref. give
The Abelian Topological Mass Mechanism From Dimensional Reduction
We show that the abelian topological mass mechanism in four dimensions,
described by the Cremmer-Sherk action, can be obtained from dimensional
reduction in five dimensions. Starting from a gauge invariant action in five
dimensions, where the dual equivalence between a massless vector field and a
massless second-rank antisymmetric field in five dimensions is established, the
dimensional reduction is performed keeping only one massive mode. Furthermore,
the Kalb-Ramond action and the Stuckelberger formulation for massive spin-1 are
recovered.Comment: Three references added, 6 pages, late
The time of the Roma in times of crisis: Where has European neoliberal capitalism failed?
This paper argues that the economic and financial crisis that has ensnared Europe from the late 2000s has been instrumental in reshaping employment and social relations in a detrimental way for the majority of the European people. It argues that the crisis has exacerbated the socio-economic position of most Roma people, immigrants as well as of other vulnerable groups. This development is approached here as an outcome of the widening structural inequalities that underpin the crisis within an increasingly neoliberalised Europe. Through recent policy developments and public discourses from a number of European countries I show how rising inequalities nurture racialised social tensions. My account draws on classic and contemporary theoretical propositions that have been propounded about the nature of capitalism, its contemporary re-articulation as well as its ramification for the future of Europe
Finite, diffeomorphism invariant observables in quantum gravity
Two sets of spatially diffeomorphism invariant operators are constructed in
the loop representation formulation of quantum gravity. This is done by
coupling general relativity to an anti- symmetric tensor gauge field and using
that field to pick out sets of surfaces, with boundaries, in the spatial three
manifold. The two sets of observables then measure the areas of these surfaces
and the Wilson loops for the self-dual connection around their boundaries. The
operators that represent these observables are finite and background
independent when constructed through a proper regularization procedure.
Furthermore, the spectra of the area operators are discrete so that the
possible values that one can obtain by a measurement of the area of a physical
surface in quantum gravity are valued in a discrete set that includes integral
multiples of half the Planck area. These results make possible the construction
of a correspondence between any three geometry whose curvature is small in
Planck units and a diffeomorphism invariant state of the gravitational and
matter fields. This correspondence relies on the approximation of the classical
geometry by a piecewise flat Regge manifold, which is then put in
correspondence with a diffeomorphism invariant state of the gravity-matter
system in which the matter fields specify the faces of the triangulation and
the gravitational field is in an eigenstate of the operators that measure their
areas.Comment: Latex, no figures, 30 pages, SU-GP-93/1-
- …