Do the gravitational corrections to the beta functions of the quartic and Yukawa couplings have an intrinsic physical meaning?

We study the beta functions of the quartic and Yukawa couplings of General Relativity and Unimodular Gravity coupled to the $\lambda\phi^4$ and Yukawa theories with masses. We show that the General Relativity corrections to those beta functions as obtained from the 1PI functional by using the standard MS multiplicative renormalization scheme of Dimensional Regularization are gauge dependent and, further, that they can be removed by a non-multiplicative, though local, field redefinition. An analogous analysis is carried out when General Relativity is replaced with Unimodular Gravity. Thus we show that any claim made about the change in the asymptotic behaviour of the quartic and Yukawa couplings made by General Relativity and Unimodular Gravity lack intrinsic physical meaning.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Noncommutative GUT inspired theories and the UV finiteness of the fermionic four point functions

We show at one-loop and first order in the noncommutativity parameters that in any noncommutative GUT inspired theory the total contribution to the fermionic four point functions coming only from the interaction between fermions and gauge bosons, though not UV finite by power counting, is UV finite at the end of the day. We also show that this is at odds with the general case for noncommutative gauge theories --chiral or otherwise-- defined by means of Seiberg-Witten maps that are the same --barring the gauge group representation-- for left-handed spinors as for right-handed spinors. We believe that the results presented in this paper tilt the scales to the side of noncommutative GUTS and noncommutative GUT inspired versions of the Standard Model.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Version 2: references fixed and completed. Version 3: Comments adde

The Seiberg-Witten map and supersymmetry

The lack of any local solution to the first-order-in-h omegamn Seiberg-Witten (SW) map equations for U(1) vector superfields compels us to obtain the most general solution to those equations that is a quadratic polynomial in the ordinary vector superfield, v, its chiral and antichiral projections and the susy covariant derivatives of them all. Furnished with this solution, which is local in the susy Landau gauge, we construct an ordinary dual of noncommutative U(1) SYM in terms of ordinary fields which carry a linear representation of the N=1 susy algebra. By using the standard SW map for the N=1 U(1) gauge supermultiplet we define an ordinary U(1) gauge theory which is dual to noncommutative U(1) SYM in the WZ gauge. We show that the ordinary dual so obtained is supersymmetric, for, as we prove as we go along, the ordinary gauge and fermion fields that we use to define it carry a nonlinear representation of the N=1 susy algebra. We finally show that the two ordinary duals of noncommutative U(1) SYM introduced above are actually the same N=1 susy gauge theory. We also show in this paper that the standard SW map is never the theta theta--bar component of a local superfield in v and check that, at least at a given approximation, a suitable field redefinition of that map makes the noncommutative and ordinary --in a Bmn field-- susy U(1) DBI actions equivalent.Comment: 28 pages. No figure

Higher covariant derivative regulators and non-multiplicative renormalization

The renormalization algorithm based on regularization methods with two regulators is analyzed by means of explicit computations. We show in particular that regularization by higher covariant derivative terms can be complemented with dimensional regularization to obtain a consistent renormalized 4-dimensional Yang-Mills theory at the one-loop level. This shows that hybrid regularization methods can be applied not only to finite theories, like \eg\ Chern-Simons, but also to divergent theories.Comment: 12 pages, phyzzx, no figure

Multiwavelength Raman spectroscopy analysis of a large sampling of disordered carbons extracted from the Tore Supra tokamak

Disordered carbon often exhibit a complex Raman spectrum, with four to six components. Here, a large variety of disordered carbons, forming a collection of samples with a great variety of structures, are analysed using multi-wavelength Raman microscopy (325.0, 514.5, 785.0 nm). They allow us to extend Raman behaviour known for nano-crystalline graphite to amorphous carbons, (dependence with the excitation wavelength) and other known for amorphous carbons to nano-crystalline graphite, (differentiation of the smallest cluster size probed using different excitation wavelengths). Experimental spectra were compared to simulated spectra, built using known laws, to evidence a new source of broadening