2,978 research outputs found
Low energy bounds on Poincare violation in causal set theory
In the causal set approach to quantum gravity, Poincar\'{e} symmetry is
modified by swerving in spacetime, induced by the random lattice discretization
of the space-time structure. The broken translational symmetry at short
distances is argued to lead to a residual diffusion in momentum space, whereby
a particle can acquire energy and momentum by drift along its mass shell and a
system in equilibrium can spontaneously heat up. We consider bounds on the rate
of momentum space diffusion coming from astrophysical molecular clouds, nuclear
stability and cosmological neutrino background. We find that the strongest
limits come from relic neutrinos, which we estimate to constrain the momentum
space diffusion constant by for neutrinos with
masses , improving the previously quoted bounds by
roughly 17 orders of magnitude.Comment: Additional discussion about behavior of alpha particles in nuclei
added. Version matches that accepted in PR
The strong Feller property for singular stochastic PDEs
We show that the Markov semigroups generated by a large class of singular stochastic PDEs satisfy the strong Feller property. These include for example the KPZ equation and the dynamical model. As a corollary, we prove that the Brownian bridge measure is the unique invariant measure for the KPZ equation with periodic boundary conditions
Relativistic kinematics beyond Special Relativity
In the context of departures from Special Relativity written as a momentum
power expansion in the inverse of an ultraviolet energy scale M, we derive the
constraints that the relativity principle imposes between coefficients of a
deformed composition law, dispersion relation, and transformation laws, at
first order in the power expansion. In particular, we find that, at that order,
the consistency of a modification of the energy-momentum composition law fixes
the modification in the dispersion relation. We therefore obtain the most
generic modification of Special Relativity that preserves the relativity
principle at leading order in 1/M.Comment: Version with minor corrections, to appear in Phys. Rev.
More poor kids in more poor places: children increasingly live where poverty persists
More poor kids in more poor places: children increasingly live where poverty persist
Mechanics of universal horizons
Modified gravity models such as Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity or
Einstein-{\ae}ther theory violate local Lorentz invariance and therefore
destroy the notion of a universal light cone. Despite this, in the infrared
limit both models above possess static, spherically symmetric solutions with
"universal horizons" - hypersurfaces that are causal boundaries between an
interior region and asymptotic spatial infinity. In other words, there still
exist black hole solutions. We construct a Smarr formula (the relationship
between the total energy of the spacetime and the area of the horizon) for such
a horizon in Einstein-{\ae}ther theory. We further show that a slightly
modified first law of black hole mechanics still holds with the relevant area
now a cross-section of the universal horizon. We construct new analytic
solutions for certain Einstein-{\ae}ther Lagrangians and illustrate how our
results work in these exact cases. Our results suggest that holography may be
extended to these theories despite the very different causal structure as long
as the universal horizon remains the unique causal boundary when matter fields
are added.Comment: Minor clarifications. References update
The Theory of a Quantum Noncanonical Field in Curved Spacetimes
Much attention has been recently devoted to the possibility that quantum
gravity effects could lead to departures from Special Relativity in the form of
a deformed Poincar\`e algebra. These proposals go generically under the name of
Doubly or Deformed Special Relativity (DSR). In this article we further explore
a recently proposed class of quantum field theories, involving noncanonically
commuting complex scalar fields, which have been shown to entail a DSR-like
symmetry. An open issue for such theories is whether the DSR-like symmetry has
to be taken as a physically relevant symmetry, or if in fact the "true"
symmetries of the theory are just rotations and translations while boost
invariance has to be considered broken. We analyze here this issue by extending
the known results to curved spacetime under both of the previous assumptions.
We show that if the symmetry of the free theory is taken to be a DSR-like
realization of the Poincar\'e symmetry, then it is not possible to render such
a symmetry a gauge symmetry of the curved physical spacetime. However, it is
possible to introduce an auxiliary spacetime which allows to describe the
theory as a standard quantum field theory in curved spacetime. Alternatively,
taking the point of view that the noncanonical commutation of the fields
actually implies a breakdown of boost invariance, the physical spacetime
manifold has to be foliated in surfaces of simultaneity and the field theory
can be coupled to gravity by making use of the ADM prescription.Comment: 9 pages, no figure
About Locality and the Relativity Principle Beyond Special Relativity
Locality of interactions is an essential ingredient of Special Relativity.
Recently, a new framework under the name of relative locality
\cite{AmelinoCamelia:2011bm} has been proposed as a way to consider Planckian
modifications of the relativistic dynamics of particles. We note in this paper
that the loss of absolute locality is a general feature of theories beyond
Special Relativity with an implementation of a relativity principle. We give an
explicit construction of such an implementation and compare it both with the
previously mentioned framework of relative locality and the so-called Doubly
Special Relativity theories.Comment: 10 pages, no figure
Past and future blurring at fundamental length scale
We obtain the -deformed versions of the retarded and advanced Green
functions and show that their causality properties are blurred in a time
interval of the order of a length parameter . The functions also
indicate a smearing of the light cone. These results favor the interpretation
of as a fundamental length scale below which the concept of a point in
spacetime should be substituted by the concept of a fuzzy region of radius ,
as proposed long ago by Heisenberg.Comment: Essentially, this is the version published in the Phys. Rev. Lett.
105, 211601 (2010). It has 4 pages and contains 2 figure
Child Poverty Higher and More Persistent in Rural America
The negative consequences of growing up in a poor family are well known. Poor children are less likely to have timely immunizations, have lower academic achievement, are generally less engaged in school activities, and face higher delinquency rates in adolescent years. Each of these has adverse impacts on their health, earnings, and family status in adulthood. Less understood is how the experience of poverty can differ depending on the community context. Being poor in a relatively well-off community with good infrastructure and schools is different from being poor in a place where poverty rates have been high for generations, where economic investment in schools and infrastructure is negligible, and where pathways to success are few. The hurdles are even higher in rural areas, where low population density, physical isolation, and the broad spatial distribution of the poor make service delivery and exposure to innovative programs more challenging
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