Improved Action Functionals in Non-Perturbative Quantum Gravity

Models of gravity with variable G and Lambda have acquired greater relevance after the recent evidence in favour of the Einstein theory being non-perturbatively renormalizable in the Weinberg sense. The present paper builds a modified Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) action functional for such models which leads to a power-law growth of the scale factor for pure gravity and for a massless phi**4 theory in a Universe with Robertson-Walker symmetry, in agreement with the recently developed fixed-point cosmology. Interestingly, the renormalization-group flow at the fixed point is found to be compatible with a Lagrangian description of the running quantities G and Lambda.Comment: Latex file. Record without file already exists on SLAC-SPIRES, and hence that record and the one for the present arxiv submission should become one record onl

Emergent electrodynamics from the Nambu model for spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking

After imposing the Gauss law constraint as an initial condition upon the Hilbert space of the Nambu model, in all its generic realizations, we recover QED in the corresponding non-linear gauge A_{\mu}A^{\mu}=n^{2}M^{2}. Our result is non-perturbative in the parameter M for n^{2}\neq 0 and can be extended to the n^{2}=0 case. This shows that in the Nambu model, spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking dynamically generates gauge invariance, provided the Gauss law is imposed as an initial condition. In this way electrodynamics is recovered, with the photon being realized as the Nambu-Goldstone modes of the spontaneously broken symmetry, which finally turns out to be non-observableComment: 17 page

Algebraic renormalization of supersymmetric gauge theories with dimensionful parameters

It is usually believed that there are no perturbative anomalies in supersymmetric gauge theories beyond the well-known chiral anomaly. In this paper we revisit this issue, because previously given arguments are incomplete. Specifically, we rule out the existence of soft anomalies, i.e., quantum violations of supersymmetric Ward identities proportional to a mass parameter in a classically supersymmetric theory. We do this by combining a previously proven theorem on the absence of hard anomalies with a spurion analysis, using the methods of Algebraic Renormalization. We work in the on-shell component formalism throughout. In order to deal with the nonlinearity of on-shell supersymmetry transformations, we take the spurions to be dynamical, and show how they nevertheless can be decoupled.Comment: Final version, typoes fixed. Revtex, 48 page

Ghost wave-function renormalization in Asymptotically Safe Quantum Gravity

Motivated by Weinberg's asymptotic safety scenario, we investigate the gravitational renormalization group flow in the Einstein-Hilbert truncation supplemented by the wave-function renormalization of the ghost fields. The latter induces non-trivial corrections to the beta-functions for Newton's constant and the cosmological constant. The resulting ghost-improved phase diagram is investigated in detail. In particular, we find a non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point in agreement with the asymptotic safety conjecture, which also survives in the presence of extra dimensions. In four dimensions the ghost anomalous dimension at the fixed point is $\eta_c^* = -1.8$, supporting space-time being effectively two-dimensional at short distances.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure

Matter formed at the BNL relativistic heavy ion collider

We suggest that the "new form of matter" found just above $T_c$ by RHIC is made up of tightly bound quark-antiquark pairs, essentially 32 chirally restored (more precisely, nearly massless) mesons of the quantum numbers of $\pi$, $\sigma$, $\rho$ and $a_1$. Taking the results of lattice gauge simulations (LGS) for the color Coulomb potential from the work of the Bielefeld group and feeding this into a relativistic two-body code, after modifying the heavy-quark lattice results so as to include the velocity-velocity interaction, all ground-state eigenvalues of the 32 mesons go to zero at $T_c$ just as they do from below $T_c$ as predicted by the vector manifestation (VM in short) of hidden local symmetry. This could explain the rapid rise in entropy up to $T_c$ found in LGS calculations. We argue that how the dynamics work can be understood from the behavior of the hard and soft glue.Comment: Final versio

Friedmann cosmology with decaying vacuum density

Among the several proposals to solve the incompatibility between the observed small value of the cosmological constant and the huge value obtained by quantum field theories, we can find the idea of a decaying vacuum energy density, leading from high values at early times of universe evolution to the small value observed nowadays. In this paper we consider a variation law for the vacuum density recently proposed by Schutzhold on the basis of quantum field estimations in the curved, expanding background, characterized by a vacuum density proportional to the Hubble parameter. We show that, in the context of an isotropic and homogeneous, spatially flat model, the corresponding solutions retain the well established features of the standard cosmology, and, in addition, are in accordance with the observed cosmological parameters. Our scenario presents an initial phase dominated by radiation, followed by a dust era long enough to permit structure formation, and by an epoch dominated by the cosmological term, which tends asymptotically to a de Sitter universe. Taking the matter density equals to half of the vacuum energy density, as suggested by observation, we obtain a universe age given by Ht = 1.1, and a decelerating parameter equals to -1/2.Comment: Accepted for publication in General Relativity and Gravitatio

Gravitational waves from stochastic relativistic sources: primordial turbulence and magnetic fields

The power spectrum of a homogeneous and isotropic stochastic variable, characterized by a finite correlation length, does in general not vanish on scales larger than the correlation scale. If the variable is a divergence free vector field, we demonstrate that its power spectrum is blue on large scales. Accounting for this fact, we compute the gravitational waves induced by an incompressible turbulent fluid and by a causal magnetic field present in the early universe. The gravitational wave power spectra show common features: they are both blue on large scales, and peak at the correlation scale. However, the magnetic field can be treated as a coherent source and it is active for a long time. This results in a very effective conversion of magnetic energy in gravitational wave energy at horizon crossing. Turbulence instead acts as a source for gravitational waves over a time interval much shorter than a Hubble time, and the conversion into gravitational wave energy is much less effective. We also derive a strong constraint on the amplitude of a primordial magnetic field when the correlation length is much smaller than the horizon.Comment: Replaced with revised version accepted for publication in Phys Rev

Emergence of supersymmetry on the surface of three dimensional topological insulators

We propose two possible experimental realizations of a 2+1 dimensional spacetime supersymmetry at a quantum critical point on the surface of three dimensional topological insulators. The quantum critical point between the semi-metallic state with one Dirac fermion and the s-wave superconducting state on the surface is described by a supersymmetric conformal field theory within $\epsilon$-expansion. We predict the exact voltage dependence of the differential conductance at the supersymmetric critical point.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; published versio