3,500 research outputs found
The hypothesis of path integral duality II: corrections to quantum field theoretic results
In the path integral expression for a Feynman propagator of a spinless
particle of mass , the path integral amplitude for a path of proper length
connecting events and in a spacetime
described by the metric tensor is . In a recent paper, assuming the path integral amplitude to be
invariant under the duality transformation ,
Padmanabhan has evaluated the modified Feynman propagator in an arbitrary
curved spacetime. He finds that the essential feature of this `principle of
path integral duality' is that the Euclidean proper distance
between two infinitesimally separated spacetime events is replaced by . In other words, under the duality principle the spacetime
behaves as though it has a `zero-point length' , a feature that is
expected to arise in a quantum theory of gravity. In the Schwinger's proper
time description of the Feynman propagator, the weightage factor for a path
with a proper time is . Invoking Padmanabhan's `principle of
path integral duality' corresponds to modifying the weightage factor
to . In this paper, we use this modified
weightage factor in Schwinger's proper time formalism to evaluate the quantum
gravitational corrections to some of the standard quantum field theoretic
results in flat and curved spacetimes. We find that the extra factor
acts as a regulator at the Planck scale thereby `removing' the
divergences that otherwise appear in the theory. Finally, we discuss the wider
implications of our analysis.Comment: 26 pages, Revte
Non-trivial classical backgrounds with vanishing quantum corrections
Vacuum polarization and particle production effects in classical
electromagnetic and gravitational backgrounds can be studied by the effective
lagrangian method. Background field configurations for which the effective
lagrangian is zero are special in the sense that the lowest order quantum
corrections vanishes for such configurations. We propose here the conjecture
that there will be neither particle production nor vacuum polarization in
classical field configurations for which all the scalar invariants are zero. We
verify this conjecture, by explicitly evaluating the effective lagrangian, for
non-trivial electromagnetic and gravitational backgrounds with vanishing scalar
invariants. The implications of this result are discussed.Comment: 20 pages, Revtex, Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Why Does Gravity Ignore the Vacuum Energy?
The equations of motion for matter fields are invariant under the shift of
the matter lagrangian by a constant. Such a shift changes the energy momentum
tensor of matter by T^a_b --> T^a_b +\rho \delta^a_b. In the conventional
approach, gravity breaks this symmetry and the gravitational field equations
are not invariant under such a shift of the energy momentum tensor. I argue
that until this symmetry is restored, one cannot obtain a satisfactory solution
to the cosmological constant problem. I describe an alternative perspective to
gravity in which the gravitational field equations are [G_{ab} -\kappa T_{ab}]
n^an^b =0 for all null vectors n^a. This is obviously invariant under the
change T^a_b --> T^a_b +\rho \delta^a_b and restores the symmetry under
shifting the matter lagrangian by a constant. These equations are equivalent to
G_{ab} = \kappa T_{ab} + Cg_{ab} where C is now an integration constant so that
the role of the cosmological constant is very different in this approach. The
cosmological constant now arises as an integration constant, somewhat like the
mass M in the Schwarzschild metric, the value of which can be chosen depending
on the physical context. These equations can be obtained from a variational
principle which uses the null surfaces of spacetime as local Rindler horizons
and can be given a thermodynamic interpretation. This approach turns out to be
quite general and can encompass even the higher order corrections to Einstein's
gravity and suggests a principle to determine the form of these corrections in
a systematic manner.Comment: Invited Contribution to the IJMPD Special Issue on Dark Matter and
Dark Energy edited by D.Ahluwalia and D. Grumiller. Appendix clarifies
several conceptual and pedgogical aspects of surface term in Hilbert action;
ver.2: references and some clarifications adde
Hawking radiation in different coordinate settings: Complex paths approach
We apply the technique of complex paths to obtain Hawking radiation in
different coordinate representations of the Schwarzschild space-time. The
coordinate representations we consider do not possess a singularity at the
horizon unlike the standard Schwarzschild coordinate. However, the event
horizon manifests itself as a singularity in the expression for the
semiclassical action. This singularity is regularized by using the method of
complex paths and we find that Hawking radiation is recovered in these
coordinates indicating the covariance of Hawking radiation as far as these
coordinates are concerned.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, Uses IOP style file; final version; accepted in
Class. Quant. Gra
Dark Energy and Gravity
I review the problem of dark energy focusing on the cosmological constant as
the candidate and discuss its implications for the nature of gravity. Part 1
briefly overviews the currently popular `concordance cosmology' and summarises
the evidence for dark energy. It also provides the observational and
theoretical arguments in favour of the cosmological constant as the candidate
and emphasises why no other approach really solves the conceptual problems
usually attributed to the cosmological constant. Part 2 describes some of the
approaches to understand the nature of the cosmological constant and attempts
to extract the key ingredients which must be present in any viable solution. I
argue that (i)the cosmological constant problem cannot be satisfactorily solved
until gravitational action is made invariant under the shift of the matter
lagrangian by a constant and (ii) this cannot happen if the metric is the
dynamical variable. Hence the cosmological constant problem essentially has to
do with our (mis)understanding of the nature of gravity. Part 3 discusses an
alternative perspective on gravity in which the action is explicitly invariant
under the above transformation. Extremizing this action leads to an equation
determining the background geometry which gives Einstein's theory at the lowest
order with Lanczos-Lovelock type corrections. (Condensed abstract).Comment: Invited Review for a special Gen.Rel.Grav. issue on Dark Energy,
edited by G.F.R.Ellis, R.Maartens and H.Nicolai; revtex; 22 pages; 2 figure
Hidden symmetries for thermodynamics and emergence of relativity
Erik Verlinde recently proposed an idea about the thermodynamic origin of
gravity. Though this is a beautiful idea which may resolve many long standing
problems in the theories of gravity, it also raises many other problems. In
this article I will comment on some of the problems of Verlinde's proposal with
special emphasis on the thermodynamical origin of the principle of relativity.
It is found that there is a large group of hidden symmetries of thermodynamics
which contains the Poincare group of the spacetime for which space is emergent.
This explains the thermodynamic origin of the principle of relativity.Comment: V1: 4 pages, comments/criticisms welcomed; V2: references added; V3:
typos and minor corrections? V4? substantial changes in Section 3 and other
parts mad
Anisotropic fluid inside a relativistic star
An anisotropic fluid with variable energy density and negative pressure is
proposed, both outside and inside stars. The gravitational field is constant
everywhere in free space (if we neglect the local contributions) and its value
is of the order of , in accordance with MOND model. With
, the acceleration is also constant inside stars but the
value is different from one star to another and depends on their mass and
radius . In spite of the fact that the spacetime is of Rindler type and
curved even far from a local mass, the active gravitational energy on the
horizon is , as for the flat Rindler space, excepting the negative sign.Comment: 9 pages, refs added, new chapter added, no figure
A note on entropic force and brane cosmology
Recently Verlinde proposed that gravity is an entropic force caused by
information changes when a material body moves away from the holographic
screen. In this note we apply this argument to brane cosmology, and show that
the cosmological equation can be derived from this holographic scenario.Comment: 5 pages, no figures;references adde
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