Decay of flux vacua to nothing

We construct instanton solutions describing the decay of flux compactifications of a $6d$ gauge theory by generalizing the Kaluza-Klein bubble of nothing. The surface of the bubble is described by a smooth magnetically charged solitonic brane whose asymptotic flux is precisely that responsible for stabilizing the 4d compactification. We describe several instances of bubble geometries for the various vacua occurring in a $6d$ Einstein-Maxwell theory namely, AdS_4 x S^2, R^{1,3} x S^2, and dS_4 x S^2. Unlike conventional solutions, the bubbles of nothing introduced here occur where a {\em two}-sphere compactification manifold homogeneously degenerates.Comment: 31 pages, 15 figure

Rapid Tunneling and Percolation in the Landscape

Motivated by the possibility of a string landscape, we reexamine tunneling of a scalar field across single/multiple barriers. Recent investigations have suggested modifications to the usual picture of false vacuum decay that lead to efficient and rapid tunneling in the landscape when certain conditions are met. This can be due to stringy effects (e.g. tunneling via the DBI action), or by effects arising due to the presence of multiple vacua (e.g. resonance tunneling). In this paper we discuss both DBI tunneling and resonance tunneling. We provide a QFT treatment of resonance tunneling using the Schr\"odinger functional approach. We also show how DBI tunneling for supercritical barriers can naturally lead to conditions suitable for resonance tunneling. We argue using basic ideas from percolation theory that tunneling can be rapid in a landscape where a typical vacuum has multiple decay channels and discuss various cosmological implications. This rapidity vacuum decay can happen even if there are no resonance/DBI tunneling enhancements, solely due to the presence of a large number of decay channels. Finally, we consider various ways of circumventing a recent no-go theorem for resonance tunneling in quantum field theory.Comment: 47 pages, 16 figures. Acknowledgements adde

Bubbles from Nothing

Within the framework of flux compactifications, we construct an instanton describing the quantum creation of an open universe from nothing. The solution has many features in common with the smooth 6d bubble of nothing solutions discussed recently, where the spacetime is described by a 4d compactification of a 6d Einstein-Maxwell theory on S^2 stabilized by flux. The four-dimensional description of this instanton reduces to that of Hawking and Turok. The choice of parameters uniquely determines all future evolution, which we additionally find to be stable against bubble of nothing instabilities.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure

Duality Cascade in Brane Inflation

We show that brane inflation is very sensitive to tiny sharp features in extra dimensions, including those in the potential and in the warp factor. This can show up as observational signatures in the power spectrum and/or non-Gaussianities of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). One general example of such sharp features is a succession of small steps in a warped throat, caused by Seiberg duality cascade using gauge/gravity duality. We study the cosmological observational consequences of these steps in brane inflation. Since the steps come in a series, the prediction of other steps and their properties can be tested by future data and analysis. It is also possible that the steps are too close to be resolved in the power spectrum, in which case they may show up only in the non-Gaussianity of the CMB temperature fluctuations and/or EE polarization. We study two cases. In the slow-roll scenario where steps appear in the inflaton potential, the sensitivity of brane inflation to the height and width of the steps is increased by several orders of magnitude comparing to that in previously studied large field models. In the IR DBI scenario where steps appear in the warp factor, we find that the glitches in the power spectrum caused by these sharp features are generally small or even unobservable, but associated distinctive non-Gaussianity can be large. Together with its large negative running of the power spectrum index, this scenario clearly illustrates how rich and different a brane inflationary scenario can be when compared to generic slow-roll inflation. Such distinctive stringy features may provide a powerful probe of superstring theory.Comment: Corrections in Eq.(5.47), Eq (5.48), Eq(5.49) and Fig

Stochastic Inflation Revisited: Non-Slow Roll Statistics and DBI Inflation

Stochastic inflation describes the global structure of the inflationary universe by modeling the super-Hubble dynamics as a system of matter fields coupled to gravity where the sub-Hubble field fluctuations induce a stochastic force into the equations of motion. The super-Hubble dynamics are ultralocal, allowing us to neglect spatial derivatives and treat each Hubble patch as a separate universe. This provides a natural framework in which to discuss probabilities on the space of solutions and initial conditions. In this article we derive an evolution equation for this probability for an arbitrary class of matter systems, including DBI and k-inflationary models, and discover equilibrium solutions that satisfy detailed balance. Our results are more general than those derived assuming slow roll or a quasi-de Sitter geometry, and so are directly applicable to models that do not satisfy the usual slow roll conditions. We discuss in general terms the conditions for eternal inflation to set in, and we give explicit numerical solutions of highly stochastic, quasi-stationary trajectories in the relativistic DBI regime. Finally, we show that the probability for stochastic/thermal tunneling can be significantly enhanced relative to the Hawking-Moss instanton result due to relativistic DBI effects.Comment: 38 pages, 2 figures. v3: minor revisions; version accepted into JCA

Reconnection of Non-Abelian Cosmic Strings

Cosmic strings in non-abelian gauge theories naturally gain a spectrum of massless, or light, excitations arising from their embedding in color and flavor space. This opens up the possibility that colliding strings miss each other in the internal space, reducing the probability of reconnection. We study the topology of the non-abelian vortex moduli space to determine the outcome of string collision. Surprisingly we find that the probability of classical reconnection in this system remains unity, with strings passing through each other only for finely tuned initial conditions. We proceed to show how this conclusion can be changed by symmetry breaking effects, or by quantum effects associated to fermionic zero modes, and present examples where the probability of reconnection in a U(N) gauge theory ranges from 1/N for low-energy collisions to one at higher energies.Comment: 25 Pages, 3 Figures. v2: comment added, reference adde

Decoration Increases the Conspicuousness of Raptor Nests

Avian nests are frequently concealed or camouflaged, but a number of species builds noticeable nests or use conspicuous materials for nest decoration. In most cases, nest decoration has a role in mate choice or provides thermoregulatory or antiparasitic benefits. In territorial species however, decorations may serve additional or complementary functions, such as extended phenotypic signaling of nest-site occupancy and social status to potential intruders. The latter may benefit both signaler and receiver by minimizing the risk of aggressive interactions, especially in organisms with dangerous weaponry. Support for this hypothesis was recently found in a population of black kites (Milvus migrans), a territorial raptor that decorates its nest with white artificial materials. However, the crucial assumption that nest decorations increased nest-site visibility to conspecifics was not assessed, a key aspect given that black kite nests may be well concealed within the canopy. Here, we used an unmanned aircraft system to take pictures of black kite nests, with and without an experimentally placed decoration, from different altitudes and distances simulating the perspective of a flying and approaching, prospecting intruder. The pictures were shown to human volunteers through a standardized routine to determine whether detection rates varied according the nest decoration status and distance. Decorated nests consistently showed a higher detection frequency and a lower detection-latency, compared to undecorated versions of the same nests. Our results confirm that nest decoration in this species may act as a signaling medium that enhances nest visibility for aerial receivers, even at large distances. This finding complements previous work on this communication system, which showed that nest decoration was a threat informing trespassing conspecifics on the social dominance, territory quality and fighting capabilities of the signaler