The CPT group of the spin-3/2 field

We find out that both the matrix and the operator CPT groups of the spin-3/2 field (with or without mass) are respectively isomorphic to $D_4\rtimes\mathbb{Z}_2$ and $Q\times\mathbb{Z}_2$. These groups are exactly the same groups as for the Dirac field, though there is no a priori reason why they should coincide.Comment: 9 pages. We are replacing the original version (v1) because there was a mistake in the calculation which led to wrong group

Numerical Object Oriented Quantum Field Theory Calculations

The qft++ package is a library of C++ classes that facilitate numerical (not algebraic) quantum field theory calculations. Mathematical objects such as matrices, tensors, Dirac spinors, polarization and orbital angular momentum tensors, etc. are represented as C++ objects in qft++. The package permits construction of code which closely resembles quantum field theory expressions, allowing for quick and reliable calculations.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Comp. Phys. Com

Exclusive Decuplet-Baryon Pair Production in Two-Photon Collisions

This work extends our previous studies of two-photon annihilation into baryon-antibaryon pairs from spin-1/2 octet to spin-3/2 decuplet baryons. Our approach is based on perturbative QCD and treats baryons as quark-diquark systems. Using the same model parameters as in our previous work, supplemented by QCD sum-rule results for decuplet baryon wave functions, we are able to give absolute predictions for decuplet baryon cross sections without introducing new parameters. We find that the $\Delta^{++}$ cross section is of the same order of magnitude as the proton cross section, well within experimental bounds.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Special metrics and Triality

We investigate a new 8-dimensional Riemannian geometry defined by a generic closed and coclosed 3-form with stabiliser PSU(3), and which arises as a critical point of Hitchin's variational principle. We give a Riemannian characterisation of this structure in terms of invariant spinor-valued 1-forms, which are harmonic with respect to the twisted Dirac operator \Db on $\Delta\otimes\Lambda^1$. We establish various obstructions to the existence of topological reductions to PSU(3). For compact manifolds, we also give sufficient conditions for topological PSU(3)-structures that can be lifted to topological SU(3)-structures. We also construct the first known compact example of an integrable non-symmetric PSU(3)-structure. In the same vein, we give a new Riemannian characterisation for topological quaternionic K\"ahler structures which are defined by an $Sp(1)\cdot Sp(2)$-invariant self-dual 4-form. Again, we show that this form is closed if and only if the corresponding spinor-valued 1-form is harmonic for \Db and that these equivalent conditions produce constraints on the Ricci tensor.Comment: 41 pages. v2: typos corrected, presentation improved v3: final versio

Correspondence of consistent and inconsistent spin-3/2 couplings via the equivalence theorem

The Rarita-Schwinger theory of free massive spin-3/2 field obeys the physical degrees of freedom counting, and one can distinguish ``consistent'' couplings which maintain this property and ``inconsistent'' couplings which destroy it. We show how one can obtain consistent couplings from inconsistent ones by a redefinition of the spin-3/2 field. The field redefinition gives rise to additional ``contact terms'' which, via the equivalence theorem, can be associated with the contribution of the extra lower-spin degrees of freedom involved by the inconsistent coupling.Comment: RevTeX, 10 pages, 2 figures; text and references substantially revised, formulae unchange

The nucleon and Delta-resonance masses in relativistic chiral effective-field theory

We study the chiral behavior of the nucleon and $\Delta$-isobar masses within a manifestly covariant chiral effective-field theory, consistent with the analyticity principle. We compute the $\pi N$ and $\pi\Delta$ one-loop contributions to the mass and field-renormalization constant, and find that they can be described in terms of universal relativistic loop functions, multiplied by appropriate spin, isospin and coupling constants. We show that these relativistic one-loop corrections, when properly renormalized, obey the chiral power-counting and vanish in the chiral limit. The results including only the $\pi N$-loop corrections compare favorably with the lattice QCD data for the pion-mass dependence of the nucleon and $\Delta$ masses, while inclusion of the $\pi \Delta$ loops tends to spoil this agreement.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figs, 2 table

A No-Go Theorem for the Consistent Quantization of Spin 3/2 Fields on General Curved Spacetimes

It is well-known that coupling a spin $\frac32$-field to a gravitational or electromagnetic background leads to potential problems both in the classical and in the quantum theory. Various solutions to these problems have been proposed so far, which are all restricted to a limited class of backgrounds. On the other hand, negative results for general gravitational backgrounds have been reported only for a limited set of couplings to the background to date. Hence, to our knowledge, a comprehensive analysis of all possible couplings to the gravitational field and general gravitational backgrounds including off-shell ones has not been performed so far. In this work we analyse whether it is possible to couple a spin $\frac32$-field to a gravitational field in such a way that the resulting quantum theory is consistent on arbitrary gravitational backgrounds. We find that this is impossible as all couplings require the background to be an Einstein spacetime for consistency. This enforces the widespread belief that supergravity theories are the only meaningful models which contain spin $\frac32$ fields as in these models such restrictions of the gravitational background appear naturally as on-shell conditions.Comment: 8 pages, substantially abridged, results unchange

Cones, Spins and Heat Kernels

The heat kernels of Laplacians for spin 1/2, 1, 3/2 and 2 fields, and the asymptotic expansion of their traces are studied on manifolds with conical singularities. The exact mode-by-mode analysis is carried out for 2-dimensional domains and then extended to arbitrary dimensions. The corrections to the first Schwinger-DeWitt coefficients in the trace expansion, due to conical singularities, are found for all the above spins. The results for spins 1/2 and 1 resemble the scalar case. However, the heat kernels of the Lichnerowicz spin 2 operator and the spin 3/2 Laplacian show a new feature. When the conical angle deficit vanishes the limiting values of these traces differ from the corresponding values computed on the smooth manifold. The reason for the discrepancy is breaking of the local translational isometries near a conical singularity. As an application, the results are used to find the ultraviolet divergences in the quantum corrections to the black hole entropy for all these spins.Comment: latex file, 27 page

Tensionless strings, correspondence with SO(D,D) sigma model

String theory with perimeter action is tensionless by its geometrical nature and has pure massless spectrum of higher spin gauge particles. I demonstrate that liner transformation of the world-sheet fields defines a map to the SO(D,D) sigma model equipped by additional Abelian constraint, which breaks SO(D,D) to a diagonal SO(1,D-1). The effective tension is equal to the square of the dimensional coupling constant of the perimeter action. This correspondence allows to view the perimeter action as a "square root" of the Nambu-Goto area action. The aforementioned map between tensionless strings and SO(D,D) sigma model allows to introduce the vertex operators in full analogy with the standard string theory and to confirm the form of the vertex operators introduced earlier.Comment: Latex, 9 page