267 research outputs found
Fermionic Zero Modes on Domain Walls
We study fermionic zero modes in the domain wall background. The fermions
have Dirac and left- and right-handed Majorana mass terms. The source of the
Dirac mass term is the coupling to a scalar field . The source of the
Majorana mass terms could also be the coupling to a scalar field or a
vacuum expectation value of some other field acquired in a phase transition
well above the phase transition of the field . We derive the fermionic
equations of motion and find the necessary and sufficient conditions for a zero
mode to exist. We also find the solutions numerically. In the absence of the
Majorana mass terms, the equations are solvable analytically. In the case of
massless fermions a zero energy solution exists and we show that although this
mode is not discretely normalizable it is Dirac delta function normalizable and
should be viewed as part of a continuum spectrum rather than as an isolated
zero mode.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, matches version published in PR
It's Hard to Learn How Gravity and Electromagnetism Couple
We construct the most general effective Lagrangian coupling gravity and
electromagnetism up to mass dimension 6 by enumerating all possible non-minimal
coupling terms respecting both diffeomorphism and gauge invariance. In all,
there are only two unique terms after field re-definitions; one is known to
arise from loop effects in QED while the other is a parity violating term which
may be generated by weak interactions within the standard model of particle
physics. We show that neither the cosmological propagation of light nor,
contrary to earlier claims, solar system tests of General Relativity are useful
probes of these terms. These non-minimal couplings of gravity and
electromagnetism may remain a mystery for the foreseeable future.Comment: 9 pages. Minor corrections made. To appear in Phys. Rev.
SIMP (Strongly Interacting Massive Particle) Search
We consider laboratory experiments that can detect stable, neutral strongly
interacting massive particles (SIMPs). We explore the SIMP annihilation cross
section from its minimum value (restricted by cosmological bounds) to the barn
range, and vary the mass values from a GeV to a TeV. We also consider the
prospects and problems of detecting such particles at the Tevatron.Comment: Latex. 7 pages, 1 eps figure. Proceedings to the 4th UCLA Symposium
on Dark Matter DM2000, Marina del Rey, CA, USA, Feb. 23-25, 200
A New Technique for Detecting Supersymmetric Dark Matter
We estimate the event rate for excitation of atomic transition by
photino-like dark matter. For excitations of several eV, this event rate can
exceed naive cross-section by many orders of magnitude. Although the event rate
for these atomic excitation is smaller than that of nuclear recoil off of
non-zero spin nuclei, the photons emitted by the deexcitation are easier to
detect than low-energy nuclear recoils. For many elements, there are several
low-lying states with comparable excitation rates, thus, spectral ratios could
be used to distinguish signal from background.Comment: 6 pages plain te
Squeezing MOND into a Cosmological Scenario
Explaining the effects of dark matter using modified gravitational dynamics
(MOND) has for decades been both an intriguing and controversial possibility.
By insisting that the gravitational interaction that accounts for the Newtonian
force also drives cosmic expansion, one may kinematically identify which
cosmologies are compatible with MOND, without explicit reference to the
underlying theory so long as the theory obeys Birkhoff's law. Using this
technique, we are able to self-consistently compute a number of quantities of
cosmological interest. We find that the critical acceleration a_0 must have a
slight source-mass dependence (a_0 ~ M^(1/3)) and that MOND cosmologies are
naturally compatible with observed late-time expansion history and the
contemporary cosmic acceleration. However, cosmologies that can produce enough
density perturbations to account for structure formation are contrived and
fine-tuned. Even then, they may be marginally ruled out by evidence of early (z
\~ 20) reionization.Comment: 11 pages revtex, 2 figure
Pre-Hawking Radiation from a Collapsing Shell
We investigate the effect of induced massive radiation given off during the
time of collapse of a massive spherically symmetric domain wall in the context
of the functional Schr\"odinger formalism. Here we find that the introduction
of mass suppresses the occupation number in the infrared regime of the induced
radiation during the collapse. The suppression factor is found to be given by
, which is in agreement with the expected Planckian distribution
of induced radiation. Thus a massive collapsing domain wall will radiate mostly
(if not exclusively) massless scalar fields, making it difficult for the domain
wall to shed any global quantum numbers and evaporate before the horizon is
formed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. We updated the acknowledgments as well as added
a statement clarifying that we are following the methods first laid out in
Phys. Rev. D 76, 024005 (2007
Sneutrino Mixing Phenomena
In any model with nonzero Majorana neutrino masses, the sneutrino and
antisneutrino of the supersymmetric extended theory mix. We outline the
conditions under which sneutrino-antisneutrino mixing is experimentally
observable. The mass-splitting of the sneutrino mass eigenstates and sneutrino
oscillation phenomena are considered.Comment: 12 pages, revtex + axodraw, 1 figure included. Minor change
A weak acceleration effect due to residual gravity in a multiply connected universe
Could cosmic topology imply dark energy? We use a weak field (Newtonian)
approximation of gravity and consider the gravitational effect from distant,
multiple copies of a large, collapsed (virialised) object today (i.e. a massive
galaxy cluster), taking into account the finite propagation speed of gravity,
in a flat, multiply connected universe, and assume that due to a prior epoch of
fast expansion (e.g. inflation), the gravitational effect of the distant copies
is felt locally, from beyond the naively calculated horizon. We find that for a
universe with a spatial section, the residual Newtonian gravitational
force (to first order) provides an anisotropic effect that repels test
particles from the cluster in the compact direction, in a way algebraically
similar to that of dark energy. For a typical test object at comoving distance
from the nearest dense nodes of the cosmic web of density perturbations,
the pressure-to-density ratio of the equation of state in an FLRW universe,
is w \sim - (\chi/L)^3, where is the size of the fundamental domain, i.e.
of the universe. Clearly, |w|<<1. For a T^3 spatial section of exactly equal
fundamental lengths, the effect cancels to zero. For a T^3 spatial section of
unequal fundamental lengths, the acceleration effect is anisotropic in the
sense that it will *tend to equalise the three fundamental lengths*. Provided
that at least a modest amount of inflation occurred in the early Universe, and
given some other conditions, multiple connectedness does generate an effect
similar to that of dark energy, but the amplitude of the effect at the present
epoch is too small to explain the observed dark energy density and its
anisotropy makes it an unrealistic candidate for the observed dark energy.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics; v2
includes 3D calculation and result; v3 includes analysis of numerical
simulation, matches accepted versio
Neutrino Zero Modes on Electroweak Strings
Zero modes of massive standard model fermions have been found on electroweak
Z-strings. A zero mode solution for a massless left-handed neutrino is also
known, but was thought to be non-normalizable. Here we show that although this
mode is not discretely normalizable, it is delta-function normalizable and the
correct interpretation of this solution is within the framework of the
continuum spectrum. We also analyze an extension of the standard model
including right-handed neutrinos in which neutrinos have Dirac masses, arising
from a Yukawa coupling to the usual SU(2) Higgs doublet, and right-handed
Majorana masses. The Majorana mass terms are taken to be spatially homogeneous
and are presumed to arise from the vacuum expectation value of some field
acquired in a phase transition well above the electroweak phase transition. The
resulting zero energy equations have a discrete zero mode.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
On the quantum origin of the seeds of cosmic structure
The current understanding of the quantum origin of cosmic structure is
discussed critically. We point out that in the existing treatments a transition
from a symmetric quantum state to an (essentially classical) non-symmetric
state is implicitly assumed, but not specified or analyzed in any detail. In
facing the issue we are led to conclude that new physics is required to explain
the apparent predictive power of the usual schemes. Furthermore we show that
the novel way of looking at the relevant issues opens new windows from where
relevant information might be extracted regarding cosmological issues and
perhaps even clues about aspects of quantum gravity.Comment: replacement with final version to appear in Classical and Quantum
Gravit
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