164 research outputs found
Minkowski superspaces and superstrings as almost real-complex supermanifolds
In 1996/7, J. Bernstein observed that smooth or analytic supermanifolds that
mathematicians study are real or (almost) complex ones, while Minkowski
superspaces are completely different objects. They are what we call almost
real-complex supermanifolds, i.e., real supermanifolds with a non-integrable
distribution, the collection of subspaces of the tangent space, and in every
subspace a complex structure is given.
An almost complex structure on a real supermanifold can be given by an even
or odd operator; it is complex (without "always") if the suitable superization
of the Nijenhuis tensor vanishes. On almost real-complex supermanifolds, we
define the circumcised analog of the Nijenhuis tensor. We compute it for the
Minkowski superspaces and superstrings. The space of values of the circumcised
Nijenhuis tensor splits into (indecomposable, generally) components whose
irreducible constituents are similar to those of Riemann or Penrose tensors.
The Nijenhuis tensor vanishes identically only on superstrings of
superdimension 1|1 and, besides, the superstring is endowed with a contact
structure. We also prove that all real forms of complex Grassmann algebras are
isomorphic although singled out by manifestly different anti-involutions.Comment: Exposition of the same results as in v.1 is more lucid. Reference to
related recent work by Witten is adde
Topology Change in Canonical Quantum Cosmology
We develop the canonical quantization of a midisuperspace model which
contains, as a subspace, a minisuperspace constituted of a
Friedman-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker Universe filled with homogeneous scalar
and dust fields, where the sign of the intrinsic curvature of the spacelike
hypersurfaces of homogeneity is not specified, allowing the study of topology
change in these hypersurfaces. We solve the Wheeler-DeWitt equation of the
midisuperspace model restricted to this minisuperspace subspace in the
semi-classical approximation. Adopting the conditional probability
interpretation, we find that some of the solutions present change of topology
of the homogeneous hypersurfaces. However, this result depends crucially on the
interpretation we adopt: using the usual probabilistic interpretation, we find
selection rules which forbid some of these topology changes.Comment: 23 pages, LaTex file. We added in the conclusion some comments about
path integral formalism and corrected litle misprinting
Property (T) and rigidity for actions on Banach spaces
We study property (T) and the fixed point property for actions on and
other Banach spaces. We show that property (T) holds when is replaced by
(and even a subspace/quotient of ), and that in fact it is
independent of . We show that the fixed point property for
follows from property (T) when 1
. For simple Lie groups and their lattices, we prove that the fixed point property for holds for any if and only if the rank is at least two. Finally, we obtain a superrigidity result for actions of irreducible lattices in products of general groups on superreflexive Banach spaces.Comment: Many minor improvement
The Poisson sigma model on closed surfaces
Using methods of formal geometry, the Poisson sigma model on a closed surface
is studied in perturbation theory. The effective action, as a function on
vacua, is shown to have no quantum corrections if the surface is a torus or if
the Poisson structure is regular and unimodular (e.g., symplectic). In the case
of a Kahler structure or of a trivial Poisson structure, the partition function
on the torus is shown to be the Euler characteristic of the target; some
evidence is given for this to happen more generally. The methods of formal
geometry introduced in this paper might be applicable to other sigma models, at
least of the AKSZ type.Comment: 32 pages; references adde
Notes on Stein-Sahi representations and some problems of non harmonic analysis
We discuss one natural class of kernels on pseudo-Riemannian symmetric
spaces.Comment: 40p
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