264 research outputs found
Is string theory a theory of quantum gravity?
Some problems in finding a complete quantum theory incorporating gravity are
discussed. One is that of giving a consistent unitary description of
high-energy scattering. Another is that of giving a consistent quantum
description of cosmology, with appropriate observables. While string theory
addresses some problems of quantum gravity, its ability to resolve these
remains unclear. Answers may require new mechanisms and constructs, whether
within string theory, or in another framework.Comment: Invited contribution for "Forty Years of String Theory: Reflecting on
the Foundations," a special issue of Found. Phys., ed. by G 't Hooft, E.
Verlinde, D. Dieks, S. de Haro. 32 pages, 5 figs., harvmac. v2: final version
to appear in journal (small revisions
Linking the trans-Planckian and the information loss problems in black hole physics
The trans-Planckian and information loss problems are usually discussed in
the literature as separate issues concerning the nature of Hawking radiation.
Here we instead argue that they are intimately linked, and can be understood as
"two sides of the same coin" once it is accepted that general relativity is an
effective field theory.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Replaced with the version to be published in
General Relativity and Gravitatio
Cosmological diagrammatic rules
A simple set of diagrammatic rules is formulated for perturbative evaluation
of ``in-in" correlators, as is needed in cosmology and other nonequilibrium
problems. These rules are both intuitive, and efficient for calculational
purposes.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Scalar potential from de Sitter brane in 5D and effective cosmological constant
We derive the scalar potential in zero mode effective action arising from a
de Sitter brane embedded in five dimensions with bulk cosmological constant
. The scalar potential for a scalar field canonically normalized is
given by the sum of exponential potentials. In the case of and
, we point out that the scalar potential has an unstable local
maximum at the origin and exponentially vanishes for large positive scalar
field. In the case of , the scalar potential has an unstable local
maximum at the origin and a stable local minimum, it is shown that the positive
cosmological constant in brane is reduced by negative potential energy of
scalar at minimum.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, add the section of cosmological implication
Closed String Amplitudes from Gauge Fixed String Field Theory
Closed string diagrams are derived from cubic open string field theory using
a gauge fixed kinetic operator. The basic idea is to use a string propagator
that does not generate a boundary to the world sheet. Using this propagator and
the closed string vertex, the moduli space of closed string surfaces is
covered, so closed string scattering amplitudes should be reproduced. This
kinetic operator could be a gauge fixed form of the string field theory action
around the closed string vacuum.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 3 figures. Discussion on the covering of moduli
expanded, version to appear in PR
Charge Asymmetry in the Brane World and Formation of Charged Black Holes
In theories with an infinite extra dimension, free particles localized on the
brane can leak out to the extra space. We argue that if there were color
confinement in the bulk, electrons would be more able to escape than quarks and
than protons (which are composed states). Thus, this process generates an
electric charge asymmetry on brane matter densities. A primordial charge
asymmetry during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis era is predicted. We use current
bounds on this and on electron disappearance to constrain the parameter space
of these models. Although the generated asymmetry is generically small, it
could be particularly enhanced on large densities as in astrophysical objects,
like massive stars. We suggest the possibility that such accumulation of charge
may be linked, upon supernova collapse, to the formation of a charged Black
Hole and the generation of Gamma-Ray Bursts.Comment: Four pages, one figure. Minor changes, conclusions remai
The Plasma Puddle as a Perturbative Black Hole
We argue that the weak coupling regime of a large N gauge theory in the Higgs
phase contains black hole-like objects. These so-called ``plasma puddles'' are
meta-stable lumps of hot plasma lying in locally un-Higgsed regions of space.
They decay via O(1/N) thermal radiation and, perhaps surprisingly, absorb all
incident matter. We show that an incident particle of energy E striking the
plasma puddle will shower into an enormous number of decay products whose
multiplicity grows linearly with E, and whose average energy is independent of
E. Once these ultra-soft particles reach the interior they are thermalized by
the plasma within, and so the object appears ``black.'' We determine some gross
properties like the size and temperature of the the plasma puddle in terms of
fundamental parameters in the gauge theory. Interestingly, demanding that the
plasma puddle emit thermal Hawking radiation implies that the object is black
(i.e. absorbs all incident particles), which implies classical stability, which
implies satisfaction of the Bekenstein entropy bound. Because of the AdS/CFT
duality and the many similarities between plasma puddles and black holes, we
conjecture that black objects are a robust feature of quantum gravity.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, V2: minor changes, ref added, appendix A.5 moved
to body of pape
High-energy head-on collisions of particles and hoop conjecture
We investigate the apparent horizon formation for high-energy head-on
collisions of particles in multi-dimensional spacetime. The apparent horizons
formed before the instance of particle collision are obtained analytically.
Using these solutions, we discuss the feature of the apparent horizon formation
in the multi-dimensional spacetime from the viewpoint of the hoop conjecture.Comment: 4pages, 4figure
Semiclassical relations and IR effects in de Sitter and slow-roll space-times
We calculate IR divergent graviton one-loop corrections to scalar correlators
in de Sitter space, and show that the leading IR contribution may be reproduced
via simple semiclassical consistency relations. One can likewise use such
semiclassical relations to calculate leading IR corrections to correlators in
slow-roll inflation. The regulated corrections shift the tensor/scalar ratio
and consistency relation of single field inflation, and non-gaussianity
parameters averaged over very large distances. For inflation of sufficient
duration, for example arising from a chaotic inflationary scenario, these
corrections become of order unity. First-order corrections of this size
indicate a breakdown of the perturbative expansion, and suggest the need for a
non-perturbative description of the corresponding regime. This is analogous to
a situation argued to arise in black hole evolution, and to interfere with a
sharp perturbative calculation of "missing information" in Hawking radiation.Comment: 32 pages, 2 figures; v2: running of spectral index included and other
minor changes; v3: minor changes to agree with published versio
D-branes in 2d Lorentzian black hole
We study D-branes in the Lorentzian signature 2D black hole string theory. We
use the technique of gauged WZW models to construct the associated boundary
conformal field theories. The main focus of this work is to discuss the
(semi-classical) world-volume geometries of the D-branes. We also discuss
comparison of our work with results in related gauged WZW models.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, uses JHEP3.cl
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