η\eta-symbols in exceptional field theory

We present the universal form of $\eta$-symbols that can be applied to an arbitrary $E_{d(d)}$ exceptional field theory (EFT) up to $d=7$. We then express the $Y$-tensor, which governs the gauge algebra of EFT, as a quadratic form of the $\eta$-symbols. The usual definition of the $Y$-tensor strongly depends on the dimension of the compactification torus while it is not the case for our $Y$-tensor. Furthermore, using the $\eta$-symbols, we propose a universal form of the linear section equation. In particular, in the SL(5) EFT, we explicitly show the equivalence to the known linear section equation.Comment: 41 pages; v2: typos corrected, clarifications added; v3: typos corrected, to appear in PTEP; v4: typos corrected in Eq.(3.65) and Table

Propagators in de Sitter space

In a spacetime with no global timelike Killing vector, we do not have a natural choice for the vacuum state of matter fields, leading to an ambiguity in defining the Feynman propagators. In this paper, taking the vacuum state to be the instantaneous ground state of the Hamiltonian at each moment, we develop a method for calculating wave functions associated with the vacuum and the corresponding in-in and in-out propagators. We apply this method to free scalar field theory in de Sitter space and obtain de Sitter invariant propagators in various coordinate patches. We show that the in-out propagator in the Poincare patch has a finite massless limit in a de Sitter invariant form. We argue and numerically check that our in-out propagators agree with those obtained by a path integral with the standard i\epsilon prescription, and identify the condition on a foliation of spacetime under which such coincidence can happen for the foliation. We also show that the in-out propagators satisfy Polyakov's composition law. Several applications of our framework are also discussed.Comment: 38 pages, 14 figures, v2: references added, discussion on the in-in propagators improved, v3: typos corrected, v4: references added, discussions improved, to appear in PR

Master equation for the Unruh-DeWitt detector and the universal relaxation time in de Sitter space

We derive the master equation that completely determines the time evolution of the density matrix of the Unruh-DeWitt detector in an arbitrary background geometry. We apply the equation to reveal a nonequilibrium thermodynamic character of de Sitter space. This generalizes an earlier study on the thermodynamic property of the Bunch-Davies vacuum that an Unruh-DeWitt detector staying in the Poincare patch and interacting with a scalar field in the Bunch-Davies vacuum behaves as if it is in a thermal bath of finite temperature. In this paper, instead of the Bunch-Davies vacuum, we consider a class of initial states of scalar field, for which the detector behaves as if it is in a medium that is not in thermodynamic equilibrium and that undergoes a relaxation to the equilibrium corresponding to the Bunch-Davies vacuum. We give a prescription for calculating the relaxation times of the nonequilibrium processes. We particularly show that, when the initial state of the scalar field is the instantaneous ground state at a finite past, the relaxation time is always given by a universal value of half the curvature radius of de Sitter space. We expect that the relaxation time gives a nonequilibrium thermodynamic quantity intrinsic to de Sitter space.Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures; v2: typos corrected; v3: typos corrected; v4: clarifications and references added; v5: final version appearing in PR

Generalized gravity from modified DFT

Recently, generalized equations of type IIB supergravity have been derived from the requirement of classical kappa-symmetry of type IIB superstring theory in the Green-Schwarz formulation. These equations are covariant under generalized T-duality transformations and hence one may expect a formulation similar to double field theory (DFT). In this paper, we consider a modification of the DFT equations of motion by relaxing a condition for the generalized covariant derivative with an extra generalized vector. In this modified double field theory (mDFT), we show that the flatness condition of the modified generalized Ricci tensor leads to the NS-NS part of the generalized equations of type IIB supergravity. In particular, the extra vector fields appearing in the generalized equations correspond to the extra generalized vector in mDFT. We also discuss duality symmetries and a modification of the string charge in mDFT.Comment: 41 pages; v2: typos corrected, references added; v3: an addendum added in Sec.5; v4: typos corrected, clarifications added, to appear in JHE

Weyl invariance for generalized supergravity backgrounds from the doubled formalism

It has recently been shown that a set of the generalized type IIB supergravity equations follows from the requirement of kappa symmetry of the type IIB Green-Schwarz superstring theory defined on an arbitrary background. In this paper, we show that the whole bosonic part of the generalized type II supergravity equations can be reproduced from the T-duality covariant equations of motion of the double field theory by choosing a non-standard solution of the strong constraint. Then, by using the doubled formalism, we show the Weyl invariance of the bosonic string sigma model on a generalized gravity background. According to the dual-coordinate dependence of the dilaton, the Fradkin-Tseytlin term nicely removes the Weyl anomaly. This result seems likely to support that string theories can be consistently defined on arbitrary generalized supergravity backgrounds.Comment: 28 pages; v2: typos corrected, clarifications added; v3: typos corrected, references added, to appear in PTE

Effective Action for Non-Geometric Fluxes from Duality Covariant Actions

The (heterotic) double field theories and the exceptional field theories are recently developed for manifestly duality covariant formulation of various supergravity theories, describing low-energy limit of various (heterotic) superstring and M-theory compactifications. These field theories are known to be reduced to the standard descriptions by introducing appropriately parameterized generalized metric and by applying suitably chosen section conditions. We generalize this development to non-geometric backgrounds by utilizing dual fields pertinent to non-geometric fluxes. We introduce different parameterizations for the generalized metric, in terms of the conventional supergravity fields or the dual fields. Under certain simplifying assumptions, we construct new effective action for non-geometric backgrounds. We then obtain the non-geometric backgrounds sourced by exotic branes. From them, we construct their $U$-duality monodromy matrices. The charge of exotic branes obtained from these monodromy matrices agrees perfectly with the charge obtained from the non-geometric flux integral.Comment: cover + 101 pages; v2. published version in JHE