318 research outputs found
Vacua and correlators in hyperbolic de Sitter space
We study the power - and bi -spectrum of vacuum fluctuations in a hyperbolic
section of de Sitter space, comparing two states of physical interest: the
Bunch-Davies and hyperbolic vacuum. We introduce a one -parameter family of de
Sitter hyperbolic sections and their natural vacua, and identify a limit in
which it reduces to the planar section and the corresponding Bunch -Davies
vacuum state. Selecting the Bunch -Davies vacuum for a massless scalar field
implies a mixed reduced density matrix in a hyperbolic section of de Sitter
space. We stress that in the Bunch -Davies state the hyperbolic de Sitter
-point correlation functions have to match the planar de Sitter -point
correlation functions. The expressions for the planar and hyperbolic Bunch
-Davies correlation functions only appear different because of the
transformation from planar to hyperbolic coordinates. Initial state induced
deviations from the standard inflationary predictions are instead obtained by
considering the pure hyperbolic vacuum, as we verify explicitly by computing
the power - and bi -spectrum. For the bi -spectrum in the hyperbolic vacuum we
find that the corrections as compared to the standard Bunch -Davies result are
not enhanced in specific momentum configurations and strongly suppressed for
momenta large compared to the hyperbolic curvature scale. We close with some
final remarks, in particular regarding the implications of these results for
more realistic inflationary bubble scenarios.Comment: Added references, removed typos, added author, extensions in first
section and conclusions. 34 pages, 4 figure
On isovector meson exchange currents in the Bethe-Salpeter approach
We investigate the nonrelativistic reduction of the Bethe-Salpeter amplitude
for the deuteron electrodisintegration near threshold energies. To this end,
two assumptions have been used in the calculations: 1) the static approximation
and 2) the one iteration approximation. Within these assumptions it is possible
to recover the nonrelativistic result including a systematic extension to
relativistic corrections. We find that the so-called pair current term can be
constructed from the -wave contribution of the deuteron Bethe-Salpeter
amplitude. The form factor that enters into the calculation of the pair current
is constrained by the manifestly gauge independent matrix elements.Comment: 15 pages, incl. 3 figures, to be published Phys. Rev.
Where does Cosmological Perturbation Theory Break Down?
We apply the effective field theory approach to the coupled metric-inflaton
system, in order to investigate the impact of higher dimension operators on the
spectrum of scalar and tensor perturbations in the short-wavelength regime. In
both cases, effective corrections at tree-level become important when the
Hubble parameter is of the order of the Planck mass, or when the physical wave
number of a cosmological perturbation mode approaches the square of the Planck
mass divided by the Hubble constant. Thus, the cut-off length below which
conventional cosmological perturbation theory does not apply is likely to be
much smaller than the Planck length. This has implications for the
observability of "trans-Planckian" effects in the spectrum of primordial
perturbations.Comment: 25 pages, uses FeynM
Decoupling in an expanding universe: boundary RG-flow affects initial conditions for inflation
We study decoupling in FRW spacetimes, emphasizing a Lagrangian description
throughout. To account for the vacuum choice ambiguity in cosmological
settings, we introduce an arbitrary boundary action representing the initial
conditions. RG flow in these spacetimes naturally affects the boundary
interactions. As a consequence the boundary conditions are sensitive to
high-energy physics through irrelevant terms in the boundary action. Using
scalar field theory as an example, we derive the leading dimension four
irrelevant boundary operators. We discuss how the known vacuum choices, e.g.
the Bunch-Davies vacuum, appear in the Lagrangian description and square with
decoupling. For all choices of boundary conditions encoded by relevant boundary
operators, of which the known ones are a subset, backreaction is under control.
All, moreover, will generically feel the influence of high-energy physics
through irrelevant (dimension four) boundary corrections. Having established a
coherent effective field theory framework including the vacuum choice
ambiguity, we derive an explicit expression for the power spectrum of
inflationary density perturbations including the leading high energy
corrections. In accordance with the dimensionality of the leading irrelevant
operators, the effect of high energy physics is linearly proportional to the
Hubble radius H and the scale of new physics L= 1/M.Comment: LaTeX plus axodraw figures. v2: minor corrections; refs added. JHEP
style: 34 pages + 18 pages appendi
Covariant description of inelastic electron--deuteron scattering:predictions of the relativistic impulse approximation
Using the covariant spectator theory and the transversity formalism, the
unpolarized, coincidence cross section for deuteron electrodisintegration,
, is studied. The relativistic kinematics are reviewed, and simple
theoretical formulae for the relativistic impulse approximation (RIA) are
derived and discussed. Numerical predictions for the scattering in the high
region obtained from the RIA and five other approximations are presented
and compared. We conclude that measurements of the unpolarized coincidence
cross section and the asymmetry , to an accuracy that will distinguish
between different theoretical models, is feasible over most of the wide
kinematic range accessible at Jefferson Lab.Comment: 54 pages and 24 figure
Residential mobility and local housing-market differences
The authors extend previous literature on variations in mobility rates across local housing markets by examining the linkage of mobility rates at the household level to the structure of local housing markets. The results suggest that residential mobility rates differ widely across local housing markets, substantiating the view that residential relocation is intimately intertwined with conditions at the local level. Local housing-market conditions also have different effects on mobility rates for renters and owner-occupiers. The results suggest that variation in residential mobility rates across housing markets can be in part explained by level of urbanization, the tenure structure, the degree of government intervention, and the size of the housing market. Remarkably, these differences in local housing markets cannot be seen to be related to housing-market features only. The results suggest that these differences can also be attributed to the behavior or attitude of households with respect to housing
Deformation independent open brane metrics and generalized theta parameters
We investigate the consequences of generalizing certain well established
properties of the open string metric to the conjectured open membrane and open
Dp-brane metrics. By imposing deformation independence on these metrics their
functional dependence on the background fields can be determined including the
notorious conformal factor. In analogy with the non-commutativity parameter
in the string case, we also obtain `generalized' theta
parameters which are rank q+1 antisymmetric tensors (polyvectors) for open
Dq-branes and rank 3 for the open membrane case. The expressions we obtain for
the open membrane quantities are expected to be valid for general background
field configurations, while the open D-brane quantities are only valid for one
parameter deformations. By reducing the open membrane data to five dimensions,
we show that they, modulo a subtlety with implications for the relation between
OM-theory and NCYM, correctly generate the open string and open D2-data.Comment: 24 pages, LaTe
Hints of (trans-Planckian) asymptotic freedom in semiclassical cosmology
We employ the semiclassical approximation to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in
the spatially flat de Sitter Universe to investigate the dynamics of a
minimally coupled scalar field near the Planck scale. We find that, contrary to
naive intuition, the effects of quantum gravitational fluctuations become
negligible and the scalar field states asymptotically approach plane-waves at
very early times. These states can then be used as initial conditions for the
quantum states of matter to show that each mode essentially originated in the
minimum energy vacuum. Although the full quantum dynamics cannot be solved
exactly for the case at hand, our results can be considered as supporting the
general idea of asymptotic safety in quantum gravity.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; replaced to match content of published versio
Template-free 13-protofilament microtubule–MAP assembly visualized at 8 A resolution
Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) are essential for regulating and organizing cellular microtubules (MTs). However, our mechanistic understanding of MAP function is limited by a lack of detailed structural information. Using cryo-electron microscopy and single particle algorithms, we solved the 8 Å structure of doublecortin (DCX)-stabilized MTs. Because of DCX’s unusual ability to specifically nucleate and stabilize 13-protofilament MTs, our reconstruction provides unprecedented insight into the structure of MTs with an in vivo architecture, and in the absence of a stabilizing drug. DCX specifically recognizes the corner of four tubulin dimers, a binding mode ideally suited to stabilizing both lateral and longitudinal lattice contacts. A striking consequence of this is that DCX does not bind the MT seam. DCX binding on the MT surface indirectly stabilizes conserved tubulin–tubulin lateral contacts in the MT lumen, operating independently of the nucleotide bound to tubulin. DCX’s exquisite binding selectivity uncovers important insights into regulation of cellular MTs
De Sitter Holography and the Cosmic Microwave Background
We interpret cosmological evolution holographically as a renormalisation
group flow in a dual Euclidean field theory, as suggested by the conjectured
dS/CFT correspondence. Inflation is described by perturbing around the
infra-red fixed point of the dual field theory. The spectrum of the cosmic
microwave background radiation is determined in terms of scaling violations in
the field theory. The dark energy allows similar, albeit less predictive,
considerations. We discuss the cosmological fine-tuning problems from the
holographic perspective.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, uses JHEP style files; corrected and added
reference
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