43 research outputs found
Building up spacetime with quantum entanglement
In this essay, we argue that the emergence of classically connected
spacetimes is intimately related to the quantum entanglement of degrees of
freedom in a non-perturbative description of quantum gravity. Disentangling the
degrees of freedom associated with two regions of spacetime results in these
regions pulling apart and pinching off from each other in a way that can be
quantified by standard measures of entanglement.Comment: Gravity Research Foundation essay, 7 pages, LaTeX, 5 figure
Multi-parameter formal deformations of ternary hom-Nambu-Lie algebras
In this note, we introduce a notion of multi-parameter formal deformations of
ternary hom-Nambu-Lie algebras. Within this framework, we construct formal
deformations of the three-dimensional Jacobian determinant and of the
cross-product in four-dimensional Euclidean space. We also conclude that the
previously defined ternary q-Virasoro-Witt algebra is a formal deformation of
the ternary Virasoro-Witt algebra.Comment: 6 pages; corrected a typ
The Semi-Chiral Quotient, Hyperkahler Manifolds and T-duality
We study the construction of generalized Kahler manifolds, described purely
in terms of N=(2,2) semichiral superfields, by a quotient using the semichiral
vector multiplet. Despite the presence of a b-field in these models, we show
that the quotient of a hyperkahler manifold is hyperkahler, as in the usual
hyperkahler quotient. Thus, quotient manifolds with torsion cannot be
constructed by this method. Nonetheless, this method does give a new
description of hyperkahler manifolds in terms of two-dimensional N=(2,2) gauged
non-linear sigma models involving semichiral superfields and the semichiral
vector multiplet. We give two examples: Eguchi-Hanson and Taub-NUT. By
T-duality, this gives new gauged linear sigma models describing the T-dual of
Eguchi-Hanson and NS5-branes. We also clarify some aspects of T-duality
relating these models to N=(4,4) models for chiral/twisted-chiral fields and
comment briefly on more general quotients that can give rise to torsion and
give an example.Comment: 31 page
On "New Massive" 4D Gravity
We construct a four-dimensional (4D) gauge theory that propagates, unitarily,
the five polarization modes of a massive spin-2 particle. These modes are
described by a "dual" graviton gauge potential and the Lagrangian is 4th-order
in derivatives. As the construction mimics that of 3D "new massive gravity", we
call this 4D model (linearized) "new massive dual gravity". We analyse its
massless limit, and discuss similarities to the Eddington-Schroedinger model.Comment: 17 pages, v2 : version published in JHE
LC_2 formulation of supergravity
We formulate (N=1, d=11) supergravity in components in light-cone gauge
(LC_2) to order . In this formulation, we use judicious gauge choices
and the associated constraint relations to express the metric, three-form and
gravitino entirely in terms of the physical degrees of freedom in the theory.Comment: 11 page
The Constraints of Conformal Symmetry on RG Flows
If the coupling constants in QFT are promoted to functions of space-time, the
dependence of the path integral on these couplings is highly constrained by
conformal symmetry. We begin the present note by showing that this idea leads
to a new proof of Zamolodchikov's theorem. We then review how this simple
observation also leads to a derivation of the a-theorem. We exemplify the
general procedure in some interacting theories in four space-time dimensions.
We concentrate on Banks-Zaks and weakly relevant flows, which can be controlled
by ordinary and conformal perturbation theories, respectively. We compute
explicitly the dependence of the path integral on the coupling constants and
extract the change in the a-anomaly (this agrees with more conventional
computations of the same quantity). We also discuss some general properties of
the sum rule found in arXiv:1107.3987 and study it in several examples.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure
Scale without Conformal Invariance at Three Loops
We carry out a three-loop computation that establishes the existence of scale
without conformal invariance in dimensional regularization with the MS scheme
in d=4-epsilon spacetime dimensions. We also comment on the effects of scheme
changes in theories with many couplings, as well as in theories that live on
non-conformal scale-invariant renormalization group trajectories. Stability
properties of such trajectories are analyzed, revealing both attractive and
repulsive directions in a specific example. We explain how our results are in
accord with those of Jack & Osborn on a c-theorem in d=4 (and d=4-epsilon)
dimensions. Finally, we point out that limit cycles with turning points are
unlike limit cycles with continuous scale invariance.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, Erratum adde
Relating harmonic and projective descriptions of N=2 nonlinear sigma models
Recent papers have established the relationship between projective superspace
and a complexified version of harmonic superspace. We extend this construction
to the case of general nonlinear sigma models in both frameworks. Using an
analogy with Hamiltonian mechanics, we demonstrate how the Hamiltonian
structure of the harmonic action and the symplectic structure of the projective
action naturally arise from a single unifying action on a complexified version
of harmonic superspace. This links the harmonic and projective descriptions of
hyperkahler target spaces. For the two examples of Taub-NUT and Eguchi-Hanson,
we show how to derive the projective superspace solutions from the harmonic
superspace solutions.Comment: 25 pages; v3: typo fixed in eq (1.36
Evidence for the classical integrability of the complete AdS(4) x CP(3) superstring
We construct a zero-curvature Lax connection in a sub-sector of the
superstring theory on AdS(4) x CP(3) which is not described by the
OSp(6|4)/U(3) x SO(1,3) supercoset sigma-model. In this sub-sector worldsheet
fermions associated to eight broken supersymmetries of the type IIA background
are physical fields. As such, the prescription for the construction of the Lax
connection based on the Z_4-automorphism of the isometry superalgebra OSp(6|4)
does not do the job. So, to construct the Lax connection we have used an
alternative method which nevertheless relies on the isometry of the target
superspace and kappa-symmetry of the Green-Schwarz superstring.Comment: 1+26 pages; v2: minor typos corrected, acknowledgements adde
N = 2 supersymmetric sigma-models and duality
For two families of four-dimensional off-shell N = 2 supersymmetric nonlinear
sigma-models constructed originally in projective superspace, we develop their
formulation in terms of N = 1 chiral superfields. Specifically, these theories
are: (i) sigma-models on cotangent bundles T*M of arbitrary real analytic
Kaehler manifolds M; (ii) general superconformal sigma-models described by
weight-one polar supermultiplets. Using superspace techniques, we obtain a
universal expression for the holomorphic symplectic two-form \omega^{(2,0)}
which determines the second supersymmetry transformation and is associated with
the two complex structures of the hyperkaehler space T*M that are complimentary
to the one induced from M. This two-form is shown to coincide with the
canonical holomorphic symplectic structure. In the case (ii), we demonstrate
that \omega^{(2,0)} and the homothetic conformal Killing vector determine the
explicit form of the superconformal transformations. At the heart of our
construction is the duality (generalized Legendre transform) between off-shell
N = 2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma-models and their on-shell N = 1 chiral
realizations. We finally present the most general N = 2 superconformal
nonlinear sigma-model formulated in terms of N = 1 chiral superfields. The
approach developed can naturally be generalized in order to describe 5D and 6D
superconformal nonlinear sigma-models in 4D N = 1 superspace.Comment: 31 pages, no figures; V2: reference and comments added, typos
corrected; V3: more typos corrected, published versio