Decay of the Cosmological Constant. Equivalence of Quantum Tunneling and Thermal Activation in Two Spacetime Dimensions

We study the decay of the cosmological constant in two spacetime dimensions through production of pairs. We show that the same nucleation process looks as quantum mechanical tunneling (instanton) to one Killing observer and as thermal activation (thermalon) to another. Thus, we find another striking example of the deep interplay between gravity, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics which becomes apparent in presence of horizons.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

p-Brane Dyons and Electric-magnetic Duality

We discuss dyons, charge quantization and electric-magnetic duality for self-interacting, abelian, p-form theories in the spacetime dimensions D=2(p+1) where dyons can be present. The corresponding quantization conditions and duality properties are strikingly different depending on whether p is odd or even. If p is odd one has the familiar eg'-ge'= 2nh, whereas for even p one finds the opposite relative sign, eg'+ge'= 2nh. These conditions are obtained by introducing Dirac strings and taking due account of the multiple connectedness of the configuration space of the strings and the dyons. A two-potential formulation of the theory that treats the electric and magnetic sources on the same footing is also given. Our results hold for arbitrary gauge invariant self-interaction of the fields and are valid irrespective of their duality properties.Comment: 33 pages, 1 figur

Black hole entropy calculations based on symmetries

Symmetry based approaches to the black hole entropy problem have a number of attractive features; in particular they are very general and do not depend on the details of the quantization method. However we point out that, of the two available approaches, one faces conceptual problems (also emphasized by others), while the second contains certain technical flaws. We correct these errors and, within the new, improved scheme, calculate the entropy of 3-dimensional black holes. We find that, while the new symmetry vector fields are well-defined on the ``stretched horizon,'' and lead to well-defined Hamiltonians satisfying the expected Lie algebra, they fail to admit a well-defined limit to the horizon. This suggests that, although the formal calculation can be carried out at the classical level, its real, conceptual origin probably lies in the quantum theory.Comment: 14 pages, Latex, CGPG-01/1-

Gravity from the extension of spatial diffeomorphisms

The possibility of the extension of spatial diffeomorphisms to a larger family of symmetries in a class of classical field theories is studied. The generator of the additional local symmetry contains a quadratic kinetic term and a potential term which can be a general (not necessarily local) functional of the metric. From the perspective of the foundation of Einstein's gravity our results are positive: The extended constraint algebra is either that of Einstein's gravity, or ultralocal gravity. If our goal is a simple modification of Einstein's gravity that for example makes it perturbatively renormalizable, as has recently been suggested, then our results show that there is no such theory within this class.Comment: 34 page

Parallel transport on non-Abelian flux tubes

I propose a way of unambiguously parallel transporting fields on non-Abelian flux tubes, or strings, by means of two gauge fields. One gauge field transports along the tube, while the other transports normal to the tube. Ambiguity is removed by imposing an integrability condition on the pair of fields. The construction leads to a gauge theory of mathematical objects known as Lie 2-groups, which are known to result also from the parallel transport of the flux tubes themselves. The integrability condition is also shown to be equivalent to the assumption that parallel transport along nearby string configurations are equal up to arbitrary gauge transformations. Attempts to implement this condition in a field theory leads to effective actions for two-form fields.Comment: significant portions of text rewritten, references adde

Hamiltonian Time Evolution for General Relativity

Hamiltonian time evolution in terms of an explicit parameter time is derived for general relativity, even when the constraints are not satisfied, from the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner-Teitelboim-Ashtekar action in which the slicing density $\alpha(x,t)$ is freely specified while the lapse $N=\alpha g^{1/2}$ is not. The constraint ``algebra'' becomes a well-posed evolution system for the constraints; this system is the twice-contracted Bianchi identity when $R_{ij}=0$. The Hamiltonian constraint is an initial value constraint which determines $g^{1/2}$ and hence $N$, given $\alpha$.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Self-accelerated Universe

It is widely believed that the large redshifts for distant supernovae are explained by the vacuum energy dominance, or, in other words, by the cosmological constant in Einstein's equations, which is responsible for the anti-gravitation effect. A tacit assumption is that particles move along a geodesic for the background metric. This is in the same spirit as the consensus regarding the uniform Galilean motion of a free electron. However, there is a runaway solution to the Lorentz--Dirac equation governing the behavior of a radiating electron, in addition to the Galilean solution. Likewise, a runaway solution to the entire system of equations, both gravitation and matter equations of motion including, may provide an alternative explanation for the accelerated expansion of the Universe, without recourse to the hypothetic cosmological constant.Comment: 11 pages; Talk at the 9th Adriatic Meeting, Dubrovnic, Croatia, 4-14 September, 2003, Minor improvement, references added; to appear in ``Progress in General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Research'', Nova Science Publisher

Cosmology in nonrelativistic general covariant theory of gravity

Horava and Melby-Thompson recently proposed a new version of the Horava-Lifshitz theory of gravity, in which the spin-0 graviton is eliminated by introducing a Newtonian pre-potential $\phi$ and a local U(1) gauge field $A$. In this paper, we first derive the corresponding Hamiltonian, super-momentum constraints, the dynamical equations, and the equations for $\phi$ and $A$, in the presence of matter fields. Then, we apply the theory to cosmology, and obtain the modified Friedmann equation and the conservation law of energy, in addition to the equations for $\phi$ and $A$. When the spatial curvature is different from zero, terms behaving like dark radiation and stiff-fluid exist, from which, among other possibilities, bouncing universe can be constructed. We also study linear perturbations of the FRW universe with any given spatial curvature $k$, and derive the most general formulas for scalar perturbations. The vector and tensor perturbations are the same as those recently given by one of the present authors [A. Wang, Phys. Rev. D{\bf 82}, 124063 (2010)] in the setup of Sotiriou, Visser and Weinfurtner. Applying these formulas to the Minkowski background, we have shown explicitly that the scalar and vector perturbations of the metric indeed vanish, and the only remaining modes are the massless spin-2 gravitons.Comment: Revtex4, no figures. Gauge freedom was clarified and typos were corrected. Version to appear in Physical Reviews

Coulomb field of an accelerated charge: physical and mathematical aspects

The Maxwell field equations relative to a uniformly accelerated frame, and the variational principle from which they are obtained, are formulated in terms of the technique of geometrical gauge invariant potentials. They refer to the transverse magnetic (TM) and the transeverse electric (TE) modes. This gauge invariant "2+2" decomposition is used to see how the Coulomb field of a charge, static in an accelerated frame, has properties that suggest features of electromagnetism which are different from those in an inertial frame. In particular, (1) an illustrative calculation shows that the Larmor radiation reaction equals the electrostatic attraction between the accelerated charge and the charge induced on the surface whose history is the event horizon, and (2) a spectral decomposition of the Coulomb potential in the accelerated frame suggests the possibility that the distortive effects of this charge on the Rindler vacuum are akin to those of a charge on a crystal lattice.Comment: 27 pages, PlainTex. Related papers available at http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~gerlac