Motions and world-line deviations in Einstein-Maxwell theory

We examine the motion of charged particles in gravitational and electro-magnetic background fields. We study in particular the deviation of world lines, describing the relative acceleration between particles on different space-time trajectories. Two special cases of background fields are considered in detail: (a) pp-waves, a combination of gravitational and electro-magnetic polarized plane waves travelling in the same direction; (b) the Reissner-Nordstr{\o}m solution. We perform a non-trivial check by computing the precession of the periastron for a charged particle in the Reissner-Nordstr{\o}m geometry both directly by solving the geodesic equation, and using the world-line deviation equation. The results agree to the order of approximation considered.Comment: 23 pages, no figure

Nonlinear Bogolyubov-Valatin transformations and quaternions

In introducing second quantization for fermions, Jordan and Wigner (1927/1928) observed that the algebra of a single pair of fermion creation and annihilation operators in quantum mechanics is closely related to the algebra of quaternions H. For the first time, here we exploit this fact to study nonlinear Bogolyubov-Valatin transformations (canonical transformations for fermions) for a single fermionic mode. By means of these transformations, a class of fermionic Hamiltonians in an external field is related to the standard Fermi oscillator.Comment: 6 pages REVTEX (v3: two paragraphs appended, minor stylistic changes, eq. (39) corrected, references [10]-[14], [36], [37], [41], [67]-[69] added; v4: few extensions, references [62], [63] added, final version to be published in J. Phys. A: Math. Gen.

Quantum Mechanics of Yano tensors: Dirac equation in curved spacetime

In spacetimes admitting Yano tensors the classical theory of the spinning particle possesses enhanced worldline supersymmetry. Quantum mechanically generators of extra supersymmetries correspond to operators that in the classical limit commute with the Dirac operator and generate conserved quantities. We show that the result is preserved in the full quantum theory, that is, Yano symmetries are not anomalous. This was known for Yano tensors of rank two, but our main result is to show that it extends to Yano tensors of arbitrary rank. We also describe the conformal Yano equation and show that is invariant under Hodge duality. There is a natural relationship between Yano tensors and supergravity theories. As the simplest possible example, we show that when the spacetime admits a Killing spinor then this generates Yano and conformal Yano tensors. As an application, we construct Yano tensors on maximally symmetric spaces: they are spanned by tensor products of Killing vectors.Comment: 1+32 pages, no figures. Accepted for publication on Classical and Quantum Gravity. New title and abstract. Some material has been moved to the Appendix. Concrete formulas for Yano tensors on some special holonomy manifolds have been provided. Some corrections included, bibliography enlarge

Generalized Taub-NUT metrics and Killing-Yano tensors

A necessary condition that a St\"ackel-Killing tensor of valence 2 be the contracted product of a Killing-Yano tensor of valence 2 with itself is re-derived for a Riemannian manifold. This condition is applied to the generalized Euclidean Taub-NUT metrics which admit a Kepler type symmetry. It is shown that in general the St\"ackel-Killing tensors involved in the Runge-Lenz vector cannot be expressed as a product of Killing-Yano tensors. The only exception is the original Taub-NUT metric.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX. Final version to appear in J.Phys.A:Math.Ge

Nonrelativistic Chern-Simons Vortices on the Torus

A classification of all periodic self-dual static vortex solutions of the Jackiw-Pi model is given. Physically acceptable solutions of the Liouville equation are related to a class of functions which we term Omega-quasi-elliptic. This class includes, in particular, the elliptic functions and also contains a function previously investigated by Olesen. Some examples of solutions are studied numerically and we point out a peculiar phenomenon of lost vortex charge in the limit where the period lengths tend to infinity, that is, in the planar limit.Comment: 25 pages, 2+3 figures; improved exposition, corrected typos, added one referenc

Constrained Dynamics of an Anomalous (g/neq2)(g/neq 2) Relativistic Spinning Particle in Electromagnetic Background

In this paper we have considered the dynamics of an anomalous ($g\neq 2$) charged relativistic spinning particle in the presence of an external electromagnetic field. The constraint analysis is done and the complete set of Dirac brackets are provided that generate the canonical Lorentz algebra and dynamics through Hamiltonian equations of motion. The spin-induced effective curvature of spacetime and its possible connection with Analogue Gravity models are commented upon.Comment: 10 pages Latex, minor corrections and changes in ref., slightly enlarged version, to appear in EPJ

Augmented Superfield Approach To Unique Nilpotent Symmetries For Complex Scalar Fields In QED

The derivation of the exact and unique nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST)- and anti-BRST symmetries for the matter fields, present in any arbitrary interacting gauge theory, has been a long-standing problem in the framework of superfield approach to BRST formalism. These nilpotent symmetry transformations are deduced for the four (3 + 1)-dimensional (4D) complex scalar fields, coupled to the U(1) gauge field, in the framework of augmented superfield formalism. This interacting gauge theory (i.e. QED) is considered on a six (4, 2)-dimensional supermanifold parametrized by four even spacetime coordinates and a couple of odd elements of the Grassmann algebra. In addition to the horizontality condition (that is responsible for the derivation of the exact nilpotent symmetries for the gauge field and the (anti-)ghost fields), a new restriction on the supermanifold, owing its origin to the (super) covariant derivatives, has been invoked for the derivation of the exact nilpotent symmetry transformations for the matter fields. The geometrical interpretations for all the above nilpotent symmetries are discussed, too.Comment: LaTeX file, 17 pages, journal versio

M-branes and N=2 Strings

The string field theory of N=(2,1) heterotic strings describes a set of self-dual Yang-Mills fields coupled to self-dual gravity in 2+2 dimensions. We show that the exact classical action for this field theory is a certain complexification of the Green-Schwarz/Dirac-Born-Infeld string action, closely related to the four dimensional Wess-Zumino action describing self-dual gauge fields. This action describes the world-volume of a 2+2d ``M-brane'', which gives rise upon different null reductions to critical strings and membranes. We discuss a number of further properties of N=2 heterotic strings, such as the geometry of null reduction, general features of a covariant formulation, and possible relations to BPS and GKM algebras.Comment: 49 pages, harvmac; 1 figure (uses epsf.tex). References adde

Quantum 1/4 BPS Dyons

Classical properties of 1/4 BPS dyons were previously well understood both in field theory context and in string theory context. Its quantum properties, however, have been more difficult to probe, although the elementary information of the supermultiplet structures is known from a perturbative construction. Recently, a low energy effective theory of monopoles was constructed and argued to contain these dyons as quantum bound states. In this paper, we find these dyonic bound states explicitly in the N=4 supersymmetric low energy effective theory. After identifying the correct angular momentum operators, we motivate an anti-self-dual ansatz for all BPS bound states. The wavefunctions are found explicitly, whose spin contents and degeneracies match exactly the expected results.Comment: 20 pages, no figure