3,394 research outputs found
Graviton Loop Corrections to Vacuum Polarization in de Sitter in a General Covariant Gauge
We evaluate the one-graviton loop contribution to the vacuum polarization on
de Sitter background in a 1-parameter family of exact, de Sitter invariant
gauges. Our result is computed using dimensional regularization and fully
renormalized with BPHZ counterterms, which must include a noninvariant owing to
the time-ordered interactions. Because the graviton propagator engenders a
physical breaking of de Sitter invariance two structure functions are needed to
express the result. In addition to its relevance for the gauge issue this is
the first time a covariant gauge graviton propagator has been used to compute a
noncoincident loop. A number of identities are derived which should facilitate
further graviton loop computations.Comment: 61 pages, 1 figure, 11 tables, version 2 (63 pages) revised for
publication in CQ
Single Graviton Loop Contribution to the Self-Mass of a Massless, Conformally Coupled Scalar on de Sitter Background
We use a simplified formalism to re-compute the single graviton loop
contribution to the self-mass of a massless, conformally coupled scalar on de
Sitter background which was originally made by Boran, Kahya and Park [1-3]. Our
result resolves the problem with the flat space correspondence limit that was
pointed out by Fr\"ob [4]. We discuss how this computation will be used in a
long-term project to purge the linearized effective field equation of gauge
dependence.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure, uses LaTeX 2e. Version 2 revised slightly for
publicatio
One loop graviton corrections to dynamical photons in de Sitter
We employ a recent, general gauge computation of the one loop graviton
contribution to the vacuum polarization on de Sitter to solve for one loop
corrections to the photon mode function. The vacuum polarization takes the form
of a gauge independent, spin 2 contribution and a gauge dependent, spin 0
contribution. We show that the leading secular corrections derive entirely from
the spin 2 contribution.Comment: 41 pages, no figures, uses LaTeX2
Quantum Gravity Corrections to the One Loop Scalar Self-Mass during Inflation
We compute the one loop corrections from quantum gravity to the
self-mass-squared of a massless, minimally coupled scalar on a locally de
Sitter background. The calculation was done using dimensional regularization
and renormalized by subtracting fourth order BPHZ counterterms. Our result
should determine whether quantum gravitational loop corrections can
significantly alter the dynamics of a scalar inflaton.Comment: 47 pages, 3 figures, 20 tables, uses LaTeX 2 epsilon, version 2
revised for publication in Physical Review
Origin Gaps and the Eternal Sunshine of the Second-Order Pendulum
The rich experiences of an intentional, goal-oriented life emerge, in an
unpredictable fashion, from the basic laws of physics. Here I argue that this
unpredictability is no mirage: there are true gaps between life and non-life,
mind and mindlessness, and even between functional societies and groups of
Hobbesian individuals. These gaps, I suggest, emerge from the mathematics of
self-reference, and the logical barriers to prediction that self-referring
systems present. Still, a mathematical truth does not imply a physical one: the
universe need not have made self-reference possible. It did, and the question
then is how. In the second half of this essay, I show how a basic move in
physics, known as renormalization, transforms the "forgetful" second-order
equations of fundamental physics into a rich, self-referential world that makes
possible the major transitions we care so much about. While the universe runs
in assembly code, the coarse-grained version runs in LISP, and it is from that
the world of aim and intention grows.Comment: FQXI Prize Essay 2017. 18 pages, including afterword on
Ostrogradsky's Theorem and an exchange with John Bova, Dresden Craig, and
Paul Livingsto
The Fermion Self-Energy during Inflation
We compute the one loop fermion self-energy for massless Dirac + Einstein in
the presence of a locally de Sitter background. We employ dimensional
regularization and obtain a fully renormalized result by absorbing all
divergences with BPHZ counterterms. An interesting technical aspect of this
computation is the need for a noninvariant counterterm owing to the breaking of
de Sitter invariance by our gauge condition. Our result can be used in the
quantum-corrected Dirac equation to search for inflation-enhanced quantum
effects from gravitons, analogous to those which have been found for massless,
minimally coupled scalars.Comment: 63 pages, 3 figures (uses axodraw.sty), LaTeX 2epsilon. Revised
version (to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity) corrects some typoes and
contains some new reference
The onset of solar cycle 24: What global acoustic modes are telling us
We study the response of the low-degree, solar p-mode frequencies to the
unusually extended minimum of solar surface activity since 2007. A total of
4768 days of observations collected by the space-based, Sun-as-a-star
helioseismic GOLF instrument are analyzed. A multi-step iterative
maximum-likelihood fitting method is applied to subseries of 365 days and 91.25
days to extract the p-mode parameters. Temporal variations of the l=0, 1, and 2
p-mode frequencies are then obtained from April 1996 to May 2009. While the
p-mode frequency shifts are closely correlated with solar surface activity
proxies during the past solar cycles, the frequency shifts of the l=0 and l=2
modes show an increase from the second half of 2007, when no significant
surface activity is observable. On the other hand, the l=1 modes follow the
general decreasing trend of the solar surface activity. The different
behaviours between the l=0 and l=2 modes and the l=1 modes can be interpreted
as different geometrical responses to the spatial distribution of the solar
magnetic field beneath the surface of the Sun. The analysis of the low-degree,
solar p-mode frequency shifts indicates that the solar activity cycle 24
started late 2007, despite the absence of activity on the solar surface.Comment: To be accepted by A&A (with minor revisions), 4 pages, 3 figures, 1
tabl
Explaining Large Electromagnetic Logarithms from Loops of Inflationary Gravitons
Recent progress on nonlinear sigma models on de Sitter background has
permitted the resummation of large inflationary logarithms by combining a
variant of Starobinsky's stochastic formalism with a variant of the
renormalization group. We reconsider single graviton loop corrections to the
photon wave function, and to the Coulomb potential, in light of these
developments. Neither of the two 1-loop results have a stochastic explanation,
however, the flow of a curvature-dependent field strength renormalization
explains their factors of . We speculate that the factor of
in the Coulomb potential should not be considered as a leading logarithm
effect.Comment: 22 pages, uses LaTeX2e, slightly revised for publicatio
Graviton Propagator in a 2-Parameter Family of de Sitter Breaking Gauges
We formulate the graviton propagator on de Sitter background in a 2-parameter
family of simple gauges which break de Sitter invariance. Explicit results are
derived for the first order perturbations in each parameter. These results
should be useful in computations to check for gauge dependence of graviton loop
corrections.Comment: 23 pages, 1 table, uses LaTeX2e, version 2 slightly revised for
publicatio
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