Inhomogeneous de Sitter Solution with Scalar Field and Perturbations Spectrum

We provide an inhomogeneous solution concerning the dynamics of a real self interacting scalar field minimally coupled to gravity in a region of the configuration space where it performs a slow rolling on a plateau of its potential. During the inhomogeneous de Sitter phase the scalar field dominant term is a function of the spatial coordinates only. This solution specialized nearby the FLRW model allows a classical origin for the inhomogeneous perturbations spectrum.Comment: 9 pages, no figures, to appear on Mod.Phys.Lett.

Proposal of a second generation of quantum-gravity-motivated Lorentz-symmetry tests: sensitivity to effects suppressed quadratically by the Planck scale

Over the last few years the study of possible Planck-scale departures from classical Lorentz symmetry has been one of the most active areas of quantum-gravity research. We now have a satisfactory description of the fate of Lorentz symmetry in the most popular noncommutative spacetimes and several studies have been devoted to the fate of Lorentz symmetry in loop quantum gravity. Remarkably there are planned experiments with enough sensitivity to reveal these quantum-spacetime effects, if their magnitude is only linearly suppressed by the Planck length. Unfortunately, in some quantum-gravity scenarios even the strongest quantum-spacetime effects are suppressed by at least two powers of the Planck length, and many authors have argued that it would be impossible to test these quadratically-suppressed effects. I here observe that advanced cosmic-ray observatories and neutrino observatories can provide the first elements of an experimental programme testing the possibility of departures from Lorentz symmetry that are quadratically Planck-length suppressed.Comment: version to appear in a GRF2003 Special Issue of IntJournModPHysD (minor editing and some additional refs

Rapidity evolution of Wilson lines at the next-to-leading order

At high energies particles move very fast so the proper degrees of freedom for the fast gluons moving along the straight lines are Wilson-line operators - infinite gauge factors ordered along the line. In the framework of operator expansion in Wilson lines the energy dependence of the amplitudes is determined by the rapidity evolution of Wilson lines. We present the next-to-leading order hierarchy of the evolution equations for Wilson-line operators.Comment: 5 pages and 2 figures, PRD version with typos correcte

High-energy amplitudes in N=4 SYM in the next-to-leading order

The high-energy behavior of the N=4 SYM amplitudes in the Regge limit can be calculated order by order in perturbation theory using the high-energy operator expansion in Wilson lines. At large $N_c$, a typical four-point amplitude is determined by a single BFKL pomeron. The conformal structure of the four-point amplitude is fixed in terms of two functions: pomeron intercept and the coefficient function in front of the pomeron (the product of two residues). The pomeron intercept is universal while the coefficient function depends on the correlator in question. The intercept is known in the first two orders in coupling constant: BFKL intercept and NLO BFKL intercept calculated in Ref. 1. As an example of using the Wilson-line OPE, we calculate the coefficient function in front of the pomeron for the correlator of four $Z^2$ currents in the first two orders in perturbation theory.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure