Tree-level Graviton Scattering in the Worldline Formalism

We use the worldline formalism to study tree-level scattering processes involving gravitons. A massless spin 2 particle is described by an $N=4$ supersymmetric worldline action which is also $O(4)$ symmetric. More generally, $N=2S$ supersymmetric worldline actions exhibiting $O(N)$ symmetry describe free spin $S$ particles. Recently a BRST approach was used to construct the on-shell background graviton emission vertex from a graviton worldline. Nonetheless, an action describing the coupling of higher spin ($S\geq 2$) particles with generic background gravity is unknown. In this paper, we found that in order to reproduce Einstein's general relativity 3-point graviton vertex, interpreted as the emission of an off-shell graviton from the worldline, the coupling to background gravity must break the $O(4)$ symmetry to $O(2) \times O(2)$. In addition to this symmetry-breaking feature, we also found that the coefficient $\beta$ of the worldline action counterterm $\beta R$ differs from previous results in the literature. By comparing the linearized graviton and photon emission vertex operators from different worldlines, we noticed that they obey a squaring relation. For MHV (Maximal Helicity Violating) amplitudes, these squaring relations among the linearized vertex operators directly result in double-copy-like relations between the scattering amplitudes.Comment: 63 page

Gravitational wave energy-momentum tensor and radiated power in a strongly curved background

Allowing for the possibility of extra dimensions, there are two paradigms: either the extra dimensions are hidden from observations by being compact and small as in Kaluza-Klein scenarios, or the extra dimensions are large/non-compact and undetectable due to a large warping as in the Randall-Sundrum scenario. In the latter case, the five-dimensional background has a large curvature, and Isaacson's construction of the gravitational energy-momentum tensor, which relies on the assumption that the wavelength of the metric fluctuations is much smaller than the curvature length of the background spacetime, cannot be used. In this paper, we construct the gravitational energy-momentum tensor in a strongly curved background such as Randall-Sundrum. We perform a scalar-vector-tensor decomposition of the metric fluctuations with respect to the $SO(1,3)$ background isometry and construct the covariantly-conserved gravitational energy-momentum tensor out of the gauge-invariant metric fluctuations. We give a formula for the power radiated by gravitational waves and verify it in known cases. In using the gauge-invariant metric fluctuations to construct the gravitational energy-momentum tensor we follow previous work done in cosmology. Our framework has applicability beyond the Randall-Sundrum model.Comment: 50 pages, minor typos fixe

Continuous-wave and Transient Characteristics of Phosphorene Microwave Transistors

Few-layer phosphorene MOSFETs with 0.3-um-long gate and 15-nm-thick Al2O3 gate insulator was found to exhibit a forward-current cutoff frequency of 2 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 8 GHz after de-embedding for the parasitic capacitance associated mainly with the relatively large probe pads. The gate lag and drain lag of the transistor was found to be on the order of 1 us or less, which is consistent with the lack of hysteresis, carrier freeze-out or persistent photoconductivity in DC characteristics. These results confirm that the phosphorene MOSFET can be a viable microwave transistor for both small-signal and large-signal applications.Comment: Accepted for oral presentation at IMS 201