Do macroscopic properties dictate microscopic probabilities?

Aharonov and Reznik have recently (in quant-ph/0110093) argued that the form of the probabilistic predictions of quantum theory can be seen to follow from properties of macroscopic systems. An error in their argument is identified.Comment: LaTeX, 6 pages, no figure

Braneworld Dynamics of Inflationary Cosmologies with Exponential Potentials

In this work we consider Randall-Sundrum braneworld type scenarios, in which the spacetime is described by a five-dimensional manifold with matter fields confined in a domain wall or three-brane. We present the results of a systematic analysis, using dynamical systems techniques, of the qualitative behaviour of Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker type models, whose matter is described by a scalar field with an exponential potential. We construct the state spaces for these models and discuss how their structure changes with respect to the general-relativistic case, in particular, what new critical points appear and their nature and the occurrence of bifurcation.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, RevTex 4. Submitted to Physical Review

Big bang of the brane universe

Big bang of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW)-brane universe is studied. In contrast to the spacelike initial singularity of the usual FRW universe, the initial singularity of the FRW-brane universe is point-like from the viewpoint of causality including gravitational waves propagating in the bulk. Existence of null singularities (seam singuralities) is also shown in the flat and open FRW-brane universe models.Comment: LaTeX, 11 pages, 3 EPS figure

Brane Junctions in the Randall-Sundrum Scenario

We present static solutions to Einstein's equations corresponding to branes at various angles intersecting in a single 3-brane. Such configurations may be useful for building models with localized gravity via the Randall-Sundrum mechanism. We find that such solutions may exist only if the mechanical forces acting on the junction exactly cancel. In addition to this constraint there are further conditions that the parameters of the theory have to satisfy. We find that at least one of these involves only the brane tensions and cosmological constants, and thus can not have a dynamical origin. We present these conditions in detail for two simple examples. We discuss the nature of the cosmological constant problem in the framework of these scenarios, and outline the desired features of the brane configurations which may bring us closer towards the resolution of the cosmological constant problem.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX. 4 postscript figures included. Typo corrected and reference adde

A Note on Solitons in Brane Worlds

We obtain the zero mode effective action for gravitating objects in the bulk of dilatonic domain walls. Without additional fields included in the bulk action, the zero mode effective action reproduces the action in one lower dimensions obtained through the ordinary Kaluza-Klein (KK) compactification, only when the transverse (to the domain wall) component of the bulk metric does not have non-trivial term depending on the domain wall worldvolume coordinates. With additional fields included in the bulk action, non-trivial dependence of the transverse metric component on the domain wall worldvolume coordinates appears to be essential in reproducing the lower-dimensional action obtained via the ordinary KK compactification. We find, in particular, that the effective action for the charged (p+1)-brane in the domain wall bulk reproduces the action for the p-brane in one lower dimensions.Comment: 13 pages, LaTe

How much time does a measurement take?

We consider the problem of measurement using the Lindblad equation, which allows the introduction of time in the interaction between the measured system and the measurement apparatus. We use analytic results, valid for weak system-environment coupling, obtained for a two-level system in contact with a measurer (Markovian interaction) and a thermal bath (non-Markovian interaction), where the measured observable may or may not commute with the system-environment interaction. Analysing the behavior of the coherence, which tends to a value asymptotically close to zero, we obtain an expression for the time of measurement which depends only on the system-measurer coupling, and which does not depend on whether the observable commutes with the system-bath interaction. The behavior of the coherences in the case of strong system-environment coupling, found numerically, indicates that an increase in this coupling decreases the measurement time, thus allowing our expression to be considered the upper limit for the duration of the process.Comment: REVISED VERSION: 17 pages, 2 figure

Generalised Israel Junction Conditions for a Gauss-Bonnet Brane World

In spacetimes of dimension greater than four it is natural to consider higher order (in R) corrections to the Einstein equations. In this letter generalized Israel junction conditions for a membrane in such a theory are derived. This is achieved by generalising the Gibbons-Hawking boundary term. The junction conditions are applied to simple brane world models, and are compared to the many contradictory results in the literature.Comment: 4 page

Brane cosmological perturbations

We address the question of cosmological perturbations in the context of brane cosmology, where our Universe is a three-brane where matter is confined, whereas gravity lives in a higher dimensional spacetime. The equations governing the bulk perturbations are computed in the case of a general warped universe. The results are then specialized to the case of a five-dimensional spacetime, scenario which has recently attracted a lot of attention. In this context, we decompose the perturbations into `scalar', `vector' and `tensor' modes, which are familiar in the standard theory of cosmological perturbations. The junction conditions, which relate the metric perturbations to the matter perturbations in the brane, are then computed.Comment: 14 pages, Latex; no figur

Consistent histories of systems and measurements in spacetime

Traditional interpretations of quantum theory in terms of wave function collapse are particularly unappealing when considering the universe as a whole, where there is no clean separation between classical observer and quantum system and where the description is inherently relativistic. As an alternative, the consistent histories approach provides an attractive "no collapse" interpretation of quantum physics. Consistent histories can also be linked to path-integral formulations that may be readily generalized to the relativistic case. A previous paper described how, in such a relativistic spacetime path formalism, the quantum history of the universe could be considered to be an eignestate of the measurements made within it. However, two important topics were not addressed in detail there: a model of measurement processes in the context of quantum histories in spacetime and a justification for why the probabilities for each possible cosmological eigenstate should follow Born's rule. The present paper addresses these topics by showing how Zurek's concepts of einselection and envariance can be applied in the context of relativistic spacetime and quantum histories. The result is a model of systems and subsystems within the universe and their interaction with each other and their environment.Comment: RevTeX 4; 37 pages; v2 is a revision in response to reviewer comments, connecting the discussion in the paper more closely to consistent history concepts; v3 has minor editorial corrections; accepted for publication in Foundations of Physics; v4 has a couple minor typographical correction