Physical Layer Security of Large Reflecting Surface Aided Communications with Phase Errors

The physical layer security (PLS) performance of a wireless communication link through a large reflecting surface (LRS) with phase errors is analyzed. Leveraging recent results that express the \ac{LRS}-based composite channel as an equivalent scalar fading channel, we show that the eavesdropper's link is Rayleigh distributed and independent of the legitimate link. The different scaling laws of the legitimate and eavesdroppers signal-to-noise ratios with the number of reflecting elements, and the reasonably good performance even in the case of coarse phase quantization, show the great potential of LRS-aided communications to enhance PLS in practical wireless set-ups.Comment: This work has been submitted to the IEEE for publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

String Tension and the Generation of the Conformal Anomaly

The origin of the string conformal anomaly is studied in detail. We use a reformulated string Lagrangian which allows to consider the string tension $T_{0}$ as a small perturbation. The expansion parameter is the worldsheet speed of light c, which is proportional to $T_{0}$ . We examine carefully the interplay between a null (tensionless) string and a tensionful string which includes orders $c^{2}$ and higher. The conformal algebra generated by the constraints is considered. At the quantum level the normal ordering provides a central charge proportional to $c^{2}$. Thus it is clear that quantum null strings respect conformal invariance and it is the string tension which generates the conformal anomaly.Comment: More references are included. Final version, to appear in Phys.Rev.D. 6 pages, LaTex, no figure

String propagation in four-dimensional dyonic black hole background

We study string propagation in an exact, four-dimensional dyonic black hole background. The general solutions describing string configurations are obtained by solving the string equations of motion and constraints. By using the covariant formalism, we also investigate the propagation of physical perturbations along the string in the given curved background.Comment: 19 pages, Tex (macro phyzzx is needed

On the Effect of Correlation on the Capacity of Backscatter Communication Systems

We analyse the effect of correlation between the forward and backward links on the capacity of backscatter communication systems. To that aim, we obtain an analytical expression for the average capacity under a correlated Rayleigh product fading channel, as well as closed-form asymptotic expressions for the high and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regimes. Our results show that correlation is indeed detrimental for a fixed target SNR; contrarily to the common belief, we also see that correlation can be actually beneficial in some instances when a fixed power budget is considered.Comment: This work has been submitted for publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

Advances in String Theory in Curved Backgrounds: A Synthesis Report

A synthetic report of the advances in the study of classical and quantum string dynamics in curved backgrounds is provided, namely: the new feature of multistring solutions; the effect of a cosmological constant and of spacial curvature on classical and quantum strings; classical splitting of fundamental strings;the general string evolution in constant curvature spacetimes;the conformal invariant effects;strings on plane waves, shock waves and spacetime singularities and its spectrum. New developments in string gravity and string cosmology are reported: string driven cosmology and its predictions;the primordial gravitation wave background; non-singular string cosmologies from exact conformal field theories;QFT, string temperature and the string phase of de Sitter space; the string phase of black holes;new dual relation between QFT regimes and string regimes and the 'QFT/String Tango'; new coherent string states and minimal uncertainty principle in string theor

Constraints on dark matter particles from theory, galaxy observations and N-body simulations

Mass bounds on dark matter (DM) candidates are obtained for particles decoupling in or out of equilibrium with {\bf arbitrary} isotropic and homogeneous distribution functions. A coarse grained Liouville invariant primordial phase space density $\mathcal D$ is introduced. Combining its value with recent photometric and kinematic data on dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies in the Milky Way (dShps), the DM density today and $N$-body simulations, yields upper and lower bounds on the mass, primordial phase space densities and velocity dispersion of the DM candidates. The mass of the DM particles is bound in the few keV range. If chemical freeze out occurs before thermal decoupling, light bosonic particles can Bose-condense. Such Bose-Einstein {\it condensate} is studied as a dark matter candidate. Depending on the relation between the critical($T_c$)and decoupling($T_d$)temperatures, a BEC light relic could act as CDM but the decoupling scale must be {\it higher} than the electroweak scale. The condensate tightens the upper bound on the particle's mass. Non-equilibrium scenarios that describe particle production and partial thermalization, sterile neutrinos produced out of equilibrium and other DM models are analyzed in detail obtaining bounds on their mass, primordial phase space density and velocity dispersion. Light thermal relics with $m \sim \mathrm{few} \mathrm{keV}$ and sterile neutrinos lead to a primordial phase space density compatible with {\bf cored} dShps and disfavor cusped satellites. Light Bose condensed DM candidates yield phase space densities consistent with {\bf cores} and if $T_c\gg T_d$ also with cusps. Phase space density bounds from N-body simulations suggest a potential tension for WIMPS with $m \sim 100 \mathrm{GeV},T_d \sim 10 \mathrm{MeV}$.Comment: 27 pages 8 figures. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Quantum corrections to the inflaton potential and the power spectra from superhorizon modes and trace anomalies

We obtain the effective inflaton potential during slow roll inflation by including the one loop quantum corrections to the energy momentum tensor from scalar curvature and tensor perturbations as well as quantum fluctuations from light scalars and light Dirac fermions generically coupled to the inflaton. During slow roll inflation there is a clean and unambiguous separation between superhorizon and subhorizon contributions to the energy momentum tensor. The superhorizon part is determined by the curvature perturbations and scalar field fluctuations: both feature infrared enhancements as the inverse of a combination of slow roll parameters which measure the departure from scale invariance in each case.Fermions and gravitons do not exhibit infrared divergences. The subhorizon part is completely specified by the trace anomaly of the fields with different spins and is solely determined by the space-time geometry. The one-loop quantum corrections to the amplitude of curvature and tensor perturbations are obtained to leading order in slow-roll and in the (H/M_PL)^2 expansion. This study provides a complete assessment of the backreaction problem up to one loop including bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom. The result validates the effective field theory description of inflation and confirms the robustness of the inflationary paradigm to quantum fluctuations. Quantum corrections to the power spectra are expressed in terms of the CMB observables:n_s, r and dn_s/dln k. Trace anomalies (especially the graviton part) dominate these quantum corrections in a definite direction: they enhance the scalar curvature fluctuations and reduce the tensor fluctuations.Comment: 18 pages, no figure

Strings Near a Rindler Or Black Hole Horizon

Orbifold techniques are used to study bosonic, type II and heterotic strings in Rindler space at integer multiples N of the Rindler temperature, and near a black hole horizon at integer multiples of the Hawking temperature, extending earlier results of Dabholkar. It is argued that a Hagedorn transition occurs nears the horizon for all N>1.Comment: 13 pages, harvmac, (references added

Quantum slow-roll and quantum fast-roll inflationary initial conditions: CMB quadrupole suppression and further effects on the low CMB multipoles

Quantum fast-roll initial conditions for the inflaton which are different from the classical fast-roll conditions and from the quantum slow-roll conditions can lead to inflation that last long enough. These quantum fast-roll initial conditions for the inflaton allow for kinetic energies of the same order of the potential energies and nonperturbative inflaton modes with nonzero wavenumbers. Their evolution starts with a transitory epoch where the redshift due to the expansion succeeds to assemble the quantum excited modes of the inflaton in a homogeneous (zero mode) condensate, and the large value of the Hubble parameter succeeds to overdamp the fast-roll of the redshifted inflaton modes. After this transitory stage the effective classical slow-roll epoch is reached. Most of the efolds are produced during the slow-roll epoch and we recover the classical slow-roll results for the scalar and tensor metric perturbations plus corrections. These corrections are important, both for scalar and for tensor perturbations, if scales which are horizon-size today exited the horizon by the end of the transitory stage and as a consequence the lower CMB multipoles get suppressed (fast-roll) or enhanced (precondensate). These two types of corrections can compete and combine in a scale dependent manner. They arise as natural consequences of the quantum nonperturbative inflaton dynamics, and provide a consistent and contrastable model for the origin of the suppression of the quadrupole and for other departures of the low CMB multipoles from the slow-roll inflation-LambdaCMB model which are to be contrasted to the TE and EE multipoles and to the forthcoming and future CMB data.Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages, 3 figure

CMB quadrupole suppression: II. The early fast roll stage

Within the effective field theory of inflation, an initialization of the classical dynamics of the inflaton with approximate equipartition between the kinetic and potential energy of the inflaton leads to a brief fast roll stage that precedes the slow roll regime. The fast roll stage leads to an attractive potential in the wave equations for the mode functions of curvature and tensor perturbations. The evolution of the inflationary perturbations is equivalent to the scattering by this potential and a useful dictionary between the scattering data and observables is established.Implementing methods from scattering theory we prove that this attractive potential leads to a suppression of the quadrupole moment for CMB and B-mode angular power spectra. The scale of the potential is determined by the Hubble parameter during slow roll. Within the effective field theory of inflation at the grand unification (GUT) energy scale we find that if inflation lasts a total number of efolds N_{tot} ~ 59, there is a 10-20% suppression of the CMB quadrupole and about 2-4% suppression of the tensor quadrupole. The suppression of higher multipoles is smaller, falling off as 1/l^2. The suppression is much smaller for N_{tot} > 59, therefore if the observable suppression originates in the fast roll stage, there is the upper bound N_{tot} ~ 59.Comment: Some comments and references adde