Spontaneous Breakdown of Lorentz Invariance in IIB Matrix Model

We study the IIB matrix model, which is conjectured to be a nonperturbative definition of superstring theory, by introducing an integer deformation parameter `nu' which couples to the imaginary part of the effective action induced by fermions. The deformed IIB matrix model continues to be well-defined for arbitrary `nu', and it preserves gauge invariance, Lorentz invariance, and the cluster property. We study the model at `nu' = infinity using a saddle-point analysis, and show that ten-dimensional Lorentz invariance is spontaneously broken at least down to an eight-dimensional one. We argue that it is likely that the remaining eight-dimensional Lorentz invariance is further broken, which can be checked by integrating over the saddle-point configurations using standard Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 12 pages, latex, no figures, references added, version to appear in JHE

Prediction of RNA pseudoknots by Monte Carlo simulations

In this paper we consider the problem of RNA folding with pseudoknots. We use a graphical representation in which the secondary structures are described by planar diagrams. Pseudoknots are identified as non-planar diagrams. We analyze the non-planar topologies of RNA structures and propose a classification of RNA pseudoknots according to the minimal genus of the surface on which the RNA structure can be embedded. This classification provides a simple and natural way to tackle the problem of RNA folding prediction in presence of pseudoknots. Based on that approach, we describe a Monte Carlo algorithm for the prediction of pseudoknots in an RNA molecule.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figure

3D Lorentzian Quantum Gravity from the asymmetric ABAB matrix model

The asymmetric ABAB-matrix model describes the transfer matrix of three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity. We study perturbatively the scaling of the ABAB-matrix model in the neighbourhood of its symmetric solution and deduce the associated renormalization of three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity.Comment: 21 pages, typo in references correcte

Macroscopic and microscopic (non-)universality of compact support random matrix theory

A random matrix model with a σ-model like constraint, the restricted trace ensemble (RTE), is solved in the large-n limit. In the macroscopic limit the smooth connected two-point resolvent G(z,w) is found to be non-universal, extending previous results from monomial to arbitrary polynomial potentials. Using loop equation techniques we give a closed though non-universal expression for G(z,w), which extends recursively to all higher k-point resolvents. These findings are in contrast to the usual unconstrained one-matrix model. However, in the microscopic large-n limit, which probes only correlations at distance of the mean level spacing, we are able to show that the constraint does not modify the universal sine-law. In the case of monomial potentials V(M)=M2p, we provide a relation valid for finite-n between the k-point correlation function of the RTE and the unconstrained model. In the microscopic large-n limit they coincide which proves the microscopic universality of RTEs

Dark-energy instabilities induced by gravitational waves

We point out that dark-energy perturbations may become unstable in the presence of a gravitational wave of sufficiently large amplitude. We study this effect for the cubic Horndeski operator (braiding), proportional to \u3b1B. The scalar that describes dark-energy fluctuations features ghost and/or gradient instabilities for gravitational-wave amplitudes that are produced by typical binary systems. Taking into account the populations of binary systems, we conclude that the instability is triggered in the whole Universe for |\u3b1B | 73 10-2, i.e. when the modification of gravity is sizeable. The instability is triggered by massive black-hole binaries down to frequencies corresponding to 1010 km: the instability is thus robust, unless new physics enters on even longer wavelengths. The fate of the instability and the subsequent time-evolution of the system depend on the UV completion, so that the theory may end up in a state very different from the original one. The same kind of instability is present in beyond-Horndeski theories for |\u3b1H| 73 10-20. In conclusion, the only dark-energy theories with sizeable cosmological effects that avoid these problems are k-essence models, with a possible conformal coupling with matter

Lorentzian 3d Gravity with Wormholes via Matrix Models

We uncover a surprising correspondence between a non-perturbative formulation of three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity and a hermitian two-matrix model with ABAB-interaction. The gravitational transfer matrix can be expressed as the logarithm of a two-matrix integral, and we deduce from the known structure of the latter that the model has two phases. In the phase of weak gravity, well-defined two-dimensional universes propagate in proper time, whereas in the strong-coupling phase the spatial hypersurfaces disintegrate into many components connected by wormholes.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figure

Topological phase transition in a RNA model in the de Gennes regime

We study a simplified model of the RNA molecule proposed by G. Vernizzi, H. Orland and A. Zee in the regime of strong concentration of positive ions in solution. The model considers a flexible chain of equal bases that can pairwise interact with any other one along the chain, while preserving the property of saturation of the interactions. In the regime considered, we observe the emergence of a critical temperature T_c separating two phases that can be characterized by the topology of the predominant configurations: in the large temperature regime, the dominant configurations of the molecule have very large genera (of the order of the size of the molecule), corresponding to a complex topology, whereas in the opposite regime of low temperatures, the dominant configurations are simple and have the topology of a sphere. We determine that this topological phase transition is of first order and provide an analytic expression for T_c. The regime studied for this model exhibits analogies with that for the dense polymer systems studied by de GennesComment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Covariant generalization of cosmological perturbation theory

We present an approach to cosmological perturbations based on a covariant perturbative expansion between two worldlines in the real inhomogeneous universe. As an application, at an arbitrary order we define an exact scalar quantity which describes the inhomogeneities in the number of e-folds on uniform density hypersurfaces and which is conserved on all scales for a barotropic ideal fluid. We derive a compact form for its conservation equation at all orders and assign it a simple physical interpretation. To make a comparison with the standard perturbation theory, we develop a method to construct gauge-invariant quantities in a coordinate system at arbitrary order, which we apply to derive the form of the n-th order perturbation in the number of e-folds on uniform density hypersurfaces and its exact evolution equation. On large scales, this provides the gauge-invariant expression for the curvature perturbation on uniform density hypersurfaces and its evolution equation at any order.Comment: Minor changes to match the version published in PRD. RevTex, 22 pages, 1 figur