1,043 research outputs found
Modeling Time's Arrow
Quantum gravity, the initial low entropy state of the Universe, and the
problem of time are interlocking puzzles. In this article, we address the
origin of the arrow of time from a cosmological perspective motivated by a
novel approach to quantum gravitation. Our proposal is based on a quantum
counterpart of the equivalence principle, a general covariance of the dynamical
phase space. We discuss how the nonlinear dynamics of such a system provides a
natural description for cosmological evolution in the early Universe. We also
underscore connections between the proposed non-perturbative quantum gravity
model and fundamental questions in non-equilibrium statistical physics.Comment: 18 page
Probable Values of the Cosmological Constant in a Holographic Theory
We point out that for a large class of universes, holography implies that the
most probable value of the cosmological constant is zero. In four spacetime
dimensions, the probability distribution takes the Baum-Hawking form,
.Comment: 8 pages, harvmac (b
A Note on Effective String Theory
Motivated by the possibility of an effective string description for the
infrared limit of pure Yang-Mills theory, we present a toy model for an
effective theory of random surfaces propagating in a target space of . We
show that the scaling exponents for the fixed area partition function of the
theory are apparently well behaved. We make some observations regarding the
usefulness of this toy model.Comment: 17 pages, LATEX, UTTG-21-9
The Jarzynski Identity and the AdS/CFT Duality
We point out a remarkable analogy between the Jarzynski identity from
non-equilibrium statistical physics and the AdS/CFT duality. We apply the logic
that leads to the Jarzynski identity to renormalization group (RG) flows of
quantum field theories and then argue for the natural connection with the
AdS/CFT duality formula. This application can be in principle checked in Monte
Carlo simulations of RG flows. Given the existing generalizations of the
Jarzynski identity in non-equilibrium statistical physics, and the analogy
between the Jarzynski identity and the AdS/CFT duality, we are led to suggest
natural but novel generalizations of the AdS/CFT dictionary.Comment: version to appear in Physics Letters
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