Space of spaces as a metric space

In spacetime physics, we frequently need to consider a set of all spaces (`universes') as a whole. In particular, the concept of `closeness' between spaces is essential. However, there has been no established mathematical theory so far which deals with a space of spaces in a suitable manner for spacetime physics. Based on the scheme of the spectral representation of geometry, we construct a space of all compact Riemannian manifolds equipped with the spectral measure of closeness. We show that this space of all spaces can be regarded as a metric space. We also show other desirable properties of this space, such as the partition of unity, locally-compactness and the second countability. These facts show that this space of all spaces can be a basic arena for spacetime physics.Comment: To appear in Communications in Mathematical Physics. 20 page

Spectral Evolution of the Universe

We derive the evolution equations for the spectra of the Universe. Here "spectra" means the eigenvalues of the Laplacian defined on a space, which contain the geometrical information on the space. These equations are expected to be useful to analyze the evolution of the geometrical structures of the Universe. As an application, we investigate the time evolution of the spectral distance between two Universes that are very close to each other; it is the first necessary step for the detailed analysis of the model-fitting problem in cosmology with the spectral scheme. We find out a universal formula for the spectral distance between two very close Universes, which turns out to be independent of the detailed form of the distance nor the gravity theory. Then we investigate its time evolution with the help of the evolution equations we derive. We also formulate the criteria for a good cosmological model in terms of the spectral distance.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.

Smearing effect due to the spread of a probe-particle on the Brownian motion near a perfectly reflecting boundary

Quantum fluctuations of electromagnetic vacuum are investigated in a half-space bounded by a perfectly reflecting plate by introducing a probe described by a charged wave-packet distribution in time-direction. The wave-packet distribution of the probe enables one to investigate the smearing effect upon the measured vacuum fluctuations caused by the quantum nature of the probe particle. It is shown that the wave-packet spread of the probe particle significantly influences the measured velocity dispersion of the probe. In particular, the asymptotic late-time behavior of its $z$-component, $$, for the wave-packet case is quite different from the test point-particle case ($z$ is the coordinate normal to the plate). The result for the wave-packet is \sim 1/\t^2 in the late time (\t is the measuring time), in stead of the reported late-time behavior $\sim 1/z^2$ for a point-particle probe. This result can be quite significant for further investigations on the measurement of vacuum fluctuations.Comment: 8 page

Partition Function for (2+1)-Dimensional Einstein Gravity

Taking (2+1)-dimensional pure Einstein gravity for arbitrary genus $g$ as a model, we investigate the relation between the partition function formally defined on the entire phase space and the one written in terms of the reduced phase space. In particular the case of $g=1$ is analyzed in detail. By a suitable gauge-fixing, the partition function $Z$ basically reduces to the partition function defined for the reduced system, whose dynamical variables are $(\tau^A, p_A)$. [The $\tau^A$'s are the Teichm\"uller parameters, and the $p_A$'s are their conjugate momenta.] As for the case of $g=1$, we find out that $Z$ is also related with another reduced form, whose dynamical variables are $(\tau^A, p_A)$ and $(V, \sigma)$. [Here $\sigma$ is a conjugate momentum to 2-volume $V$.] A nontrivial factor appears in the measure in terms of this type of reduced form. The factor turns out to be a Faddeev-Popov determinant coming from the time-reparameterization invariance inherent in this type of formulation. Thus the relation between two reduced forms becomes transparent even in the context of quantum theory. Furthermore for $g=1$, a factor coming from the zero-modes of a differential operator $P_1$ can appear in the path-integral measure in the reduced representation of $Z$. It depends on the path-integral domain for the shift vector in $Z$: If it is defined to include $\ker P_1$, the nontrivial factor does not appear. On the other hand, if the integral domain is defined to exclude $\ker P_1$, the factor appears in the measure. This factor can depend on the dynamical variables, typically as a function of $V$, and can influence the semiclassical dynamics of the (2+1)-dimensional spacetime. These results shall be significant from the viewpoint of quantum gravity.Comment: 21 pages. To appear in Physical Review D. The discussion on the path-integral domain for the shift vector has been adde

Switching effect upon the quantum Brownian motion near a reflecting boundary

The quantum Brownian motion of a charged particle in the electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations is investigated near a perfectly reflecting flat boundary, taking into account the smooth switching process in the measurement. Constructing a smooth switching function by gluing together a plateau and the Lorentzian switching tails, it is shown that the switching tails have a great influence on the measurement of the Brownian motion in the quantum vacuum. Indeed, it turns out that the result with a smooth switching function and the one with a sudden switching function are qualitatively quite different. It is also shown that anti-correlations between the switching tails and the main measuring part plays an essential role in this switching effect. The switching function can also be interpreted as a prototype of an non-equilibrium process in a realistic measurement, so that the switching effect found here is expected to be significant in actual applications in vacuum physics.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures This version is just to correct the author-lis

Evolution of the discrepancy between a universe and its model

We study a fundamental issue in cosmology: Whether we can rely on a cosmological model to understand the real history of the Universe. This fundamental, still unresolved issue is often called the ``model-fitting problem (or averaging problem) in cosmology''. Here we analyze this issue with the help of the spectral scheme prepared in the preceding studies. Choosing two specific spatial geometries that are very close to each other, we investigate explicitly the time evolution of the spectral distance between them; as two spatial geometries, we choose a flat 3-torus and a perturbed geometry around it, mimicking the relation of a ``model universe'' and the ``real Universe''. Then we estimate the spectral distance between them and investigate its time evolution explicitly. This analysis is done efficiently by making use of the basic results of the standard linear structure-formation theory. We observe that, as far as the linear perturbation of geometry is valid, the spectral distance does not increase with time prominently,rather it shows the tendency to decrease. This result is compatible with the general belief in the reliability of describing the Universe by means of a model, and calls for more detailed studies along the same line including the investigation of wider class of spacetimes and the analysis beyond the linear regime.Comment: To be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit