397 research outputs found
Automorphism covariant representations of the holonomy-flux *-algebra
We continue an analysis of representations of cylindrical functions and
fluxes which are commonly used as elementary variables of Loop Quantum Gravity.
We consider an arbitrary principal bundle of a compact connected structure
group and following Sahlmann's ideas define a holonomy-flux *-algebra whose
elements correspond to the elementary variables. There exists a natural action
of automorphisms of the bundle on the algebra; the action generalizes the
action of analytic diffeomorphisms and gauge transformations on the algebra
considered in earlier works. We define the automorphism covariance of a
*-representation of the algebra on a Hilbert space and prove that the only
Hilbert space admitting such a representation is a direct sum of spaces L^2
given by a unique measure on the space of generalized connections. This result
is a generalization of our previous work (Class. Quantum. Grav. 20 (2003)
3543-3567, gr-qc/0302059) where we assumed that the principal bundle is
trivial, and its base manifold is R^d.Comment: 34 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX2e, minor clarifying remark
Chemical abundances of stars with brown-dwarf companions
It is well-known that stars with giant planets are on average more metal-rich
than stars without giant planets, whereas stars with detected low-mass planets
do not need to be metal-rich. With the aim of studying the weak boundary that
separates giant planets and brown dwarfs (BDs) and their formation mechanism,
we analyze the spectra of a sample of stars with already confirmed BD
companions both by radial velocity and astrometry. We employ standard and
automatic tools to perform an EW-based analysis and to derive chemical
abundances from CORALIE spectra of stars with BD companions. We compare these
abundances with those of stars without detected planets and with low-mass and
giant-mass planets. We find that stars with BDs do not have metallicities and
chemical abundances similar to those of giant-planet hosts but they resemble
the composition of stars with low-mass planets. The distribution of mean
abundances of -elements and iron peak elements of stars with BDs
exhibit a peak at about solar abundance whereas for stars with low-mass and
high-mass planets the [X/H] and [X/H] peak abundances
remain at ~dex and ~dex, respectively. We display these
element abundances for stars with low-mass and high-mass planets, and BDs
versus the minimum mass, , of the most-massive substellar companion
in each system, and we find a maximum in -element as well as Fe-peak
abundances at jupiter masses. We discuss the
implication of these results in the context of the formation scenario of BDs in
comparison with that of giant planets.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Towards the QFT on Curved Spacetime Limit of QGR. I: A General Scheme
In this article and a companion paper we address the question of how one
might obtain the semiclassical limit of ordinary matter quantum fields (QFT)
propagating on curved spacetimes (CST) from full fledged Quantum General
Relativity (QGR), starting from first principles. We stress that we do not
claim to have a satisfactory answer to this question, rather our intention is
to ignite a discussion by displaying the problems that have to be solved when
carrying out such a program. In the present paper we propose a scheme that one
might follow in order to arrive at such a limit. We discuss the technical and
conceptual problems that arise in doing so and how they can be solved in
principle. As to be expected, completely new issues arise due to the fact that
QGR is a background independent theory. For instance, fundamentally the notion
of a photon involves not only the Maxwell quantum field but also the metric
operator - in a sense, there is no photon vacuum state but a "photon vacuum
operator"! While in this first paper we focus on conceptual and abstract
aspects, for instance the definition of (fundamental) n-particle states (e.g.
photons), in the second paper we perform detailed calculations including, among
other things, coherent state expectation values and propagation on random
lattices. These calculations serve as an illustration of how far one can get
with present mathematical techniques. Although they result in detailed
predictions for the size of first quantum corrections such as the gamma-ray
burst effect, these predictions should not be taken too seriously because a)
the calculations are carried out at the kinematical level only and b) while we
can classify the amount of freedom in our constructions, the analysis of the
physical significance of possible choices has just begun.Comment: LaTeX, 47 p., 3 figure
Lorentz Invariance and the semiclassical approximation of loop quantum gravity
It is shown that the field equations derived from an effective interaction
hamiltonian for Maxwell and gravitational fields in the semiclassical
approximation of loop quantum gravity using rotational invariant states (such
as weave states) are Lorentz invariant. To derive this result, which is in
agreement with the observational evidence, we use the geometrical properties of
the electromagnetic field.Comment: 6 page
On low energy quantum gravity induced effects on the propagation of light
Present models describing the interaction of quantum Maxwell and
gravitational fields predict a breakdown of Lorentz invariance and a non
standard dispersion relation in the semiclassical approximation. Comparison
with observational data however, does not support their predictions. In this
work we introduce a different set of ab initio assumptions in the canonical
approach, namely that the homogeneous Maxwell equations are valid in the
semiclassical approximation, and find that the resulting field equations are
Lorentz invariant in the semiclassical limit. We also include a
phenomenological analysis of possible effects on the propagation of light, and
their dependence on energy, in a cosmological context.Comment: 12 page
Astrometric search for a planet around VB 10
We observed VB 10 in August and September 2009 using the FORS2 camera of the
VLT with the aim of measuring its astrometric motion and of probing the
presence of the announced planet VB 10b. We used the published STEPS
astrometric positions of VB 10 over a time-span of 9 years, which allowed us to
compare the expected motion of VB 10 due to parallax and proper motion with the
observed motion and to compute precise deviations. The achieved single-epoch
precisions of our observations are about 0.1 mas and the data showed no
significant residual trend, while the presence of the planet should have
induced an apparent proper motion larger than 10 mas/yr. Subtraction of the
predicted orbital motion from the observed data produces a large trend in
position residuals of VB 10. We estimated the probability that this trend is
caused by random noise. Taking all the uncertainties into account and using
Monte-Carlo resampling of the data, we are able to reject the existence of VB
10b with the announced mass of 6.4 M_J with the false alarm probability of only
0.0005. A 3.2 M_J planet is also rejected with a false alarm probability of
0.023.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&
Entropy calculation for a toy black hole
In this note we carry out the counting of states for a black hole in loop
quantum gravity, however assuming an equidistant area spectrum. We find that
this toy-model is exactly solvable, and we show that its behavior is very
similar to that of the correct model. Thus this toy-model can be used as a nice
and simplifying `laboratory' for questions about the full theory.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. v2: Corrected mistake in bibliography, added
appendix with further result
The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets: VI. Three new hot Jupiters in multi-planet extrasolar systems
We present high-precision radial-velocity measurements of three solar-type
stars: HD 13908, HD 159243, and HIP 91258. The observations were made with the
SOPHIE spectrograph at the 1.93-m telescope of Observatoire de Haute-Provence
(France). They show that these three bright stars host exoplanetary systems
composed of at least two companions. HD 13908 b is a planet with a minimum mass
of 0.865+-0.035 Mjup, on a circular orbit with a period of 19.382+-0.006 days.
There is an outer massive companion in the system with a period of 931+-17
days, e = 0.12+-0.02, and a minimum mass of 5.13+-0.25 Mjup. The star HD
159243, also has two detected companions with respective masses, periods, and
eccentricities of Mp = 1.13+-0.05 and 1.9+-0.13 Mjup, = 12.620+-0.004 and
248.4+-4.9 days, and e = 0.02+-0.02 and 0.075+-0.05. Finally, the star HIP
91258 has a planetary companion with a minimum mass of 1.068+-0.038 Mjup, an
orbital period of 5.0505+-0.0015 days, and a quadratic trend indicating an
outer planetary or stellar companion that is as yet uncharacterized. The
planet-hosting stars HD 13908, HD 159243, and HIP 91258 are main-sequence stars
of spectral types F8V, G0V, and G5V, respectively, with moderate activity
levels. HIP 91258 is slightly over-metallic, while the two other stars have
solar-like metallicity. The three systems are discussed in the frame of
formation and dynamical evolution models of systems composed of several giant
planets.Comment: accepted in A&
New insights in quantum geometry
Quantum geometry, i.e., the quantum theory of intrinsic and extrinsic spatial
geometry, is a cornerstone of loop quantum gravity. Recently, there have been
many new ideas in this field, and I will review some of them. In particular,
after a brief description of the main structures and results of quantum
geometry, I review a new description of the quantized geometry in terms of
polyhedra, new results on the volume operator, and a way to incorporate a
classical background metric into the quantum description. Finally I describe a
new type of exponentiated flux operator, and its application to Chern-Simons
theory and black holes.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures; Proceedings of Loops'11, Madrid, submitted to
Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS
The no-boundary measure in string theory: Applications to moduli stabilization, flux compactification, and cosmic landscape
We investigate the no-boundary measure in the context of moduli
stabilization. To this end, we first show that for exponential potentials,
there are no classical histories once the slope exceeds a critical value. We
also investigate the probability distributions given by the no-boundary wave
function near maxima of the potential. These results are then applied to a
simple model that compactifies 6D to 4D (HBSV model) with fluxes. We find that
the no-boundary wave function effectively stabilizes the moduli of the model.
Moreover, we find the a priori probability for the cosmological constant in
this model. We find that a negative value is preferred, and a vanishing
cosmological constant is not distinguished by the probability measure. We also
discuss the application to the cosmic landscape. Our preliminary arguments
indicate that the probability of obtaining anti de Sitter space is vastly
greater than for de Sitter.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figure
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