Nonsingular cosmological models: the massive scalar field case

The nonminimal coupling of a massive self-interacting scalar field with a gravitational field is studied. Spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs in the open universe even when the sign on the mass term is positive. In contrast to grand unified theories, symmetry breakdown is more important for the early universe and it is restored only in the limit of an infinite expansion. Symmetry breakdown is shown to occur in flat and closed universes when the mass term carries a wrong sign. The model has a naturally defined effective gravitational coupling coefficient which is rendered time-dependent due to the novel symmetry breakdown. It changes sign below a critical value of the cosmic scale factor indicating the onset of a repulsive field. The presence of the mass term severely alters the behaviour of ordinary matter and radiation in the early universe. The total energy density becomes negative in a certain domain. These features make possible a nonsingular cosmological model for an open universe. The model is also free from the horizon and the flatness problems.     

On the relation between the Abelian Higgs model and the spontaneously broken massless scalar electrodynamics

An analysis is made of the connection between the “massless” field theories, in the presence of the Coleman-Weinberg phenomenon and the corresponding models with a “negative mass” term as origin of the spontaneous breakdown. For the very interesting case of an Abelian gauge theory, i.e. the Higgs model, we find the conditions for the parameters of the theory which make it equivalent to the spontaneously broken scalar massless electrodynamics. The properties of the effective potential in this limit are studied.     

Massive Nordström scalar (density) gravities from universal coupling

Both particle physics and the 1890s Seeliger–Neumann modification of Newtonian gravity suggest considering a “mass term” for gravity, yielding a finite range due to an exponentially decaying Yukawa potential. Unlike Nordström’s “massless” theory, massive scalar gravities are strictly Special Relativistic, being invariant under the Poincaré group but not the conformal group. Geometry is a poor guide to understanding massive scalar gravities: matter sees a conformally flat metric, but gravity also sees the rest of the flat metric, barely, in the mass term. Infinitely many theories exhibit this bimetric ‘geometry,’ all with the total stress–energy’s trace as source. All are new except the Freund–Nambu theory. The smooth massless limit indicates underdetermination of theories by data between massless and massive scalar gravities. The ease of accommodating electrons, protons and other fermions using density-weighted Ogievetsky–Polubarinov spinors in scalar gravity is noted.     

On the equivalence between sine-Gordon model and Thirring model in the chirally broken phase of the Thirring model

We investigate the equivalence between Thirring model and sine-Gordon model in the chirally broken phase of the Thirring model. This is unlike all other available approaches where the fermion fields of the Thirring model were quantized in the chiral symmetric phase. In the path integral approach we show that the bosonized version of the massless Thirring model is described by a quantum field theory of a massless scalar field and exactly solvable, and the massive Thirring model bosonizes to the sine-Gordon model with a new relation between the coupling constants. We show that the non-perturbative vacuum of the chirally broken phase in the massless Thirring model can be described in complete analogy with the BCS ground state of superconductivity. The Mermin–Wagner theorem and Coleman's statement concerning the absence of Goldstone bosons in the 1+1-dimensional quantum field theories are discussed. We investigate the current algebra in the massless Thirring model and give a new value of the Schwinger term. We show that the topological current in the sine-Gordon model coincides with the Noether current responsible for the conservation of the fermion number in the Thirring model. This allows one to identify the topological charge in the sine-Gordon model with the fermion number. Received: 16 December 2000 / Revised version: 23 April 2001 / Published online: 13 June 2001     

Cosmological perturbations and quantum fields in curved space

We identify the quantum theory of cosmological perturbations with the quantum field theory in curved spacetime with emphasis on its field concept. We materialize this idea by using a coherent state as a quantum analogue of a nontrivial classical field configuration. We present analytic results in a de Sitter universe for the massless and massive minimal free scalar fields. Some new features on the spectrum of perturbations are obtained for the massive case. We also show how such quantum field theories can be derived from quantum gravity using the semiclassical approximation. A physical degree of freedom is picked up from three scalar perturbations in the quantum gravity scalar system and its Schrödinger equation is derived. Peculiar features of quantum fields at imaginary time and its possible implications on boundary conditions for the wave function of the universe are also discussed.     

Accurate analytic presentation of solution of the Schrödinger equation with arbitrary physical potential: Excited states

The quasilinearization method (QLM) is used to approximate analytically, both the ground state and the excited state solutions of the Schrödinger equation for arbitrary potentials. The procedure of approximation was demonstrated on examples of a few often used physical potentials such as the quartic anharmonic oscillator, the Yukawa and the spiked harmonic oscillator potentials. The accurate analytic expressions for the ground and excited state energies and wave functions were presented. These high-precision approximate analytic representations are obtained by first casting the Schrödinger equation into a nonlinear Riccati form and then solving that nonlinear equation analytically in the first QLM iteration. In the QLM the nonlinear differential equation is treated by approximating the nonlinear terms by a sequence of linear expressions. The QLM is iterative but not perturbative and gives stable solutions to nonlinear problems without depending on the existence of a smallness parameter. The method provides final and reasonable results for both small and large values of the coupling constant and is able to handle even super singular potentials for which each term of the perturbation theory is infinite and the perturbation expansion does not exist. The choice of zero iteration is based on general features of solutions near the boundaries. In order to estimate the accuracy of the QLM solutions, the exact numerical solutions were found as well. The first QLM iterate given by analytic expression allows to estimate analytically the role of different parameters and the influence of their variation on different characteristics of the relevant quantum systems.     

Complex frequencies of a massless scalar field in loop quantum black hole spacetime

Recently,considerable progress has been made in understanding the early universe by loop quantum cosmology.Modesto et al.investigated the loop quantum black hole(LQBH)using improved semiclassical analysis and they found that the LQBH has two horizons,an event horizon and a Cauchy horizon,just like the Reissner-Nordstr¨om black hole.This paper focuses on the dynamical evolution of a massless scalar wave in the LQBH background.By investigating the relation between the complex frequencies of the massless scalar field and the LQBH parameters using the numerical method,we find that the polymeric parameter P makes the massless scalar field decay more quickly and makes the ground scalar wave oscillate slowly.However,the polymeric parameter P causes the frequency of the high harmonic massless scalar wave to shift according to its value.We also find that the loop quantum gravity area gap parameter a 0 causes the massless scalar field to decay more slowly and makes the period of the massless scalar field wave become longer.In the complex ω plane,the frequency curves move counterclockwise when the polymeric parameter P increases and this spiral effect is more obvious for a higher harmonic scalar wave.     

Merging Higher Derivative Gravity and Quantum Mechanics

The most general quantum mechanical wave equation for a massive scalar particle in a metric generated by a spherically symmetric mass distribution is considered within the framework of higher derivative gravity (HDG). The exact effective Hamiltonian is constructed and the significance of the various terms is discussed using the linearized version of the above-mentioned theory. Not only does this analysis shed new light on the long standing problem of quantum gravity concerning the exact nature of the coupling between a massive scalar field and the background geometry, it also greatly improves our understanding of the role of HDG's coupling parameters in semiclassical calculations.     

Free energy of a Lovelock holographic superconductor

We study thermodynamics of black hole solutions in Lanczos–Lovelock anti-de Sitter gravity in \(d+1\) dimensions coupled to nonlinear electrodynamics and a Stückelberg scalar field. This class of theories is used in the context of gauge/gravity duality to describe a high-temperature superconductor in \(d\) dimensions. A larger number of coupling constants in the gravitational side is necessary to widen the domain of validity of physical quantities in dual quantum field theory (QFT). We regularize the gravitational action and find the finite conserved quantities for a planar black hole with scalar hair. Then we derive the quantum statistical relation in the Euclidean sector of the theory, and we obtain the exact formula for the free energy of the superconductor in the holographic QFT. Our result is analytic and it includes the effects of backreaction of the gravitational field. We further discuss on how this formula could be used to analyze second order phase transitions through the discontinuities of the free energy, in order to classify holographic superconductors in terms of the parameters in the theory.     

Exact Solutions of Covariant Wave Equations with a Multipole Source Term on Curved Spacetimes

A formalism is presented for calculating exactsolutions of covariant inhomogeneous scalar and tensorwave equations whose source terms are arbitrary ordermultipoles on a curved background spacetime. The developed formalism is based on the theory ofthe higher-order fundamental solutions for wave equationwhich are the distributions that satisfy theinhomogeneous wave equation with the corresponding order covariant derivatives of the Dirac deltafunction on the right-hand side. Like the classicalGreen's function for a scalar wave equation, thehigher-order fundamental solutions contain a direct termwhich has support on the light cone as well as a tailterm which has support inside the light cone. Knowinghow to compute the fundamental solutions of arbitraryorder, one can find exact multipole solutions of wave equations on curved spacetimes. Wepresent complete recurrent algorithms for calculatingthe arbitrary-order fundamental solutions and the exactmultipole solutions in a form convenient for practical computations. As an example we apply thealgorithm to a massless scalar wave field on aparticular Robertson-Walker spacetime.     

Exact solution of a massless scalar field with a relevant boundary interaction

We solve exactly the “boundary sine-Gordon” system of a massless scalar field with a potential at a boundary. This model has appeared in several contexts, including tunneling between quantum-Hall edge states and in dissipative quantum mechanics. For β² < 8π, this system exhibits a boundary renormalization-group flow from Neumann to Dirichlet boundary conditions. By taking the massless limit of the sine-Gordon model with boundary potential, we find the exact S-matrix for particles scattering off the boundary. Using the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz, we calculate the boundary entropy along the entire flow. We show how these particles correspond to wave packets in the classical Klein-Gordon equation, thus giving a more precise explanation of scattering in a massless theory.     

Relativistic n-body wave equations in scalar quantum field theory

The variational method in a reformulated Hamiltonian formalism of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) is used to derive relativistic n-body wave equations for scalar particles (bosons) interacting via a massive or massless mediating scalar field (the scalar Yukawa model). Simple Fock-space variational trial states are used to derive relativistic n-body wave equations. The equations are shown to have the Schrödinger non-relativistic limits, with Coulombic interparticle potentials in the case of a massless mediating field and Yukawa interparticle potentials in the case of a massive mediating field. Some examples of approximate ground state solutions of the n-body relativistic equations are obtained for various strengths of coupling, for both massive and massless mediating fields.     

A Quantum Cosmological Bianchi I Model with Interacting Spinor and Scalar Fields

A Bianchi I model of the Universe filled with interacting nonlinear spinor and scalar fields is studied within quantum geometrodynamics. Three types of interaction are considered: gradient, Yukawa, and axion ones. For massless fermion fields, the variables in the Wheeler – de Witt equation will separate. The solution can be interpreted using a two-component perfect liquid. One component corresponds to a massless scalar field, while the other – to a nonlinear spinor field. The interaction between the spinor and scalar fields can lead to elimination of singularity of the wave function. There is a possibility of existence of a discrete spectrum of the quantum Universe, as well as tunneling from the region with a rigorous equation of state to the region of the de Sitter vacuum.     

Nonrotating cosmic strings interacting with gravitational waves in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity

We present methods for the construction of exact diagonal cylindrically symmetric solutions in a four dimensional low energy limit of string theory, the Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity. The methods allow us to generate exact string backgrounds from known solutions to the equations of Einstein or Einstein gravity coupled to a massless scalar field. We also give and analyze explicit examples of such solutions. It is shown that they are free of curvature singularities,(quasi)regular on the axis of symmetry, asymptotically flat and describe nonrotating cosmic strings interacting with gravitational, dilaton and electromagnetic waves.     

Universally coupled massive gravity,III: dRGT–Maheshwari pure spin-2, Ogievetsky–Polubarinov and arbitrary mass terms

Einstein’s equations were derived for a free massless spin-2 field using universal coupling in the 1950–1970s by various authors; total stress–energy including gravity’s served as a source for linear free field equations. A massive variant was likewise derived in the late 1960s by Freund, Maheshwari and Schonberg, and thought to be unique. How broad is universal coupling? In the last decade four 1-parameter families of massive spin-2 theories (contravariant, covariant, tetrad, and cotetrad of almost any density weights) have been derived using universal coupling. The (co)tetrad derivations included 2 of the 3 pure spin-2 theories due to de Rham, Gabadadze, and Tolley; those two theories first appeared in the 2-parameter Ogievetsky–Polubarinov family (1965), which developed the symmetric square root of the metric as a nonlinear group realization. One of the two theories was identified as pure spin-2 by Maheshwari in 1971–1972, thus evading the Boulware–Deser–Tyutin–Fradkin ghost by the time it was announced. Unlike the previous 4 families, this paper permits nonlinear field redefinitions to build the effective metric. By not insisting in advance on knowing the observable significance of the graviton potential to all orders, one finds that an arbitrary graviton mass term can be derived using universal coupling. The arbitrariness of a universally coupled mass/self-interaction term contrasts sharply with the uniqueness of the Einstein kinetic term. One might have hoped to use universal coupling as a tie-breaking criterion for choosing among theories that are equally satisfactory on more crucial grounds (such as lacking ghosts and having a smooth massless limit). But the ubiquity of universal coupling implies that the criterion does not favor any particular theories among those with the Einstein kinetic term.     

Dimensional regularization of massless theories in spherical space-time

The use of space-time curvature as an infra-red cut-off has been suggested for massless theories. In this paper we investigate the renormalization of massless theories in a spherical space-time (Euclidean version of de Sitter space) using dimensional regularization. Naive expectations are confirmed, namely that the coupling constant and wave-function renormalizations are independent of the curvature. Furthermore the curvature does not induce divergent mass terms or vacuum field values as would be possible on purely dimensional grounds. Although we have investigated only scalar field theories, φ⁴ theory in four dimensions and φ³ theory in six, these results are encouraging for an application of the method to gauge theories.Formally massless theories are conformally invariant so the formulation of the theory in a spherical space ought to be equivalent to its formulation in flat space. In fact the renormalization procedure breaks conformal invariance and removes this equivalence. We show that to achieve the flat space limit it is necessary to invoke the aid of the renormalization group. Thus the zero curvature limit can be achieved for infra-red stable theories (φ₄⁴) but not for infra-red unstable theories (φ₆³ as might be expected.     

Nonminimal particle-like solutions in cubic scalar field theory

The cubic scalar field theory admits the bell-shaped solitary wave solutions which can be interpreted as a massive Bose particles. We rule out the nonminimal p-brane action for such a solution as the point particle with curvature. When quantizing it as the theory with higher derivatives, it is shown that the corresponding quantum equation has SU(2) dynamical symmetry group realizing the exact spin-coordinate correspondence. Finally, we calculate the quantum corrections to the mass of the bell boson which can not be obtained by means of the perturbation theory starting from the vacuum sector.     

Supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models constrained on non-compact manifold

A detailed analysis by 1/n expansion is presented of supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models in two dimensions withU(n) symmetry in which the scalar fields are constrained on a non-compact manifold. The theories are ultraviolet finite. In the massless version of the models no mass scale is generated and gauge bosons fail to get dynamics while this is possible provided the theory contains a mass scale. The effects of introduction of the “Ø-term” into supersymmetric theories are also discussed. In particular, it is argued that supersymmetry is broken by the Ø-term only in finite supersymmetric theories. Finally, a singular behavior in the massless limit in these models is pointed out.     

Exotic Yang–Mills Dilaton Gauge Theories

An exotic class of nonlinear p-form non-Abelian gauge theories is studied, arising from the most general allowed covariant deformation of linear Abelian gauge theory for a set of massless 1-form fields and 2-form fields in four dimensions. These theories combine a Chapline–Manton type coupling of the 1-forms and 2-forms, along with a Yang–Mills coupling of the 1-forms, a Freedman–Townsend coupling of the 2-forms, and an extended Freedman–Townsend type coupling between the 1-forms and 2-forms. It is shown that the resulting theories have a geometrically interesting dual formulation that is equivalent to an exotic Yang–Mills dilaton theory involving a nonlinear sigma field. In particular, the nonlinear sigma field couples to the Yang–Mills 1-form field through a generalized Chern class 4-form term.     

Exact solutions of variable coefficient nonlinear diffusion-reaction equations with a nonlinear convective term

Attempts have been made to look for the exact solutions of certain types of nonlinear diffusion-reaction equations which involve not only the quadratic and quartic nonlinearities but also a time-dependent nonlinear convective flux term. In particular, the solitary wave solutions are found. Such equations arise in a variety of contexts in physical and biological problems.