Dispersive Calculation of the Massless Multi-loop Sunrise Diagram

The massless sunrise diagram with an arbitrary number of loops is calculated in a simple but formal manner. The result is then verified by rigorous mathematical treatment. Pitfalls in the calculation with distributions are highlighted and explained. The result displays the high energy behaviour of the massive sunrise diagrams, whose calculation is involved already for the two-loop case.     

Remarks on the thermodynamics and the vacuum energy of a quantum Maxwell gas on compact and closed manifolds

The quantum Maxwell theory at finite temperature at equilibrium is studied on compact and closed manifolds in both the functional integral and Hamiltonian formalism. The aim is to shed some light onto the interrelation between the topology of the spatial background and the thermodynamic properties of the system. The quantization is not unique and gives rise to inequivalent quantum theories which are classified by θ-vacua. Based on explicit parametrizations of the gauge orbit space in the functional integral approach and of the physical phase space in the canonical quantization scheme, the Gribov problem is resolved and the equivalence of both quantization schemes is elucidated. Using zeta-function regularization the free energy is determined and the effect of the topology of the spatial manifold on the vacuum energy and on the thermal gauge field excitations is clarified. The general results are then applied to a quantum Maxwell gas on an n-dimensional torus providing explicit formulae for the main thermodynamic functions in the low- and high-temperature regimes, respectively.     

Are vortex numbers preserved?

We study noncommutative vortex solutions that minimize the action functional of the Abelian Higgs model in 2-dimensional noncommutative Euclidean space. We first consider vortex solutions which are deformed from solutions defined on commutative Euclidean space to the noncommutative one. We construct solutions whose vortex numbers are unchanged under the noncommutative deformation. Another class of noncommutative vortex solutions via a Fock space representation is also studied.     

Krichever-Novikov formulation of topological conformal field theory

The Krichever-Novikov (KN) global operator formalism is applied to construct a topological conformal field theory on a compact Riemann surface from an N=2 super-conformal field theory. The topological version of the KN algebra is derived and the BRST charge is shown to be genus-dependent in this formulation. This leads to an interesting cohomology structure for the physical subspace of the Hilbert space.     

Sigma-models having supermanifolds as target spaces

We study a topological sigma-model (A-model) in the case when the target space is an (m ₀|m ₁)-dimensional supermanifold. We prove under certain conditions that such a model is equivalent to an A-model having an (m ₀–m ₁)-dimensional manifold as a target space. We use this result to prove that in the case when the target space of A-model is a complete intersection in a toric manifold, this A-model is equivalent to an A-model having a toric supermanifold as a target space.Research supported in part by NSF grant No. DMS-9201366.     

Action functionals for strings in four dimensions

All possible action functionals on the space of surfaces in ⁴ that depend only on first and second derivatives of the functions, entering the equation of the surface, and satisfy the condition of invariance with respect to rigid motions, are described.     

The construction of pointlike localized charged fields from conformal Haag—Kastler nets

Starting from a chiral conformal Haag-Kastler net on two-dimensional Minkowski space we construct associated charged pointlike localized fields which intertwine between arbitrary superselection sectors with finite statistics of the theory. This amounts to a proof of the Spin-Statistics theorem, the PCT theorem and the existence of operator product expansions.This Letter generalizes similar results of a recently published paper by Fredenhagen and the author from the neutral vacuum sector to the the full theory with arbitrary charge and finite statistics.     

Elliptic Wess-Zumino-Witten model from elliptic Chern-Simons theory

This Letter continues the program aimed at analysing of the scalar product of states in the Chern-Simons theory. It treats the elliptic case with group SU₂. The formal scalar product is expressed as a multiple finite-dimensional integral which, if convergent for every state, provides the space of states with a Hilbert space structure. The convergence is checked for states with a single Wilson line where the integral expressions encode the Bethe Ansatz solutions of the Lamé equation. In relation to the Wess-Zumino-Witten conformal field theory, the scalar product renders unitary the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov-Bernard connection and gives a pairing between conformal blocks used to obtain the genus-one correlation functions.     

Extended non-abelian gauge symmetries in the classical WZNW model

Higher spin extensions of the non-Abelian gauge symmetries for the classical WZNW model are considered. Both linear and nonlinear realizations of the extended affine Kac-Moody algebra are obtained. It is a characteristic property of the WZNW model that it admits a higher spin linear realization of the extended affine Kac-Moody algebra which is equivalent to the corresponding higher spin nonlinear realization of the same algebra. However, in both cases, the higher spin Noether currents do not span an invariant space with respect to their generating transformations. Here, the current space is extended to an invariant space which allows us to gauge the symmetry.Supported by Bulgarian Foundation on Fundamental Research under contract Ph-318/93-95.     

On the holomorphic factorization for superconformal fields

For a generic value of the central charge, we prove the holomorphic factorization of partition functions for free superconformal fields which are defined on a compact Riemann surface without boundary. The partition functions are viewed as functionals of the Beltrami coefficients and their fermionic partners, which variables parametrize superconformal classes of metrics.     

The gravitational anomalies in de Sitter space

All solutions to the consistency equations are determined which have to be satisfied by anomalies in gravitational theories with a de Sitter-invariant groundstate. They turn out to be identical with the solutions for a Poincaré-invariant groundstate.     

A monopole-like classical solution to a purely fermionic model of even dimensions

We present a static solution to the classical field equations of a purely spinorial model with SO(2n) internal symmetry in 2n dimensions. The model contains composite vector fields which have solutions of the Wu-Yang monopole type.     

Absence of species doubling in finite-element quantum electrodynamics

In this Letter, it will be demonstrated explicitly that the finite-element formulation of quantum electrodynamics is free from fermion doubling. We do this by (1) examining the lattice fermion propagator and using it to compute the one-loop vacuum polarization on the lattice, and (2) by an explict computation of vector and axial-vector current anomalies for an arbitrary rectangular lattice in the Schwinger model. There it is shown that requiring that the vector current be conserved necessitates the use of a square lattice, in which case the axial-vector current is anomalous.     

Modular inclusion,the Hawking temperature,and quantum field theory in curved spacetime

A recent result by Borchers connecting geometric modular action, modular inclusion and spectrum condition, is applied in quantum field theory on spacetimes with a bifurcate Killing horizon (these are generalizations of black-hole spacetimes, comprising the familiar black-hole spacetime models). Within this framework, we give sufficient, model-independent conditions ensuring that the temperature of thermal equilibrium quantum states is the Hawking temperature.     

Sp(2) renormalization

The renormalization of general gauge theories on flat and curved space–time backgrounds is considered within the Sp(2)-covariant quantization method. We assume the existence of a gauge-invariant and diffeomorphism invariant regularization. Using the Sp(2)-covariant formalism one can show that the theory possesses gauge-invariant and diffeomorphism invariant renormalizability to all orders in the loop expansion and the extended BRST-symmetry after renormalization is preserved. The advantage of the Sp(2) method compared to the standard Batalin–Vilkovisky approach is that, in reducible theories, the structure of ghosts and ghosts for ghosts and auxiliary fields is described in terms of irreducible representations of the Sp(2) group. This makes the presentation of solutions to the master equations in more simple and systematic way because they are Sp(2)-scalars.     

Nuclearity,split property,and duality for the Klein-Gordon field in curved spacetime

Nuclearity, split property and duality are established for the nets of von Neumann algebras associated with the representations of distinguished states of the massive Klein-Gordon field propagating in particular classes of curved spacetimes.Supported by the DFG.     

A new 2-form for connections on surfaces with boundary

A natural gauge-invariant 2-form is introduced on the space of connections over a compact oriented surface with boundary. It is shown that this 2-form descends to the moduli space of flat connections, under a group of based gauge transformations. An explicit expression (in terms of holonomy variations) is given for the resulting 2-form, and it is related to the symplectic structure of the extended moduli space introduced by L. C. Jeffrey.     

Self-dual Yang-Mills fields in eight dimensions

Strongly self-dual Yang-Mills fields in even-dimensional spaces are characterised by a set of constraints on the eigenvalues of the Yang-Mills fieldsF . We derive a topological bound on R⁸, , wherep1 is the first Pontryagin class of the SO(n) Yang-Mills bundle, andk is a constant. Strongly self-dual Yang-Mills fields realise the lower bound.     

Classical solutions to a quadratically nonlinear gauge theory

We present some classical solutions to a gauge theory based on quadratically nonlinear Lie algebras without a central term. We observe that instanton-like and meron-like solutions force the internal fields to behave like solitons.