Renormalization group flow of the Holst action

The renormalization group (RG) properties of quantum gravity are explored, using the vielbein and the spin connection as the fundamental field variables. The scale dependent effective action is required to be invariant both under spacetime diffeomorphisms and local frame rotations. The nonperturbative RG equation is solved explicitly on the truncated theory space defined by a three-parameter family of Holst-type actions which involve a running Immirzi parameter. We find evidence for the existence of an asymptotically safe fundamental theory, probably inequivalent to metric quantum gravity constructed in the same way.     

Asymptotic safety of simple Yukawa systems

We study the triviality and hierarchy problem of a Z ₂-invariant Yukawa system with massless fermions and a real scalar field, serving as a toy model for the standard-model Higgs sector. Using the functional RG, we look for UV stable fixed points which could render the system asymptotically safe. Whether a balancing of fermionic and bosonic contributions in the RG flow induces such a fixed point depends on the algebraic structure and the degrees of freedom of the system. Within the region of parameter space which can be controlled by a nonperturbative next-to-leading order derivative expansion of the effective action, we find no non-Gaußian fixed point in the case of one or more fermion flavors. The fermion-boson balancing can still be demonstrated within a model system with a small fractional flavor number in the symmetry-broken regime. The UV behavior of this small-N _f system is controlled by a conformal Higgs expectation value. The system has only two physical parameters, implying that the Higgs mass can be predicted. It also naturally explains the heavy mass of the top quark, since there are no RG trajectories connecting the UV fixed point with light top masses.     

FRW-Cosmological Model for Conharmonically Flat Space Time

This paper deals with FRW-Cosmological model of the universe for conharmonically flat space time. Einstein field equations with variable cosmological term are solved by using a law of variation for Hubble’s parameter, which is related to average scale factor. A new class of exact solution of the field equation has been obtained in which cosmological-term decreases with cosmic time. A detailed study of physical and kinematical properties of the model is also carried out.     

Stability analysis and observational measurement in 5-D Brans–Dicke cosmology

This Letter is a study of the effects of higher dimensional gravity and Brans–Dicke (BD) scalar field on cosmic acceleration in 5-D BD cosmological model. We assume a flat cosmological model in which the matter content of the universe is either cold dark matter or radiation. In a framework to study attractor solutions in the phase space we simultaneously constrain the model parameters with the observational data for distance modulus. The phase space analysis illustrates that the universe begins from an unstable state in the past and eventually reaches an asymptotically stable state (attractor). We examine the model by performing Hubble parameter test in addition to statefinder diagnosis. We also reconstruct the equation of state parameter, the scale factor in 3-D space and along extra dimension. The results show that due to the presence of extra dimension and Brans–Dicke scalar field in the model, the universe undergoes a period of acceleration.     

Exact Renormalization Group Analysis of Turbulent Transport by the Shear Flow

The exact renormalization group (RG) method initiated by Wilson and further developed by Polchinski is used to study the shear flow model proposed by Avellaneda and Majda as a simplified model for the diffusive transport of a passive scalar by a turbulent velocity field. It is shown that this exact RG method is capable of recovering all the scaling regimes as the spectral parameters of velocity statistics vary, found by Avellaneda and Majda in their rigorous study of this model. This gives further confidence that the RG method, if implemented in the right way instead of using drastic truncations as in the Yakhot-Orszag’s approximate RG scheme, does give the correct prediction for the large scale behaviors of solutions of stochastic partial differential equations (PDE). We also derive the analog of the “large eddy simulation” models when a finite amount of small scales are eliminated from the problem.     

Nonperturbative renormalization group approach to turbulence

We suggest a new, renormalization group (RG) based, nonperturbative method for treating the intermittency problem of fully developed turbulence which also includes the effects of a finite boundary of the turbulent flow. The key idea is not to try to construct an elimination procedure based on some assumed statistical distribution, but to make an ansatz for possible RG transformations and to pose constraints upon those, which guarantee the invariance of the nonlinear term in the Navier-Stokes equation, the invariance of the energy dissipation, and other basic properties of the velocity field. The role of length scales is taken to be inverse to that in the theory of critical phenomena; thus possible intermittency corrections are connected with the outer length scale. Depending on the specific type of flow, we find different sets of admissible transformations with distinct scaling behaviour: for the often considered infinite, isotropic, and homogeneous system K41 scaling is enforced, but for the more realistic plane Couette geometry no restrictions on intermittency exponents were obtained so far. Received: 28 December 1997 / Accepted: 6 August 1998     

A perturbative nonequilibrium renormalization group method for dissipative quantum mechanics

We study a generic problem of dissipative quantum mechanics, a small local quantum system with discrete states coupled in an arbitrary way (i.e. not necessarily linear) to several infinitely large particle or heat reservoirs. For both bosonic or fermionic reservoirs we develop a quantum field-theoretical diagrammatic formulation in Liouville space by expanding systematically in the reservoir-system coupling and integrating out the reservoir degrees of freedom. As a result we obtain a kinetic equation for the reduced density matrix of the quantum system. Based on this formalism, we present a formally exact perturbative renormalization group (RG) method from which the kernel of this kinetic equation can be calculated. It is demonstrated how the nonequilibrium stationary state (induced by several reservoirs kept at different chemical potentials or temperatures), arbitrary observables such as the transport current, and the time evolution into the stationary state can be calculated. Most importantly, we show how RG equations for the relaxation and dephasing rates can be derived and how they cut off generically the RG flow of the vertices. The method is based on a previously derived real-time RG technique [1-4] but formulated here in Laplace space and generalized to arbitrary reservoir-system couplings. Furthermore, for fermionic reservoirs with flat density of states, we make use of a recently introduced cutoff scheme on the imaginary frequency axis [5] which has several technical advantages. Besides the formal set-up of the RG equations for generic problems of dissipative quantum mechanics, we demonstrate the method by applying it to the nonequilibrium isotropic Kondo model. We present a systematic way to solve the RG equations analytically in the weak-coupling limit and provide an outlook of the applicability to the strong-coupling case.     

Power-Law Expansion and Scalar Field Cosmology in Higher Derivative Theory

In this paper we study the evolution of a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model filled with a perfect fluid and a scalar field minimally coupled to gravity in higher derivative theory of gravitation. Exact solution of the field equations are obtained by the assumption of power-law form of the scale factor. A number of evolutionary phases of the universe including the present accelerating phase are found to exist with scalar field in the higher derivative theory of gravitation. The properties of scalar field and other physical parameters are discussed in detail. We find that the equation of state parameter for matter and scalar field are same at late time in each case. We observe that a higher derivative term can hardly be a candidate to describe the presently observed accelerated expansion. It is only the hypothetical fluids, which provide the late time acceleration. It is also remarkable that the higher derivative theory does not effect the radiating model of scalar field cosmology.     

Effective field theory analysis on μ problem in low-scale gauge mediation

Supersymmetric models based on the scenario of gauge mediation often suffer from the well-known μ problem. In this paper, we reconsider this problem in low-scale gauge mediation in terms of effective field theory analysis. In this paradigm, all high energy input soft mass can be expressed via loop expansions. If the corrections coming from messenger thresholds are small, as we assume in this letter, then all RG evaluations can be taken as linearly approximation for low-scale supersymmetric breaking. Due to these observations, the parameter space can be systematically classified and studied after constraints coming from electro-weak symmetry breaking are imposed. We find that some old proposals in the literature are reproduced, and two new classes are uncovered. We refer to a microscopic model, where the specific relations among coefficients in one of the new classes are well motivated. Also, we discuss some primary phenomenologies.     

Conformal invariance and spontaneous symmetry breaking

We study the spontaneous symmetry breaking in a conformally invariant gravitational theory. We particularly emphasize on the nonminimal coupling of matter fields to gravity. By the nonminimal coupling we consider a local distinction between the conformal frames of metric of matter fieldsand the metric explicitly entering the vacuum sector. We suppose that these two frames are conformally related by a dilaton field. We show that the imposition of a condition on the variable mass term of a scalar field may lead to the spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this way the scalar field may imitate the Higgs field behavior. Attributing a constant configuration to the ground state of the Higgs field, a Higgs conformal frame is specified. We define the Higgs conformal frame as a cosmological frame which describes the large scale characteristics of the observed universe. In the cosmological frame the gravitational coupling acquires a correct value and one no longer deals with the vacuum energy problem. We then study a more general case by considering a variable configuration for the ground state of Higgs field. In this case we introduce a cosmological solution of themodel.     

Renormalisation group improved leptogenesis in family symmetry models

We study renormalisation group (RG) corrections relevant for leptogenesis in the case of family symmetry models such as the Altarelli–Feruglio A₄$A_4$ model of tri-bimaximal lepton mixing or its extension to tri-maximal mixing. Such corrections are particularly relevant since in large classes of family symmetry models, to leading order, the CP violating parameters of leptogenesis would be identically zero at the family symmetry breaking scale, due to the form dominance property. We find that RG corrections violate form dominance and enable such models to yield viable leptogenesis at the scale of right-handed neutrino masses. More generally, the results of this paper show that RG corrections to leptogenesis cannot be ignored for any family symmetry model involving sizeable neutrino and τ Yukawa couplings.     

Application of the method of collective coordinates the the quantisation of the two-dimensional higgs model

A comprehensive analysis of the application of the method of collective coordinates to the two dimensional Higgs model is given. First the instanton solution is derived, and the geometry of configuration space, and the construction of Schrodinger wave functionals are discussed. It is then explicitly verified that the Goldstone mode is the projection of the vacuum state onto the generator of the broken symmetry. The elimination of this Goldstone mode by means of the unitary gauge condition is demonstrated to the the crucial point in the construction of a consistent perturbation procedure. The parameter of the broken symmetry group is then used as the collective coordinate for field configurations around a minimum of the interaction. Throughout, the discussion is sufficiently detailed in order to facilitate the application of the method to other fields.     

Influence of s± symmetry on unconventional superconductivity in pnictides above the Pauli limit – two-band model study

The theoretical analysis of the Cooper pair susceptibility shows the two-band Fe-based superconductors (FeSC) to support the existence of the phase with nonzero Cooper pair momentum (called the Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase or shortly FFLO), regardless of the order parameter symmetry. Moreover this phase for the FeSC model with s _± symmetry is the ground state of the system near the Pauli limit. This article discusses the phase diagram h-T for FeSC in the two-band model and its physical consequences. We compare the results for the superconducting order parameter with s-wave and s _±-wave symmetry – in first case the FFLO phase can occur in both bands, while in second case only in one band. We analyze the resulting order parameter in real space – showing that the FeSC with s _±-wave symmetry in the Pauli limit have typical properties of one-band systems, such as oscillations of the order parameter in real space with constant amplitude, whereas with s-wave symmetry the oscillations have an amplitude modulation. Discussing the free energy in the superconducting state we show that in absence of orbital effects, the phase transition from the BCS to the FFLO state is always first order, whereas from the FFLO phase to normal state is second order.     

The Raise and Peel Model of a Fluctuating Interface

We propose a one-dimensional nonlocal stochastic model of adsorption and desorption depending on one parameter, the adsorption rate. At a special value of this parameter, the model has some interesting features. For example, the spectrum is given by conformal field theory, and the stationary non-equilibrium probability distribution is given by the two-dimensional equilibrium distribution of the ice model with domain wall type boundary conditions. This connection is used to find exact analytic expressions for several quantities of the stochastic model. Vice versa, some understanding of the ice model with domain wall type boundary conditions can be obtained by the study of the stochastic model. At the special point we study several properties of the model, such as the height fluctuations as well as cluster and avalanche distributions. The latter has a long tail which shows that the model exhibits self organized criticality. We also find in the stationary state a special surface phase transition without enhancement and with a crossover exponent φ=2/3. Furthermore, we study the phase diagram of the model as a function of the adsorption rate and find two massive phases and a scale invariant phase where conformal invariance is broken.     

Hamiltonian Anomalies from Extended Field Theories

We develop a proposal by Freed to see anomalous field theories as relative field theories, namely field theories taking value in a field theory in one dimension higher, the anomaly field theory. We show that when the anomaly field theory is extended down to codimension 2, familiar facts about Hamiltonian anomalies can be naturally recovered, such as the fact that the anomalous symmetry group admits only a projective representation on the Hilbert space, or that the latter is really an abelian bundle gerbe over the moduli space. We include in the discussion the case of non-invertible anomaly field theories, which is relevant to six-dimensional (2, 0) superconformal theories. In this case, we show that the Hamiltonian anomaly is characterized by a degree 2 non-abelian group cohomology class, associated to the non-abelian gerbe playing the role of the state space of the anomalous theory. We construct Dai-Freed theories, governing the anomalies of chiral fermionic theories, and Wess-Zumino theories, governing the anomalies of Wess-Zumino terms and self-dual field theories, as extended field theories down to codimension 2.     

En route to Background Independence: Broken split-symmetry,and how to restore it with bi-metric average actions

The most momentous requirement a quantum theory of gravity must satisfy is Background Independence, necessitating in particular an ab initio derivation of the arena all non-gravitational physics takes place in, namely spacetime. Using the background field technique, this requirement translates into the condition of an unbroken split-symmetry connecting the (quantized) metric fluctuations to the (classical) background metric. If the regularization scheme used violates split-symmetry during the quantization process it is mandatory to restore it in the end at the level of observable physics. In this paper we present a detailed investigation of split-symmetry breaking and restoration within the Effective Average Action (EAA) approach to Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) with a special emphasis on the Asymptotic Safety conjecture. In particular we demonstrate for the first time in a non-trivial setting that the two key requirements of Background Independence and Asymptotic Safety can be satisfied simultaneously. Carefully disentangling fluctuation and background fields, we employ a ‘bi-metric’ ansatz for the EAA and project the flow generated by its functional renormalization group equation on a truncated theory space spanned by two separate Einstein–Hilbert actions for the dynamical and the background metric, respectively. A new powerful method is used to derive the corresponding renormalization group (RG) equations for the Newton- and cosmological constant, both in the dynamical and the background sector. We classify and analyze their solutions in detail, determine their fixed point structure, and identify an attractor mechanism which turns out instrumental in the split-symmetry restoration. We show that there exists a subset of RG trajectories which are both asymptotically safe and split-symmetry restoring: In the ultraviolet they emanate from a non-Gaussian fixed point, and in the infrared they loose all symmetry violating contributions inflicted on them by the non-invariant functional RG equation. As an application, we compute the scale dependent spectral dimension which governs the fractal properties of the effective QEG spacetimes at the bi-metric level. Earlier tests of the Asymptotic Safety conjecture almost exclusively employed ‘single-metric truncations’ which are blind towards the difference between quantum and background fields. We explore in detail under which conditions they can be reliable, and we discuss how the single-metric based picture of Asymptotic Safety needs to be revised in the light of the new results. We shall conclude that the next generation of truncations for quantitatively precise predictions (of critical exponents, for instance) is bound to be of the bi-metric type.     

Scale anomaly as the origin of time

We explore the problem of time in quantum gravity in a point-particle analogue model of scale-invariant gravity. If quantized after reduction to true degrees of freedom, it leads to a time-independent Schrödinger equation. As with the Wheeler–DeWitt equation, time disappears, and a frozen formalism that gives a static wavefunction on the space of possible shapes of the system is obtained. However, if one follows the Dirac procedure and quantizes by imposing constraints, the potential that ensures scale invariance gives rise to a conformal anomaly, and the scale invariance is broken. A behaviour closely analogous to renormalization-group (RG) flow results. The wavefunction acquires a dependence on the scale parameter of the RG flow. We interpret this as time evolution and obtain a novel solution of the problem of time in quantum gravity. We apply the general procedure to the three-body problem, showing how to fix a natural initial value condition, introducing the notion of complexity. We recover a time-dependent Schrödinger equation with a repulsive cosmological force in the ‘late-time’ physics and we analyse the role of the scale invariant Planck constant. We suggest that several mechanisms presented in this model could be exploited in more general contexts.