Probing type I′i string theory using D0 and D4-branes

We analyse the velocity-dependent potentials seen by D0 and D4-brane probes moving in Type I′ background for head-on scattering off the fixed planes. We find that at short distances (compared to string length) the D0-brane probe has a nontrivial moduli space metric, in agreement with the prediction of Type I′ matrix model; however, at large distances it is modified by massive open strings to a flat metric, which is consistent with the spacetime equations of motion of Type I′ theory. We discuss the implication of this result for the matrix model proposal for M-theory. We also find that the nontrivial metric at short distances in the moduli space action of the D0-brane probe is reflected in the coefficient of the higher dimensional ν⁴ term in the D4-brane probe action.     

Global aspects of p-branes

We generalize to dimension p> 1 the notion of string structure and discuss the related obstruction. We apply our results to a model of bosonic p-branes propagating on a principal G-bundle, coupled to a Yang-Mills field and an antisymmetric tensor field and in the presence of a Wess-Zumino term in the Lagrangian. We construct the quantization line bundle and discuss the action of background gauge transformations on wave functions.     

Supersymmetric quantum cosmology: a ‘Socratic’ guide

We calculate the classical limit effective action of the EPRL/FK spinfoam model of quantum gravity coupled to matter fields. By employing the standard QFT background field method adapted to the spinfoam setting, we find that the model has many different classical effective actions. Most notably, these include the ordinary Einstein–Hilbert action coupled to matter, but also an action which describes antigravity. All those multiple classical limits appear as a consequence of the fact that the EPRL/FK vertex amplitude has cosine-like large spin asymptotics. We discuss some possible ways to eliminate the unwanted classical limits.     

Imprints of spherical nontrivial topologies on the cosmic microwave background

The apparent low power in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropy power spectrum derived from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe motivated us to consider the possibility of a nontrivial topology. We focus on simple spherical multiconnected manifolds and discuss their implications for the CMB in terms of the power spectrum, maps, and the correlation matrix. We perform a Bayesian model comparison against the fiducial best-fit cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant based both on the power spectrum and the correlation matrix to assess their statistical significance. We find that the first-year power spectrum shows a slight preference for the truncated cube space, but the three-year data show no evidence for any of these spaces.     

Nonlinear dynamics of charged particles in an oblique electromagnetic wave

We study dynamics of a charged particle under action of an electromagnetic wave that propagates obliquely to a background uniform magnetic field. The dynamics is described by a slow-fast Hamiltonian system. We show that long-term dynamics is dominated by phenomena of capture of particle into resonance with the wave and escape from this resonance, as well as of scattering on resonance. We find that the variation of the particle?s kinetic energy on the time interval between capture and escape is bounded and accumulated in the motion along the background field. We discuss possible applications of the obtained results.     

Kaluza-Klein monopoles and gauged sigma-models

We propose an effective action for the eleven-dimensional (bosonic) Kaluza-Klein monopole solution. The construction of the action requires that the background fields admit an Abelian isometry group. The corresponding sigma-model is gauged with respect to this isometry. The gauged sigma-model is the source for the monopole solution. A direct (double) dimensional reduction of the action leads to the effective action of a 10-dimensional D-6-brane (IIA Kaluza-Klein monopole). We also show that the effective action of the 10-dimensional heterotic Kaluza-Klein monopole (which is a truncation of the IIA monopole action) is T-dual to the effective action of the solitonic 5-brane. We briefly discuss the kappa-symmetric extension of our proposal and the possible role of gauged sigma-models in connection with the conjectured M-theory 9-brane.     

Ward identities of W∞ symmetry and higher-genus amplitudes in 2D string theory

The Ward identities of the W_∞ symmetry in two-dimensional string theory in the tachyon background are studied in the continuum approach. We consider amplitudes different from 2D string ones by the external leg factor and derive the recursion relations among them. The recursion relations have non-linear terms which give relations among the amplitudes defined on different genus. The solutions agree with the matrix model results even in higher genus. We also discuss the differences of the roles of the external leg factor between the c_M = 1 model and the c_m < 1 model.     

QCD vacuum as a disordered medium: a simplified model for the QCD dirac operator

We model the QCD Dirac operator as a power-law random banded matrix (RBM) with the appropriate chiral symmetry. Our motivation is the form of the Dirac operator in a basis of instantonic zero modes with a corresponding gauge background of instantons. We compare the spectral correlations of this model to those of an instanton liquid model (ILM) and find agreement well beyond the Thouless energy. In the bulk of the spectrum the dimensionless Thouless energy of the RBM scales with the square root of system size in agreement with the ILM and chiral perturbation theory. Near the origin the scaling in the RBM remains the same as in the bulk which agrees with chiral perturbation theory but not with the ILM. Finally we discuss how this RBM should be modified in order to describe the spectral correlations of the QCD Dirac operator at the finite temperature chiral restoration transition.     

一维量子子自自旋链中拓扑有序态的物理描述

一维量子多体系统是凝聚态物理学中的重要研究方向之一,其中的新奇量子物态则是重要的研究课题。本文我们首先简要回顾一维量子整数自旋链体系的相关研究背景,然后提出一类SO(n)对称的严格可解量子自旋链模型及其矩阵乘积基态。当奇数n≥3时,体系的基态为Haldane相。利用这类态中隐藏的稀薄反铁磁序,我们找到了刻画这类态的非局域弦序参量,并在隐藏拓扑对称性的统一框架下解释了稀薄反铁磁序以及边缘态等奇特现象的起源。当偶数n≥4时,体系的基态为二聚化态。这些态属于破缺平移对称性的非Haldane相,但同样具有隐藏的反铁磁序。通过这些严格解的研究,我们还得到了一维SO(n)对称的双线性–双二次模型的基态相图,并发现在n≥5时,一维SO(n)对称的反铁磁海森堡模型的基态处于二聚化相中。基于以上这些结果,我们推广构造了一维平移不变且包含李群G对称性的Valence BondState(VBS)态,并利用其矩阵乘积表示讨论了对应哈密顿量的构造方法。对于自旋为S的量子整数自旋链,我们研究了两类具有不同拓扑属性的VBS类,前一类VBS态的边缘态处于SU(2)自旋J的不可约表示,后一类VBS态的边缘态为SO(2S+1)旋量。在前一类态中,我们以自旋为1的费米型VBS态为例构造了对应的哈密顿量。对后一类态,我们证明了它们等价于SO(2S+1)矩阵乘积态,从而揭示了呈展对称性的起源和边缘态的性质。我们还推广了SO(5)对称的玻色型和费米型VBS态,并探讨了它们的拓扑刻画方式。     

Perturbation of pulsating strings

We discuss semiclassical quantization of circular pulsating strings in \( \text {AdS}_3 \times \text {S}^3 \) background with and without the Neveu-Schwarz–Neveu-Schwarz (NS–NS) flux. We find the equations of motion corresponding to the quadratic action in bosonic sector in terms of scalar quantities and invariants of the geometry. The general equations for studying physical perturbations along the string in an arbitrary curved spacetime are written down using covariant formalism. We discuss the stability of these string configurations by studying the solutions of the linearized perturbed equations of motion.     

Thermal fluctuations in a hyperscaling-violation background

In this paper, we study the effect of thermal fluctuations on the thermodynamics of a black geometry with hyperscaling violation. These thermal fluctuations in the thermodynamics of this system are produced from quantum corrections of geometry describing this system. We discuss the stability of this system using specific heat and the entire Hessian matrix of the free energy. We will analyze the effects of thermal fluctuations on the stability of this system. We also analyze the effects of thermal fluctuations on the criticality of the hyperscaling-violation background.     

Doubly special relativity in de Sitter spacetime

We discuss the generalization of Doubly Special Relativity to a curved de Sitter background. The model has three fundamental observer‐independent scales, the velocity of light c, the de Sitter radius α, and the Planck energy κ, and can be realized through a nonlinear action of the de Sitter group on a noncommutative position space. We consider different choices of coordinates on the de Sitter hyperboloid that, although equivalent, may be more suitable for treating different problems. Also the momentum space can be described as a hyperboloid embedded in a five‐dimensional space, but in this case different choices of coordinates lead to inequivalent models. We investigate the kinematics and the Hamiltonian dynamics of some specific models and describe some of their phenomenological consequences. Finally, we show that it is possible to construct a model exhibiting a duality for the interchange of positions and momenta together with the interchange of α and κ.     

2PI effective action and gauge dependence identities

The problem of maintaining gauge invariance when truncating the two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective action has been studied recently by several authors. Here we give a simple and very general derivation of the gauge dependence identities for the off-shell 2PI effective action. We consider the case where the gauge is fixed by an arbitrary function of the quantum gauge field, subject only to the restriction that the Faddeev-Popov matrix is invertible. We also study the background field gauge. We address the role that these identities play in solving gauge invariance problems associated with physical quantities calculated using a truncated on-shell 2PI effective action.Received: 14 January 2005, Revised: 15 April 2005, Published online: 8 June 2005     

SUSY breaking by nonperturbative dynamics in a matrix model for 2D type IIA superstrings

We explicitly compute nonperturbative effects in a supersymmetric double-well matrix model corresponding to two-dimensional type IIA superstring theory on a nontrivial Ramond–Ramond background. We analytically determine the full one-instanton contribution to the free energy and one-point function, including all perturbative fluctuations around the one-instanton background. The leading order two-instanton contribution is determined as well. We see that supersymmetry is spontaneously broken by instantons, and that the breaking persists after taking a double scaling limit which realizes the type IIA theory from the matrix model. The result implies that spontaneous supersymmetry breaking occurs by nonperturbative dynamics in the target space of the IIA theory. Furthermore, we numerically determine the full nonperturbative effects by recursive evaluation of orthogonal polynomials. The free energy of the matrix model appears well-defined and finite even in the strongly coupled limit of the corresponding type IIA theory. The result might suggest a weakly coupled theory appearing as an S-dual to the two-dimensional type IIA superstring theory.     

Correlation-induced metal insulator transition in a two-channel fermion-boson model

We investigate charge transport within some background medium by means of an effective lattice model with a novel form of fermion-boson coupling. The bosons describe fluctuations of a correlated background. By analyzing ground state and spectral properties of this transport model, we show how a metal-insulator quantum phase transition can occur for the half-filled band case. We discuss the evolution of a mass-asymmetric band structure in the insulating phase and establish connections to the Mott and Peierls transition scenarios.     

Noncommutative geometry of the quantum clock

We introduce a model of noncommutative geometry that gives rise to the uncertainty relations recently derived from the discussion of a quantum clock. We investigate the dynamics of a free particle in this model from the point of view of doubly special relativity and discuss the geodesic motion in a Schwarzschild background.     

Effective action for D-branes on SU(2)/U(1) gauged WZW model

Dynamics of D-branes on SU(2)/U(1) gauged WZW model are investigated. We find the effective action for infinite k, where k is the level of WZW model. We also consider finite k correction to the effective action which is compatible with Fedosov's deformation quantization of the background.     

Discrete-state moduli of string theory from the c = 1 matrix model

We propose a new formulation of the space-time interpretation of the c = 1 matrix model. Our formulation uses the well-known leg-pole factor that relates the matrix model amplitudes to that of the 2-dimensional string theory, but includes fluctuations around the Fermi vacuum on both sides of the inverted harmonic oscillator potential of the double-scaled model, even when the fluctuations are small and confined entirely within the asymptotes in the phase plane. We argue that including fluctuations on both sides of the potential is essential for a consistent interpretation of the leg-pole transformed theory as a theory of space-time gravity. We reproduce the known results for the string theory tree-level scattering amplitudes for flat space and linear dilaton background as a special case. We show that the generic case corresponds to more general space-time backgrounds. In particular, we identify the parameter corresponding to background metric perturbation in string theory (black-hole mass) in terms of the matrix model variables. Possible implications of our work for a consistent non-perturbative definition of string theory as well as for quantized gravity and black-hole physics are discussed.     

Instantons versus factorization in large-N field theories

We discuss the contribution of surviving extrema for the action in N→ ∞ Yang-Mills theories in weak coupling and their relevance for factorization. In particular we discuss the role of fluxons in the twisted Eguchi-Kawai model.