Topology Change in (2+1)-Dimensional Gravity with Non-Abelian Higgs Field

We study topology change in (2+1)D gravity coupling with non-Abelian SO(2, 1) Higgs field from the point of view of Morse theory. It is shown that the Higgs potential can be identified as a Morse function. The critical points of the latter (i.e. loci of change of the spacetime topology) coincide with zeros of the Higgs field. In these critical points the two-dimensional metric becomes degenerate, but the curvature remains bounded.     

Inequivalence of Jordan and Einstein Frame: What Is the Low Energy Gravity in String Theory?

It is well-known that any scalar can be promoted to a Jordan-Brans-Dicke type scalar coupling to the Einstein-Hilbert term through a field dependent Weyl transformation of the metric. The Weyl rescaling also transforms mass terms into coupling constants between matter and the scalar. It is pointed out that there exists a distinguished metric where all scalars decouple from an arbitrary fiducial fermion, e.g. the nucleon. If bound states of this fermion are used to define distances and to probe the interior of the forward light cone, it seems reasonable to say that the metric in that particular frame defines the local geometry of space-time at low energies, as probed by experimental gravity and cosmology.     

Signature Change and Clifford Algebras

Given the real Clifford algebra of a quadratic space with a given signature, we define a new product in this structure such that it simulates the Clifford product of a quadratic space with another signature different from the original one. Among the possible applications of this new product, we use it in order to write the Minkowskian Dirac equation over the Euclidean spacetime and to define a new duality operation in terms of which one can find self-dual and anti-self-dual solutions of gauge fields over Minkowski spacetime analogous to the ones over Euclidean spacetime and without needing to complexify the original real algebra.     

Note on Signature Change and Colombeau Theory

Recent work alludes to various 'controversies' associated with signature change in general relativity and claims to resolve them. As we have argued previously, these are in fact disagreements about the (often unstated) assumptions underlying various possible approaches. We demonstrate that the issue has not been resolved and the choice between approaches remains open.     

A New Distributional Approach to Signature Change

Colombeau's generalized functions are used to adapt the distributional approach to singular hypersurfaces in general relativity with signature change. Equations governing the dynamics of a singular hypersurface are derived and a specific non-vanishing form for the energy-momentum tensor of the singular hypersurface is obtained. It is shown that matching in the case of de Sitter space in the Lorentzian sector is possible along the boundary with minimum radius but leads to the vanishing of the energy-momentum tensor of the singular hypersurface.     

Birth of a Closed Universe of Negative Spatial Curvature

We propose a modified form of the spontaneousbirth of the universe by quantum tunneling. It proceedsthrough topology change and inflation, to eventuallybecome a universe with closed spatial sections of negative spatial curvature and nontrivialglobal topology.     

Signature of Different Phases of Ricci Flat Black Holes and AdS Solitons in Gauss-Bonnet Gravity

From the perturbation around the background spacetimes in the Gauss Bonnet gravity, we find the physical evidence that Ricci fiat AdS black holes and AdS solitons are different physical configurations and stay in different phases, this serves as a strong support to the previous mathematical and thermodynamieal arguments.     

Signature of Different Phases of Ricci Flat Black Holes and AdS Solitons in Gauss-Bonnet Gravity

From the perturbation around the background spacetimes in the Gauss-Bonnet gravity, we find the physical evidence that Ricci flat AdS black holes and AdS solitons are different physical configurations and stay in different phases, this serves as a strong support to the previous mathematical and thermodynamical arguments.     

New Junction Conditions for Signature Change: Null Boundary Proposal

Existing literature on signature change considers the change surface to be space-like. We construct a new model for signature change based on the signature-changing hypersurface in the beginning of the universe being a null hypersurface. This affects most quantum cosmological considerations, since in quantum cosmology, according to the Hartle–Hawking no-boundary proposal, the creation of the Universe occurred along a space-like 3-hypersurface. Based on this assumption, junction conditions for the signature-change hypersurface are derived and the corresponding results are explained. The energy–momentum of the change surface is non-vanishing and the result for pressure of the change surface is in agreement with inflationary scenario.PACS: 98.80. HW     

A New Look at Relativity Transformations

A free system, considered to be a comparisonsystem, allows for the notion of objective existence andinertial frame. Transformations connecting inertialframes are shown to be either Lorentz or generalizedGalilei.     

Casimir Effect for Concentric Spheres in de Sitter Spacetime with Signature Change

We revisit the Casimir effect for two concentric spherical shells in de Sitter background with a new geometric configuration, namely Euclidean signature between and Lorentzian signature outside the spheres with different cosmological constants, for a massless scalar field satisfying Dirichlet boundary conditions on the spheres. It is shown that an extra constant pressure emerges due to this signature changing configuration. Some interesting aspects of this extra term are then discussed.     

Gravity and CP violation

The non-conservation of CP symmetry in the decay of neutralK mesons was discovered almost three decades ago. The origin of this unique phenomenon is still not well understood. There have been attempts to link it with energy splitting of theK and in the earth's gravitational field. In this essay we examine these attempts critically. A more natural way in which a gravitational field can couple asymmetrically to the system is through torsion, which coupling to isospin can, in addition to parity violation, also give rise to a C violation. The magnitude of this effect is estimated in the vicinity of a kaon and found to give a CP-violating parameter of the right value. Moreover, it is predicted that the CP violating parameter for the new system is much smaller 10^–6. Implications for baryogenesis in the early universe is also studied. In this paper we work not with the Newtonian gravitational constantG but with a torsion coupling constant, which is energy-dependent and can be related to the Fermi weak interaction constant.     

Attractive and Repulsive Gravity

We discuss the circumstances under which gravity might be repulsive rather than attractive. In particular we show why our standard solar system distance scale gravitational intuition need not be a reliable guide to the behavior of gravitational phenomena on altogether larger distance scales such as cosmological, and argue that in fact gravity actually gets to act repulsively on such distance scales. With such repulsion a variety of current cosmological problems (the flatness, horizon, dark matter, universe age, cosmic acceleration and cosmological constant problems) are then all naturally resolved.     

Dimensional changes of carbon fiber fabrics reinforced phenolic resin-based carbon/carbon composites during pyrolysis

The dimensional changes of two-dimensional phenolic resin-based carbon/carbon composites during pyrolysis were investigated. The carbon/carbon composites were obtained by pyrolyzing the carbon fiber/phenolic resin composites that were fabricated using a vacuum bag hot pressing technique. Length, width and thickness of the rectangular composite samples were measured carefully before and after pyrolysis. The effects of heat treatment temperature and fiber pre-heat treatment on the dimensional changes of carbon/carbon composites were investigated. The measurement results indicated that different behavior in dimensional changes could be obtained for carbon/carbon composites with different fiber–matrix bonding in the interface.     

Nonquantum Gravity

One of the great challenges for 21st century physics is to quantize gravity and generate a theory that will unify gravity with the other three fundamental forces of nature. This paper takes the (heretical) point of view that gravity may be an inherently classical, i.e., nonquantum, phenomenon and investigates the experimental consequences of such a conjecture. At present there is no experimental evidence of the quantum nature of gravity and the likelihood of definitive tests in the future is not at all certain. If gravity is, indeed, a nonquantum phenomenon, then it is suggested that evidence will most likely appear at mesoscopic scales.     

Quantum Gravity and Phenomenological Philosophy

The central thesis of this paper is that contemporary theoretical physics is grounded in philosophical presuppositions that make it difficult to effectively address the problems of subject-object interaction and discontinuity inherent to quantum gravity. The core objectivist assumption implicit in relativity theory and quantum mechanics is uncovered and we see that, in string theory, this assumption leads into contradiction. To address this challenge, a new philosophical foundation is proposed based on the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger. Then, through the application of qualitative topology and hypernumbers, phenomenological ideas about space, time, and dimension are brought into focus so as to provide specific solutions to the problems of force-field generation and unification. The phenomenological string theory that results speaks to the inconclusiveness of conventional string theory and resolves its core contradiction. This article is based on my 2008 book, The Self-Evolving Cosmos, appearing in the Series on Knots and Everything of World Scientific Publishing Company.     

Gravity and the frame field

The covariant derivative of a single massive fermion field on a Riemannian manifold is defined. The standard method of defining free bosonic Lagrangians from the fermion covariant derivative does not give the usual Lagrangian density for the free gravitational field. We express the fermion Lagrangian mass term as a frame field term added to the covariant derivative; this extended covariant derivative defines a gravitational Lagrangian density proportional to the usual scalar curvatureR, plus a term quadratic in the curvature components. The quadratic term is expected to be negligible at distances much greater than the fermion Compton wavelength, and is of a general form widely studied in recent years. The frame field term used to derive this gravitational Lagrangian is essentially the same as that used previously to derive the electroweak interaction boson mass matrix without using the Higgs-Kibble mechanism.