Yang-Mills Detour Complexes and Conformal Geometry

Working over a pseudo-Riemannian manifold, for each vector bundle with connection we construct a sequence of three differential operators which is a complex (termed a Yang-Mills detour complex) if and only if the connection satisfies the full Yang-Mills equations. A special case is a complex controlling the deformation theory of Yang-Mills connections. In the case of Riemannian signature the complex is elliptic. If the connection respects a metric on the bundle then the complex is formally self-adjoint. In dimension 4 the complex is conformally invariant and generalises, to the full Yang-Mills setting, the composition of (two operator) Yang-Mills complexes for (anti-)self-dual Yang-Mills connections. Via a prolonged system and tractor connection a diagram of differential operators is constructed which, when commutative, generates differential complexes of natural operators from the Yang-Mills detour complex. In dimension 4 this construction is conformally invariant and is used to yield two new sequences of conformal operators which are complexes if and only if the Bach tensor vanishes everywhere. In Riemannian signature these complexes are elliptic. In one case the first operator is the twistor operator and in the other sequence it is the operator for Einstein scales. The sequences are detour sequences associated to certain Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand sequences.     

Scalar curvature and projective compactness

Consider a manifold with boundary, and such that the interior is equipped with a pseudo-Riemannian metric. We prove that, under mild asymptotic non-vanishing conditions on the scalar curvature, if the Levi-Civita connection of the interior does not extend to the boundary (because for example the interior is complete) whereas its projective structure does, then the metric is projectively compact of order 2; this order is a measure of volume growth towards infinity. This implies a host of results including that the metric satisfies asymptotic Einstein conditions, and induces a canonical conformal structure on the boundary. Underpinning this work is a new interpretation of scalar curvature in terms of projective geometry. This enables us to show that if the projective structure of a metric extends to the boundary then its scalar curvature also naturally and smoothly extends.     

Tractors,mass, and Weyl invariance

Deser and Nepomechie established a relationship between masslessness and rigid conformal invariance by coupling to a background metric and demanding local Weyl invariance, a method which applies neither to massive theories nor theories which rely upon gauge invariances for masslessness. We extend this method to describe massive and gauge invariant theories using Weyl invariance. The key idea is to introduce a new scalar field which is constant when evaluated at the scale corresponding to the metric of physical interest. This technique relies on being able to efficiently construct Weyl invariant theories. This is achieved using tractor calculus—a mathematical machinery designed for the study of conformal geometry. From a physics standpoint, this amounts to arranging fields in multiplets with respect to the conformal group but with novel Weyl transformation laws. Our approach gives a mechanism for generating masses from Weyl weights. Breitenlohner–Freedman stability bounds for Anti-de Sitter theories arise naturally as do direct derivations of the novel Weyl invariant theories given by Deser and Nepomechie. In constant curvature spaces, partially massless theories—which rely on the interplay between mass and gauge invariance—are also generated by our method. Another simple consequence is conformal invariance of the maximal depth partially massless theories. Detailed examples for spins s?2$s?2$ are given including tractor and component actions, on-shell and off-shell approaches and gauge invariances. For all spins s?2$s?2$ we give tractor equations of motion unifying massive, massless, and partially massless theories.     

Spectral Triples of Holonomy Loops

The machinery of noncommutative geometry is applied to a space of connections. A noncommutative function algebra of loops closely related to holonomy loops is investigated. The space of connections is identified as a projective limit of Lie-groups composed of copies of the gauge group. A spectral triple over the space of connections is obtained by factoring out the diffeomorphism group. The triple consist of equivalence classes of loops acting on a hilbert space of sections in an infinite dimensional Clifford bundle. We find that the Dirac operator acting on this hilbert space does not fully comply with the axioms of a spectral triple.     

Geometry of differential operators of second order,the algebra of densities,and groupoids

In our previous works, we introduced, for each (super)manifold, a commutative algebra of densities. It is endowed with a natural invariant scalar product. In this paper, we study geometry of differential operators of second order on this algebra. In the more conventional language they correspond to certain operator pencils. We consider the self-adjoint operators and analyze the operator pencils that pass through a given operator acting on densities of a particular weight. There are ‘singular values’ for pencil parameters. They are related with interesting geometric picture. In particular, we obtain operators that depend on certain equivalence classes of connections (instead of connections as such). We study the corresponding groupoids. From this point of view we analyze two examples: the canonical Laplacian on an odd symplectic supermanifold appearing in Batalin–Vilkovisky geometry and the Sturm–Liouville operator on the line, related with classical constructions of projective geometry. We also consider the canonical second order semi-density arising on odd symplectic supermanifolds, which has some similarity with mean curvature of surfaces in Riemannian geometry.     

Obstructions to the Existence of Sasaki–Einstein Metrics

We describe two simple obstructions to the existence of Ricci-flat Kähler cone metrics on isolated Gorenstein singularities or, equivalently, to the existence of Sasaki-Einstein metrics on the links of these singularities. In particular, this also leads to new obstructions for Kähler–Einstein metrics on Fano orbifolds. We present several families of hypersurface singularities that are obstructed, including 3-fold and 4-fold singularities of ADE type that have been studied previously in the physics literature. We show that the AdS/CFT dual of one obstruction is that the R–charge of a gauge invariant chiral primary operator violates the unitarity bound.     

Quaternionic Kähler Detour Complexes and $${\mathcal{N} = 2}$$ Supersymmetric Black Holes

We study a class of supersymmetric spinning particle models derived from the radial quantization of stationary, spherically symmetric black holes of four dimensional \({{\mathcal N} = 2}\) supergravities. By virtue of the c-map, these spinning particles move in quaternionic Kähler manifolds. Their spinning degrees of freedom describe mini-superspace-reduced supergravity fermions. We quantize these models using BRST detour complex technology. The construction of a nilpotent BRST charge is achieved by using local (worldline) supersymmetry ghosts to generate special holonomy transformations. (An interesting byproduct of the construction is a novel Dirac operator on the superghost extended Hilbert space.) The resulting quantized models are gauge invariant field theories with fields equaling sections of special quaternionic vector bundles. They underly and generalize the quaternionic version of Dolbeault cohomology discovered by Baston. In fact, Baston’s complex is related to the BPS sector of the models we write down. Our results rely on a calculus of operators on quaternionic Kähler manifolds that follows from BRST machinery, and although directly motivated by black hole physics, can be broadly applied to any model relying on quaternionic geometry.     

Theory of nonlinear optical response of gauge invariant currents to linear and nonlinear couplings

When a gauge field interacts with a quantum condensed matter system, at first order of the gauge field it couples to the current operator of the electrons. Higher orders of the gauge field couple to electrons through other operators such as the stress tensor, etc. On the other hand, when one performs a measurement on a quantum system, not only the current operator, but also stress tensor operator of the electrons, etc. are hidden in the measurement, as they contribute to the gauge invariant current. We formulate a general problem of nonlinear optical response of the gauge invariant currents in presence of nonlinear couplings. We show that the new couplings along with new responses arising from field current have a very simple structure which can be formulated as time ordered multi-particle correlation functions. We also obtain their Lehman representation and thereby show that one need not use non-equilibrium formulations to deal with them. These new correlation functions suggest that in nonlinear optical response many new processes are possible. The experimental detection of the new terms in the current operator, and application corresponding multi-photon processes needs further theoretical and experimental investigations.     

A quantum liquid model for the QCD vacuum: Gauge and rotational invariance of domained and quantized homogeneous color fields

We show that domains are formed in a homogeneous SU(2) color magnetic field. Due to quantum fluctuations the domains have fluid properties. It is then argued that, quantum mechanically, superpositions of such domains must be considered. The resulting state is gauge and rotational invariant, in spite of the fact that the original color magnetic field breaks these invariances. We point out that in our model for the QCD vacuum, color magnetic monopoles are not confined.     

Relative time dependence as gauge freedom and bilocal models of hadrons

We introduce the shift of relative time variable as a gauge transformation of bilocal field operator. The corresponding gauge invariant free bilocal Lagrangian theory is formulated. The subsidiary condition which eliminates the relative time appears as a gauge invariance condition for bilocal field operator. As an example we quantize the bilocal field describing covariant three dimensional oscillator model of hadrons.     

BRS gauge and ghost field supersymmetry in gravity and supergravity

Becchi-Rouet-Stora transformations are obtained for the following systems: (i) Pure Einstein gravity in first order form with vierbein and spin connection as independent fields. (ii) First order Einstein gravity coupled to Yang-Mills fields. (iii) Pure supergravity. For the first two systems the results are as in Yang-Mills theory. But for conventional supergravity the BRS transformations leave the effective action invariant only if the classical equations of motion are satisfied. New transformations of the gauge fields of supergravity have been proposed under which the supersymmetry algebra closes. The corresponding BRS transformations do leave the effective action invariant without the need to use the classical equation of motion; moreover, as in Yang-Mills theories, they are nilpotent and have unit Jacobian.     

The Eisenhart Geometry as an Alternative Description of Dynamics in Terms of Geodesics

We show the advantages of representing the dynamics of simple mechanical systems, described by a natural Lagrangian, in terms of geodesics of a Riemannian (or pseudo-Riemannian) space with an additional dimension. We demonstrate how trajectories of simple mechanical systems can be put into one-to-one correspondence with the geodesics of a suitable manifold. Two different ways in which geometry of the configuration space can be obtained from a higher dimensional model are presented and compared: First, by a straightforward projection, and second, as a space geometry of a quotient space obtained by the action of the timelike Killing vector generating a stationary symmetry of a background space geometry with an additional dimension. The second model is more informative and coincides with the so-called optical model of the line of sight geometry. On the base of this model we study the behaviour of nearby geodesics to detect their sensitive dependence on initial conditions—the key ingredient of deterministic chaos. The advantage of such a formulation is its invariant character.     

Constituent quarks from QCD

Starting from the observation that colour charge is only well defined on gauge invariant states, we construct perturbatively gauge invariant, dynamical dressings for individual quarks. Explicit calculations show that an infra-red finite mass-shell renormalisation of the gauge invariant, dressed propagator is possible and, further, that operator product effects, which generate a running mass, may be included in a gauge invariant way in the propagator. We explain how these fields may be combined to form hadrons and show how the interquark potential can now be directly calculated. The onset of confinement is identified with an obstruction to building a non-perturbative dressing. We propose several methods to extract the hadronic scale from the interquark potential. Various extensions are discussed.     

The volume of the past light-cone and the Paneitz operator

We study a conjecture involving the invariant volume of the past light-cone from an arbitrary observation point back to a fixed initial value surface. The conjecture is that a fourth order differential operator which occurs in the theory of conformal anomalies gives 8π when acted upon the invariant volume of the past light-cone. We show that an extended version of the conjecture is valid for an arbitrary homogeneous and isotropic geometry. First order perturbation theory about flat spacetime reveals a violation of the conjecture which, however, vanishes for any vacuum solution of the Einstein equation. These results may be significant for constructing quantum gravitational observables, for quantifying the back-reaction on spacetime expansion and for alternate gravity models which feature a timelike vector field.     

Weyl geometry

We develop the properties of Weyl geometry, beginning with a review of the conformal properties of Riemannian spacetimes. Decomposition of the Riemann curvature into trace and traceless parts allows an easy proof that the Weyl curvature tensor is the conformally invariant part of the Riemann curvature, and shows the explicit change in the Ricci and Schouten tensors required to insure conformal invariance. We include a proof of the well-known condition for the existence of a conformal transformation to a Ricci-flat spacetime. We generalize this to a derivation of the condition for the existence of a conformal transformation to a spacetime satisfying the Einstein equation with matter sources. Then, enlarging the symmetry from Poincaré to Weyl, we develop the Cartan structure equations of Weyl geometry, the form of the curvature tensor and its relationship to the Riemann curvature of the corresponding Riemannian geometry. We present a simple theory of Weyl-covariant gravity based on a curvature-linear action, and show that it is conformally equivalent to general relativity. This theory is invariant under local dilatations, but not the full conformal group.     

Generalized Goldberg-Sachs theorems for pseudo-Riemannian four-manifolds

It has been recently observed that the generalized Goldberg-Sachs theorem in general relativity as well as some of its corollaries admit appropriate Riemannian versions. In this paper we use the formalism of spinors to give alternative proofs of these results clarifying the analogy between positive Hermitian structures of oriented Riemannian four-manifolds and shear-free congruences of oriented Lorentzian four-manifolds. We also prove similar results for oriented pseudo-Riemannian four-manifolds when the metric is of zero signature. This allows us to describe compact oriented four-manifolds possibly admitting a pseudo-Riemannian Einstein metric of zero signature whose positive Weyl tensor has two distinct eigenvalues corresponding to non-isotropic eigenspaces.     

An investigation of embeddings for spherically symmetric spacetimes into Einstein manifolds

Embeddings into higher dimensions are very important in the study of higher-dimensional theories of our Universe and in high-energy physics. Theorems which have been developed recently guarantee the existence of embeddings of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds into Einstein spaces and more general pseudo-Riemannian spaces. These results provide a technique that can be used to determine solutions for such embeddings. Here we consider local isometric embeddings of four-dimensional spherically symmetric spacetimes into five-dimensional Einstein manifolds. Difficulties in solving the five-dimensional equations for given four-dimensional spaces motivate us to investigate embedded spaces that admit bulks of a specific type. We show that the general Schwarzschild–de Sitter spacetime and Einstein Universe are the only spherically symmetric spacetimes that can be embedded into an Einstein space of a particular form, and we discuss their five-dimensional solutions.     

Spherical symmetry of generalized EYMH fields

The possible actions of symmetry groups on generalized Higgs fields coupled to an Einstein–Yang–Mills field are studied with differential geometrical techniques involving principal and associated bundles. A classification of conjugacy classes of these actions and the form of the corresponding invariant Einstein–Yang–Mills–Higgs (EYMH) fields is obtained and then applied to the case of static spherically symmetric fields over four-dimensional space-time. We identify the representations of the gauge group for which spherically symmetric Higgs fields exist. Then the set of all field equations for the independent functions that describe these fields is analyzed and the corresponding ordinary system of differential equations is derived and shown to be consistent.     

General theory of renormalization of gauge invariant operators

We study the question of renormalization of gauge invariant operators in the gauge theories. Our discussion applies to gauge invariant operators of arbitrary dimensions and tensor structure. We show that the gauge noninvariant (and ghost) operators that mix with a given set of gauge invariant operators form a complete set of local solutions of a functional differential equation. We show that this set of gauge noninvariant operators together with the gauge invariant operators close under renormalization to all orders. We obtain a complete set of local solutions of the differential equation. The form of these solutions has recently been conjectured by Kluberg Stern and Zuber. With the help of our solutions, we show that there exists a basis of operators in which the gauge noninvariant operators “decouple” from the gauge invariant operators to all orders in the sense that eigenvalues corresponding to the eigenstates containing gauge invariant operators can be computed without having to compute the full renormalization metrix. We further discuss the substructure of the renormalization matrix.     

Explicit solutions for relativistic acceleration and rotation

The Lorentz transformations are represented by Einstein velocity addition on the ball of relativistically admissible velocities. This representation is by projective maps. The Lie algebra of this representation defines the relativistic dynamic equation. If we introduce a new dynamic variable, called symmetric velocity, the above representation becomes a representation by conformal, instead of projective maps. In this variable the relativistic dynamic equation for systems with an invariant plane becomes a non-linear analytic equation in one complex variable. We obtained explicit solutions for the motion of a charge in uniform, mutually perpendicular electric and magnetic fields. By assuming the Clock hypothesis and using these solutions, we were able to describe the space-time transformations between two uniformly accelerated and rotating systems. Presented at the International Colloquium “Integrable Systems and Quantum Symmetries”, Prague, 16–18 June 2005.