The “dark side” of gravitational experiments

Theoretical speculations about the quantum nature of the gravitational interaction have motivated many recent experiments. But perhaps the most profound and puzzling questions that these investigations address surround the observed cosmic acceleration, or Dark Energy. This mysterious substance comprises roughly two-thirds of the energy density of the universe. Current gravitational experiments may soon have the sensitivity to detect subtle clues that will reveal the mechanism behind the cosmic acceleration. On the laboratory scale, short-range tests of the Newtonian inverse-square law (ISL) provide the most sensitive measurements of gravity at the Dark Energy length scale, where is the observed Dark Energy density. This length scale may also have fundamental significance that could be related to the “size” of the graviton. At the University of Washington, we are conducting the world’s most sensitive, short-range test of the Newtonian ISL. Fourth Award in the 2006 Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation.     

Wave Decay on Convex Co-Compact Hyperbolic Manifolds

For convex co-compact hyperbolic quotients , we analyze the long-time asymptotic of the solution of the wave equation u(t) with smooth compactly supported initial data f = (f ₀, f ₁). We show that, if the Hausdorff dimension δ of the limit set is less than n/2, then where and . We explain, in terms of conformal theory of the conformal infinity of X, the special cases , where the leading asymptotic term vanishes. In a second part, we show for all the existence of an infinite number of resonances (and thus zeros of Selberg zeta function) in the strip . As a byproduct we obtain a lower bound on the remainder R(t) for generic initial data f.     

Space tensors in general relativity II: Physical applications

The general theory of space tensors is applied to the study of a space-time manifoldsV ₄ carrying a distinguished time-like congruence Γ. The problem is to determine a physically relevant spatial tensor analysis over (V ₄, Γ), in order to proceed to a correct formulation of Relative Kinematics and Dynamics. This is achieved by showing that each choice of gives rise to a corresponding notion of ‘frame of reference’ associated with the congruence Γ. In particular, the frame of reference (Γ, ∇*) determined by the standard spatial tensor analysis is shown to provide the most natural generalization of the concept of frame of reference in Classical Physics. The previous arguments are finally applied to the study of geodesic motion inV ₄. As a result, the general structure of the gravitational fields in the frame of reference (Γ, ∇*) is established. This work was assisted by funds from the C.N.R. under the aegis of the activity of the National Group for Mathematical Physics.     

The York map as a Shanmugadhasan canonical transformation in tetrad gravity and the role of non-inertial frames in the geometrical view of the gravitational field

A new parametrization of the 3-metric allows to find explicitly a York map by means of a partial Shanmugadhasan canonical transformation in canonical ADM tetrad gravity. This allows to identify the two pairs of physical tidal degrees of freedom (the Dirac observables of the gravitational field have to be built in term of them) and 14 gauge variables. These gauge quantities, whose role in describing generalized inertial effects is clarified, are all configurational except one, the York time, i.e. the trace of the extrinsic curvature of the instantaneous 3-spaces (corresponding to a clock synchronization convention) of a non-inertial frame centered on an arbitrary observer. In the Dirac Hamiltonian is the sum of the weak ADM energy (whose density is coordinate-dependent, containing the inertial potentials) and of the first-class constraints. The main results of the paper, deriving from a coherent use of constraint theory, are: (i) The explicit form of the Hamilton equations for the two tidal degrees of freedom of the gravitational field in an arbitrary gauge: a deterministic evolution can be defined only in a completely fixed gauge, i.e. in a non-inertial frame with its pattern of inertial forces. The simplest such gauge is the 3-orthogonal one, but other gauges are discussed and the Hamiltonian interpretation of the harmonic gauges is given. This frame-dependence derives from the geometrical view of the gravitational field and is lost when the theory is reduced to a linear spin 2 field on a background space-time. (ii) A general solution of the super-momentum constraints, which shows the existence of a generalized Gribov ambiguity associated to the 3-diffeomorphism gauge group. It influences: (a) the explicit form of the solution of the super-momentum constraint and then of the Dirac Hamiltonian; (b) the determination of the shift functions and then of the lapse one. (iii) The dependence of the Hamilton equations for the two pairs of dynamical gravitational degrees of freedom (the generalized tidal effects) and for the matter, written in a completely fixed 3-orthogonal Schwinger time gauge, upon the gauge variable , determining the convention of clock synchronization. The associated relativistic inertial effects, absent in Newtonian gravity and implying inertial forces changing from attractive to repulsive in regions with different sign of , are completely unexplored and may have astrophysical relevance in the interpretation of the dark side of the universe.     

Space-like hypersurfaces with positive constant r-mean curvature in Lorentzian product spaces

In this paper we obtain a height estimate concerning compact space-like hypersurfaces Σ ⁿ immersed with some positive constant r-mean curvature into an (n + 1)-dimensional Lorentzian product space , and whose boundary is contained into a slice {t} × M ⁿ . By considering the hyperbolic caps of the Lorentz–Minkowski space , we show that our estimate is sharp. Furthermore, we apply this estimate to study the complete space-like hypersurfaces immersed with some positive constant r-mean curvature into a Lorentzian product space. For instance, when the ambient space–time is spatially closed, we show that such hypersurfaces must satisfy the topological property of having more than one end which constitutes a necessary condition for their existence.     

t1/3 Superdiffusivi ty of Fini te-Range Asymme tric Exclusion Processes on $${\ma thbb{Z}}$$

We consider finite-range asymmetric exclusion processes on with non-zero drift. The diffusivity D(t) is expected to be of . We prove that D(t) ≥ Ct ^1/3 in the weak (Tauberian) sense that as . The proof employs the resolvent method to make a direct comparison with the totally asymmetric simple exclusion process, for which the result is a consequence of the scaling limit for the two-point function recently obtained by Ferrari and Spohn. In the nearest neighbor case, we show further that tD(t) is monotone, and hence we can conclude that D(t) ≥ Ct ^1/3(log t)^−7/3 in the usual sense. Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Partially supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund grants T37685 and K60708.     

Spectral Measure of Heavy Tailed Band and Covariance Random Matrices

We study the asymptotic behavior of the appropriately scaled and possibly perturbed spectral measure of large random real symmetric matrices with heavy tailed entries. Specifically, consider the N × N symmetric matrix whose (i, j) entry is , where (x _ij , 1 ≤ i ≤ j < ∞) is an infinite array of i.i.d real variables with common distribution in the domain of attraction of an α-stable law, , and σ is a deterministic function. For random diagonal D _N independent of and with appropriate rescaling a _N , we prove that converges in mean towards a limiting probability measure which we characterize. As a special case, we derive and analyze the almost sure limiting spectral density for empirical covariance matrices with heavy tailed entries. Supported in part by a Discovery grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and a University of Saskatchewan start-up grant. Research partially supported by NSF grant #DMS-0806211.     

The Paraboson Fock Space and Unitary Irreducible Representations of the Lie Superalgebra {\mathfrak{osp}(1|2n)}

It is known that the defining relations of the orthosymplectic Lie superalgebra are equivalent to the defining (triple) relations of n pairs of paraboson operators . In particular, with the usual star conditions, this implies that the “parabosons of order p” correspond to a unitary irreducible (infinite-dimensional) lowest weight representation V(p) of . Apart from the simple cases p = 1 or n = 1, these representations had never been constructed due to computational difficulties, despite their importance. In the present paper we give an explicit and elegant construction of these representations V(p), and we present explicit actions or matrix elements of the generators. The orthogonal basis vectors of V(p) are written in terms of Gelfand-Zetlin patterns, where the subalgebra of plays a crucial role. Our results also lead to character formulas for these infinite-dimensional representations. Furthermore, by considering the branching , we find explicit infinite-dimensional unitary irreducible lowest weight representations of and their characters. NIS was supported by a project from the Fund for Scientific Research – Flanders (Belgium) and by project P6/02 of the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme (Belgian State – Belgian Science Policy). An erratum to this article can be found at     

Dyson’s Constants in the Asymptotics of the Determinants of Wiener-Hopf-Hankel Operators with the Sine Kernel

Let stand for the integral operators with the sine kernels acting on L ²[0,α]. Dyson conjectured that the asymptotics of the Fredholm determinants of are given by

Polynômes 3-Tangentiels Et Solutions t-Périodiques de KdV

Nous étudions, quel que soit le réseau , les courbes hyperelliptiques donnant lieu, via le dictionnaire de Krichever et la formule d’Its-Mateev, à des solutions méromorphes Λ-doublement périodiques en t de l’équation de Korteweg-de Vries. Ce sont des revêtements marqués finis particuliers de la courbe elliptique (X,q)=(C /Λ,0) que nous nommons paires osculatrices hyperelliptiques. Nous sommes amenés à définir la classe des polynômes 3-tangentiels symétriques et à considérer une surface algébrique réglée S→ X et la surface obtenue par un éclatement en huit points de S. Nous associons alors aux polynômes 3-tangentiels symétriques des diviseurs sur S et . En étudiant ces diviseurs, nous démontrons que les paires osculatrices non-ramifiées au point marqué se factorisent via et reconstruisons ensuite de telles paires sur sous certaines conditions numériques.     

Post-Newtonian Expansions for Perfect Fluids

We prove the existence of a large class of dynamical solutions to the Einstein-Euler equations that have a first post-Newtonian expansion. The results here are based on the elliptic-hyperbolic formulation of the Einstein-Euler equations used in [15], which contains a singular parameter , where v _T is a characteristic velocity associated with the fluid and c is the speed of light. As in [15], energy estimates on weighted Sobolev spaces are used to analyze the behavior of solutions to the Einstein-Euler equations in the limit , and to demonstrate the validity of the first post-Newtonian expansion as an approximation.     

Algebraically special left-flat spaces and their associated space-times

In a recent paper it was shown how to construct, under certain circumstances, asymptotic (Newman-Unti) series expansions for the spin-coefficient variables for real space-times from data obtained from a given left-flat space in an appropriate frame. If these expansions represent asymptotically flat space-times the latter have the given left-flat space as their H space. The method was described in a frame in which the asymptotic left-shear was zero whereas was not. For the discussion of algebraically special left-flat spaces it is more convenient to have vanish and remain nonzero. In this paper we determine all algebraically special left-flat spaces with diverging rays, utilizing Penrose's conformal technique, and then show in detail how to find the “initial data” for the construction of asymptotic series expansions for the corresponding real space-times.     

On the Uniqueness of Weak Weyl Representations of the Canonical Commutation Relation

Let (T, H) be a weak Weyl representation of the canonical commutation relation (CCR) with one degree of freedom. Namely T is a symmetric operator and H is a self-adjoint operator on a complex Hilbert space satisfying the weak Weyl relation: for all (the set of real numbers), e^−itH D(T) ⊂ D(T) (i is the imaginary unit and D(T) denotes the domain of T) and . In the context of quantum theory where H is a Hamiltonian, T is called a strong time operator of H. In this paper we prove the following theorem on uniqueness of weak Weyl representations: Let be separable. Assume that H is bounded below with and , where is the set of complex numbers and, for a linear operator A on a Hilbert space, σ(A) denotes the spectrum of A. Then ( is the closure of T) is unitarily equivalent to a direct sum of the weak Weyl representation on the Hilbert space , where is the multiplication operator by the variable and with . Using this theorem, we construct a Weyl representation of the CCR from the weak Weyl representation . This work is supported by the Grant-in-Aid No.17340032 for Scientific Research from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).     

Polynomial-Time Algorithm for Simulation of Weakly Interacting Quantum Spin Systems

We describe an algorithm that computes the ground state energy and correlation functions for 2-local Hamiltonians in which interactions between qubits are weak compared to single-qubit terms. The running time of the algorithm is polynomial in n and δ⁻¹, where n is the number of qubits, and δ is the required precision. Specifically, we consider Hamiltonians of the form , where H ₀ describes non-interacting qubits, V is a perturbation that involves arbitrary two-qubit interactions on a graph of bounded degree, and is a small parameter. The algorithm works if is below a certain threshold value that depends only upon the spectral gap of H ₀, the maximal degree of the graph, and the maximal norm of the two-qubit interactions. The main technical ingredient of the algorithm is a generalized Kirkwood-Thomas ansatz for the ground state. The parameters of the ansatz are computed using perturbative expansions in powers of . Our algorithm is closely related to the coupled cluster method used in quantum chemistry.     

Review: Hamiltonian Linearization of the Rest-Frame Instant Form of Tetrad Gravity in a Completely Fixed 3-Orthogonal Gauge: A Radiation Gauge for Background-Independent Gravitational Waves in a Post-Minkowskian Einstein Spacetime

In the framework of the rest-frame instant form of tetrad gravity, where the Hamiltonian is the weak ADM energy , we define a special completely fixed 3-orthogonal Hamiltonian gauge, corresponding to a choice of non-harmonic 4-coordinates, in which the independent degrees of freedom of the gravitational field are described by two pairs of canonically conjugate Dirac observables (DO) . We define a Hamiltonian linearization of the theory, i.e. gravitational waves, without introducing any background 4-metric, by retaining only the linear terms in the DO's in the super-hamiltonian constraint (the Lichnerowicz equation for the conformal factor of the 3-metric) and the quadratic terms in the DO's in . We solve all the constraints of the linearized theory: this amounts to work in a well defined post-Minkowskian Christodoulou-Klainermann space-time. The Hamilton equations imply the wave equation for the DO's , which replace the two polarizations of the TT harmonic gauge, and that linearized Einstein's equations are satisfied. Finally we study the geodesic equation, both for time-like and null geodesics, and the geodesic deviation equation.     

Cohomology of $${\mathfrak{osp}}(1|2)$$ Acting on Linear Differential Operators on the Supercircle S1|1

We compute the first cohomology spaces of the Lie superalgebra with coefficients in the superspace of linear differential operators acting on weighted densities on the supercircle S ^1|1. The structure of these spaces was conjectured in (Gargoubi et al. in Lett Math Phys 79:5165, 2007). In fact, we prove here that the situation is a little bit more complicated.      

On General Plane Fronted Waves. Geodesics

A general class of Lorentzian metrics, , , with any Riemannian manifold, is introduced in order to generalize classical exact plane fronted waves. Here, we start a systematic study of their main geodesic properties: geodesic completeness, geodesic connectedness and multiplicity causal character of connecting geodesics. These results are independent of the possibility of a full integration of geodesic equations. Variational and geometrical techniques are applied systematically. In particular, we prove that the asymptotic behavior of H(x,u) with x at infinity determines many properties of geodesics. Essentially, a subquadratic growth of H ensures geodesic completeness and connectedness, while the critical situation appears when H(x,u) behaves in some direction as , as in the classical model of exact gravitational waves.     

Single-Site Approximation for Reaction-Diffusion Processes

We consider the branching and annihilating random walk and with reaction rates σ and λ, respectively, and hopping rate D, and study the phase diagram in the λ/D,σ/D) plane. According to standard mean-field theory, this system is in an active state for all σ/D≥0, and perturbative renormalization suggests that this mean-field result is valid for d>2; however, nonperturbative renormalization predicts that for all d there is a phase transition line to an absorbing state in the λ/D,σ/D) plane. We show here that a simple single-site approximationreproduces with minimal effort the nonperturbative phase diagram both qualitatively and quantitatively for all dimensions d>2. We expect the approach to be useful for other reaction-diffusion processes involving absorbing state transitions.     

Convergence of the Wick Star Product

We construct a Fréchet space as a subspace of where the Wick star product converges and is continuous. The resulting Fréchet algebra _ħ is studied in detail including a ^*-representation of _ħ in the Bargmann-Fock space and a discussion of star exponentials and coherent states.