Noncommutative gravity, a ‘no strings attached’ quantum-classical duality, and the cosmological constant puzzle

There ought to exist a reformulation of quantum mechanics which does not refer to an external classical spacetime manifold. Such a reformulation can be achieved using the language of noncommutative differential geometry. A consequence which follows is that the ‘weakly quantum, strongly gravitational’ dynamics of a relativistic particle whose mass is much greater than Planck mass is dual to the ‘strongly quantum, weakly gravitational’ dynamics of another particle whose mass is much less than Planck mass. The masses of the two particles are inversely related to each other, and the product of their masses is equal to the square of Planck mass. This duality explains the observed value of the cosmological constant, and also why this value is nonzero but extremely small in Planck units. Second Award in the 2008 Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation.     

Direct gauging of the Poincaré group V. Group scaling,classical gauge theory,and gravitational corrections

Homogeneous scaling of the group space of the Poincaré group,P ₁₀, is shown to induce scalings of all geometric quantities associated with the local action ofP ₁₀. The field equations for both the translation and the Lorentz rotation compensating fields reduce toO(1) equations if the scaling parameter is set equal to the general relativistic gravitational coupling constant 8Gc ^–4. Standard expansions of all field variables in power series in the scaling parameter give the following results. The zeroth-order field equations are exactly the classical field equations for matter fields on Minkowski space subject to local action of an internal symmetry group (classical gauge theory). The expansion process is shown to breakP ₁₀-gauge covariance of the theory, and hence solving the zeroth-order field equations imposes an implicit system ofP ₁₀-gauge conditions. Explicit systems of field equations are obtained for the first- and higher-order approximations. The first-order translation field equations are driven by the momentum-energy tensor of the matter and internal compensating fields in the zeroth order (classical gauge theory), while the first-order Lorentz rotation field equations are driven by the spin currents of the same classical gauge theory. Field equations for the first-order gravitational corrections to the matter fields and the gauge fields for the internal symmetry group are obtained. Direct Poincaré gauge theory is thus shown to satisfy the first two of the three-part acid test of any unified field theory. Satisfaction of the third part of the test, at least for finite neighborhoods, seems probable.     

Concavity of the QQ̄ potential in N=4 super Yang-Mills gauge theory and AdS/CFT duality

We derive a generalised concavity condition for potentials between static sources obtained from Wilson loops coupling both to gauge bosons and a set of scalar fields. It involves the second derivatives with respect to the distance in ordinary space as well as with respect to the relative orientation in internal space. In addition we discuss the use of this field theoretical condition as a nontrivial consistency check of the AdS/CFT duality.     

Generalized link-invariants on 3-manifolds ∑h × [0, 1] from Chern-Simons gauge and gravity theories

We show that the recently found generalized Jones and Homfly polynomials for links in _h × [0, 1], where _h is a closed oriented Riemann surface, may be also obtained by the canonical quantization of a Chern-Simons non-Abelian gauge theory on _h × [0, 1]. As a particular case, one may consider the 2+1-dimensional Euclidean quantum gravity with a positive cosmological constant.     

Space–time inhomogeneity, anisotropy and gravitational collapse

We investigate the evolution of non-adiabatic collapse of a shear-free spherically symmetric stellar configuration with anisotropic stresses accompanied with radial heat flux. The collapse begins from a curvature singularity with infinite mass and size on an inhomogeneous space–time background. The collapse is found to proceed without formation of an even horizon to singularity when the collapsing configuration radiates all its mass energy. The impact of inhomogeneity on various parameters of the collapsing stellar configuration is examined in some specific space–time backgrounds.     

Instability ranges of collapsing star through adiabatic index in f(T, Θ) theory of gravity

The main purpose of this paper is to study the stability analysis of collapsing star in the scenario of Newtonian and post Newtonian approximations. We consider the cylindrical symmetry of collapsing object which is filled with anisotropic fluid. The f(T, Θ) theory of gravity, where T is the torsion scalar and Θ is the trace of energy-momentum tensor is taken into account. The dynamical field equations are constructed which help to derive collapse equation by applying the perturbation method. The stability behavior of collapsing star is defined in both Newtonian and post Newtonian approximations with the help of an adiabatic index.     

Computing parallel/coincident phase D-brane superpotentials and Type-Ⅱ/F-theory duality

In this paper we study the parallel phase and the coincident phase of D-brane systems with the compactification of one closed modulus. D-brane systems with two phases are described by different 4-folds in terms of Type-Ⅱ/F-theory duality, and the phase transitions are related by the blow-up from a 4-fold with singularities to a 4-fold without. In terms of gauge theory, the phase transition corresponds to the enhancement of gauge group U(1)×U(1)→U(2) connecting the Coulomb branch and the Higgs branch. For the sextic and octic with two D-branes,using mirror symmetry and Type-Ⅱ/F theory duality, A-model superpotentials are obtained from the B-model side for the two phases, and the U(1) Ooguri-Vafa invariants for the parallel phase and U(2) Ooguri-Vafa invariants for the coincident phase are extracted from the A-model superpotential. The difference between the invariants of the two phases is evidence of the phase transition between the Coulomb branch and the Higgs branch.     

Einstein–Cartan gravity,Asymptotic Safety,and the running Immirzi parameter

In this paper we analyze the functional renormalization group flow of quantum gravity on the Einstein–Cartan theory space. The latter consists of all action functionals depending on the spin connection and the vielbein field (co-frame) which are invariant under both spacetime diffeomorphisms and local frame rotations. In the first part of the paper we develop a general methodology and corresponding calculational tools which can be used to analyze the flow equation for the pertinent effective average action for any truncation of this theory space. In the second part we apply it to a specific three-dimensional truncated theory space which is parametrized by Newton’s constant, the cosmological constant, and the Immirzi parameter. A comprehensive analysis of their scale dependences is performed, and the possibility of defining an asymptotically safe theory on this hitherto unexplored theory space is investigated. In principle Asymptotic Safety of metric gravity (at least at the level of the effective average action) is neither necessary nor sufficient for Asymptotic Safety on the Einstein–Cartan theory space which might accommodate different “universality classes” of microscopic quantum gravity theories. Nevertheless, we do find evidence for the existence of at least one non-Gaussian renormalization group fixed point which seems suitable for the Asymptotic Safety construction in a setting where the spin connection and the vielbein are the fundamental field variables.     

125 GeV Higgs,type III seesaw and gauge–Higgs unification

Recently, both the ATLAS and CMS experiments have observed an excess of events that could be the first evidence for a 125 GeV Higgs boson. This is a few GeV below the (absolute) vacuum stability bound on the Higgs mass in the Standard Model (SM), assuming a Planck mass ultraviolet (UV) cutoff. In this Letter, we study some implications of a 125 GeV Higgs boson for new physics in terms of the vacuum stability bound. We first consider the seesaw extension of the SM and find that in type III seesaw, the vacuum stability bound on the Higgs mass can be as low as 125 GeV for the seesaw scale around a TeV. Next we discuss some alternative new physics models which provide an effective ultraviolet cutoff lower than the Planck mass. An effective cutoff Λ?10¹¹ GeV$\Lambda ?{10}^{11}\text{GeV}$ leads to a vacuum stability bound on the Higgs mass of 125 GeV. In a gauge–Higgs unification scenario with five-dimensional flat spacetime, the so-called gauge–Higgs condition can yield a Higgs mass of 125 GeV, with the compactification scale of the extra-dimension being identified as the cutoff scale Λ?10¹¹ GeV$\Lambda ?{10}^{11}\text{GeV}$. Identifying the compactification scale with the unification scale of the SM SU(2) gauge coupling and the top quark Yukawa coupling yields a Higgs mass of 121±2 GeV$121\pm 2\text{GeV}$.     

Laplace,Bäcklund and gauge transformations in the two-dimensional Toda lattice

The linear Bäcklund transformation (LBT) associated with the two-dimensional Toda lattice is shown to be equivalent to a sequence of Laplace transformations of a hyperbolic linear differential equation. When the Toda lattice is cut at a point, the corresponding Laplace invariant vanishes and the LBT can be integrated.     

A note on the Holst action, the time gauge, and the Barbero–Immirzi parameter

In this note, we review the canonical analysis of the Holst action in the time gauge, with a special emphasis on the Hamiltonian equations of motion and the fixation of the Lagrange multipliers. This enables us to identify at the Hamiltonian level the various components of the covariant torsion tensor, which have to be vanishing in order for the classical theory not to depend upon the Barbero–Immirzi parameter. We also introduce a formulation of three-dimensional gravity with an explicit phase space dependency on the Barbero–Immirzi parameter as a potential way to investigate its fate and relevance in the quantum theory.