Calculation of the pressure of a hot scalar theory within the Non-Perturbative Renormalization Group

We apply to the calculation of the pressure of a hot scalar field theory a method that has been recently developed to solve the Non-Perturbative Renormalization Group. This method yields an accurate determination of the momentum dependence of n  -point functions over the entire momentum range, from the low momentum, possibly critical, region up to the perturbative, high momentum region. It has therefore the potential to account well for the contributions of modes of all wavelengths to the thermodynamical functions, as well as for the effects of the mixing of quasiparticles with multi-particle states. We compare the thermodynamical functions obtained with this method to those of the so-called Local Potential Approximation, and we find extremely small corrections. This result points to the robustness of the quasiparticle picture in this system. It also demonstrates the stability of the overall approximation scheme, and this up to the largest values of the coupling constant that can be used in a scalar theory in 3+1$3+1$ dimensions. This is in sharp contrast to perturbation theory which shows no sign of convergence, up to the highest orders that have been recently calculated.     

Universal behavior in the scattering of heavy, weakly interacting dark matter on nuclear targets

Particles that are heavy compared to the electroweak scale (M?mW), and that are charged under electroweak SU(2) gauge interactions display universal properties such as a characteristic fine structure in the mass spectrum induced by electroweak symmetry breaking, and an approximately universal cross section for scattering on nuclear targets. The heavy particle effective theory framework is developed to compute these properties. As illustration, the spin independent cross section for low-velocity scattering on a nucleon is evaluated in the limit M?mW, including complete leading-order matching onto quark and gluon operators, renormalization analysis, and systematic treatment of perturbative and hadronic-input uncertainties.     

Renormalization of a gauge theory in a nonlinear gauge

We discuss renormalization of an O(3) gauge model with the gauge fixing term given by ℒ_g.f.=-1/ζ|(∂_μ-igA ₃ ^μ )W ^+μ|²-(1/2α)(∂A ³)². We utilize earlier results on the general theory of renormalization of gauge theories in quadratic gauges to prove multiplicative renormalizability of the theory together with a subtractive renormalization of gauge fixing and ghost terms. We show that this model has a double BRS invariance and that it is preserved under renormalization.     

Perturbative Power Counting,Lowest-Index Operators and Their Renormalization in Standard Model Effective Field Theory

We study two aspects of higher dimensional operators in standard model effective field theory.We first introduce a perturbative power counting rule for the entries in the anomalous dimension matrix of operators with equal mass dimension.The power counting is determined by the number of loops and the difference of the indices of the two operators involved,which in turn is defined by assuming that all terms in the standard model Lagrangian have an equal perturbative power.Then we show that the operators with the lowest index are unique at each mass dimension d,i.e.,(H~?H)~(d/2)for even d≥4,and(L~TεH)C(L~TεH)~T(H~?H)~((d-5)/2)for odd d≥5.Here H,L are the Higgs and lepton doublet,andε,C the antisymmetric matrix of rank two and the charge conjugation matrix,respectively.The renormalization group running of these operators can be studied separately from other operators of equal mass dimension at the leading order in power counting.We compute their anomalous dimensions at one loop for general d and find that they are enhanced quadratically in d due to combinatorics.We also make connections with classification of operators in terms of their holomorphic and anti-holomorphic weights.     

Effective potentials in the Lifshitz scalar field theory

We study the one-loop effective potentials of the four-dimensional Lifshitz scalar field theory with the particular anisotropic scaling z=2, and the mass and the coupling constants renormalization are performed whereas the finite counterterm is just needed for the highest order of the coupling because of the mild UV divergence. Finally, we investigate whether the critical temperature for the symmetry breaking can exist or not in this approximation.     

Renormalization group evaluation of exponents in family name distributions

According to many phenomenological and theoretical studies the distribution of family name frequencies in a population can be asymptotically described by a power law. We show that the Galton-Watson process corresponding to the dynamics of a growing population can be represented in Hilbert space, and its time evolution may be analyzed by renormalization group techniques, thus explaining the origin of the power law and establishing the connection between its exponent and the ratio between the population growth and the name production rates.     

On the constituent counting rule for hard exclusive processes involving multi-quark states

At high energy,the cross section at finite scattering angle of a hard exclusive process falls off as a power of the Manderstam variable s.If all involved quark-gluon compositions undergo hard momentum transfers,the fall-off scaling is determined by the underlying valence structures of the initial and final hadrons,known as the constituent counting rule.In spite of the complication due to helicity conservation,it has been argued that when applied to exclusive process with exotic multiquark states,the counting rule is a powerful way to determine the valence degrees of freedom inside hadron exotics.In this work,we demonstrate that for hadrons with hidden flavors,the naive application of the constituent counting rule is problematic,since it is not mandatory for all components to participate in hard scattering at the scale s1/2.We illustrate the problems in the viewpoint based on effective field theory.We clarify the misleading results that may be obtained from the constituent counting rule in exclusive processes with exotic candidates such as Z_c~±(cd/cu),Z_b~±(bd/bdu),X(3872),etc.     

Chiral perturbation theory: Introduction and recent results in the one-nucleon sector

We provide an introduction to the basic concepts of chiral perturbation theory and discuss some recent developments in the manifestly Lorentz-invariant formulation of the one-nucleon sector.     

Loop variables and gauge invariant exact renormalization group equations for (open) string theory II

In arXiv:1202.4298 gauge invariant interacting equations were written down for the spin 2 and spin 3 massive modes using the exact renormalization group of a world sheet theory. This is generalized to all the higher levels in this paper. An interacting theory of an infinite tower of massive higher spins is obtained. They appear as a compactification of a massless theory in one higher dimension. The compactification and consequent mass is essential for writing the interaction terms. Just as for spin 2 and spin 3, the interactions are in terms of gauge invariant “field strengths” and the gauge transformations are the same as for the free theory. This theory can then be truncated in a gauge invariant way by removing one oscillator of the extra dimension to match the field content of BRST string (field) theory. The truncation has to be done level by level and results are given explicitly for level 4. At least up to level 5, the truncation can be done in a way that preserves the higher-dimensional structure. There is a relatively straightforward generalization of this construction to (arbitrary) curved space–time and this is also outlined.     

Effective potentials and threshold anomaly

The strongE andL dependence of the effective elastic channel potentials is shown to be an implicit radial kinetic energy (ε) dependence. It is also shown that this effective potential satisfies the dispersion relation inε variable at the strong absorption radius. Further, the experimental data for both elastic and fusion channels are consistent with thisL-dependence of the corresponding effective potentials. The effective transfer channel potentials derived using CRC code FRESCO are shown to exhibit strong energy dependence as a result of couplings. The energy dependence of effective transfer strength for¹⁶O+²⁰⁸Pb and¹⁶O+²³²Th systems is determined using the experimental transfer angular distributions.     

Curve counting,instantons and McKay correspondences

We survey some features of equivariant instanton partition functions of topological gauge theories on four and six dimensional toric Kähler varieties, and their geometric and algebraic counterparts in the enumerative problem of counting holomorphic curves. We discuss the relations of instanton counting to representations of affine Lie algebras in the four-dimensional case, and to Donaldson–Thomas theory for ideal sheaves on Calabi–Yau threefolds. For resolutions of toric singularities, an algebraic structure induced by a quiver determines the instanton moduli space through the McKay correspondence and its generalizations. The correspondence elucidates the realization of gauge theory partition functions as quasi-modular forms, and reformulates the computation of noncommutative Donaldson–Thomas invariants in terms of the enumeration of generalized instantons. New results include a general presentation of the partition functions on ALE spaces as affine characters, a rigorous treatment of equivariant partition functions on Hirzebruch surfaces, and a putative connection between the special McKay correspondence and instanton counting on Hirzebruch–Jung spaces.     

The Hopf Algebra Structure of Connes and Kreimer in Epstein–Glaser Renormalization

We show how the Hopf algebra structure of renormalization discovered by Kreimer can be found in the Epstein–Glaser framework without using an analogue of the forest formula of Zimmermann.     

Generalization of thermodynamic potentials including information

In this work we analyze the connection between information theory and thermodynamics. Three different potentials are presented, all related to the Kullback–Leibler divergence. These potentials represent three different conditions of energy and information exchange between a reservoir and a subsystem. The first potential describes a situation where the two systems are exchanging energy without any external control. The second potential considers the situation where the reservoir can get information through the state of another secondary system about the internal state of the subsystem. This information can then be used by a Maxwell demon to increase the free energy of the subsystem. In this second scenario it is assumed that the energy cost of the information probe and the Maxwell demon are at the expense of the reservoir. Finally, a third case is considered where the information obtained through the secondary system is used not only to manipulate an internal Maxwell demon, but to perform directly work over the subsystem. This last case involves a direct modification of the Hamiltonian of the subsystem.     

Renormalization group operators for maps and universal scaling of universal scaling exponents

Renormalization group (RG) methods provide a unifying framework for understanding critical behaviour, such as transition to chaos in area-preserving maps and other dynamical systems, which have associated with them universal scaling exponents. Recently, de la Llave et al. (2007) [10] have formulated the Principle of Approximate Combination of Scaling Exponents (PACSE for short), which relates exponents for different criticalities via their combinatorial properties. The main objective of this paper is to show that certain integrable fixed points of RG operators for area-preserving maps do indeed follow the PACSE.     

Photon counting statistics of V-type three-level systems: The effects of the field fluctuations

We investigate the influence of the field fluctuations to the emission photons of V-type three-level systems.The emission intensity I and Mandel's Q parameter show stochastic resonance with respect to the pure dephasing constantγp.The amplitude fluctuation of the field causes these systems to lose their coherence.On the other hand,the amplitude fluctuation provides a new interference method for these systems.The quantum beats are shown in the orthogonal system.     

Effective stopping charges and stopping power calculations for heavy ions

In this study the model suggested by Sugiyama has been developed and applied for the calculation of the stopping powers for nonrelativistic heavy ions in various target materials. Sugiyama's model has been expanded to low and high energy regions in our work. Analytical expressions are obtained in the modified BB stopping power formula for the effective charge and effective mean excitation energies. In the modified LSS formula, a quasi-molecule criterion has been applied to both the projectiles and the target atoms. Electronic excitation contribution, S _e0, and quasi-molecule contribution, S _ei , to stopping power were found for a wide energy region. It is observed that in intermediate energy region both contributions have maxima. The stopping power due to excitation-ionization in the intermediate and higher energy region is found to be dominant, whereas quasi-molecule contribution is dominant in the lower energy region. The calculated results of stopping power are in good agreement with experimental data for various ions and targets within a few percent in a wide projectile energy range.     

An exact solution of the renormalization-group equations for the mean field theory of stable and metastable states

An exact solution of the renormalization-group equations corresponding to the mean field theory of stable and metastable states is given which yields the correct free energies for these states. An unusual feature of this solution is that the renormalized Hamiltonian in the two-phase region becomes a multivalued function of the order parameter for all values of the length rescaling parameter beyond a certain critical value. This is closely related to the multivaluedness of the free energy as a function of magnetic field which characterizes the classical theory of metastable and unstable states. As a consequence of this multivaluedness, the trajectory flow in the space of coupling constants exhibits unusual bifurcation. This leads to difficulties in evaluating the metastable and unstable free energies by a trajectory integral of the spin-independent term, which can be resolved by an extension of the standard formalism.This work was supported by NSF grant #550-346-01 (JDG) and a U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science grant (KK and JDG).     

Effects of experimental imperfections on a spin counting experiment

Spin counting NMR is an experimental technique that allows a determination of the size and time evolution of networks of dipolar coupled nuclear spins. This work reports on an average Hamiltonian treatment of two spin counting sequences and compares the efficiency of the two cycles in the presence of flip errors, RF inhomogeneity, phase transients, phase errors, and offset interactions commonly present in NMR experiments. Simulations on small quantum systems performed using the two cycles reveal the effects of pulse imperfections on the resulting multiple quantum spectra, in qualitative agreement with the average Hamiltonian calculations. Experimental results on adamantane are presented, demonstrating differences in the two sequences in the presence of pulse errors.     

Dead time corrections to photon counting statistics II: Quantum theory

The recent formulation of the quantum theory of photodetection, based on the quantum theory of continuous measurements, is extended to the case of a (nonideal) detector which has non-zero dead time. A general result is proven which expresses the dead time modified counting statistics in terms of the counting statistics of anassociated ideal detector. As an illustration, the dead time corrections to the counting statistics of a single-mode free field are worked out, and these corrections are shown to be identical in form to the dead time corrections for a classical optical field of constant intensity.     

The delocalized effective degrees of freedom of a black hole at low frequencies

Identifying the fundamental degrees of freedom of a black hole poses a long-standing puzzle. Recently Goldberger and Rothstein forwarded a theory of the low frequency degrees of freedom within the effective field theory approach, where they are relevancy ordered but of unclear physical origin. Here these degrees of freedom are identified with near-horizon but non-compact gravitational perturbations which are decomposed into delocalized multipoles. Their world-line (kinetic) action is determined within the classical effective field theory (CLEFT) approach and their interactions are discussed. The case of the long-wavelength scattering of a scalar wave off a Schwarzschild black hole is treated in some detail, interpreting within the CLEFT approach the equality of the leading absorption cross section with the horizon area. Fifth Award in the 2008 Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation.