0000000000064201
AUTHOR
Carlo Pagani
IRIDE: Interdisciplinary research infrastructure based on dual electron linacs and lasers
This paper describes the scientific aims and potentials as well as the preliminary technical design of RUDE, an innovative tool for multi-disciplinary investigations in a wide field of scientific, technological and industrial applications. IRIDE will be a high intensity "particles factory", based on a combination of high duty cycle radio-frequency superconducting electron linacs and of high energy lasers. Conceived to provide unique research possibilities for particle physics, for condensed matter physics, chemistry and material science, for structural biology and industrial applications, IRIDE will open completely new research possibilities and advance our knowledge in many branches of sci…
Functional renormalization group approach to the Kraichnan model.
We study the anomalous scaling of the structure functions of a scalar field advected by a random Gaussian velocity field, the Kraichnan model, by means of Functional Renormalization Group techniques. We analyze the symmetries of the model and derive the leading correction to the structure functions considering the renormalization of composite operators and applying the operator product expansion.
Why the Cosmological Constant Seems to Hardly Care About Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations: Surprises From Background Independent Coarse Graining
International audience; Background Independence is a sine qua non for every satisfactory theory of Quantum Gravity. In particular if one tries to establish a corresponding notion of Wilsonian renormalization, or coarse graining, it presents a major conceptual and technical difficulty usually. In this paper we adopt the approach of the gravitational Effective Average Action and demonstrate that generically coarse graining in Quantum Gravity and in standard field theories on a non-dynamical spacetime are profoundly different. By means of a concrete example, which in connection with the cosmological constant problem is also interesting in its own right, we show that the surprising and sometime…
Quantum gravity with torsion and non-metricity
We study the renormalization of theories of gravity with an arbitrary (torsionful and non-metric) connection. The class of actions we consider is of the Palatini type, including the most general terms with up to two derivatives of the metric, but no derivatives of the connection. It contains 19 independent parameters. We calculate the one loop beta functions of these parameters and find their fixed points. The Holst subspace is discussed in some detail and found not to be stable under renormalization. Some possible implications for ultraviolet and infrared gravity are discussed.
A note on scaling arguments in the effective average action formalism
The effective average action (EAA) is a scale dependent effective action where a scale $k$ is introduced via an infrared regulator. The $k-$dependence of the EAA is governed by an exact flow equation to which one associates a boundary condition at a scale $\mu$. We show that the $\mu-$dependence of the EAA is controlled by an equation fully analogous to the Callan-Symanzik equation which allows to define scaling quantities straightforwardly. Particular attention is paid to composite operators which are introduced along with new sources. We discuss some simple solutions to the flow equation for composite operators and comment their implications in the case of a local potential approximation.
Geometry of the theory space in the exact renormalization group formalism
We consider the theory space as a manifold whose coordinates are given by the couplings appearing in the Wilson action. We discuss how to introduce connections on this theory space. A particularly intriguing connection can be defined directly from the solution of the exact renormalization group (ERG) equation. We advocate a geometric viewpoint that lets us define straightforwardly physically relevant quantities invariant under the changes of a renormalization scheme.
Functional and local renormalization groups
We discuss the relation between functional renormalization group (FRG) and local renormalization group (LRG), focussing on the two dimensional case as an example. We show that away from criticality the Wess-Zumino action is described by a derivative expansion with coefficients naturally related to RG quantities. We then demonstrate that the Weyl consistency conditions derived in the LRG approach are equivalent to the RG equation for the $c$-function available in the FRG scheme. This allows us to give an explicit FRG representation of the Zamolodchikov-Osborn metric, which in principle can be used for computations.
Background independent quantum field theory and gravitating vacuum fluctuations
The scale dependent effective average action for quantum gravity complies with the fundamental principle of Background Independence. Ultimately the background metric it formally depends on is selected self-consistently by means of a suitable generalization of Einstein's equation. Self-consistent backround spacetimes are scale dependent, and therefore "going on-shell" at the points along a given renormalization group (RG) trajectory requires understanding two types of scale dependencies: the (familiar) direct one carried by the off-shell action functional, and an indirect one related to the self-consistent background geometry. This paper is devoted to a careful delineation and analysis of ce…
Composite operators in asymptotic safety
We study the role of composite operators in the Asymptotic Safety program for quantum gravity. By including in the effective average action an explicit dependence on new sources we are able to keep track of operators which do not belong to the exact theory space and/or are normally discarded in a truncation. Typical examples are geometric operators such as volumes, lengths, or geodesic distances. We show that this set-up allows to investigate the scaling properties of various interesting operators via a suitable exact renormalization group equation. We test our framework in several settings, including Quantum Einstein Gravity, the conformally reduced Einstein-Hilbert truncation, and two dim…
Operator product expansion coefficients in the exact renormalization group formalism
We study how to compute the operator product expansion coefficients in the exact renormalization group formalism. After discussing possible strategies, we consider some examples explicitly, within the $\epsilon$-expansions, for the Wilson-Fisher fixed points of the real scalar theory in $d=4-\epsilon$ dimensions and the Lee-Yang model in $d=6-\epsilon$ dimensions. Finally we discuss how our formalism may be extended beyond perturbation theory.
Finite Entanglement Entropy in Asymptotically Safe Quantum Gravity
Entanglement entropies calculated in the framework of quantum field theory on classical, flat or curved, spacetimes are known to show an intriguing area law in four dimensions, but they are also notorious for their quadratic ultraviolet divergences. In this paper we demonstrate that the analogous entanglement entropies when computed within the Asymptotic Safety approach to background independent quantum gravity are perfectly free from such divergences. We argue that the divergences are an artifact due to the over-idealization of a rigid, classical spacetime geometry which is insensitive to the quantum dynamics.
Note on the super-extended Moyal formalism and its BBGKY hierarchy
We consider the path integral associated to the Moyal formalism for quantum mechanics extended to contain higher differential forms by means of Grassmann odd fields. After revisiting some properties of the functional integral associated to the (super-extended) Moyal formalism, we give a convenient functional derivation of the BBGKY hierarchy in this framework. In this case the distribution functions depend also on the Grassmann odd fields.
Geometric operators in the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum gravity
We consider geometric operators, such as the geodesic length and the volume of hypersurfaces, in the context of the Asymptotic Safety scenario for quantum gravity. We discuss the role of these operators from the Asymptotic Safety perspective, and compute their anomalous dimensions within the Einstein-Hilbert truncation. We also discuss certain subtleties arising in the definition of such geometric operators. Our results hint to an effective dimensional reduction of the considered geometric operators.
The response field and the saddle points of quantum mechanical path integrals
In quantum statistical mechanics, Moyal's equation governs the time evolution of Wigner functions and of more general Weyl symbols that represent the density matrix of arbitrary mixed states. A formal solution to Moyal's equation is given by Marinov's path integral. In this paper we demonstrate that this path integral can be regarded as the natural link between several conceptual, geometric, and dynamical issues in quantum mechanics. A unifying perspective is achieved by highlighting the pivotal role which the response field, one of the integration variables in Marinov's integral, plays for pure states even. The discussion focuses on how the integral's semiclassical approximation relates to…
Fractal geometry of higher derivative gravity
We determine the scaling properties of geometric operators such as lengths, areas, and volumes in models of higher derivative quantum gravity by renormalizing appropriate composite operators. We use these results to deduce the fractal dimensions of such hypersurfaces embedded in a quantum spacetime at very small distances.