Search results for " Geometry."
showing 10 items of 2189 documents
Connections and geodesics in the space of metrics
2015
We argue that the exponential relation $g_{\mu\nu} = \bar{g}_{\mu\rho}\big(\mathrm{e}^h\big)^\rho{}_\nu$ is the most natural metric parametrization since it describes geodesics that follow from the basic structure of the space of metrics. The corresponding connection is derived, and its relation to the Levi-Civita connection and the Vilkovisky-DeWitt connection is discussed. We address the impact of this geometric formalism on quantum gravity applications. In particular, the exponential parametrization is appropriate for constructing covariant quantities like a reparametrization invariant effective action in a straightforward way. Furthermore, we reveal an important difference between Eucli…
TOPOLOGICAL GAUGE THEORIES FROM SUPERSYMMETRIC QUANTUM MECHANICS ON SPACES OF CONNECTIONS
1991
We rederive the recently introduced $N=2$ topological gauge theories, representing the Euler characteristic of moduli spaces ${\cal M}$ of connections, from supersymmetric quantum mechanics on the infinite dimensional spaces ${\cal A}/{\cal G}$ of gauge orbits. To that end we discuss variants of ordinary supersymmetric quantum mechanics which have meaningful extensions to infinite-dimensional target spaces and introduce supersymmetric quantum mechanics actions modelling the Riemannian geometry of submersions and embeddings, relevant to the projections ${\cal A}\rightarrow {\cal A}/{\cal G}$ and inclusions ${\cal M}\subset{\cal A}/{\cal G}$ respectively. We explain the relation between Donal…
The Space Filling Dirichlet 3-Brane in N=2, D=4 Superspace
2001
We discuss a four-dimensional Volkov-Akulov supersymmetric theory on a D3-brane with N=2 supersymmetry broken down to N=1.
Observations on the Darboux coordinates for rigid special geometry
2006
We exploit some relations which exist when (rigid) special geometry is formulated in real symplectic special coordinates $P^I=(p^\Lambda,q_\Lambda), I=1,...,2n$. The central role of the real $2n\times 2n$ matrix $M(\Re \mathcal{F},\Im \mathcal{F})$, where $\mathcal{F} = \partial_\Lambda\partial_\Sigma F$ and $F$ is the holomorphic prepotential, is elucidated in the real formalism. The property $M\Omega M=\Omega$ with $\Omega$ being the invariant symplectic form is used to prove several identities in the Darboux formulation. In this setting the matrix $M$ coincides with the (negative of the) Hessian matrix $H(S)=\frac{\partial^2 S}{\partial P^I\partial P^J}$ of a certain hamiltonian real fun…
Acceleration radiation and the Planck scale
2008
A uniformly accelerating observer perceives the Minkowski vacuum state as a thermal bath of radiation. We point out that this field-theory effect can be derived, for any dimension higher than two, without actually invoking very high energy physics. This supports the view that this phenomenon is robust against Planck-scale physics and, therefore, should be compatible with any underlying microscopic theory.
Noncommutative space and the low-energy physics of quasicrystals
2008
We prove that the effective low-energy, nonlinear Schroedinger equation for a particle in the presence of a quasiperiodic potential is the potential-free, nonlinear Schroedinger equation on noncommutative space. Thus quasiperiodicity of the potential can be traded for space noncommutativity when describing the envelope wave of the initial quasiperiodic wave.
Twistor transform inddimensions and a unifying role for twistors
2005
Twistors in four dimensions d=4 have provided a convenient description of massless particles with any spin, and this led to remarkable computational techniques in Yang-Mills field theory. Recently it was shown that the same d=4 twistor provides also a unified description of an assortment of other particle dynamical systems, including special examples of massless or massive particles, relativistic or non-relativistic, interacting or non-interacting, in flat space or curved spaces. In this paper, using 2T-physics as the primary theory, we derive the general twistor transform in d-dimensions that applies to all cases, and show that these more general twistor transforms provide d dimensional ho…
Fluid membranes and2dquantum gravity
2011
We study the RG flow of two dimensional (fluid) membranes embedded in Euclidean D-dimensional space using functional RG methods based on the effective average action. By considering a truncation ansatz for the effective average action with both extrinsic and intrinsic curvature terms we derive a system of beta functions for the running surface tension, bending rigidity and Gaussian rigidity. We look for non-trivial fixed points but we find no evidence for a crumpling transition at $T\neq0$. Finally, we propose to identify the $D\rightarrow 0$ limit of the theory with two dimensional quantum gravity. In this limit we derive new beta functions for both cosmological and Newton's constants.
N=2 Super-Higgs, N=1 Poincare' Vacua and Quaternionic Geometry
2002
In the context of N=2 supergravity we explain the occurrence of partial super-Higgs with vanishing vacuum energy and moduli stabilization in a model suggested by superstring compactifications on type IIB orientifolds with 3-form fluxes. The gauging of axion symmetries of the quaternionic manifold, together with the use of degenerate symplectic sections for special geometry, are the essential ingredients of the construction.
Supersymmetry and Noncommutative Geometry
1996
The purpose of this article is to apply the concept of the spectral triple, the starting point for the analysis of noncommutative spaces in the sense of A.~Connes, to the case where the algebra $\cA$ contains both bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom. The operator $\cD$ of the spectral triple under consideration is the square root of the Dirac operator und thus the forms of the generalized differential algebra constructed out of the spectral triple are in a representation of the Lorentz group with integer spin if the form degree is even and they are in a representation with half-integer spin if the form degree is odd. However, we find that the 2-forms, obtained by squaring the connectio…