Universe

6 pages, 224 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Real Part of a Conformal Field Theory

by Doron Gepner and Hervé Partouche

Universe 2018, 4(9), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4090097 - 19 Sep 2018

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Every conformal field theory has the symmetry of taking each field to its adjoint. We consider here the quotient (orbifold) conformal field theory obtained by twisting with respect to this symmetry. A general method for computing such quotients is developed using the Coulomb [...] Read more.

Every conformal field theory has the symmetry of taking each field to its adjoint. We consider here the quotient (orbifold) conformal field theory obtained by twisting with respect to this symmetry. A general method for computing such quotients is developed using the Coulomb gas representation. Examples of parafermions,

S U (2)

current algebra and the

N = 2

minimal models are described explicitly. The partition functions and the dimensions of the disordered fields are given. This result is a tool for finding new theories. For instance, it is of importance in analyzing the conformal field theories of exceptional holonomy manifolds. Full article

16 pages, 1842 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hot Dense Matter: Deconfinement and Clustering of Color Sources in Nuclear Collisions

by Rolf P. Scharenberg, Brijesh K. Srivastava, Andrew S. Hirsch and Carlos Pajares

Universe 2018, 4(9), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4090096 - 18 Sep 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2968

Abstract

Within the first few microseconds from after the Big Bang, the hot dense matter was in the form of the Quark Gluon Plasm (QGP) consisting of free quarks and gluons. By colliding heavy nuclei at RHIC and LHC at a velocity close to [...] Read more.

Within the first few microseconds from after the Big Bang, the hot dense matter was in the form of the Quark Gluon Plasm (QGP) consisting of free quarks and gluons. By colliding heavy nuclei at RHIC and LHC at a velocity close to the speed of light, we were able to create the primordial matter and observe the matter after expansion and cooling. In this report we present the thermodynamics and transport coefficients obtained in the framework of clustering of color sources in both hadron-hadron and nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. Multiparticle production at high energies can be described in terms of color strings stretched between the projectile and target. At high string density single strings overlap and form color sources. This addition belongs to the non-perturbative domain of Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QGP) and manifests its most fundamental features. The Schwinger

{QED}_{2}

mechanism produces color neutral

q \bar{q}

pairs when color source strings break. Subsequent hardonization produces the observed hadrons. With growing energy and atomic number of the colliding nuclei the density of strings grows and more color sources form clusters in the transverse plane. At a certain critical density a macroscopic cluster appears, which marks the percolation phase transition. This is the Color String Percolation Model (CSPM). The critical density is identified as the deconfinement transition and happens at the hadronization temperature. The stochastic thermalization in

p p

and A-A is a consequence of the quantum tunneling through the event horizon introduced by the confining color fields, the Hawking-Unruh effect. The percolation approach within CSPM is successfully used to describe the crossover phase transition in the soft collision region. The same phenomenology when applied to both hadron-hadron and nucleus-nucleus collisions emphasizes the importance of color string density, creating a macroscopic cluster which identifies the connectivity required for a finite droplet of the QGP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interplay of QCD, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics)

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10 pages, 330 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Taming the Beast: Diffusion Method in Nonlocal Gravity

by Gianluca Calcagni

Universe 2018, 4(9), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4090095 - 12 Sep 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2700 | Correction

Abstract

We present a method to solve the nonlinear dynamical equations of motion in gravitational theories with fundamental nonlocalities of a certain type. For these specific form factors, which appear in some renormalizable theories, the number of field degrees of freedom and of initial [...] Read more.

We present a method to solve the nonlinear dynamical equations of motion in gravitational theories with fundamental nonlocalities of a certain type. For these specific form factors, which appear in some renormalizable theories, the number of field degrees of freedom and of initial conditions is finite. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gravity, Black Holes and Cosmology XXI)

15 pages, 738 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Two Novel Approaches to the Hadron-Quark Mixed Phase in Compact Stars

by Vahagn Abgaryan, David Alvarez-Castillo, Alexander Ayriyan, David Blaschke and Hovik Grigorian

Universe 2018, 4(9), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4090094 - 5 Sep 2018

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3458

Abstract

First-order phase transitions, such as the liquid-gas transition, proceed via formation of structures, such as bubbles and droplets. In strongly interacting compact star matter, at the crust-core transition but also the hadron-quark transition in the core, these structures form different shapes dubbed “pasta [...] Read more.

First-order phase transitions, such as the liquid-gas transition, proceed via formation of structures, such as bubbles and droplets. In strongly interacting compact star matter, at the crust-core transition but also the hadron-quark transition in the core, these structures form different shapes dubbed “pasta phases”. We describe two methods to obtain one-parameter families of hybrid equations of state (EoS) substituting the Maxwell construction that mimic the thermodynamic behaviour of pasta phase in between a low-density hadron and a high-density quark matter phase without explicitly computing geometrical structures. Both methods reproduce the Maxwell construction as a limiting case. The first method replaces the behaviour of pressure against chemical potential in a finite region around the critical pressure of the Maxwell construction by a polynomial interpolation. The second method uses extrapolations of the hadronic and quark matter EoS beyond the Maxwell point to define a mixing of both with weight functions bounded by finite limits around the Maxwell point. We apply both methods to the case of a hybrid EoS with a strong first order transition that entails the formation of a third family of compact stars and the corresponding mass twin phenomenon. For both models, we investigate the robustness of this phenomenon against variation of the single parameter: the pressure increment at the critical chemical potential that quantifies the deviation from the Maxwell construction. We also show sets of results for compact star observables other than mass and radius, namely the moment of inertia and the baryon mass. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Compact Stars in the QCD Phase Diagram)

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20 pages, 997 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Greybody Factors for Schwarzschild Black Holes: Path-Ordered Exponentials and Product Integrals

by Finnian Gray and Matt Visser

Universe 2018, 4(9), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4090093 - 3 Sep 2018

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3710

Abstract

In earlier work concerning the sparsity of the Hawking flux, we found it necessary to re-examine what is known regarding the greybody factors of black holes, with a view to extending and expanding on some old results from the 1970s. Focusing specifically on [...] Read more.

In earlier work concerning the sparsity of the Hawking flux, we found it necessary to re-examine what is known regarding the greybody factors of black holes, with a view to extending and expanding on some old results from the 1970s. Focusing specifically on Schwarzschild black holes, we have re-calculated and re-assessed the greybody factors using a path-ordered-exponential approach, a technique which has the virtue of providing a pedagogically useful semi-explicit formula for the relevant Bogoliubov coefficients. These path-ordered-exponentials, being based on a variant of the “transfer matrix” formalism, are closely related to so-called “product integrals”, leading to quite straightforward and direct numerical evaluation, while side-stepping any need for numerically solving the relevant ordinary differential equations. Furthermore, while considerable analytic information is already available regarding both the high-frequency and low-frequency asymptotics of these greybody factors, numerical approaches seem better adapted to finding suitable “global models” for these greybody factors in the intermediate frequency regime, where most of the Hawking flux is actually concentrated. Working in a more general context, these path-ordered-exponential techniques are also likely to be of interest for generic barrier-penetration problems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Open Questions in Black Hole Physics)

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8 pages, 283 KiB

Open AccessConference Report

Black Hole Bounces on the Road to Quantum Gravity

by Daniele Malafarina

Universe 2018, 4(9), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4090092 - 28 Aug 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3522

Abstract

Quantum resolutions of the space-time singularity at the end of gravitational collapse may provide hints towards the properties of a final theory of Quantum-Gravity. The mechanism by which the singularity is avoided and replaced by a bounce depends on the specific behaviour of [...] Read more.

Quantum resolutions of the space-time singularity at the end of gravitational collapse may provide hints towards the properties of a final theory of Quantum-Gravity. The mechanism by which the singularity is avoided and replaced by a bounce depends on the specific behaviour of gravity in the strong field and may have implications for the geometry of the space-time also in the weak field. In the last few decades, several scenarios for black hole bounces have been proposed and I shall argue that the times are now mature to ask the question of whether such bounces can be observed in astrophysical phenomena. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gravity, Black Holes and Cosmology XXI)

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16 pages, 570 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recent Progress in Fighting Ghosts in Quantum Gravity

by Filipe De O. Salles and Ilya L. Shapiro

Universe 2018, 4(9), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4090091 - 26 Aug 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2972

Abstract

We review some of the recent results which can be useful for better understanding of the problem of stability of vacuum and in general classical solutions in higher derivative quantum gravity. The fourth derivative terms in the purely gravitational vacuum sector are requested [...] Read more.

We review some of the recent results which can be useful for better understanding of the problem of stability of vacuum and in general classical solutions in higher derivative quantum gravity. The fourth derivative terms in the purely gravitational vacuum sector are requested by renormalizability already in both semiclassical and complete quantum gravity theories. However, because of these terms, the spectrum of the theory has unphysical ghost states which jeopardize the stability of classical solutions. At the quantum level, ghosts violate unitarity, and thus ghosts look incompatible with the consistency of the theory. The “dominating” or “standard” approach is to treat higher derivative terms as small perturbations at low energies. Such an effective theory is supposed to glue with an unknown fundamental theory in the high energy limit. We argue that the perspectives for such a scenario are not clear, to say the least. On the other hand, recently, there was certain progress in understanding physical conditions which can make ghosts not offensive. We survey these results and discuss the properties of the unknown fundamental theory which can provide these conditions satisfied. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gravity, Black Holes and Cosmology XXI)

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Universe, Volume 4, Issue 9 (September 2018) – 7 articles

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