116957296
Higher derivative expansions and non-locality, with applications to gravity and the stability of flat space
7802314
Einstein equation with quantum corrections reduced to second order.
We consider the Einstein equation with first-order (semiclassical) quantum corrections. Although the quantum corrections contain up to fourth-order derivatives of the metric, the solutions which are physically relevant satisfy reduced equations which contain derivatives no higher than second order. We obtain the reduced equations for a range of stress-energy tensors. These reduced equations are suitable for a numerical solution, are expected to contain fewer numerical instabilities than the original fourth-order equations, and yield only physically relevant solutions. We give analytic and numerical solutions or reduced equations for particular examples, including Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre universes with a cosmological constant, a spherical body of constant density, and more general conformally flat metrics.
7991045
Unitarity of interacting fields in curved spacetime.
On globally hyperbolic spacetimes, each foliation by spacelike hypersurfaces corresponds to a Hamiltonian description of field theory, and unitarity follows formally from the Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian. For a renormalizable theory, unitarity at each order in perturbation theory follows from the corresponding Hermiticity of each term in the time-ordered product of interaction Hamiltonians. For more general spacetimes, one can still use the path integral to obtain a generalized Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann reduction formula for $S$-matrix elements and the corresponding perturbative expansion. Unitarity imposes an infinite set of identities on the scattering amplitudes, which are the generalizations of the flat-spacetime Cutkosky rules. We find these explicitly to $O({\ensuremath{\lambda}}^{3})$ in a $\ensuremath{\lambda}{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{4}$ theory, and show how to find the relations to any order. For globally hyperbolic spacetimes the unitarity identities are satisfied [at least to $O({\ensuremath{\lambda}}^{3})$] because of a single property of the configuration-space propagator that reflects the causal structure of the spacetime.
15433766
Black-hole thermodynamics in Lovelock gravity.
The thermodynamic properties of black holes in Lovelock gravity are examined. In particular, the case of the Einstein Lagrangian plus the four-dimensional Euler density is discussed in detail. In five dimensions, one finds that the specific heat of a black hole becomes positive at small mass, allowing the black hole to achieve stable equilibrium with its environment and giving it an infinite lifetime. This behavior is not universal, however, but it always occurs in 2k+1 dimensions for a Lovelock theory including the 2k-dimensional Euler density. For theories including six-derivative or higher-order interactions, black holes with degenerate zero-temperature horizons are also possible.
7935709
Stability of flat space, semiclassical gravity, and higher derivatives.
Flat space is shown to be perturbatively stable, to first order in ħ, against quantum fluctuations produced in semiclassical (or 1/N expansion) approximations to quantum gravity, despite past indications to the contrary. It is pointed out that most of the new «solutions» allowed by the semiclassical corrections do not fall within the perturbative framework, unlike the effective action and field equations which generate them.
15289059
Black hole evaporation and higher-derivative gravity
We examine the role which higher-derivative gravity interactions may play in black hole evaporation. The thermodynamic properties of black holes in Lovelock gravity are described. In certain cases, the specific heat of a black hole becomes positive at a small mass. This results in an infinite lifetime for the black hole (and also allows it to achieve stable equilibrium with a thermal environment). Thus no conflict with unitary time evolution would arise in such theories.
140116815
What is a chiral 2 d CFT ? And what does it have to do with extremal black holes ?
The near horizon limit of the extremal BTZ black hole is a “self-dual orbifold” of AdS3. This geometry has a null circle on its boundary, and thus the dual field theory is a Discrete Light Cone Quantized (DLCQ) two dimensional CFT. The same geometry can be compactified to two dimensions giving AdS2 with a constant electric field. The kinematics of the DLCQ show that in a consistent quantum theory of gravity in these backgrounds there can be no dynamics in AdS2, which is consistent with older ideas about instabilities in this space. We show how the necessary boundary conditions eliminating AdS2 fluctuations can be implemented, leaving one copy of a Virasoro algebra as the asymptotic symmetry group. Our considerations clarify some aspects of the chiral CFTs appearing in proposed dual descriptions of the near-horizon degrees of freedom of extremal black holes.
18036483
Deconstructing the D0-D6 system
We find the complete classical moduli space of two-centered supersymmetric solutions carrying D0 and D6 brane charge in the STU model delimited by walls of marginal stability of co-dimension one. U-duality guarantees our conclusions hold for any BPS state with negative quartic invariant. The analysis explicitly shows that the conditions of marginal stability, i.e. the integrability conditions, are generically insufficient to provide a regular supergravity solution in this model.
55066831
The electrostatic view on M-theory LLM geometries
We describe the geometry of the $ \mathbb{R} \times {\text{SO}}(3) \times {\text{SO}}(6) \times {\text{U}}(1) $ invariant half-BPS M-theory configurations considered in LLM in terms of their electrostatic variables. We discuss both regular configurations, such as AdS4 × S7 and AdS7 × S4 vacua or simple excited solutions, and singular ones such as the superstar geometries. This allows us to identify the appropriate boundary conditions describing the most general smooth and superstar-like singular configurations. We also compute their masses, matching the expected result from their microscopic interpretation, but now at finite radius of curvature.
119567009
Yang-Mills equations are formally linearizable
It is proved, in the framework of a recent theory of non-linear group representations elaborated by the authors, that the non-linear Yang-Mills equations are formally linearizable: there exists a formal non-linear operator which intertwins the non-linear Yang-Mills equations with their free (linear) part.
119287778
Strings vs. spins on the null orbifold
A bstractWe study the null orbifold singularity in 2+1 d flat space higher spin theory as well as string theory. Using the Chern-Simons formulation of 2+1 d Einstein gravity, we first observe that despite the singular nature of this geometry, the eigenvalues of its Chern-Simons holonomy are trivial. Next, we construct a resolution of the singularity in higher spin theory: a Kundt spacetime with vanishing scalar curvature invariants. We also point out that the UV divergences previously observed in the 2-to-2 tachyon tree level string amplitude on the null orbifold do not arise in the α′ → ∞ limit. We find all the divergences of the amplitude and demonstrate that the ones remaining in the tensionless limit are physical IR-type divergences. We conclude with a discussion on the meaning and limitations of higher spin (cosmological) singularity resolution and its potential connection to string theory.