Thèses sur le sujet « Quantum Field Theory in curved space-time »

Quantum field theory is studied within the semi-classical gravity approximation. The quantum correction to the propagation of both photons and gravitons in a general curved space background is calculated showing a non-trivial spacetime refractive index as well as a dynamical dressing (or undressing) of the particle state. The initial interacting particle's 'dressing', the cloud of virtual particles that surrounds it, may receive corrections from an infinite number of modes even for flat space. When gravitational tidal effects remove this dressing, squeezing it back into the bare particle, this leads to an amplification in a way consistent with unitarity. There is a possible shift discovered in the graviton wavefront velocity related to higher order curvature couplings, although in this calculation there is also a logarithmic divergence at high frequencies, leading to a breakdown of the perturbative approximation. Next we consider initial value problems and the stability of de Sitter space. Here the self decay of a massive scalar in de Sitter space is proposed to lead to a particle explosion where divergent growth of the field expectation value is observed. Directly investigating this divergent field expectation value a one loop calculation is completed for a massive scalar particle in 3-dimensional de Sitter space. This result has characteristic secular growth that can be summed into a rapidly decaying exponential by using the dynamical renormalisation group. Finally the evolution of two point functions is studied, by numerically solving their equations of motion using the Kaydanoff-Baym equations in 2-dimensional de Sitter space. Here we see a decay of the vacuum state due to the coupling. This appears to be related to the choice of initial conditions be chosen to match the free field vacuum plus non-interacting particles. This choice is made inappropriate by the dynamical dressing of the bare particle states.

This work discusses aspects of a fundamental problem in the theory of quantum fields on curved spacetimes - that of giving physical meaning to the particle representations of the theory. In particular, the response of model particle detectors is analysed in detail. Unruh (1976) first introduced the idea of a model particle detector in order to give an operational definition to particles. He found that even in flat spacetime, the excitation of a particle detector does not necessarily correspond to the presence of an energy carrier - an accelerating detector will excite in response to the zero-energy state of the Minkowski vacuum. The central question I consider in this work Is - where does the energy for the excitation of the accelerating detector come from? The accepted response has been that the accelerating force provides the energy. Evaluating the energy carried by the (conformally-invariant massless scalar) field after the Interaction with the detector, however, I find that the detector excitation is compensated by an equal but opposite emission of negative energy. This result suggests that there may be states of lesser energy than that of the Minkowski vacuum. To resolve this paradox, I argue that the emission of a detector following a more realistic trajectory than that of constant acceleration - one that starts and finishes in inertial motion - will in total be positive, although during periods of constant acceleration the detector will still emit negative energy. The Minkowski vacuum retains its status as the field state of lowest energy. The second question I consider is' the response of Unruh's detector in curved spacetime - is it possible to use such a detector to measure the energy carried by the field? In the particular case of a detector following a Killing trajectory, I find that there is a response to the energy of the field, but that there is also an inherent 'noise'. In a two dimensional model spacetime, I show that this 'noise' depends on the detector's acceleration and on the curvature of the spacetime, thereby encompassing previous results of Unruh (1976) and of Gibbons & Hawking (1977).
Science, Faculty of
Physics and Astronomy, Department of
Graduate

Le sujet de la thèse est la construction d'une théorie perturbative des champs quantiques en interaction sur un espace-temps courbe, suivant un point de vue conçu par Stueckelberg et Bogoliubov et developpé par Epstein-Glaser sur l'espace de Minkowski plat. En 2000 un progrès important fut réalisé par Brunetti et Fredenhagen qui réussirent à étendre la théorie d'Epstein-Glaser en exploitant le point de vue développé par Radzikowski pour definir les états quantiques sur un espace-temps courbe en terme d'ensembles de front d'onde. Ces résultats furent ultérieurement généralisés par Fredenhagen, Brunetti, Hollands, Wald, Rejzner, etc. Aux théories de Yang-Mills et de la gravitation. Cependant, même pour des théories sans invariance de jauge, de nombreux détails mathématiques sont restés inexplorés et parfois sans vérification. Dans cette thèse, on construit d'une façon totalement rigoureuse cette théorie dans le cas des champs sans invariance de jauge. Dans mon travail, j' ai revisité complètement cette théorie, résolvant au passage plusieurs questions laissées en suspens, incorporant de nombreux résultats nouveaux autour de ce programme et, le cas échéant, apportant des détails beaucoup plus précis sur les contre-termes dans le processus de renormalisation, une compréhension plus approfondie des ambiguïtés et une description géométrique des ensembles de front d'onde. L'ensemble de la thèse utilise un large éventail de techniques mathématiques : de la géométrie différentielle et pseudo riemannienne, des techniques d'analyse micro-locale et de géométrie symplectique pour les fronts d'onde, de l'analyse fonctionnelle, des résultats fins de la théorie des distributions
The subject of the thesis is the construction of a perturbative quantum theory of interacting fields on a curved space-time, following a point of view pioneered by Stueckelberg and Bogoliubov and developed by Epstein-Glaser on the flat Minkowski space-time. In 2000 a breakthrough was done by Brunetti and Fredenhagen who were able to extend the Epstein-Glaser theory by exploiting the point of view developed by Radzikowski to define quantum states on a curved space-time in terms of wave-front sets. These results were further extended by Fredenhagen, Brunetti, Hollands, Wald, Rejzner, etc. To Yang-Mills fields and the gravitation. However, even for theories without gauge invariance, many mathematical details were left unexplored and unquestioned. The task of Viet was precisely to derive fully rigorously this theory in the case there is no gauge invariance. In my work, I propose a complete review of the result, solving numerous questions, adding many new results around this program and, eventually, giving more precise details on the counterterms and ambiguities in the renormalization process, and a deeper understanding of the geometry of the wave front set of the n-point functions. All this thesis uses various mathematical techniques: differential and pseudo Riemannian geometry, microlocal analysis and the symplectic geometry of wavefront sets, functional analysis, fine results from the theory of distributions, Hopf algebras, etc

Lo scopo primario di questa tesi e' l’analisi di una nuova procedura di regolarizzazione di path integral su spazi curvi, presentata inizialmente dal fisico J. Guven e applicata al caso di una teoria di campo scalare , ma mai utilizzata per svolgere ulteriori calcoli espliciti. Questa procedura, se corretta, permetterebbe di utilizzare il formalismo di path integral su spazi piatti anche nel caso in cui la varieta' di background risulti localmente curva. Tale procedura trasforma di fatto un modello sigma non lineare in un modello efficace lineare, permettando pertanto di aggirare le usuali complicazioni dovute alla generalizzazione di path integral. Una prova diretta della correttezza della procedura di Guven sembra mancare in letteratura: per questo motivo in questa tesi verranno eseguiti vari test volti a tale verifica. Alcuni errori sono stati riscontrati nella proposta iniziale, tra i quali un termine di potenziale che risulta essere non corretto. Ad ogni modo siamo stati in grado di identificare un potenziale che permetta di riprodurre correttamente i primi due coefficienti dell’espansione in serie dell’heat kernel. Utilizzando lo stesso metodo abbiamo poi cercato di ottenere il successivo coefficiente dell’espansione (cubico in termini di curvatura): il risultato ottenuto non risulta essere corretto, cosa che segnala il fallimento di tale metodo ad ordini superiori. Visti tali risultati preliminari, siamo stati indotti a considerare una classe speciale di spazi curvi, quella degli spazi massimamente simmetrici, trovando invece che su tali spazi la procedura di Guven riproduce i risultati corretti. Come verifica abbiamo ottenuto la parte diagonale dell’heat kernel, che ́ stata poi utilizzata per riprodurre l’anomalia di traccia di tipo A per campi scalari in dimensioni arbitrarie fino a D = 12. Questi risultati sono in accordo con quelli attesi. Viene pertanto fornita una prova della validita' di tale procedura su questi spazi.

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In this work, we consider a charged massive fermionic quantum field in the idealized cosmic string spacetime and in the presence of a magnetic field confined in a cylindrical tube of finite radius. Three distinct configurations for the magnetic fields are taken into account: (i) a cylindrical shell of radius a, (ii) a magnetic field proportional to 1/r and (iii) a constant magnetic field. In these three cases, the axis of the infinitely long tube of radius a coincides with the cosmic string. Our main objectives in this paper are to analyze vacuum expected values (VEVs) of the current density, jP, fermionic condensate (FC) e and the VEV of the fermionic energy-momentum tensor, Ti". In order to do that, we explicitly construct the complete set of normalized wave-functions for each configuration of magnetic field. We show that in the region outside the tube, the current density, the FC and the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor are decomposed into two parts: the first ones correspond to the zero-thickness magnetic flux contributions, and the seconds are induced by the non-trivial structure of the magnetic field, named core-induced contributions. The latter present specific forms depending on the magnetic field configuration considered. We also show that the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor is diagonal, obeys the conservation condition and its trace is expressed in terms of the fermionic condensate.
Nesta Tese, consideramos urn campo fermiônico massivo e carregado no espaço-tempo de uma corda cósmica ideal na presença de um campo magnético confinado em um tubo cilindrico de raio finito a. Levamos em conta três configurações para o campo magnético: (i) uma casca cilindrica de raio a, (ii) um campo magnetico proporcional a 1/r e (iii) urn campo magnetico constante. Nos três casos, o eixo de simetria da corda cósmica coincide corn o eixo de simetria do tubo cilindrico de campo magnetico, dispostos ao longo do eixo z. Nossos principais objetivos nesta Tese sao analisar os valores esperados no yam° (VEV) da densidade de corrente, ji", do condensado fermionico (FC) e o VEV do tensor energia-momento (TEM), Ti". Para isto, construfmos urn conjunto completo de fungoes de onda de Dirac normalizadas para cada configuragao de campo magnetic° e mostramos que na regiao fora do tubo, a densidade de corrente, o CF e o VEV do TEM sao decompostos como a soma de duas partes. A primeira corresponde a contribuigao da linha de fluxo magnetic° que corre ao longo da corda cOsmica ideal, e a segunda contribuigao é induzida devido a estrutura nao trivial de campo magnetic°. Mostramos tambem que o VEV do tensor energia-momento é diagonal, obedece a condigao de conservagao e que seu trago é expresso ern termos do condensado fermionico.

This thesis is concerned with solitons (solutions of certain nonlinear partial differential equations) in certain cases when the underlying space is either a lattice or curved. Chapter 2 of the thesis is concerned with the outcome of collisions between a kink (a 1-dimensional soliton) and an antikink for certain topological discrete (TD) systems. The systems considered are the TD sine-Gordon and the TD ø(^4) For the TD sine-Gordon system it is found that the kink can support an internal shape mode which plays an important role during the collisions. In particular, this mode can be excited during collisions and this leads to spectacular resonance effects. The outcome of any particular collision has sensitive dependence on the initial conditions and could be either a trapped kink-antikink state, a "reflection" or a "transmission”. Such resonance effects are already known to exist for the conventional discrete ø(^4) system, and the TD ø(^4) system is no different, though the results for the two are not entirely similar. Chapter 3 considers the question of the existence of explicit travelling kink solutions for lattice systems. In particular, an expression for such a solution for the integrable lattice sine-Gordon system is derived. In Chapter 4, by reducing the Yang-Mills equations on the (2 + 2)-dimensional ultrahyperbolic space-time, an integrable Yang-Mills-Higgs system on (2 + 1) dimensional de Sitter space-time is derived. It represents the curved space-time version of the Bogomolny equations for monopoles on R(^3) . Using twister methods, various explicit solutions with gauge groups U(l) and SU(2) are constructed. A multi-solution SU(2) solution is also presented.

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In this thesis we study the dynamics of charge carriers, and the electronic properties, of the C60 fullerene molecule. Characterizing it by a geometric bias. In inertial reference systems and when we have your material under rotation content. Initially we discussed the scientific advent of carbon allotropes, and the importance of modelling its derivates at low energies. We show that at low energies, the graphene - the two-dimensional carbon allotrope form - can be described for a non-massive theory of free fermions. At a second moment, we extended the nonmassive free fermions theory for the C60 molecule. Assuming the hexagonal graphene network can be entered in fullerene when we introduce topological defects. A brief study of topological defects in condensed matter was done. And soon after, we made a description these defects via a non-Euclidean geometry. Showing how the charge carriers in the network see the defects like gauge fields. Then we began to expose the results of this thesis. First we assume the fullerene by a two-dimensional spherical metric with defects, containing a fictitious t’Hooft-Polyakov monopole in its center. TheC60 is still subjected to the action of an Aharonov-Bohm flux arising of a magnetic wire running through its poles. So we get the spectrum, and the prediction of a persistent current in the molecule. Finally we return to the analysis of the molecule, now with your content of matter under rotation. For this, we studied a metric Gödel-type with spherical symmetry. We discussed the problem of causality and obtain the spectrum and the persistent current in terms of the vorticity (W) of spacetime.
Nesta tese estudamos a dinâmica de portadores de carga, e as propriedades eletrônicas, na molécula de fulerenoC60. Caracterizando-a por um viés geométrico. Tanto em sistemas de referência inercial, como quando temos seu conteúdo de matéria sob rotação. Inicialmente abordamos o advento científico das formas alotrópicas do carbono e a importância da modelagem a baixas energias dos seus derivados. Onde mostramos que no limite de baixas energias, o grafeno - que trata-se da forma alótropica bidimensional do carbono - pode ser descrito por uma teoria de férmions livres sem massa. Num segundo momento estendemos a teoria de férmions não massivos para a molécula de C60. Assumindo que a rede hexagonal do grafeno pode inscrever o C60 ao introduzirmos alguns defeitos topológicos. Um breve estudo sobre os defeitos topológicos na matéria condensada foi feito. Onde, logo em seguida, partimos para uma descrição de tais defeitos via uma geometria não-euclidiana. Mostrando como os portadores de carga no meio enxergam os defeitos como campos de gauge. Em seguida começamos a expor os resultados desta tese. Primeiramente assumimos tratar o fulereno por uma métrica de uma esfera bidimensional com defeitos, e contendo um monopolo de t’Hooft-Polyakov fictício em seu centro. O C60 é ainda submetido a ação de um fluxo de Aharonov-Bohm advindo de uma corda magnética quiral transpassando seus polos. Obtemos assim o espectro e a predição de uma corrente persistente na molécula. Por fim retomamos a análise da molécula, agora com seu conteúdo de matéria sob rotação. Para isso assumimos tratar o fulereno por uma métrica do tipo Gödel com simetria esférica. Discutimos o problema da causalidade e obtemos espectro e corrente persistente em termos da vorticidade (W) do espaço-tempo.

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Nesta tese, exploram-se diferentes aspectos e aplicações das teorias gravitacionais com correções quânticas. O texto é dividido em três partes principais. Na primeira parte, são consideradas as soluções linearizadas em diferentes teorias de gravitação com derivadas superiores. O potencial Newtoniano é calculado nos modelos locais, super-renormalizáveis no nível quântico, e mostra-se que a singularidade Newtoniana é cancelada devido a contribuição dos modos massivos extras. Logo depois, o colapso gravitacional de uma pequena massa é estudado na gravitação não-local livre de fantasmas, sendo o principal resultado a ausência da singularidade na solução do campo gravitacional e a possibilidade da não formação do miniburaco negro como resultado do colapso. Na segunda parte, algumas questões sobre a inflação induzida pela anomalia conforme são estudadas. É discutida a possibilidade da transição entre os períodos de inflação estável para instável. É mostrado que esta transição é automática se as correções quânticas nesse período forem desprezadas. Em seguida, considera-se o efeito de termos que violam as simetrias de CPT e Lorentz na inflação induzida pela anomalia conforme. É demonstrado que os novos termos responsáveis por violar essas simetrias não afetam a dinâmica do fator de escala da métrica. Por fim, na terceira parte as correções quânticas para o modelo dos Galileons e para as teorias dos campos massivos tensoriais antissimétricos são obtidas. É mostrado que o propagador da teoria dos Galileons recebe correções quânticas com derivadas superiores e que o teorema de não-renormalização do modelo dos Galileons permanece, de uma maneira generalizada, válido na região das baixas energias. Depois, por meio de cálculos explícitos das correções quânticas semiclássicas não-locais é confirmada a equivalência quântica entre os modelos dos campos tensoriais antissimétricos massivos com a teoria de Proca e com o modelo do campo escalar massivo mínimo.
In this thesis, different aspects and applications of gravitational theories with quan-tum corrections are explored. The text is divided into three main parts. In the first part, the linearized solutions in different gravity theories with higher derivatives are considered. The Newtonian potential is calculated in the local models, super-renormalizable at the quantum level, and it is shown that the Newtonian singularity is cancelled due to the contributions of the extra massive modes. Then the gravitational collapse of a small mass is studied in non-local ghost-free gravity, being the main result the absence of singularity in the gravitational field solution and the possibility of non-mini black hole formation as the collapse result. In the second part, some issues about anomaly-induced inflation are studied. It is discussed the possibility of the transition between stable to unstable periods of inflation. It is shown that this transition is automatic if the quantum corrections in this period are neglected. In the following, we consider the effect of CPT and Lorentz-violating terms in the conformal anomaly-induced inflation. It is shown the new terms responsible to violate these symmetries do not affect the dynamics of the metric scale factor. Finally, in the third part, the quantum corrections for the Galileon model and for the theory of the massive antisymmetric tensor fields are obtained. It is shown that the propaga-tor of Galilean theory receives quantum corrections with higher derivatives and that the non-renormalization theorem for Galileon models remains, in a generalized way, valid in the low-energy region. Then, by means of explicit calculations of non-local semiclassical quantum corrections, the quantum equivalence between the massive antisymmetric tensor field models with the Proca theory and minimal massive scalar field model is confirmed.

This thesis studies the symmetries and phenomenologies of the massive vector fields of indefinite spin with both scalar and spin-one degrees of freedom and Elko. The investigation is conducted by using and extending the quantum field theory formalism developed by Wigner and Weinberg. In particular, we explore the possibility that the W± and Z bosons have an additional scalar degree of freedom and show that Elko is a fermionic dark matter candidate. We show that the massive vector fields of indefinite spin are consistent with Poincaré symmetry and have physically desirable properties that are absent for their pure spin-one counterpart. Using the new vector fields, the decay of the W± and Z bosons to leptons at tree-level are in agreement with the Standard Model (SM) predictions. For higher order scattering amplitudes, the theory has better convergent behaviour than the intermediate vector boson model and the Fermi theory. Elko has the unusual property that it satisfies the Klein-Gordon but not the Dirac equation and has mass dimension one instead of three-half. We show that the Elko fields are local only along a preferred axis and that they violate Lorentz symmetry. Motivated by the results obtained by Ahluwalia and Horvath that the Elko spin-sums are covariant under very special relativity (VSR) transformations, we derive the VSR particle states and quantum fields. We show that the VSR particles can only interact with the SM particles through gravity and massive scalar particles thus making them and hence Elko dark matter candidates.

Les deux principales prédictions de la théorie quantique des champs en espace-temps courbe, à savoir la radiation de Hawking et la production de paires de particules ayant lieu dans un espace-temps non stationnaire, n'ont jamais été testé expérimentalement et impliquent toutes deux des processus à ultra haute énergie. En conséquence, de telles prédictions doivent être considérées prudemment. En utilisant l'analogie avec des systèmes de matière condensée mise en avant par Unruh, leur analogue pourrait être testé en laboratoire. Par ailleurs, dispersion et dissipation sont toujours présentes dans de tels systèmes, ce qui régularise la théorie à courte distances. Lors d'expériences destinées à tester les prédictions citées ci-dessus, le bruit thermique modifiera le résultat. En effet, il existe une compétition entre l'émission stimulée dudit bruit thermique et l'émission spontanée issue du vide quantique. Afin de mesurer la radiation de Hawking analogue et de l'analogue des productions de paires (souvent appelé effet Casimir dynamique), il est alors nécessaire de calculer les conséquence de la dispersion et de la dissipation, ainsi que d'identifier des observables permettant de certifier que l'amission spontanée a eu lieu. Dans cette thèse, nous analyserons d'abord les effets de la dispersion et de la dissipation à la fois sur la radiation de Hawking et sur la production de paires de particules. Afin d'obtenir des résultats explicites, nous travaillerons avec l'espace-temps de de Sitter. Les symétries de la théorie nous permettront d'obtenir des résultats exacts. Ceux-ci seront alors appliqués aux trous noirs grâce aux ressemblances entre la région proche du trou noir et l'espace de de Sitter. Afin d’introduire de la dissipation, nous considérerons un modèle exactement soluble permettant de modéliser n'importe quel taux de dissipation. Dans un tel modèle, le champ est couplé de manière linéaire à un environnement contenant un ensemble dense de degrés de liberté. Dans un tel contexte, nous étudierons l'intrication des particules produites. Ensuite, nous considérerons des systèmes de matière condensée spécifiques, à savoir les condensats de Bose et les polaritons. Nous analyserons les effets de la dissipation sur l'intrication de l’effet Casimir dynamique. Enfin, nous étudieront de manière générique l'intrication de la radiation de Hawking en présence de dispersion pour des systèmes analogues
The two main predictions of quantum field theory in curved space-time, namely Hawking radiation and cosmological pair production, have not been directly tested and involve ultra high energy configurations. As a consequence, they should be considered with caution. Using the analogy with condensed matter systems put forward by Unruh, their analogue versions could be tested in the lab. Moreover, the high energy behavior of these systems is known and involved dispersion and dissipation, which regulate the theory at short distances. When considering experiments which aim to test the above predictions, the thermal noise will contaminate the outcome. Indeed, there will be a competition between the stimulated emission from thermal noise and the spontaneous emission out of vacuum. In order to measure the quantum analogue Hawking radiation, or the analogue pair production also called dynamical Casimir effect, one should thus compute the consequences of ultraviolet dispersion and dissipation, and identify observables able to establish that the spontaneous emission took place. In this thesis, we first analyze the effects of dispersion and dissipation on both Hawking radiation and pair particle production. To get explicit results, we work in the context of de Sitter space. Using the extended symmetries of the theory in such a background, exact results are obtained. These are then transposed to the context of black holes using the correspondence between de Sitter space and the black hole near horizon region. To introduce dissipation, we consider an exactly solvable model producing any decay rate. In such a model, the field is linearly coupled to an environment containing a dense set of degrees of freedom. We also study the quantum entanglement of the particles so produced. In a second part, we consider explicit condensed matter systems, namely Bose Einstein condensates and exciton-polariton systems. We analyze the effects of dissipation on entanglement produced by the dynamical Casimir effect. As a final step, we study the entanglement of Hawking radiation in the presence of dispersion for a generic analogue system

The celebrated AdS/CFT dualities provide a window to strongly-coupled quantum field theories (QFTs), which are realized in nature at the most fundamental level on the one hand, but are hardly accessible for the standard mathematical tools on the other hand. The prototype examples of AdS/CFT relate classical supergravity theories on (d+1)-dimensional anti-de Sitter space (AdS) to strongly-coupled d-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs). The AdS spacetimes admit a timelike conformal boundary, on which the dual CFT is defined. In that sense the AdS/CFT dualities are holographic, and this new approach has led to remarkable progress in understanding strongly-coupled QFTs defined on Minkowski space and on the Einstein cylinder. On the other hand, the study of QFT on more generic curved spacetimes is of fundamental interest and non-trivial already for free theories. Moreover, understanding the properties of gravity as a quantum theory remains among the hardest problems to solve in physics. Both of these issues can be studied holographically and we investigate here generalizations of AdS/CFT involving on the lower-dimensional side QFTs on curved backgrounds and as a further generalization gravity. In the first part we expand on the holographic description of QFT on fixed curved backgrounds, which involves gravity on an asymptotically-AdS space with that prescribed boundary structure. We discuss geometries with de Sitter and AdS as conformal boundary to holographically describe CFTs on these spacetimes. After setting up the procedure of holographic renormalization we study the reflection of CFT unitarity properties in the dual bulk description. The geometry with AdS on the boundary exhibits a number of interesting features, mainly due to the fact that the boundary itself has a boundary. We study both cases and resolve potential tensions between the unitarity properties of the bulk and boundary theories, which would be incompatible with a duality. The origin of these tensions is partly in the structure of the geometry with AdS conformal boundary, while another one arises for a particular limiting case where the bulk and boundary descriptions naively disagree. Besides technical challenges, the hierarchy of boundaries for the geometry with AdS conformal boundary offers an interesting option. Namely, having the dual theory on the conformal boundary itself defined on an AdS space offers the logical possibility of implementing a second instance of AdS/CFT. We discuss an appropriate geometric setting allowing for the notion of the boundary of a boundary and identify limitations for such multi-layered dualities. In the second part we consider five-dimensional supergravities whose solutions can be lifted to actual string-theory backgrounds. We work out the asymptotic structure of the theories on asymptotically-AdS spaces and calculate the Weyl anomaly of the dual CFTs. These holographic calculations confirm the expectations from the field-theory side and provide a non-trivial test of the AdS/CFT conjecture. Moreover, building on the previous results we show that in addition to the usual Dirichlet also more general boundary conditions can be imposed. That allows to promote the boundary metric to a dynamical quantity and is expected to yield a holographic description for a conformal supergravity on the boundary. The boundary theory obtained this way exhibits pathologies such as perturbative ghosts, which is in fact expected for a conformal gravity. The fate of these ghosts beyond perturbation theory is an open question and our setting provides a starting point to study it from the string-theory perspective. That discussion leads to a regime where the holographic description of the boundary theory requires quantization of the bulk supergravity. A necessary ingredient of any supergravity is a number of gravitinos as superpartners of the graviton, for which we thus need an effective-QFT description to make sense of AdS/CFT beyond the limit where bulk theory becomes classical. In particular, quantization should be possible not only on rigid AdS, but also on generic asymptotically-AdS spacetimes which may not be Einstein. In the third part we study the quantization and causality properties of the gravitino on Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetimes to explicitly show that a consistent quantization can be carried out also on non-Einstein spaces, in contrast to claims in the recent literature. Furthermore, this reveals interesting non-standard effects for the gravitino propagation, which in certain cases is restricted to regions more narrow than the expected light cones
Die AdS/CFT-Dualitäten ermöglichen einen Zugang zu stark gekoppelten Quantenfeldtheorien (QFT), welche einerseits für die Beschreibung der Natur eine große Rolle spielen, andererseits aber mittels der üblichen mathematischen Methoden schwer zu behandeln sind. Die etablierten Beispiele solcher Dualitäten identifizieren klassische supersymmetrische Gravitationstheorien auf (d+1)-dimensionalen anti-de Sitter Räumen (AdS) mit d-dimensionalen stark gekoppelten konformen Feldtheorien (CFT). Die AdS Raumzeiten besitzen einen zeitartigen konformen Rand, auf dem die duale CFT definiert ist. In diesem Sinn sind die Dualitäten also holographisch, und dieser Zugang hat zu beachtlichen Fortschritten im Verständnis von CFT auf der Minkowski-Raumzeit und dem Einstein-Zylinder geführt. Auf der anderen Seite ist das Verständnis von QFT auf allgemeineren gekrümmten Raumzeiten von besonderem Interesse und nicht-trivial bereits für freie Theorien. Darüber hinaus bleibt das Verständnis von Gravitation als Quantentheorie eines der schwierigsten Probleme in der Physik. Beide Fragestellungen können holographisch betrachtet werden, und wir untersuchen hier Verallgemeinerungen der AdS/CFT-Dualitäten, welche auf der niederdimensionalen Seite QFT auf gekrümmten Räumen und als weitere Verallgemeinerung auch Gravitation beschreiben. Im ersten Teil erweitern wir die holographische Beschreibung von QFT auf festen gekrümmten Raumzeiten, welche sich Gravitationstheorien auf asymptotisch-AdS Räumen mit der entsprechenden Randstruktur bedient. Wir diskutieren Geometrien, deren konformer Rand mit de Sitter oder AdS Raumzeiten identifiziert werden kann, um CFTs auf diesen Räumen holographisch zu beschreiben. Nachdem wir die holographische Renormierung etabliert haben, studieren wir die Unitaritätseigenschaften der CFTs mit Hilfe der dualen bulk-Beschreibung. Die Geometrie mit AdS als Rand zeigt eine Reihe von interessanten Eigenschaften, hauptsächlich da der Rand dieser Geometrie selbst einen Rand hat. Wir untersuchen beide Geometrien und lösen potenzielle Differenzen zwischen den Rand- und bulk-Theorien, welche mit einer Dualität inkompatibel wären. Der Ursprung dieser Differenzen liegt zum einen in der Struktur der Geometrie mit AdS als Rand und rührt zum anderen von einem speziellen Grenzfall, in dem sich die beiden Beschreibungen auf den ersten Blick unterscheiden. Neben technischen Herausforderungen bietet die Hierarchie von Rändern bei der Geometrie mit AdS als Rand eine interessante Option: Mit der dualen CFT wiederum definiert auf einem AdS Raum besteht zumindest prinzipiell die Möglichkeit, eine weitere Instanz von AdS/CFT zu implementieren. Wir diskutieren den passenden geometrischen Rahmen, in dem der Begriff des Randes eines Randes ein wohldefiniertes Konzept ist, und identifizieren Einschränkungen für solche mehrstufige Dualitäten. Im zweiten Teil behandeln wir fünfdimensionale supersymmetrische Gravitationstheorien, deren Lösungen als Stringtheorie-Konfigurationen interpretiert werden können. Wir arbeiten die asymptotische Struktur dieser Theorien auf asymptotisch-AdS Räumen heraus und berechnen die Weyl-Anomalie der dualen CFTs. Diese Rechnungen bestätigen die Erwartungen von der Feldtheorieseite und liefern damit einen nicht-trivialen Test der AdS/CFT-Vermutung. Aufbauend auf diesen Resultaten zeigen wir, dass zusätzlich zu den üblichen Dirichlet- auch allgemeinere Randbedingungen gestellt werden können. Damit wird die Randmetrik zu einer dynamischen Größe und es ergibt sich eine duale Beschreibung für eine konforme Supergravitationstheorie auf dem Rand. Die so erhaltene Randtheorie weist pathologische Eigenschaften wie perturbative Geister auf, was für konforme Gravitationstheorien zu erwarten ist. Die Rolle dieser Geister über die Störungstheorie hinaus ist eine offene Frage und unsere Konstruktion bietet einen Startpunkt, sie von der Stringtheorie-Perspektive zu untersuchen. Dies führt uns in einen Bereich, in dem die holographische Beschreibung der Randtheorie die Quantisierung der bulk-Theorie erfordert. Ein Bestandteil jeder supersymmetrischen Gravitationstheorie ist das Gravitino als Partner des Gravitons, für welches wir daher eine Beschreibung in Form von effektiver QFT benötigen. Insbesondere sollte die Quantisierung auch auf allgemeineren Hintergründen, die nicht notwendig die Einstein-Bedingung erfüllen, möglich sein. Im dritten Teil studieren wir die Quantisierung und Kausalitätseigenschaften des Gravitinos auf Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Raumzeiten. Dabei zeigen wir, dass eine konsistente Quantisierung auch auf Raumzeiten möglich ist, die nicht der Einstein-Bedingung genügen, im Gegensatz zu anderslautenden Schlussfolgerungen in der aktuellen Literatur. Darüber hinaus finden wir interessante Effekte für die Propagation der Gravitinos, welche in bestimmten Fällen auf echte Teilmengen der zu erwartenden Lichtkegel eingeschränkt ist

One of the exciting aspects of cosmology is to understand the period of `cosmic inflation' that powered the epoch of the Big Bang. Inflation has been very successful in explaining several puzzles of the standard big bang scenario. But the most important success of inflation is that it can explain the temperature fluctuations of cosmic microwave background and the large scale structures of the universe. Despite its great success, the details of the physics of inflation are still unknown. A large number of models of inflation successfully explain all the observations making it remarkably hard to distinguish between different models. We explore the possibility of differentiating between different inflationary models by studying two-point and three-point functions of primordial fluctuations produced during inflation. First, we explore possible constraints on the inflationary equation state by considering current measurements of the power spectrum. Next, we explore the possibility of a single field slow-roll inflationary model with general initial state for primordial fluctuations. The two-point and three-point functions of primordial fluctuations are generally computed assuming that the fluctuations are initially in the Bunch-Davies state. However, we show that the constraints on the initial state from observed power spectrum and local bispectrum are relatively weak and for slow-roll inflation a large number of initial states are consistent with the current observations. As the precision of the observations is increasing significantly, we may learn more about the initial state of the fluctuations in the near future. Finally, we explore the consistency relations for the three-point functions, in the squeezed limit, of scalar and tensor perturbations in single-field inflation that in principle can be used to differentiate between single-field and multi-field inflation models. However, for slow-roll inflation, we find that it is possible to violate some of the consistency relations for initial states that are related to the Bunch-Davies state by Bogoliubov transformations and we identify the reason for the violation. Then we discuss the observational implications of this violation.
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We study different aspects of perturbatively renormalized quantum gauge theories in the presence of non-trivial background Lorentzian metrics and background connections. First, we show that the proof of nilpotency of the renormalized interacting BRST charge can be reduced to the cohomological analysis of the classical BRST differential. This result guarantees the self-consistency of a class of local, renormalizable field theories with vanishing 'gauge anomaly'' at the quantum level, such as the pure Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. Self-consistency here means that the algebra of gauge invariant observables can be constructed as the cohomology of this charge. Second, we give a proof of background independence of the Yang-Mills theory. We define background independent observables in a geometrical formulation as flat sections of a cohomology algebra bundle over the manifold of background configurations, with respect to a flat connection which implements background variations. We observe that background independence at the quantum level is potentially violated. We, however, show that the potential obstructions can be removed by a finite renormalization. Third, we construct the advanced/retarded Green's functions and Hadamard parametrices for linearized Yang-Mills and Einstein equations in general linear covariant gauges. They play an essential role in formulating gauge theories in curved spacetimes. Finally, we study a superconformal gauge theory in three dimensions (the ABJM theory) which is conformally coupled to a curved background. The superconformal symmetry of this theory is described by a conformal symmetry superalgebra on manifolds which admit twistor spinors. By analyzing the relevant cohomology class of an appropriate BV-BRST differential, we show that the full superalgebra is realized at the quantum level.

Po zhrnutí potrebných teoretických základov a predošlého výskumu v ob- lasti, prezentujeme semi-klasickú kvantovaciu schému pre uzavretú Nambuovu- Gotovu strunu. Týmto zovšeobecňujeme predošlú prácu, ktorá bola vykonaná pre otvorenú strunu a uzavretú strunu kruhového tvaru. Pomocou metód kvan- tovej teórie po©a v zakrivených priestoročasoch počítame strednú hodnotu vo©- ného Hamiltoniánu struny rotujúcej v dvoch na seba kolmých priestorových rovinách v priestoročase všeobecnej dimenzie. Táto hodnota je priamo úmerná kvantovej korekcii k celkovej energii struny, ktorá má formu tzv. Reggeovho interceptu. Výslednú hodnotu Reggeovho interceptu porovnávame s predošlým výskumom. Taktiež uvádzame porovnanie získaného spektra fyzikálnych stavov struny kvantovanej našou metódou so spektrom odvodeným pomocou kovariant- ného kvantovania. 1