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Alejandro Satz

Publications and source records attributed to Alejandro Satz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Gaussian null coordinates, near-horizon geometry and conserved charges on the horizon of extremal non-dilatonic black $p$-branes

In this paper, we examine the emergence of conserved charges on the horizon of a particular class of extremal non-dilatonic black $p$-branes (which reduce to extremal dilatonic black holes in $D=4$ dimensions upon toroidal compactification) in the presence of a probe massless scalar field in the bulk. This result is achieved by writing the black $p$-brane geometry in a Gaussian null coordinate system which allows us to get a non-singular near-horizon geometry description. We find that the near-horizon geometry is $AdS_{p+2}\times S^2$ and that the $AdS_{p+2}$ section has an internal structure which can be seen as a warped product of $AdS_{2}\times S^{p}$ in Gaussian null coordinates. We show that the bulk scalar field satisfying the field equations is expanded in terms of non-normalizable and normalizable modes, which for certain suitable quantization conditions are well-behaved at the boundary of $AdS_{p+2}$ space. Furthermore, we show that picking the normalizable modes results in the existence of conserved quantities on the horizon. We discuss the impact of these conserved quantities in the late time regime.

hep-th

Entropy of a subalgebra of observables and the geometric entanglement entropy

The geometric entanglement entropy of a quantum field in the vacuum state is known to be divergent and, when regularized, to scale as the area of the boundary of the region. Here we introduce an operational definition of the entropy of the vacuum restricted to a region: we consider a subalgebra of observables that has support in the region and a finite resolution. We then define the entropy of a state restricted to this subalgebra. For Gaussian states, such as the vacuum of a free scalar field, we discuss how this entropy can be computed. In particular we show that for a spherical region we recover an area law under a suitable refinement of the subalgebra.

hep-th

General relation between Aretakis charge and Newman-Penrose charge

We reexamine the relation between the Aretakis charge of an extremal black hole spacetime and the Newman-Penrose charge of a weakly asymptotically flat spacetime obtained from the original one through radial inversion and conformal mapping. Building on recent work by Godazgar, Godazgar and Pope, we present an explicit general relation between these quantities showing how the charge densities are mapped. As a non-trivial example we provide the computation of both quantities and their explicit relation for the extremal Kerr spacetime.

hep-th

Vacuum polarization throughout general subtracted black hole spacetimes

We compute the vacuum polarization of a massless minimally co pled scalar field in a background given by a black hole with subtracted geometry. Extending previous results for the horizon of rotating black holes with no charge, we obtain an analytical expression for the vacuum polarization that is valid throughout the spacetime and for arbitrary rotation and charge parameters. The vacuum polarization diverges at the inner horizon and the quantum state cannot be extended to the inside of it.

gr-qc

Vacuum Polarization of STU Black Holes and their Subtracted Geometry Limit

We study the vacuum polarization of a massless minimally coupled scalar field at the horizon of four-charge STU black holes. We compare the results for the standard asymptotically flat black holes and for the black holes obtained in the "subtracted limit", both in the general static case and at the horizon pole for the general rotating case. The original and the subtracted results are identical only in the BPS limit, and have opposite sign in the extremal Kerr limit. We also compute the vacuum polarization on the static solutions that interpolate between both the original and the subtracted case through a solution-generating transformation and show that the vacuum polarization stays positive throughout the interpolating solution. In the Appendix we provide a closed-form solution for the Green's function on general (static or rotating) subtracted black hole geometries.

hep-th

Entanglement entropy of subtracted geometry black holes

We compute the entanglement entropy of minimally coupled scalar fields on subtracted geometry black hole backgrounds, focusing on the logarithmic corrections. We notice that matching between the entanglement entropy of original black holes and their subtracted counterparts is only at the order of the area term. The logarithmic correction term is not only different but also, in general, changes sign in the subtracted case. We apply Harrison transformations to the original black holes and find out the choice of the Harrison parameters for which the logarithmic corrections vanish.

hep-th

On the renormalization of the Gibbons-Hawking boundary term

The bulk (Einstein-Hilbert) and boundary (Gibbons-Hawking) terms in the gravitational action are generally renormalized differently when integrating out quantum fluctuations. The former is affected by nonminimal couplings, while the latter is affected by boundary conditions. We use the heat kernel method to analyze this behavior for a nonminimally coupled scalar field, the Maxwell field, and the graviton field. Allowing for Robin boundary conditions, we examine in which cases the renormalization preserves the ratio of boundary and bulk terms required for the effective action to possess a stationary point. The implications for field theory and black hole entropy computations are discussed.

gr-qc

Mechanical laws of the Rindler horizon

Gravitational perturbations of flat Minkowski space make the Rindler horizon dynamical: the horizon satisfies mechanical laws analogous to the ones followed by black holes. We describe the gravitational perturbation of Minkowski space using perturbative field-theoretical methods. The change in the area of the Rindler horizon is described in terms of the deflection of light rays by the gravitational field. The difference between the area of the perturbed and the unperturbed horizon is related to the energy of matter crossing the horizon. We derive consistency conditions for the validity of our approximations, and compare our results to similar ones present in the literature. Finally, we discuss how this setting can be used in perturbative quantum gravity to extend the classical mechanical laws to thermodynamic laws, with the entanglement of field modes across the Rindler horizon providing a notion of thermodynamic entropy.

gr-qc

Black hole entanglement entropy and the renormalization group

We investigate the contributions of quantum fields to black hole entropy by using a cutoff scale at which the theory is described with a Wilsonian effective action. For both free and interacting fields, the total black hole entropy can be partitioned into a contribution derived from the gravitational effective action and a contribution from quantum fluctuations below the cutoff scale. In general the latter includes a quantum contribution to the Noether charge. We analyze whether it is appropriate to identify the rest with horizon entanglement entropy, and find several complications for this interpretation, which are especially problematic for interacting fields.

hep-th

Black hole entropy and the renormalization group

Four decades after its first postulation by Bekenstein, black hole entropy remains mysterious. It has long been suggested that the entanglement entropy of quantum fields on the black hole gravitational background should represent at least an important contribution to the total Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, and that the divergences in the entanglement entropy should be absorbed in the renormalization of the gravitational couplings. In this talk, we describe how an improved understanding of black hole entropy is obtained by combining these notions with the renormalization group. By introducing an RG flow scale, we investigate whether the total entropy of the black hole can be partitioned in a "gravitational" part related to the flowing gravitational action, and a "quantum" part related to the unintegrated degrees of freedom. We describe the realization of this idea for free fields, and the complications and qualifications arising for interacting fields.

hep-th

Limit cycles and quantum gravity

We study renormalization group equations of quantum gravity in four dimensions. We find an ultraviolet fixed point in accordance with the asymptotic safety conjecture, and infrared fixed points corresponding to general relativity with positive, vanishing or negative cosmological constant. In a minisuperspace approximation, we additionally find a renormalization group limit cycle shielding the ultraviolet from the infrared fixed points. We discuss implications of this pattern for asymptotically safe gravity in the continuum and on the lattice.

hep-th

Boundary divergences in vacuum self-energies and quantum field theory in curved spacetime

It is well known that boundary conditions on quantum fields produce divergences in the renormalized energy-momentum tensor near the boundaries. Although irrelevant for the computation of Casimir forces between different bodies, the self-energy couples to gravity, and the divergences may, in principle, generate large gravitational effects. We present an analysis of the problem in the context of quantum field theory in curved spaces. Our model consists of a quantum scalar field coupled to a classical field that, in a certain limit, imposes Dirichlet boundary conditions on the quantum field. We show that the model is renormalizable and that the divergences in the renormalized energy-momentum tensor disappear for sufficiently smooth interfaces.

hep-th

Semiclassical regime of Regge calculus and spin foams

Recent attempts to recover the graviton propagator from spin foam models involve the use of a boundary quantum state peaked on a classical geometry. The question arises whether beyond the case of a single simplex this suffices for peaking the interior geometry in a semiclassical configuration. In this paper we explore this issue in the context of quantum Regge calculus with a general triangulation. Via a stationary phase approximation, we show that the boundary state succeeds in peaking the interior in the appropriate configuration, and that boundary correlations can be computed order by order in an asymptotic expansion. Further, we show that if we replace at each simplex the exponential of the Regge action by its cosine -- as expected from the semiclassical limit of spin foam models -- then the contribution from the sign-reversed terms is suppressed in the semiclassical regime and the results match those of conventional Regge calculus.

gr-qc

Transition rate of the Unruh-DeWitt detector in curved spacetime

We examine the Unruh-DeWitt particle detector coupled to a scalar field in an arbitrary Hadamard state in four-dimensional curved spacetime. Using smooth switching functions to turn on and off the interaction, we obtain a regulator-free integral formula for the total excitation probability, and we show that an instantaneous transition rate can be recovered in a suitable limit. Previous results in Minkowski space are recovered as a special case. As applications, we consider an inertial detector in the Rindler vacuum and a detector at rest in a static Newtonian gravitational field. Gravitational corrections to decay rates in atomic physics laboratory experiments on the surface of the Earth are estimated to be suppressed by 42 orders of magnitude.

gr-qc

Then again, how often does the Unruh-DeWitt detector click if we switch it carefully?

The transition probability in first-order perturbation theory for an Unruh-DeWitt detector coupled to a massless scalar field in Minkowski space is calculated. It has been shown recently that the conventional $iε$ regularisation prescription for the correlation function leads to non-Lorentz invariant results for the transition rate, and a different regularisation, involving spatial smearing of the field, has been advocated to replace it. We show that the non-Lorentz invariance arises solely from the assumption of sudden switch-on and switch-off of the detector, and that when the model includes a smooth switching function the results from the conventional regularisation are both finite and Lorentz invariant. The sharp switching limit of the model is also discussed, as well as the falloff properties of the spectrum for large frequencies.

gr-qc

How often does the Unruh-DeWitt detector click? Regularisation by a spatial profile

We analyse within first-order perturbation theory the instantaneous transition rate of an accelerated Unruh-DeWitt particle detector whose coupling to a massless scalar field on four-dimensional Minkowski space is regularised by a spatial profile. For the Lorentzian profile introduced by Schlicht, the zero size limit is computed explicitly and expressed as a manifestly finite integral formula that no longer involves regulators or limits. The same transition rate is obtained for an arbitrary profile of compact support under a modified definition of spatial smearing. Consequences for the asymptotic behaviour of the transition rate are discussed. A number of stationary and nonstationary trajectories are analysed, recovering in particular the Planckian spectrum for uniform acceleration.

gr-qc

Excited by a quantum field: Does shape matter?

The instantaneous transition rate of an arbitrarily accelerated Unruh-DeWitt particle detector on four-dimensional Minkowski space is ill defined without regularisation. We show that Schlicht's regularisation as the zero-size limit of a Lorentz-function spatial profile yields a manifestly well-defined transition rate with physically reasonable asymptotic properties. In the special case of stationary trajectories, including uniform acceleration, we recover the results that have been previously obtained by a regularisation that relies on the stationarity. Finally, we discuss evidence for the conjecture that the zero-size limit of the transition rate is independent of the detector profile.

gr-qc