arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E. Elizalde.
We present a direct approach for the calculation of functional determinants of the Laplace operator on balls. Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions are considered. Using this approach, formulas for any value of the dimension, $D$, of the ball, can be obtained quite easily. Explicit results are presented here for dimensions $D=2,3,4,5$ and $6$.
A number of 2d and 3d four-fermion models which are renormalizable ---in the $1/N$ expansion--- in a maximally symmetric constant curvature space, are investigated. To this purpose, a powerful method for the exact study of spinor heat kernels and propagators on maximally symmetric spaces is reviewed. The renormalized effective potential is found for any value of the curvature and its asymptotic expansion is given explicitly, both for small and for strong curvature. The influence of gravity on the dynamical symmetry breaking pattern of some U(2) flavor-like and discrete symmetries is described in detail. %It is seen explicitly that the effect of a %negative curvature is similar to that of a magnetic field. The phase diagram in $S^2$ is constructed and it is shown that, for any value of the coupling constant, a curvature exists above which chiral symmetry is restored. For the case of $H^2$, chiral symmetry is always broken. In three dimensions, in the case of positive curvature, $S^3$, it is seen that some values of the coupling constants lead to a gap equation which has no solutions. Both for $H^3$ and $S^3$ the configuration given by the auxiliary fields equated to zero is not a solution of the gap equation.
Taking advantage of the representation of dilatonic gravity with the $R^2$-term under the form of low-derivative dilatonic gravity coupled to an additional scalar, we construct a general renormalizable model motivated by this theory. Exact black hole solutions are found for some special versions of the model, and their thermodynamical properties are described in detail. In particular, their horizons and temperatures are calculated. Finally, the corresponding one-loop effective action is obtained in the conformal gauge, and a number of its properties -including the construction of one-loop finite models-are briefly described.
We study a renormalizable, general theory of dilatonic gravity (with a kinetic-like term for the dilaton) interacting with scalar matter near two dimensions. The one-loop effective action and the beta functions for this general theory are written down. It is proven that the theory possesses a non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point which yields an asymptotically free gravitational coupling constant (at $ε\rightarrow 0$) in this regime. Moreover, at the fixed point the theory can be cast under the form of a string-inspired model with free scalar matter. The renormalization of the Jackiw-Teitelboim model and of lineal gravity in $2+ε$ dimensions is also discussed. We show that these two theories are distinguished at the quantum level. Finally, fermion-dilatonic gravity near two dimensions is considered.
The running coupling constants (in particular, the gravitational one) are studied in asymptotically free GUTs and in finite GUTs in curved spacetime, with explicit examples. The running gravitational coupling is used to calculate the leading quantum GUT corrections to the Newtonian potential, which turn out to be of logarithmic form in asymptotically free GUTs. A comparison with the effective theory for the conformal factor ---where leading quantum corrections to the Newtonian potential are again logarithmic--- is made. A totally asymptotically free $O(N)$ GUT with quantum higher derivative gravity is then constructed, using the technique of introducing renormalization group (RG) potentials in the space of couplings. RG equations for the cosmological and gravitational couplings in this theory are derived, and solved numerically, showing the influence of higher-derivative quantum gravity on the Newtonian potential. The RG-improved effective gravitational Lagrangian for asymptotically free massive GUTs is calculated in the strong (almost constant) curvature regime, and the non-singular De Sitter solution to the quantum corrected gravitational equations is subsequently discussed. Finally, possible extensions of the results here obtained are briefly outlined.
The Higgs-Yukawa model in curved spacetime (renormalizable in the usual sense) is considered near the critical point, employing the $1/N$--expansion and renormalization group techniques. By making use of the equivalence of this model with the standard NJL model, the effective potential in the linear curvature approach is calculated and the dynamically generated fermionic mass is found. A numerical study of chiral symmetry breaking by curvature effects is presented.
We present a very quick and powerful method for the calculation of heat-kernel coefficients. It makes use of rather common ideas, as integral representations of the spectral sum, Mellin transforms, non-trivial commutation of series and integrals and skilful analytic continuation of zeta functions on the complex plane. We apply our method to the case of the heat-kernel expansion of the Laplace operator on a $D$-dimensional ball with either Dirichlet, Neumann or, in general, Robin boundary conditions. The final formulas are quite simple. Using this case as an example, we illustrate in detail our scheme ---which serves for the calculation of an (in principle) arbitrary number of heat-kernel coefficients in any situation when the basis functions are known. We provide a complete list of new results for the coefficients $B_3,...,B_{10}$, corresponding to the $D$-dimensional ball with all the mentioned boundary conditions and $D=3,4,5$.
Two models of dilatonic gravity are investigated: (i) dilaton-Yang-Mills gravity and (ii) higher-derivative dilatonic gravity. Both are renormalizable in $2+ε$ dimensions and have a smooth limit for $ε\rightarrow 0$. The corresponding one-loop effective actions and beta-functions are found. Both theories are shown to possess a non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point ---for all dilatonic couplings--- in which the gravitational constant is asymptotically free. It is shown that in the regime of asymptotic freedom the matter central charge can be significantly increased by two different mechanisms ---as compared with pure dilatonic gravity, where $n < 24$.
We apply the Mellin-Barnes integral representation to several situations of interest in mathematical-physics. At the purely mathematical level, we derive useful asymptotic expansions of different zeta-functions and partition functions. These results are then employed in different topics of quantum field theory, which include the high-temperature expansion of the free energy of a scalar field in ultrastatic curved spacetime, the asymptotics of the $p$-brane density of states, and an explicit approach to the asymptotics of the determinants that appear in string theory.
Unlike Einstein gravity, dilaton-Maxwell gravity with matter is renormalizable in $2+ε$ dimensions and has a smooth $ε\to 0$ limit.By performing a renormalization- group study of this last theory we show that the gravitational coupling constant $G$ has a non-trivial,ultraviolet stable fixed point (asymptotic freedom) and that the dilatonic coupling functions (including the dilatonic potential) exhibit also a real, non-trivial fixed point. At such point the theory represents a standard charged string-inspired model.Stability and the gauge dependence of the fixed-point solution is discussed.It is shown that all these properties remain valid in a dilatonic-Yang-Mills theory with $n$ scalars and $m$ spinors, that has the UF stable fixed point $G^* = 3ε(48+12N-m-2n)^{-1}$.In addition, it is seen that by increasing $N$ (number of gauge fields) the matter central charge $C=n+m/2$ ($0<C<24+6N$) can be increased correspondingly (in pure dilatonic gravity $0<C<24$).
The most general version of a renormalizable $d=4$ theory corresponding to a dimensionless higher-derivative scalar field model in curved spacetime is explored. The classical action of the theory contains $12$ independent functions, which are the generalized coupling constants of the theory. We calculate the one-loop beta functions and then consider the conditions for finiteness. The set of exact solutions of power type is proven to consist of precisely three conformal and three nonconformal solutions, given by remarkably simple (albeit nontrivial) functions that we obtain explicitly. The finiteness of the conformal theory indicates the absence of a conformal anomaly in the finite sector. The stability of the finite solutions is investigated and the possibility of renormalization group flows is discussed as well as several physical applications.
We discuss the phase structure of a higher derivative four-fermion model in four dimensions in curved spacetime in frames of the $\frac{1}{N_c}$-expansion. First, we evaluate in our model the effective potential of two composite scalars in the linear curvature approximation using a local momentum representation in curved spacetime for the higher-derivative propagator which naturally appears. The symmetry breaking phenomenon and phase transition induced by curvature are numerically investigated. A numerical study of the dynamically generated fermionic mass, which depends on the coupling constants and on the curvature, is also presented.
We calculate the quantum corrections to the entropy of a very large black hole, coming from the theory of a $D$-dimensional, non-critical bosonic string. We show that, for $D >2$, as a result of modular invariance the entropy is ultraviolet finite, although it diverges in the infrared (while for $D=2$ the entropy contains both ultraviolet and infrared divergences). The issue of modular invariance in field theory, in connection with black-hole entropy, is also investigated.
The 1-loop effective potential in a scalar theory with quartic interaction on the space $M^{4} \times T^{n}$ for $n=2$ is calculated and is shown to be unbounded from below. This is an indication of a possible instability of the vacuum of the $λϕ^{4}$ theory on $M^{4}$, when it is regarded as a result of the dimensional reduction of the original six-dimensional model. The issue of stability for other values of the number $n$ of extra dimensions is also discussed.
We suggest to consider conformal factor dynamics as applying to composite boundstates, in frames of the $1/N$ expansion. In this way, a new model of effective theory for quantum gravity is obtained. The renormalization group (RG) analysis of this model provides a framework to solve the cosmological constant problem, since the value of this constant turns out to be suppressed, as a result of the RG contributions. The effective potential for the conformal factor is found too.
We formulate the Schwinger-Dyson equations in the ladder approximation for 2D induced quantum gravity with fermions using covariant gauges of harmonic type. It is shown that these equations can be formulated consistently in a gauge of Landau type (for negative cosmological constant). A numerical analysis of the equations hints towards the possibility of chiral symmetry breaking, depending on the value of the coupling constant.
A new theory for the conformal factor in R$^2$-gravity is developed. The infrared phase of this theory, which follows from the one-loop renormalization group equations for the whole quantum R$^2$-gravity theory is described. The one-loop effective potential for the conformal factor is found explicitly and a mechanism for inducing Einstein gravity at the minimum of the effective potential for the conformal factor is suggested. A comparison with the effective theory of the conformal factor induced by the conformal anomaly, and also aiming to describe quantum gravity at large distances, is done.
We consider a multiplicatively renormalizable higher-derivative scalar theory which is used as an effective theory for quantum gravity at large distances (infrared phase of quantum gravity). The asymptotic regimes (in particular, the asymptotically free infrared regime) for the coupling constants ---specifically the Newtonian and the cosmological constant--- are obtained. The running of the Newton and cosmological constants in the infrared asymptotically free regime may be relevant for solving the cosmological constant problem and for estimating the leading-log corrections to the static gravitational potential.