arXiv subjects

Fabrizio Canfora

Publications and source records attributed to Fabrizio Canfora.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Analytic (3+1)-dimensional gauged Skyrmions, Heun and Whittaker-Hill equations and resurgence

We show that one can reduce the coupled system of seven field equations of the (3+1)-dimensional gauged Skyrme model to the Heun equation (which, for suitable choices of the parameters, can be further reduced to the Whittaker-Hill equation) in two non-trivial topological sectors. Hence, one can get a complete analytic description of gauged solitons in (3+1) dimensions living within a finite volume in terms of classic results in the theory of differential equations and Kummer's con uent functions. We consider here two types of gauged solitons: gauged Skyrmions and gauged time-crystals (namely, gauged solitons periodic in time, whose time-period is protected by a winding number). The dependence of the energy of the gauged Skyrmions on the Baryon charge can be determined explicitly. The theory of Kummer's confluent functions leads to a quantization condition for the period of the time-crystals. Likewise, the theory of Sturm-Liouville operators gives rise to a quantization condition for the volume occupied by the gauged Skyrmions. The present analysis also discloses that resurgent techniques are very well suited to deal with the gauged Skyrme model as well. In particular, we discuss a very nice relation between the electromagnetic perturbations of the gauged Skyrmions and the Mathieu equation which allows to use many of the modern resurgence techniques to determine the behavior of the spectrum of these perturbations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Spherical Skyrmion black holes as gravitational lenses

In this article, we extend the strong deflection limit to calculate the deflection angle for a class of geometries which are asymptotically locally flat. In particular, we study the deflection of light in the surroundings of spherical black holes in Einstein-Skyrme theory. We find the deflection angle in this limit, from which we obtain the positions and the magnifications of the relativistic images. We compare our results with those corresponding to the Schwarzschild and the global monopole (Barriola-Vilenkin) spacetimes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Black hole and BTZ-black string in the Einstein-SU(2) Skyrme model

We present novel analytic hairy black holes with a flat base manifold in the (3+1)-dimensional Einstein SU(2)-Skyrme system with negative cosmological constant. We also construct (3+1)-dimensional black strings in the Einstein $SU(2)$-non linear sigma model theory with negative cosmological constant. The geometry of these black strings is a three-dimensional charged BTZ black hole times a line, without any warp factor. The thermodynamics of these configurations (and its dependence on the discrete hairy parameter) is analyzed in details. A very rich phase diagram emerges.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Hairy AdS black holes with a toroidal horizon in 4D Einstein-nonlinear $σ$-model system

An exact hairy asymptotically locally AdS black hole solution with a flat horizon in the Einstein-nonlinear sigma model system in (3+1) dimensions is constructed. The ansatz for the nonlinear $SU(2)$ field is regular everywhere and depends explicitly on Killing coordinates, but in such a way that its energy-momentum tensor is compatible with a metric with Killing fields. The solution is characterized by a discrete parameter which has neither topological nor Noether charge associated with it and therefore represents a hair. A $U(1)$ gauge field interacting with Einstein gravity can also be included. The thermodynamics is analyzed. Interestingly, the hairy black hole is always thermodynamically favored with respect to the corresponding black hole with vanishing Pionic field.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Gravitational catalysis of merons in Einstein-Yang-Mills theory

We construct regular configurations of the Einstein-Yang-Mills theory in various dimensions. The gauge field is of meron-type: it is proportional to a pure gauge (with a suitable parameter $λ$ determined by the field equations). The corresponding smooth gauge transformation cannot be deformed continuously to the identity. In the three-dimensional case we consider the inclusion of a Chern-Simons term into the analysis, allowing $λ$ to be different from its usual value of $1/2$. In four dimensions, the gravitating meron is a smooth Euclidean wormhole interpolating between different vacua of the theory. In five and higher dimensions smooth meron-like configurations can also be constructed by considering warped products of the three-sphere and lower-dimensional Einstein manifolds. In all cases merons (which on flat spaces would be singular) become regular due to the coupling with general relativity. This effect is named "gravitational catalysis of merons".

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Topologically non-trivial configurations in the 4d Einstein--nonlinear $σ$-model system

We construct exact, regular and topologically non-trivial\ configurations of the coupled Einstein-nonlinear sigma model in (3+1) dimensions. The ansatz for the nonlinear $SU(2)$ field is regular everywhere and circumvents Derrick's theorem because it depends explicitly on time, but in such a way that its energy-momentum tensor is compatible with a stationary metric. Moreover, the $SU(2)$ configuration cannot be continuously deformed to the trivial Pion vacuum as it possesses a non-trivial winding number. We reduce the full coupled 4D Einstein nonlinear sigma model system to a single second order ordinary differential equation. When the cosmological constant vanishes, such master equation can be further reduced to an Abel equation. Two interesting regular solutions correspond to a stationary traversable wormhole (whose only \textquotedblleft exotic matter" is a negative cosmological constant) and a (3+1)-dimensional cylinder whose (2+1)-dimensional section is a Lorentzian squashed sphere. The Klein-Gordon equation in these two families of spacetimes can be solved in terms of special functions. The angular equation gives rise to the Jacobi polynomials while the radial equation belongs to the Poschl-Teller family. The solvability of the Poschl-Teller problem implies non-trivial quantization conditions on the parameters of the theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Multi-Skyrmions on $AdS_2 \times S_2$, Rational maps and Popcorn Transitions

By combining two different techniques to construct multi-soliton solutions of the (3+1)-dimensional Skyrme model, the generalized hedgehog and the rational map ansatz, we find multi-Skyrmion configurations in $AdS_{2}\times S_{2}$. We construct Skyrmionic multi-layered configurations such that the total Baryon charge is the product of the number of kinks along the radial $AdS_{2}$ direction and the degree of the rational map. We show that, for fixed total Baryon charge, as one increases the charge density on $\partial\left( AdS_{2}\times S_{2}\right) $, it becomes increasingly convenient energetically to have configurations with more peaks in the radial $AdS_{2}$ direction but a lower degree of the rational map. This has a direct relation with the so-called holographic popcorn transitions in which, when the charge density is high, multi-layered configurations with low charge on each layer are favored over configurations with few layers but with higher charge on each layer. The case in which the geometry is $M_{2}\times S_{2}$ can also be analyzed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Cosmological Einstein-Skyrme solutions with non-vanishing topological charge

Time-dependent analytic solutions of the Einstein-Skyrme system --gravitating Skyrmions--, with topological charge one are analyzed in detail. In particular, the question of whether these Skyrmions reach a spherically symmetric configuration for $t\rightarrow+\infty$ is discussed. It is shown that there is a static, spherically symmetric solution described by the Ermakov-Pinney system, which is fully integrable by algebraic methods. For $Λ>0$ this spherically symmetric solution is found to be in a "neutral equilibrium" under small deformations, in the sense that under a small squashing it would neither blow up nor dissapear after a long time, but it would remain finite forever (plastic deformation). Thus, in a sense, the coupling with Einstein gravity spontaneously breaks the spherical symmetry of the solution. However, in spite of the lack of isotropy, for $t \to\infty$ (and $Λ>0$) the space time is locally flat and the anisotropy of the Skyrmion only reflects the squashing of spacetime.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

The Gribov problem in presence of background field for $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory

The Gribov problem in the presence of a background field is analyzed: in particular, we study the Gribov copies equation in the Landau-De Witt gauge as well as the semi-classical Gribov gap equation. As background field, we choose the simplest non-trivial one which corresponds to a constant gauge potential with non-vanishing component along the Euclidean time direction. This kind of constant non-Abelian background fields is very relevant in relation with (the computation of) the Polyakov loop but it also appears when one considers the non-Abelian Schwinger effect. We show that the Gribov copies equation is affected directly by the presence of the background field, constructing an explicit example. The analysis of the Gribov gap equation shows that the larger the background field, the smaller the Gribov mass parameter. These results strongly suggest that the relevance of the Gribov copies (from the path integral point of view) decreases as the size of the background field increases.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Complex angular momenta approach for scattering problems in the presence of both monopoles and short range potentials

It is analyzed the quantum mechanical scattering off a topological defect (such as a Dirac monopole) as well as a Yukawa-like potential(s) representing the typical effects of strong interactions. This system, due to the presence of a short-range potential, can be analyzed using the powerful technique of the complex angular momenta which, so far, has not been employed in the presence of monopoles (nor of other topological solitons). Due to the fact that spatial spherical symmetry is achieved only up to internal rotations, the partial wave expansion becomes very similar to the Jacob-Wick helicity amplitudes for particles with spin. However, since the angular-momentum operator has an extra "internal" contribution, fixed cuts in the complex angular momentum plane appear. Correspondingly, the background integral in the Regge formula does not decrease for large values of cos(Theta) (namely, large values of the Mandelstam variable s). Hence, the experimental observation of this kind of behavior could be a direct signal of non-trivial topological structures in strong interactions. The possible relations of these results with the soft Pomeron are shortly analyzed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

On infrared problems of effective Lagrangians of massive spin 2 fields coupled to gauge fields

In this paper we analyze the interactions of a massive spin-2 particles charged under both Abelian and non-Abelian group using the Porrati-Rahman Lagrangian. This theory is valid up to an intrinsic cutoff scale. Phenomenologically a theory valid up to a cutoff scale is sensible as all known higher spin particles are non-fundamental and it is shown that indeed this action can be used to estimate some relevant cross section. Such action necessarily includes Stuckelberg field and therefore it is necessary to fix the corresponding gauge symmetry. We show that this theory, when the Stuckelberg symmetry is gauge-fixed, possesses a non-trivial infrared problem. A gauge fixing ambiguity arises which is akin to the Gribov problem in QCD in the Abelian case as well. In some cases (such as when the space-time is the four-dimensional torus) the vacuum copies can be found analytically. A similar phenomenon also appears in the case of Proca fields. A very interesting feature of these copies is that they arise only for "large enough" gauge potentials. This opens the possibility to avoid the appearance of such gauge fixing ambiguities by using a Gribov-Zwanziger like approach.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Comments on the compatibility of thermodynamic equilibrium conditions with lattice propagators

In this paper the compatibility is analyzed of the non-perturbative equations of state of quarks and gluons arising from the lattice with some natural requirements for self-gravitating objects at equilibrium: the existence of an equation of state (namely, the possibility to define the pressure as a function of the energy density), the absence of superluminal propagation and Le Chatelier's principle. It is discussed under which conditions it is possible to extract an equation of state (in the above sense) from the non-perturbative propagators arising from the fits of the latest lattice data. In the quark case, there is a small but non-vanishing range of temperatures in which it is not possible to define a single-valued functional relation between density and pressure. Interestingly enough, a small change of the parameters appearing in the fit of the lattice quark propagator (of around 10~\%) could guarantee the fulfillment of all the three conditions (keeping alive, at the same time, the violation of positivity of the spectral representation, which is the expected signal of confinement). As far as gluons are concerned, the analysis shows very similar results. Whether or not the non-perturbative quark and gluon propagators satisfy these conditions can have a strong impact on the estimate of the maximal mass of quark stars.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Multi-Skyrmions with orientational moduli

We analyze the mechanism of condensation of orientational moduli (as introduced in [25]) on multi-Skyrmionic configurations of the four-dimensional Skyrme model. The present analysis reveals interesting novel features. First of all, the orientational moduli tend to decrease the repulsive interactions between Skyrmions, the effect decreasing with the increase of the Baryon number. Moreover, in the case of a single Skyrmion, the appearance of moduli is energetically favorable if finite volume effects are present. Otherwise, in the usual flat topologically trivial case, it is not. In the low energy theory these solutions can be interpreted as Skyrmions with additional isospin degrees of freedom.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Friedmann dynamics recovered from compactified Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet cosmology

In this paper cosmological dynamics in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with a perfect fluid source in arbitrary dimension is studied. A systematic analysis is performed for the case that the theory does not admit maximally symmetric solutions. Considering two independent scale factors, namely one for the three dimensional space and one for the extra dimensional space, is found that a regime exists where the two scale factors tend to a constant value via damped oscillations for not too negative pressure of the fluid, so that asymptotically the evolution of the $(3+1)$-dimensional Friedmann model with perfect fluid is recovered. At last, it is worth emphasizing that the present numerical results strongly support a 't Hooft-like interpretation of the parameter $1/D$ (where $D$ is the number of extra dimensions) as a small expansion parameter in very much the same way as it happens in the large $N$ expansion of gauge theories with $1/N$. Indeed, the dependence on $D$ of many of the relevant physical quantities computed here manifests a clear WKB-like pattern, as expected on the basis of large $N$ arguments.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

The Gribov problem in Noncommutative QED

It is shown that in the noncommutative version of QED (NCQED) Gribov copies induced by the noncommutativity of space-time appear in the Landau gauge. This is a genuine effect of noncommutative geometry which disappears when the noncommutative parameter vanishes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Analytic self-gravitating Skyrmions, cosmological bounces and AdS wormholes

We present a self-gravitating, analytic and globally regular Skyrmion solution of the Einstein-Skyrme system with winding number w = 1, in presence of a cosmological constant. The static spacetime metric is the direct product RxS3 and the Skyrmion is the self-gravitating generalization of the static hedgehog solution of Manton and Ruback with unit topological charge. This solution can be promoted to a dynamical one in which the spacetime is a cosmology of the Bianchi type-IX with time-dependent scale and squashing coefficients. Remarkably, the Skyrme equations are still identically satisfied for all values of these parameters. Thus, the complete set of field equations for the Einstein-Skyrme-Lambda system in the topological sector reduces to a pair of coupled, autonomous, nonlinear differential equations for the scale factor and a squashing coefficient. These equations admit analytic bouncing cosmological solutions in which the universe contracts to a minimum non-vanishing size, and then expands. A non-trivial byproduct of this solution is that a minor modification of the construction gives rise to a family of stationary, regular configurations in General Relativity with negative cosmological constant supported by an SU(2) nonlinear sigma model. These solutions represent traversable AdS wormholes with NUT parameter in which the only "exotic matter" required for their construction is a negative cosmological constant.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

SU(N) Multi-Skyrmions at Finite Volume

We study multi-soliton solutions of the four-dimensional SU(N) Skyrme model by combining the hedgehog ansatz for SU(N) based on the harmonic maps of $S^{2}$ into $CP^{N-1}$ and a geometrical trick which allows to analyze explicitly finite-volume effects without breaking the relevant symmetries of the ansatz. The geometric setup allows to introduce a parameter which is related to the 't Hooft coupling of a suitable large $N$ limit, in which $N\rightarrow\infty$ and the curvature of the background metric approaches zero, in such a way that their product is constant. The relevance of such a parameter to the physics of the system is pointed out. In particular, we discuss how the discrete symmetries of the configurations depend on it.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

$SU(N)$ BPS Monopoles in $\mathcal{M}^2\times S^2$

We extend the investigation of BPS saturated t'Hooft-Polyakov monopoles in $\mathcal{M}^{2}\times S^{2}$ to the general case of $SU(N)$ gauge symmetry. This geometry causes the resulting $N-1$ coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations for the $N-1$ monopole profiles to become autonomous. One can also define a flat limit in which the curvature of the background metric is arbitrarily small but the simplifications brought in by the geometry remain. We prove analytically that non-trivial solutions in which the profiles are not proportional can be found. Moreover, we construct numerical solutions for $N=2,3$ and 4. The presence of the parameter $N$ allows one to take a smooth large $N$ limit which greatly simplifies the treatment of the infinite number of profile function equations. We show that, in this limit, the system of infinitely many coupled ordinary differential equations for the monopole profiles reduces to a single two-dimensional non-linear partial differential equation.

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