arXiv subjects

H. J. de Vega

Publications and source records attributed to H. J. de Vega.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

The Cluster Expansion for the Self-Gravitating gas and the Thermodynamic Limit

We develop the cluster expansion and the Mayer expansion for the self-gravitating thermal gas and prove the existence and stability of the thermodynamic limit N, V to infty with N/V^{1/3} fixed. The essential (dimensionless) variable is here eta = [G m^2 N]/[V^{1/3} T] (which is kept fixed in the thermodynamic limit). We succeed in this way to obtain the expansion of the grand canonical partition function in powers of the fugacity. The corresponding cluster coefficients behave in the thermodynamic limit as [eta/N]^{j-1} c_j where c_j are pure numbers. They are expressed as integrals associated to tree cluster diagrams. A bilinear recurrence relation for the coefficients c_j is obtained from the mean field equations in the Abel form. In this way the large j behaviour of the c_j is calculated. This large j behaviour provides the position of the nearest singularity which corresponds to the critical point (collapse) of the self-gravitating gas in the grand canonical ensemble. Finally, we discuss why other attempts to define a thermodynamic limit for the self-gravitating gas fail.

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arXiv2003

BFKL Pomeron at non-zero temperature and integrability of the Reggeon dynamics in multi-colour QCD

We consider the QCD scattering amplitudes at high energies sqrt{s} and fixed momentum transfers sqrt{-t} in the leading logarithmic approximation at a non-zero temperature T in the t-channel. It is shown that the BFKL Hamiltonian has the property of holomorphic separability. The Pomeron wave function for arbitrary T is calculated using an integral of motion. In multi-colour QCD, the holomorphic Hamiltonian for n-reggeized gluons at temperature T is shown to coincide with the local Hamiltonian of an integrable Heisenberg model and can be obtained from the T=0 Hamiltonian by an unitary transformation. We discuss the wave functions and the spectrum of intercepts for the colourless reggeon states.

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arXiv2003

The self-gravitating gas in the presence of dark energy

The non-relativistic self-gravitating gas in thermal equilibrium in the presence of a positive cosmological constant Lambda (dark energy) is investigated. The dark energy introduces a force pushing outward all particles with strength proportional to their distance to the center of mass.We consider the statistical mechanics of the self-gravitating gas of N particles in a volume V at thermal equilibrium in the presence of Lambda. It is shown that the thermodynamic limit exists and is described by the mean field equations provided N, V -> inf with N/V^{1/3} fixed and Lambda V^{2/3} fixed. That is, Lambda -> 0 for N, V -> inf. The case of Lambda fixed and N, V -> inf is solved too. We solve numerically the mean field equation for spherical symmetry obtaining an isothermal sphere for Lambda>0. The particle distribution turns to flatten compared with the Lambda = 0 case.Moreover, the particle density increases with the distance when the cosmological constant dominates. There is a bordering case with uniform density.The density contrast between the center and the boundary is significatively reduced. In addition, the critical point associated to the collapse (Jeans') phase transition is pushed towards higher values of N/[T V^{1/3}] by the presence of Lambda > 0.The nature and the behaviour near the critical points is not affected by the presence of Lambda>0.

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arXiv2003

The approach to thermalization in the classical phi^4 theory in 1+1 dimensions: energy cascades and universal scaling

We study the dynamics of thermalization and the approach to equilibrium in the classical phi^4 theory in 1+1 spacetime dimensions. At thermal equilibrium we exploit the equivalence between the classical canonical averages and transfer matrix quantum traces of the anharmonic oscillator to obtain exact results for the temperature dependence of several observables, which provide a set of criteria for thermalization. We find that the Hartree approximation is remarkably accurate in equilibrium. The non-equilibrium dynamics is studied by numerically solving the equations of motion in light-cone coordinates for a broad range of initial conditions and energy densities.The time evolution is described by several stages with a cascade of energy towards the ultraviolet. After a transient stage, the spatio-temporal gradient terms become larger than the nonlinear term and a stage of universal cascade emerges.This cascade starts at a time scale t_0 independent of the initial conditions (except for very low energy density). Here the power spectra feature universal scaling behavior and the front of the cascade k(t) grows as a power law k(t) sim t^alpha with alpha lesssim 0.25. The wake behind the cascade is described as a state of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) with all correlations being determined by the equilibrium functional form with an effective time dependent temperatureTeff(t) which slowly decreases as sim t^{-alpha}.Two well separated time scales emerge while Teff(t) varies slowly, the wavectors in the wake with k < k(t) attain LTE on much shorter time scales.This universal scaling stage ends when the front of the cascade reaches the cutoff at a time t_1 sim a^{-1/alpha}. Virialization starts to set much earlier than LTE. We find that strict thermalization is achieved only for an infinite time scale.

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arXiv2003

Are direct photons a clean signal of a thermalized quark gluon plasma?

Direct photon production from a quark gluon plasma (QGP) in thermal equilibrium is studied directly in real time. In contrast to the usual S-matrix calculations, the real time approach is valid for a QGP that formed and reached LTE a short time after a collision and of finite lifetime ($\sim 10-20 \mathrm{fm}/c$ as expected at RHIC or LHC). We point out that during such finite QGP lifetime the spectrum of emitted photons carries information on the initial state. There is an inherent ambiguity in separating the virtual from the observable photons during the transient evolution of the QGP. We propose a real time formulation to extract the photon yield which includes the initial stage of formation of the QGP parametrized by an effective time scale of formation $Γ^{-1}$. This formulation coincides with the S-matrix approach in the infinite lifetime limit. It allows to separate the virtual cloud as well as the observable photons emitted during the pre- equilibrium stage from the yield during the QGP lifetime. We find that the lowest order contribution $\mathcal{O}(α_{em})$ which does \emph{not} contribute to the S-matrix approach, is of the same order of or larger than the S-matrix contribution during the lifetime of the QGP for a typical formation time $\sim 1 \mathrm{fm}/c$. The yield for momenta $\gtrsim 3 \mathrm{Gev}/c$ features a power law fall-off $\sim T^3 Γ^2/k^{5}$ and is larger than that obtained with the S-matrix for momenta $\geq 4 \mathrm{Gev}/c$. We provide a comprehensive numerical comparison between the real time and S-matrix yields and study the dynamics of the build-up of the photon cloud and the different contributions to the radiative energy loss. The reliability of the current estimates on photon emission is discussed.

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arXiv2003

Primordial magnetic fields from cosmological phase transitions

We study the generation of large scale primordial magnetic fields by a cosmological phase transition during the radiation dominated era. The setting is a theory of N charged scalar fields coupled to an abelian gauge field, that undergoes a phase transition at a critical temperature much larger than the electroweak scale. The dynamics after the transition features two distinct stages: a spinodal regime dominated by linear long-wavelength instabilities, and a scaling stage in which the non-linearities and backreaction of the scalar fields are dominant.This second stage describes the growth of horizon sized domains.We implement a formulation based on the non-equilibrium Schwinger-Dyson equations to obtain the spectrum of magnetic fields that includes the dissipative effects of the plasma. We find that large scale magnetogenesis is efficient during the scaling regime.Charged scalar field fluctuations with wavelengths of the order of the Hubble radius induce large scale magnetogenesis via loop effects. The leading processes are: pair production, pair annihilation and low energy bremsstrahlung, these processes while forbidden in equilibrium are allowed strongly out of equilibrium.The ratio between the energy density on scales larger than L and that in the background radiation r(L,T)= rho_B(L,T)/ rho_{cmb}(T) is r(L,T) sim 10^{-34} at the Electroweak scale and r(L,T) sim 10^{-14} at the QCD scale for L sim 1 Mpc.The resulting spectrum is insensitive to the magnetic diffusion length and equipartition between electric and magnetic fields does not hold. We conjecture that a similar mechanism could be operative after the QCD chiral phase transition.

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arXiv2003

Large scale magnetogenesis from a non-equilibrium phase transition in the radiation dominated era

We study the generation of large scale primordial magnetic fields by a cosmological phase transition during the radiation dominated era. The setting is a theory of N charged scalar fields coupled to an abelian gauge field, that undergoes a phase transition at a critical temperature much larger than the electroweak scale. The dynamics after the transition features two distinct stages: a spinodal regime dominated by linear long-wavelength instabilities, and a scaling stage in which the non-linearities and backreaction of the scalar fields are dominant. This second stage describes the growth of horizon sized domains. We implement a recently introduced formulation to obtain the spectrum of magnetic fields that includes the dissipative effects of the plasma. We find that large scale magnetogenesis is very efficient during the scaling regime. The ratio between the energy density on scales larger than L and that in the background radiation r(L,T) = rho_B(L,T)/rho_{cmb}(T) is r(L,T) \sim 10^{-34} at the Electroweak scale and r(L,T) \sim 10^{-14} at the QCD scale for L \sim 1 Mpc. The resulting spectrum is insensitive to the magnetic diffusion length. We conjecture that a similar mechanism could be operative after the QCD chiral phase transition.

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arXiv2003

Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays: Bottom-up vs. Top-down scenarii

We present an overview on extreme energy cosmic rays (EECR) and the fundamental physics connected with them. The top-down and bottom-up scenarii are contrasted. We summarize the essential features underlying the top-down scenarii for EECR, namely, the lifetime and the mass {\bf imposed} to the heavy relics whatever they be: topological and non-topological solitons, X-particles, cosmic defects, microscopic black-holes, fundamental strings. An unified formula for the quantum decay rate of all these objects was provided in hep-ph/0202249. The key point in the top-down scenarii is the necessity to {\bf adjust} the lifetime of the heavy object to the age of the universe. The natural lifetimes of such heavy objects are, however, microscopic times associated to the GUT energy scale (sim 10^{-28} sec. or shorter); such heavy objects could have been abundantly formed by the end of inflation and it seems natural they decayed shortly after being formed. The arguments produced to {\bf fine tune} the relics lifetime to the age of the universe are critically analyzed. The annihilation scenario (`Wimpzillas') is analyzed too. Top-down scenarii based on networks of topological defects are strongly disfavored at the light of the recent CMB anisotropy observations. We discuss the acceleration mechanisms of cosmic rays,their possible astrophysical sources and the main open physical problems and difficulties in the context of bottom-up scenarii, and we conclude by outlining the expectations from future observatories like EUSO and where the theoretical effort should be placed.

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arXiv2003

Dynamical renormalization group approach to relaxation in quantum field theory

The real time evolution and relaxation of expectation values of quantum fields and of quantum states are computed as initial value problems by implementing the dynamical renormalization group (DRG).Linear response is invoked to set up the renormalized initial value problem to study the dynamics of the expectation value of quantum fields. The perturbative solution of the equations of motion for the field expectation values of quantum fields as well as the evolution of quantum states features secular terms, namely terms that grow in time and invalidate the perturbative expansion for late times. The DRG provides a consistent framework to resum these secular terms and yields a uniform asymptotic expansion at long times. Several relevant cases are studied in detail, including those of threshold infrared divergences which appear in gauge theories at finite temperature and lead to anomalous relaxation. In these cases the DRG is shown to provide a resummation akin to Bloch-Nordsieck but directly in real time and that goes beyond the scope of Bloch-Nordsieck and Dyson resummations. The nature of the resummation program is discussed in several examples. The DRG provides a framework that is consistent, systematic and easy to implement to study the non-equilibrium relaxational dynamics directly in real time that does not rely on the concept of quasiparticle widths.

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arXiv2003

Dynamical renormalization group approach to transport in ultrarelativistic plasmas: the electrical conductivity in high temperature QED

The DC electrical conductivity of an ultrarelativistic QED plasma is studied in real time by implementing the dynamical renormalization group. The conductivity is obtained from the realtime dependence of a dissipative kernel related to the retarded photon polarization. Pinch singularities in the imaginary part of the polarization are manifest as growing secular terms that in the perturbative expansion of this kernel. The leading secular terms are studied explicitly and it is shown that they are insensitive to the anomalous damping of hard fermions as a result of a cancellation between self-energy and vertex corrections. The resummation of the secular terms via the dynamical renormalization group leads directly to a renormalization group equation in real time, which is the Boltzmann equation for the (gauge invariant) fermion distribution function. A direct correspondence between the perturbative expansion and the linearized Boltzmann equation is established, allowing a direct identification of the self energy and vertex contributions to the collision term.We obtain a Fokker-Planck equation in momentum space that describes the dynamics of the departure from equilibrium to leading logarithmic order in the coupling.This determines that the transport time scale is given by t_{tr}=(24 pi)/[e^4 T \ln(1/e)}]. The solution of the Fokker-Planck equation approaches asymptotically the steady- state solution as sim e^{-t/(4.038 t_{tr})}.The steady-state solution leads to the conductivity sigma = 15.698 T/[e^2 ln(1/e)] to leading logarithmic order. We discuss the contributions beyond leading logarithms as well as beyond the Boltzmann equation. The dynamical renormalization group provides a link between linear response in quantum field theory and kinetic theory.

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arXiv2002

Tsunami Inflation: Selfconsistent Quantum Dynamics

The physics during the inflationary stage of the universe is of quantum nature involving extremely high energy densities. Moreover, it is out of equilibrium on a fastly expanding dynamical geometry. We complement here the 1999 Chalonge Lectures on out of equilibrium fields in self-consistent inflationary dynamics [astro-ph/0006446] investigating inflation driven by the evolution of highly excited quantum states. These states are characterized by a non-perturbatively large number of quanta in a band of momenta and with zero or nonzero expectation value of the inflaton scalar field. They represent the situation in which initially a non-perturbatively large energy density is localized in a band of high energy quantum modes and are coined tsunami-waves. The self- consistent evolution of this quantum state and the scale factor is studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that the time evolution of these quantum states lead to two consecutive stages of inflation under conditions that are the quantum analogue of slow-roll. The evolution of the scale factor during the first stage has new features that are characteristic of the quantum state. During this initial stage the quantum fluctuations in the highly excited band build up an effective homogeneous condensate with a non-perturbatively large amplitude as a consequence of the large number of quanta.The second stage of inflation is similar to the usual classical chaotic scenario but driven by this effective condensate.The excited quantum modes are superhorizon in the first stage and do not affect the power spectrum of scalar perturbations.Thus, this tsunami quantum state provides a field theoretical justification for chaotic scenarios driven by a classical homogeneous scalar field of large amplitude.

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arXiv2002

UHECR as Decay Products of Heavy Relics? The Lifetime Problem

The essential features underlying the top-down scenarii for UHECR are discussed, namely, the stability (or lifetime) imposed to the heavy objects (particles) whatever they be: topological and non-topological solitons, X-particles, cosmic defects, microscopic black-holes, fundamental strings. We provide an unified formula for the quantum decay rate of all these objects as well as the particle decays in the standard model. The key point in the top-down scenarii is the necessity to adjust the lifetime of the heavy object to the age of the universe. This ad-hoc requirement needs a very high dimensional operator to govern its decay and/or an extremely small coupling constant. The natural lifetimes of such heavy objects are, however, microscopic times associated to the GUT energy scale (sim 10^{-28} sec. or shorter). It is at this energy scale (by the end of inflation) where they could have been abundantly formed in the early universe and it seems natural that they decayed shortly after being formed.

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arXiv2002

Exact resolution of the Baxter equation for reggeized gluon interactions

The interaction of reggeized gluons in multi-colour QCD is considered in the Baxter-Sklyanin representation, where the wave function is expressed as a product of Baxter functions Q(lambda) and a pseudo-vacuum state. We find n solutions of the Baxter equation for a composite state of n gluons with poles of rank r in the upper lambda semi-plane and of rank n-1-r in the lower lambda semi-plane (0 leq r leq n-1). These solutions are related by n-2 linear equations with coefficients depending on coth (pi lambda). The poles cancel in the wave function, bilinear combination of holomorphic and anti-holomorphic Baxter functions, guaranteeing its normalizability. The quantization of the intercepts of the corresponding Regge singularities appears as a result of the physical requirements that the holomorphic energies for all solutions of the Baxter equation are the same and the total energies, calculated around two singularities lambda, lambda^* --> + i or -i, coincide. It results in simple properties of the zeroes of the Baxter functions. For illustration we calculate the parameters of the reggeon states constructed from three and four gluons. For the Odderon the ground state has conformal spin |m -m | = 1 and its intercept equals unity. The ground state of four reggeized gluons possesses conformal spin 2 and its intercept turns out to be higher than that for the BFKL Pomeron. We calculate the anomalous dimensions of the corresponding operators for arbitrary alpha_s/omega.

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arXiv2002

Statistical Mechanics of the Self-gravitating gas with two or more kinds of Particles

We study the statistical mechanics of the self-gravitating gas at thermal equilibrium with two kinds of particles. We start from the partition function in the canonical ensemble which we express as a functional integral over the densities of the two kinds of particles for a large number of particles. The system is shown to possess an infinite volume limit when (N_1,N_2,V)->infty, keeping N_1/V^{1/3} and N_2/V^{1/3} fixed. The saddle point approximation becomes here exact for (N_1,N_2,V)->infty.It provides a nonlinear differential equation on the particle densities. For the spherically symmetric case, we compute the densities as functions of two dimensionless physical parameters: eta_1=G m_1^2 N_1/[V^{1/3} T] and eta_2=G m_2^2 N_2/[V^{1/3} T] (where G is Newton's constant, m_1 and m_2 the masses of the two kinds of particles and T the temperature). According to the values of eta_1 and eta_2 the system can be either in a gaseous phase or in a highly condensed phase.The gaseous phase is stable for eta_1 and eta_2 between the origin and their collapse values. The gas is inhomogeneous and the mass M(R) inside a sphere of radius R scales with R as M(R) propto R^d suggesting a fractal structure. The value of d depends in general on eta_1 and eta_2 except on the critical line for the canonical ensem- ble where it takes the universal value d simeq 1.6 for all values of N_1/N_2. The equation of state is computed.It is found to be locally a perfect gas equation of state. Thermodynamic functions are computed as functions of eta_1 and eta_2. They exhibit a square root Riemann sheet with the branch points on the critical canonical line. This treatment is further generalized to the self-gravitating gas with n-types of particles.

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arXiv2002

Inflation from Tsunami-waves

We investigate inflation driven by the evolution of highly excited quantum states within the framework of out of equilibrium field dynamics. These states are characterized by a non-perturbatively large number of quanta in a band of momenta but with vanishing expectation value of the scalar field.They represent the situation in which initially a non-perturbatively large energy density is localized in a band of high energy quantum modes and are coined tsunami-waves. The self-consistent evolution of this quantum state and the scale factor is studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that the time evolution of these quantum states lead to two consecutive stages of inflation under conditions that are the quantum analogue of slow-roll. The evolution of the scale factor during the first stage has new features that are characteristic of the quantum state. During this initial stage the quantum fluctuations in the highly excited band build up an effective homogeneous condensate with a non- perturbatively large amplitude as a consequence of the large number of quanta. The second stage of inflation is similar to the usual classical chaotic scenario but driven by this effective condensate.The excited quantum modes are already superhorizon in the first stage and do not affect the power spectrum of scalar perturbations. Thus, this tsunami quantum state provides a field theoretical justification for chaotic scenarios driven by a classical homogeneous scalar field of large amplitude.

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arXiv2002

Statistical Mechanics of the Self-Gravitating Gas: I. Thermodynamic Limit and Phase Diagram

We provide a complete picture to the selfgravitating non-relativistic gas at thermal equilibrium using Monte Carlo simulations, analytic mean field methods (MF) and low density expansions. The system is shown to possess an infinite volume limit in the grand canonical (GCE), canonical (CE) and microcanonical (MCE) ensembles when(N, V) --> infinity, keeping N/ V^{1/3} fixed. We compute the equation of state (we do not assume it as is customary), as well as the energy, free energy, entropy, chemical potential, specific heats, compressibi- lities and speed of sound;we analyze their properties, signs and singularities. All physical quantities turn out to depend on a single variable eta = G m^2 N/ [V^{1/3} T] that is kept fixed in the N--> infinity and V --> infinity limit. The system is in a gaseous phase for eta < eta_T and collapses into a dense objet for eta > η_T in the CE with the pressure becoming large and negative. At eta simeq eta_T the isothermal compressibility diverges. Our Monte Carlo simulations yield eta_T simeq 1.515. PV/[NT] = f(eta) and all physical magni- tudes exhibit a square root branch point at eta = eta_C > eta_T. The MF for spherical symmetry yields eta_C = 1.561764.. while Monte Carlo on a cube yields eta_C simeq 1.540.The function f(eta) has a second Riemann sheet which is only physically realized in the MCE.In the MCE, the collapse phase transition takes place in this second sheet near eta_MC = 1.26 and the pressure and temperature are larger in the collapsed phase than in the gas phase.Both collapse phase transitions (CE and MCE) are of zeroth order since the Gibbs free energy jumps at the transitions. f(eta), obeys in MF a first order non-linear differential equation of first kind Abel's type.The MF gives an extremely accurate picture in agreement with Monte Carlo both in the CE and MCE.

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arXiv2002

Statistical Mechanics of the Self-Gravitating Gas: II. Local Physical Magnitudes and Fractal Structures

We complete our study of the selfgravitating gas by computing the fluctuations around the saddle point solution for the three statistical ensembles. Although the saddle point is the same for the three ensembles, the fluctuations change from one ensemble to another. The zeroes of the fluctuations determinant determine the position of the critical points for each ensemble.This yields the domains of validity of the mean field approach. Only the S wave determinant exhibits critical points.Closed formulae for the S and P wave determinants are derived.The local properties of the selfgravitating gas in thermodynamic equilibrium are studied in detail. The pressure, energy density, particle density and speed of sound are computed and analyzed as functions of the position. The equation of state turns out to be locally p(r) = T rho(r) as for the ideal gas. Starting from the partition function of the selfgravitating gas, we prove in this microscopic calculation that the hydrostatic description yielding locally the ideal gas equation of state is exact in the N = infinity limit. The dilute nature of the thermodynamic limit(N, L -> infinity with N/L fixed) together with the long range nature of the gravitational forces play a crucial role in the obtention of such ideal gas equation. The self-gravitating gas being inhomogeneous, we have PV/[NT] = f(eta) leq 1 for any finite volume V. The inhomogeneous particle distribution in the ground state suggests a fractal distribution with Haussdorf dimension D, D is slowly decreasing with increasing density, 1 lesssim D < 3. The average distance between particles is computed in Monte Carlo simulations andanalytically in the mean field approach. A dramatic drop at the phase transition is exhibited, clearly illustrating the properties of the collapse.

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arXiv2002

Dynamics near the critical point: the hot renormalization group in quantum field theory

The perturbative approach to the description of long wavelength excitations at high temperature breaks down near the critical point of a second order phase transition. We study the \emph{dynamics} of these excitations in a relativistic scalar field theory at and near the critical point via a renormalization group approach at high temperature and an $ε$ expansion in $d=5-ε$ space-time dimensions. The long wavelength physics is determined by a non-trivial fixed point of the renormalization group. At the critical point we find that the dispersion relation and width of quasiparticles of momentum $p$ is $ω_p \sim p^{z}$ and $Γ_p \sim (z-1) ω_p$ respectively, the group velocity of quasiparticles $v_g \sim p^{z-1}$ vanishes in the long wavelength limit at the critical point. Away from the critical point for $T\gtrsim T_c$ we find $ω_p \sim ξ^{-z}[1+(p ξ)^{2z}]^{1/2}$ and $Γ_p \sim (z-1) ω_p \frac{(p ξ)^{2z}}{1+(p ξ)^{2z}}$ with $ξ$ the finite temperature correlation length $ ξ\propto |T-T_c|^{-ν}$. The new \emph{dynamical} exponent $z$ results from anisotropic renormalization in the spatial and time directions. For a theory with O(N) symmetry we find $z=1+ ε \frac{N+2}{(N+8)^2}+\mathcal{O}(ε^2)$. Critical slowing down, i.e, a vanishing width in the long-wavelength limit, and the validity of the quasiparticle picture emerge naturally from this analysis.

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