arXiv subjects

Jurgen Baacke

Publications and source records attributed to Jurgen Baacke.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2010

One-loop corrections to the Nielsen-Olesen vortex: collective oscillations

We connect the translation modes of the instanton in the two-dimensional Abelian Higgs model with local translations of the vortex of the related model in (3+1) dimensions, the Nielsen-Olesen vortex. In this context these modes describe collective oscillations of the string. We construct the wave function of this mode and we derive, via a virial theorem, an effective action for these oscillations, which is consistent with the action constructed by Nielsen and Olesen using general arguments. We discuss some aspects of renormalization, based on a recent computation of one loop corrections to string tension of the vortex.

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arXiv2010

Coupled scalar fields in a flat FRW universe: renormalisation

We study the non-equilibrium dynamics of a system of coupled scalar fields in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe. We consider the evolution of spatially homogeneous "classical" fields and of their quantum fluctuations including the quantum backreaction in the one-loop approximation. We discuss in particular the dimensional regularisation of the coupled system and a special subtraction procedure in order to obtain the renormalised equations of motion and the renormalised energy-momentum tensor and ensure that the energy is well-defined and covariantly conserved. These results represent at the same time a theoretical analysis and a viable scheme for stable numerical simulations. As an example for an application of the general formalism, we present simulations for a hybrid inflationary model.

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arXiv2009

Initial time singularities and admissible initial states for a system of coupled scalar fields

We discuss the problem of initial states for a system of coupled scalar fields out of equilibrium in the one-loop approximation. The fields consist of classical background fields, taken constant in space, and quantum fluctuations. If the initial state is the adiabatic vacuum, i.e., the ground state of a Fock space of particle excitations that diagonalize the mass matrix, the energy-momentum tensor is infinite at t=0, its most singular part behaves as 1/t. When the system is coupled to gravity this presents a problem that we solve by a Bogoliubov transformation of the naive initial state. As a side result we also discuss the canonical formalism and the adiabatic particle number for such a system. Most of the formalism is presented for Minkowksi space. Embedding the system and its dynamics into a flat FRW universe is straightforward and we briefly address the essential modifications.

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arXiv2008

One-loop corrections to the string tension of the vortex in the Abelian Higgs model

We present an exact numerical computation of the one-loop correction of the string tension for the Nielsen-Olesen vortex in the Abelian Higgs model. The computations proceeds via the computation of the Euclidean Green's function for the gauge, Higgs and Faddeev-Popov fields using mode functions, and taking the appropriate trace. Renormalization is an essential part of this computation, it is done by removing leading order contributions from the numerical results so as to make these finite, and to add the divergent parts back, after suitable regularization and renormalization. We encounter and solve some problems which are specific to gauge theories and topological solutions. The corrections to the energy are found to be sizeable, but still smaller than the classical energy as long as g**2 is smaller than unity.

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arXiv2008

One-loop corrections to the instanton transition in the Abelian Higgs model: Gel'fand-Yaglom and Green's function methods

The fluctuation determinant, the preexponential factor for the instanton transition, has been computed several years ago in the Abelian Higgs model, using a method based on integrating the Euclidean Green' function. A more elegant method for computing functional determinants, using the Gel'fand-Yaglom theorem, has been applied recently to a variety of systems. This method runs into difficulties if the background field has nontrivial topology, as is the case for the instanton in the Abelian Higgs model. A shift in thre effective centrifugal barriers makes the s-wave contribution infinite, an infinity that is compensated by the summation over the other partial waves. This requires some modifications of the Gel'fand-Yaglom method which are the main subject of this work. We present here both, the Green' s function and the Gel'fand-Yaglom method and compare the numerical results in detail.

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arXiv2006

False vacuum decay by self-consistent bounces in four dimensions

We compute bounce solutions describing false vacuum decay in a Phi**4 model in four dimensions with quantum back-reaction. The back-reaction of the quantum fluctuations on the bounce profiles is computed in the one-loop and Hartree approximations. This is to be compared with the usual semiclassical approach where one computes the profile from the classical action and determines the one-loop correction from this profile. The computation of the fluctuation determinant is performed using a theorem on functional determinants, in addition we here need the Green' s function of the fluctuation operator in oder to compute the quantum back-reaction. As we are able to separate from the determinant and from the Green' s function the leading perturbative orders, we can regularize and renormalize analytically, in analogy of standard perturbation theory. The iteration towards self-consistent solutions is found to converge for some range of the parameters. Within this range the corrections to the semiclassical action are at most a few percent, the corrections to the transition rate can amount to several orders of magnitude. The strongest deviations happen for large couplings, as to be expected. Beyond some limit, there are no self-consistent bounce solutions.

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arXiv2004

Self-consistent bounces in two dimensions

We compute bounce solutions describing false vacuum decay in a Phi**4 model in two dimensions in the Hartree approximation, thus going beyond the usual one-loop corrections to the decay rate. We use zero energy mode functions of the fluctuation operator for the numerical computation of the functional determinant and the Green's function. We thus avoid the necessity of discretizing the spectrum, as it is necessary when one uses numerical techniques based on eigenfunctions. Regularization is performed in analogy of standard perturbation theory; the renormalization of the Hartree approximation is based on the two-particle point-irreducible (2PPI) scheme. The iteration towards the self-consistent solution is found to converge for some range of the parameters. Within this range we find the corrections to the leading one-loop approximation to be relatively small, not exceeding one order of magnitude in the total transition rate.

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arXiv2004

Scalar O(N) Model at Finite Temperature -- 2PI Effective Potential in Different Approximations

We calculate the two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective potential of the O(N) linear sigma model in 1+1 dimensions. The approximations we use are the next-to-leading order of a 1/N expansion (for arbitrary N) and a kind of "resummed loop approximation" for N=1. We show that the effective potential of the 1/N expansion is convex for N=4 and N=10 whereas it is not for the "loop" expansion and the case N=1 of the 1/N expansion.

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arXiv2004

The 2PI finite temperature effective potential of the O(N) linear sigma model in 1+1 dimensions, at next-to-leading order in 1/N

We study the O(N) linear sigma model in 1+1 dimensions. We use the 2PI formalism of Cornwall, Jackiw and Tomboulis in order to evaluate the effective potential at finite temperature. At next-to-leading order in a 1/N expansion one has to include the sums over "necklace" and generalized "sunset" diagrams. We find that - in contrast to the Hartree approximation - there is no spontaneous symmetry breaking in this approximation, as to be expected for the exact theory. The effective potential becomes convex throughout for all parameter sets which include N=4,10,100, couplings lambda=0.1 and 0.5, and temperatures between 0.2 and 1. The Green's functions obtained by solving the Schwinger-Dyson equations are enhanced in the infrared region. We also compare the effective potential as function of the external field phi with those obtained in various other approximations.

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arXiv2004

Nonequilibrium dynamics in scalar hybrid models

We study by numerical simulations the transition from the metastable "false vacuum" to the broken symmetry phase in the preheating stage after cosmic inflation in a scalar hybrid model. We take quantum fluctuations and their back reaction into account by applying a one-loop bubble-resummation.

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arXiv2004

Out-of-equilibrium evolution of quantum fields in the hybrid model with quantum back reaction

The hybrid model with a scalar "inflaton" field coupled to a "Higgs" field with a broken symmetry potential is one of the promising models for inflation and (p)reheating after inflation. We consider the nonequilibrium evolution of the quantum fields of this model with quantum back reaction in the Hartree approximation, in particular the transition of the Higgs field from the metastable "false vacuum" to the broken symmetry phase. We have performed the renormalization of the equations of motion, of the gap equations and of the energy density, using dimensional regularization. We study the influence of the back reaction on the evolution of the classical fields and of the quantum fluctuations. We observe that back reaction plays an important role over a wide range of parameters. Some implications of our investigation for the preheating stage after cosmic inflation are presented.

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arXiv2003

One-loop corrections to the metastable vacuum decay

We evaluate the one-loop prefactor in the false vacuum decay rate in a theory of a self interacting scalar field in 3+1 dimensions. We use a numerical method, established some time ago, which is based on a well-known theorem on functional determinants. The proper handling of zero modes and of renormalization is discussed. The numerical results in particular show that quantum corrections become smaller away from the thin-wall case. In the thin-wall limit the numerical results are found to join into those obtained by a gradient expansion.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Quantum dynamics of Phi**4 field theory beyond leading order in 1+1 dimensions

We consider the out-of-equilibrium evolution of a classical condensate field $ϕ=<Φ>$ and its quantum fluctuations for a $Φ^4$ model in 1+1 dimensions with a double well potential. We use the two-particle point-irreducible (2PPI) formalism in the two-loop approximation. We compare our results to those obtained in the Hartree approximation, in the bare vertex approximation (BVA) and in the two-particle irreducible next-to-leading order large-N (2PI-1/N) approach, with thermal initial conditions. In the 2PPI scheme we find that the system tends to the symmetric configuration at late times, as expected in the absence of spontaneous symmetry breaking.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Nonequilibrium evolution of Phi**4 theory in 1+1 dimensions in the 2PPI formalism

We consider the out-of-equilibrium evolution of a classical condensate field and its quantum fluctuations for a Phi**4 model in 1+1 dimensions with a symmetric and a double well potential. We use the 2PPI formalism and go beyond the Hartree approximation by including the sunset term. In addition to the mean field phi= the 2PPI formalism uses as variational parameter a time dependent mass M**2(t) which contains all local insertions into the Green function. We compare our results to those obtained in the Hartree approximation. In the symmetric Phi**4 theory we observe that the mean field shows a stronger dissipation than the one found in the Hartree approximation. The dissipation is roughly exponential in an intermediate time region. In the theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking, i.e., with a double well potential, the field amplitude tends to zero, i.e., to the symmetric configuration. This is expected on general grounds: in 1+1 dimensional quantum field theory there is no spontaneous symmetry breaking for T >0, and so there should be none at finite energy density (microcanonical ensemble), either. Within the time range of our simulations the momentum spectra do not thermalize and display parametric resonance bands.

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arXiv1997

Renormalization of nonequilibrium dynamics in FRW cosmology

We derive the renormalized nonequilibrium equations of motion for a scalar field and its quantum back reaction in a conformally flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe. We use a fully covariant formalism proposed by us recently for handling numerically and analytically nonequilibrium dynamics in one-loop approximation. The system is assumed to be in a conformal vacuum state initially. We use dimensional regularization; we find that the counter terms can be chosen independent of the initial conditions though the divergent leading order graphs do depend on them.

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