arXiv subjects

Matt Visser

Publications and source records attributed to Matt Visser.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Constraining transmission and reflection probabilities by using the Miller-Good transformation

Transmission through and reflection from a potential barrier, and the very closely related issue of particle production from a parametric resonance, are topics of considerable general interest in quantum physics. We have developed a rather general bound on quantum transmission probabilities, and recently applied it to bounding the greybody factors of a Schwarzschild black hole. In this current paper, we take a different tack -- we report a way of using the Miller-Good transformation (which maps an initial Schrodinger equation to a final Schrodinger equation for a different potential) to significantly generalize the previous bound. We then apply this general formalism in a very specific manner to derive a rigorous bound that is "as close as possible" to the usual WKB estimate for barrier penetration.

math-ph↗

arXiv2013

Infinite Shannon entropy

Even if a probability distribution is properly normalizable, its associated Shannon (or von Neumann) entropy can easily be infinite. We carefully analyze conditions under which this phenomenon can occur. Roughly speaking, this happens when arbitrarily small amounts of probability are dispersed into an infinite number of states; we shall quantify this observation and make it precise. We develop several particularly simple, elementary, and useful bounds, and also provide some asymptotic estimates, leading to necessary and sufficient conditions for the occurrence of infinite Shannon entropy. We go to some effort to keep technical computations as simple and conceptually clear as possible. In particular, we shall see that large entropies cannot be localized in state space; large entropies can only be supported on an exponentially large number of states. We are for the time being interested in single-channel Shannon entropy in the information theoretic sense, not entropy in a stochastic field theory or QFT defined over some configuration space, on the grounds that this simple problem is a necessary precursor to understanding infinite entropy in a field theoretic context.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Massive gravity from bimetric gravity

We discuss the subtle relationship between massive gravity and bimetric gravity, focusing particularly on the manner in which massive gravity may be viewed as a suitable limit of bimetric gravity. The limiting procedure is more delicate than currently appreciated. Specifically, this limiting procedure should not unnecessarily constrain the background metric, which must be externally specified by the theory of massive gravity itself. The fact that in bimetric theories one always has two sets of metric equations of motion continues to have an effect even in the massive gravity limit, leading to additional constraints besides the one set of equations of motion naively expected. Thus, since solutions of bimetric gravity in the limit of vanishing kinetic term are also solutions of massive gravity, but the contrary statement is not necessarily true, there is not complete continuity in the parameter space of the theory. In particular, we study the massive cosmological solutions which are continuous in the parameter space, showing that many interesting cosmologies belong to this class.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Linearised stability analysis of generic thin shells

We construct generic spherically symmetric thin shells by using the cut-and-paste procedure. We take considerable effort to make the analysis as general and unified as practicable; investigating both the internal physics of the transition layer and its interaction with "external forces" arising due to interactions between the transition layer and the bulk spacetime. We demonstrate in full generality that stability of the thin shell is equivalent to choosing suitable properties for the material residing on the junction interface. Applications to gravastars and wormhole geometries are also explored.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Unruh-DeWitt detector event rate for trajectories with time-dependent acceleration

We analyse the response function of an Unruh--DeWitt detector moving with time-dependent acceleration along a one-dimensional trajectory in Minkowski spacetime. To extract the physics of the process, we propose an adiabatic expansion of this response function. This expansion is also a useful tool for computing the click rate of detectors in general trajectories. The expansion is done in powers of the time derivatives of the acceleration (jerk, snap, and higher derivatives). At the lowest order, we recover a Planckian spectrum with temperature proportional to the acceleration of the detector at each instant of the trajectory. Higher orders in the expansion involve powers of the derivatives of the acceleration, with well-behaved spectral coefficients with different shapes. Finally, we illustrate this analysis in the case of an initially inertial trajectory that acquires a given constant acceleration in a finite time.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Generic spherically symmetric dynamic thin-shell traversable wormholes in standard general relativity

We consider the construction of generic spherically symmetric thin-shell traversable wormhole spacetimes in standard general relativity. By using the cut-and-paste procedure, we comprehensively analyze the stability of arbitrary spherically symmetric thin-shell wormholes to linearized spherically symmetric perturbations around static solutions. While a number of special cases have previously been dealt with in scattered parts of the literature, herein we take considerable effort to make the analysis as general and unified as practicable. We demonstrate in full generality that stability of the wormhole is equivalent to choosing suitable properties for the exotic material residing on the wormhole throat.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Null Energy Condition violations in bimetric gravity

We consider the effective stress-energy tensors for the foreground and background sectors in ghost-free bimetric gravity. By considering the symmetries of the theory, we show that the foreground and background null energy conditions (NECs) are strongly anti-correlated. In particular, the NECs can only be simultaneously fulfilled when they saturate, corresponding to foreground and background cosmological constants. In all other situations, either the foreground or the background is subject to a NEC-violating contribution to the total stress-energy.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Gordon and Kerr-Schild ansatze in massive and bimetric gravity

We develop the "generalized Gordon ansatz" for the ghost-free versions of both massive and bimetric gravity, an ansatz which is general enough to include almost all spacetimes commonly considered to be physically interesting, and restricted enough to greatly simplify calculations. The ansatz allows explicit calculation of the matrix square root gamma = sqrt{g^{-1} f} appearing as a central feature of the ghost-free analysis. In particular, this ansatz automatically allows us to write the effective stress-energy tensor as that corresponding to a perfect fluid. A qualitatively similar "generalized Kerr-Schild ansatz" can also be easily considered, now leading to an effective stress-energy tensor that corresponds to a null fluid. Cosmological implications are considered, as are consequences for black hole physics. Finally we have a few words to say concerning the null energy condition in the framework provided by these ansatze.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Survey of analogue spacetimes

Analogue spacetimes, (and more boldly, analogue models both of and for gravity), have attracted significant and increasing attention over the last decade and a half. Perhaps the most straightforward physical example, which serves as a template for most of the others, is Bill Unruh's model for a dumb hole, (mute black hole, acoustic black hole), wherein sound is dragged along by a moving fluid --- and can even be trapped behind an acoustic horizon. This and related analogue models for curved spacetimes are useful in many ways: Analogue spacetimes provide general relativists with extremely concrete physical models to help focus their thinking, and conversely the techniques of curved spacetime can sometimes help improve our understanding of condensed matter and/or optical systems by providing an unexpected and countervailing viewpoint. In this introductory chapter, I shall provide a few simple examples of analogue spacetimes as general background for the rest of the contributions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Modelling gravity on a hyper-cubic lattice

We present an elegant and simple dynamical model of symmetric, non-degenerate (n x n) matrices of fixed signature defined on a n-dimensional hyper-cubic lattice with nearest-neighbor interactions. We show how this model is related to General Relativity, and discuss multiple ways in which it can be useful for studying gravity, both classical and quantum. In particular, we show that the dynamics of the model when all matrices are close to the identity corresponds exactly to a finite-difference discretization of weak-field gravity in harmonic gauge. We also show that the action which defines the full dynamics of the model corresponds to the Einstein-Hilbert action to leading order in the lattice spacing, and use this observation to define a lattice analogue of the Ricci scalar and Einstein tensor. Finally, we perform a mean-field analysis of the statistical mechanics of this model.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Quantization of area for event and Cauchy horizons of the Kerr-Newman black hole

Based on various string theoretic constructions, and various string-inspired generalizations thereof, there have been repeated suggestions that the areas of black hole event horizons might be quantized in a quite specific manner, in terms of linear combinations of square roots of positive integers. It is important to realise that there are significant physical constraints on such integer-based proposals when one (somewhat speculatively) attempts to extend them outside their original extremal and supersymmetric framework. Specifically, in their most natural and direct physical interpretations, some of the more speculative integer-based proposals for the quantization of horizon areas fail for the ordinary Kerr-Newman black holes in (3+1) dimensions, essentially because the fine structure constant is not an integer. A more baroque interpretation involves asserting the fine structure constant is the square root of a rational number; but such a proposal has its own problems. Insofar as one takes (3+1) general relativity (plus the usual quantization of angular momentum and electric charge) as being paramount, the known explicitly calculable spectra of horizon areas for the physically compelling Kerr-Newman spacetimes indicate that some caution is called for when assessing the universality of some of the more speculative integer-based string-inspired proposals.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Inertial frames without the relativity principle

Ever since the work of von Ignatowsky circa 1910 it has been known (if not always widely appreciated) that the relativity principle, combined with the basic and fundamental physical assumptions of locality, linearity, and isotropy, leads almost uniquely to either the Lorentz transformations of special relativity or to Galileo's transformations of classical Newtonian mechanics. Thus, if one wishes to entertain the possibility of Lorentz symmetry breaking within the context of the class of local physical theories, then it seems likely that one will have to abandon (or at the very least grossly modify) the relativity principle. Working within the framework of local physics, we reassess the notion of spacetime transformations between inertial frames in the absence of the relativity principle, arguing that significant and nontrivial physics can still be extracted as long as the transformations are at least linear. An interesting technical aspect of the analysis is that the transformations now form a groupoid/pseudo-group --- it is this technical point that permits one to evade the von Ignatowsky argument. Even in the absence of a relativity principle we can nevertheless deduce clear and compelling rules for the transformation of space and time, rules for the composition of 3-velocities, and rules for the transformation of energy and momentum. As part of the analysis we identify two particularly elegant and physically compelling models implementing "minimalist" violations of Lorentz invariance --- in the first of these minimalist models all Lorentz violations are confined to carefully delineated particle physics sub-sectors, while the second minimalist Lorentz-violating model depends on one free function of absolute velocity, but otherwise preserves as much as possible of standard Lorentz invariant physics.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Generic thin-shell gravastars

We construct generic spherically symmetric thin-shell gravastars by using the cut-and-paste procedure. We take considerable effort to make the analysis as general and unified as practicable; investigating both the internal physics of the transition layer and its interaction with "external forces" arising due to interactions between the transition layer and the bulk spacetime. Furthermore, we discuss both the dynamic and static situations. In particular, we consider "bounded excursion" dynamical configurations, and probe the stability of static configurations. For gravastars there is always a particularly compelling configuration in which the surface energy density is zero, while surface tension is nonzero.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Realizability of the Lorentzian (n,1)-Simplex

In a previous article [JHEP 1111 (2011) 072; arXiv:1108.4965] we have developed a Lorentzian version of the Quantum Regge Calculus in which the significant differences between simplices in Lorentzian signature and Euclidean signature are crucial. In this article we extend a central result used in the previous article, regarding the realizability of Lorentzian triangles, to arbitrary dimension. This technical step will be crucial for developing the Lorentzian model in the case of most physical interest: 3+1 dimensions. We first state (and derive in an appendix) the realizability conditions on the edge-lengths of a Lorentzian n-simplex in total dimension n=d+1, where d is the number of space-like dimensions. We then show that in any dimension there is a certain type of simplex which has all of its time-like edge lengths completely unconstrained by any sort of triangle inequality. This result is the d+1 dimensional analogue of the 1+1 dimensional case of the Lorentzian triangle.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Compound transfer matrices: Constructive and destructive interference

Scattering from a compound barrier, one composed of a number of distinct non-overlapping sub-barriers, has a number of interesting and subtle mathematical features. If one is scattering classical particles, where the wave aspects of the particle can be ignored, the transmission probability of the compound barrier is simply given by the product of the transmission probabilities of the individual sub-barriers. In contrast if one is scattering waves (whether we are dealing with either purely classical waves or quantum Schrodinger wavefunctions) each sub-barrier contributes phase information (as well as a transmission probability), and these phases can lead to either constructive or destructive interference, with the transmission probability oscillating between nontrivial upper and lower bounds. In this article we shall study these upper and lower bounds in some detail, and also derive bounds on the closely related process of quantum excitation (particle production) via parametric resonance.

math-ph↗

arXiv2011

From dispersion relations to spectral dimension - and back again

The so-called spectral dimension is a scale-dependent number associated with both geometries and field theories that has recently attracted much attention, driven largely though not exclusively by investigations of causal dynamical triangulations (CDT) and Horava gravity as possible candidates for quantum gravity. We advocate the use of the spectral dimension as a probe for the kinematics of these (and other) systems in the region where spacetime curvature is small, and the manifold is flat to a good approximation. In particular, we show how to assign a spectral dimension (as a function of so-called diffusion time) to any arbitrarily specified dispersion relation. We also analyze the fundamental properties of spectral dimension using extensions of the usual Seeley-DeWitt and Feynman expansions, and by saddle point techniques. The spectral dimension turns out to be a useful, robust and powerful probe, not only of geometry, but also of kinematics.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

Entropy bounds in terms of the w parameter

In a pair of recent articles [PRL 105 (2010) 041302 - arXiv:1005.1132; JHEP 1103 (2011) 056 - arXiv:1012.2867] two of the current authors have developed an entropy bound for equilibrium uncollapsed matter using only classical general relativity, basic thermodynamics, and the Unruh effect. An odd feature of that bound, S <= A/2, was that the proportionality constant, 1/2, was weaker than that expected from black hole thermodynamics, 1/4. In the current article we strengthen the previous results by obtaining a bound involving the (suitably averaged) w parameter. Simple causality arguments restrict this averaged parameter to be <= 1. When equality holds, the entropy bound saturates at the value expected based on black hole thermodynamics. We also add some clarifying comments regarding the (net) positivity of the chemical potential. Overall, we find that even in the absence of any black hole region, we can nevertheless get arbitrarily close to the Bekenstein entropy.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Lorentz violating kinematics: Threshold theorems

Recent tentative experimental indications, and the subsequent theoretical speculations, regarding possible violations of Lorentz invariance have attracted a vast amount of attention. An important technical issue that considerably complicates detailed calculations in any such scenario, is that once one violates Lorentz invariance the analysis of thresholds in both scattering and decay processes becomes extremely subtle, with many new and naively unexpected effects. In the current article we develop several extremely general threshold theorems that depend only on the existence of some energy momentum relation E(p), eschewing even assumptions of isotropy or monotonicity. We shall argue that there are physically interesting situations where such a level of generality is called for, and that existing (partial) results in the literature make unnecessary technical assumptions. Even in this most general of settings, we show that at threshold all final state particles move with the same 3-velocity, while initial state particles must have 3-velocities parallel/anti-parallel to the final state particles. In contrast the various 3-momenta can behave in a complicated and counter-intuitive manner.

hep-ph↗