arXiv subjects

Matt Visser

Publications and source records attributed to Matt Visser.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Analytic results for the effective action

Motivated by the seminal work of Schwinger, we obtain explicit closed form expressions for the one-loop effective action in a constant electromagnetic field. We discuss both massive and massless charged scalars and spinors in two, three, and four dimensions. Both strong field and weak field limits are calculable. The latter limit results in an asymptotic expansion whose first term reproduces the Euler-Heisenberg effective Lagrangian. We use the zeta function renormalization prescription, and indicate its relationship to Schwinger's renormalized effective action.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Zeta Functions and the Casimir Energy

We use zeta function techniques to give a finite definition for the Casimir energy of an arbitrary ultrastatic spacetime with or without boundaries. We find that the Casimir energy is intimately related to, but not identical to, the one-loop effective energy. We show that in general the Casimir energy depends on a normalization scale. This phenomenon has relevance to applications of the Casimir energy in bag models of QCD. Within the framework of Kaluza-Klein theories we discuss the one-loop corrections to the induced cosmological and Newton constants in terms of a Casimir like effect. We can calculate the dependence of these constants on the radius of the compact dimensions, without having to resort to detailed calculations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Signature-change events in emergent spacetimes with anisotropic scaling

We investigate the behaviour of quantum fields coupled to a spacetime geometry exhibiting finite regions of Euclidean (Riemannian) signature. Although from a gravity perspective this situation might seem somewhat far fetched, we will demonstrate its direct physical relevance for an explicitly realizable condensed matter system whose linearized perturbations experience an effective emergent spacetime geometry with externally controllable signature. This effective geometry is intrinsically quantum in origin, and its signature is determined by the details of the microscopic structure. At the level of the effective field theory arising from our condensed matter system we encounter explicit anisotropic scaling in time and space. Here Lorentz symmetry is an emergent symmetry in the infrared. This anisotropic scaling of time and space cures some of the technical problems that arise when working within a canonical quantisation scheme obeying strict Lorentz invariance at all scales, and so is helpful in permitting signature change events to take place.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Birkhoff-like theorem for rotating stars in (2+1) dimensions

Consider a rotating and possibly pulsating "star" in (2+1) dimensions. If the star is axially symmetric, then in the vacuum region surrounding the star, (a region that we assume at most contains a cosmological constant), the Einstein equations imply that under physically plausible conditions the geometry is in fact stationary. Furthermore, the geometry external to the star is then uniquely guaranteed to be the (2+1) dimensional analogue of the Kerr-de Sitter spacetime, the BTZ geometry. This Birkhoff-like theorem is very special to (2+1) dimensions, and fails in (3+1) dimensions. Effectively, this is a "no hair" theorem for (2+1) dimensional axially symmetric stars: the exterior geometry is completely specified by the mass, angular momentum, and cosmological constant.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Quantum Interest in (3+1) dimensional Minkowski space

The so-called "Quantum Inequalities", and the "Quantum Interest Conjecture", use quantum field theory to impose significant restrictions on the temporal distribution of the energy density measured by a time-like observer, potentially preventing the existence of exotic phenomena such as "Alcubierre warp-drives" or "traversable wormholes". Both the quantum inequalities and the quantum interest conjecture can be reduced to statements concerning the existence or non-existence of bound states for a certain one-dimensional quantum mechanical pseudo-Hamiltonian. Using this approach, we shall provide a simple proof of one version of the Quantum Interest Conjecture in (3+1) dimensional Minkowski space.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Small, dark, and heavy: But is it a black hole?

Astronomers have certainly observed things that are small, dark, and heavy. But are these objects really black holes in the sense of general relativity? The consensus opinion is simply "yes", and there is very little "wriggle room". We discuss one of the specific alternatives.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Black holes in general relativity

What is going on (as of August 2008) at the interface between theoretical general relativity, string-inspired models, and observational astrophysics? Quite a lot. In this mini-survey I will make a personal choice and focus on four specific questions: Do black holes "exist"? (For selected values of the word "exist".) Is black hole formation and evaporation unitary? Can one mimic a black hole to arbitrary accuracy? Can one detect the presence of a horizon using local physics?

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Transmission probabilities and the Miller-Good transformation

Transmission through a potential barrier, and the related issue of particle production from a parametric resonance, are topics of considerable general interest in quantum physics. The authors 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 the current article we take a different tack -- we use 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.

math-ph↗

arXiv2009

Explicit form of the Mann-Marolf surface term in (3+1) dimensions

The Mann-Marolf surface term is a specific candidate for the "reference background term" that is to be subtracted from the Gibbons-Hawking surface term in order make the total gravitational action of asymptotically flat spacetimes finite. That is, the total gravitational action is taken to be: (Einstein-Hilbert bulk term) + (Gibbons-Hawking surface term) - (Mann-Marolf surface term). As presented by Mann and Marolf, their surface term is specified implicitly in terms of the Ricci tensor of the boundary. Herein I demonstrate that for the physically interesting case of a (3+1) dimensional bulk spacetime, the Mann-Marolf surface term can be specified explicitly in terms of the Einstein tensor of the (2+1) dimensional boundary.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Analytic bounds on transmission probabilities

We develop some new analytic bounds on transmission probabilities (and the related reflection probabilities and Bogoliubov coefficients) for generic one-dimensional scattering problems. To do so we rewrite the Schrodinger equation for some complicated potential whose properties we are trying to investigate in terms of some simpler potential whose properties are assumed known, plus a (possibly large) "shift" in the potential. Doing so permits us to extract considerable useful information without having to exactly solve the full scattering problem.

math-ph↗

arXiv2008

Birefringence in pseudo-Finsler spacetimes

Based on the analogue spacetime programme, and many other ideas currently mooted in "quantum gravity", there is considerable ongoing speculation that the usual pseudo-Riemannian (Lorentzian) manifolds of general relativity might eventually be modified at short distances. Two specific modifications that are often advocated are the adoption of Finsler geometries (or more specifically, pseudo-Finsler spacetimes) and the possibility of birefringence (or more generally, multi-refringence). We have investigated the possibility of whether it is possible to usefully and cleanly deal with these two possibilities simultaneously. That is, given two (or more) "signal cones": Is it possible to naturally and intuitively construct a "unified" pseudo-Finsler spacetime such that the pseudo-Finsler metric is null on these "signal cones", but has no other zeros or singularities? Our results are much less encouraging than we had originally hoped, and suggest that while pseudo-Finsler spacetimes are certainly useful constructs, it is physically more appropriate to think of physics as taking place in a single topological manifold that carries several distinct pseudo-Finsler metrics, one for each polarization mode.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

Traversable wormholes from surgically modified Schwarzschild spacetimes

In this paper I present a new class of traversable wormholes. This is done by surgically grafting two Schwarzschild spacetimes together in such a way that no event horizon is permitted to form. This surgery concentrates a non--zero stress--energy on the boundary layer between the two asymptotically flat regions. I shall investigate this stress--energy in detail using the "junction condition" formalism. A feature of the present analysis is that this class of traversable wormholes is sufficiently simple for a (partial) dynamical stability analysis to be carried out. The stability analysis places constraints on the equation of state of the exotic matter that comprises the throat of the wormhole.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

Traversable wormholes: Some simple examples

Building on the work of Morris, Thorne, and Yurtsever, some particularly simple examples of traversable wormholes are exhibited. These examples are notable both because the analysis is not limited to spherically symmetric cases, and because it is possible to in some sense minimize the use of exotic matter. In particular, it is possible for a traveller to traverse such a wormhole without passing through a region of exotic matter. As in previous analyses, the weak energy condition is violated in these traversable wormholes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

Cosmographic Hubble fits to the supernova data

The Hubble relation between distance and redshift is a purely cosmographic relation that depends only on the symmetries of a FLRW spacetime, but does not intrinsically make any dynamical assumptions. This suggests that it should be possible to estimate the parameters defining the Hubble relation without making any dynamical assumptions. To test this idea, we perform a number of inter-related cosmographic fits to the legacy05 and gold06 supernova datasets. Based on this supernova data, the "preponderance of evidence" certainly suggests an accelerating universe. However we would argue that (unless one uses additional dynamical and observational information) this conclusion is not currently supported "beyond reasonable doubt". As part of the analysis we develop two particularly transparent graphical representations of the redshift-distance relation -- representations in which acceleration versus deceleration reduces to the question of whether the relevant graph slopes up or down. Turning to the details of the cosmographic fits, three issues in particular concern us: First, the fitted value for the deceleration parameter changes significantly depending on whether one performs a chi^2 fit to the luminosity distance, proper motion distance or other suitable distance surrogate. Second, the fitted value for the deceleration parameter changes significantly depending on whether one uses the traditional redshift variable z, or what we shall argue is on theoretical grounds an improved parameterization y=z/(1+z). Third, the published estimates for systematic uncertainties are sufficiently large that they certainly impact on, and to a large extent undermine, the usual purely statistical tests of significance. We conclude that the supernova data should be treated with some caution.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

Bounding the greybody factors for Schwarzschild black holes

Greybody factors in black hole physics modify the naive Planckian spectrum that is predicted for Hawking radiation when working in the limit of geometrical optics. We consider the Schwarzschild geometry in (3+1) dimensions, and analyze the Regge-Wheeler equation for arbitrary particle spin S and wave-mode angular momentum L, deriving rigourous bounds on the greybody factors as a function of S, L, wave frequency (omega), and the black hole mass, m.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

Bounding the Hubble flow in terms of the w parameter

The last decade has seen increasing efforts to circumscribe and bound the cosmological Hubble flow in terms of model-independent constraints on the cosmological fluid - such as, for instance, the classical energy conditions of general relativity. Quite a bit can certainly be said in this regard, but much more refined bounds can be obtained by placing more precise constraints (either theoretical or observational) on the cosmological fluid. In particular, the use of the w-parameter (w=p/rho) has become increasingly common as a surrogate for trying to say something about the cosmological equation of state. Herein we explore the extent to which a constraint on the w-parameter leads to useful and nontrivial constraints on the Hubble flow, in terms of constraints on density rho(z), Hubble parameter H(z), density parameter Omega(z), cosmological distances d(z), and lookback time T(z). In contrast to other partial results in the literature, we carry out the computations for arbitrary values of the space curvature k in [-1,0,+1], equivalently for arbitrary Omega_0 <= 1.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

On the phenomenon of emergent spacetimes: An instruction guide for experimental cosmology

We present a toy model where spacetime is emergent from a more fundamental microscopic system, and investigate the gray area interpolating between the collective and free-particle regimes. For a period of rapid exponential growth in the analogue universe, we argue that the intermediate regime is best described by a coloured potpourri of geometries -- a "rainbow geometry". This can be viewed as an alternative approach towards understanding quantum field theories in the presence of Lorentz-symmetry breaking at ultraviolet scales. Firstly, it is pointed out that cosmological particle production in our emergent FRW-type analogue universe, when compared to conventional semi-classical quantum gravity, is only temporarily robust against model-specific deviations from Lorentz invariance. Secondly, it is possible to carry out a straightforward quantitative analysis to estimate a suitable parameter regime for experimental (analogue) cosmology.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

Cosmological particle production in emergent rainbow spacetimes

We investigate cosmological particle production in spacetimes where Lorentz invariance emerges in the infrared limit, but is explicitly broken in the ultraviolet regime. Our specific model focuses on the boost subgroup that supports CPT invariance and results in a momentum-dependent dispersion relation. Motivated by previous studies on spacetimes emerging from a microscopic substrate, we show how these modifications naturally lead to momentum-dependent rainbow metrics. Firstly, we investigate the possibility of reproducing cosmological particle production in spacetimes emerging from real Bose gases. We have studied the influence of non-perturbative ultraviolet corrections in time-dependent analogue spacetimes, leading to momentum-dependent emergent rainbow spacetimes. Within certain limits the analogy is sufficiently good to simulate relativistic quantum field theory in time-dependent classical backgrounds, and the quantum effects are approximately robust against the model-dependent modifications. Secondly, we analyze how significantly the particle production process deviates from the common picture. While very low-energy modes do not see the difference at all, some modes "re-enter the Hubble horizon" during the inflationary epoch, and extreme ultraviolet modes are completely insensitive to the expansion.

gr-qc↗