arXiv subjects

R. Percacci

Publications and source records attributed to R. Percacci.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv1996

Yang-Mills vacuum structure and quantum gravity

Using renormalization group methods we calculate the derivative expansion of the effective Lagrangian for a covariantly constant gauge field in curved spacetime. Curvature affects the vacuum, in particular it could induce phase transitions between different vacua. We also consider the effect of quantum fluctuations of the metric , in the context of a renormalizable $R^2$ theory. In this case the critical curvature depends on the gravi tational coupling constants.

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arXiv1995

Quantum Mechanical Breaking of Local GL(4) Invariance

We consider the gravitational coupling of a scalar field, in a reformulation of General Relativity exhibiting local GL(4) invariance at the classical level. We compute the one-loop contribution of the scalar to the quantum effective potential of the vierbein and find that it does not have GL(4) invariance. The minima of the effective potential occur for a vierbein which is proportional to the unit matrix.

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arXiv1995

The heat-kernel and the average effective potential

We discuss the definition of the average effective action in terms of the heat-kernel. As an example we examine a model describing a self-interacting scalar field, both in flat and curved background, and study the renormalization group flow of some of the parameters characterizing its effective potential. Some implications of the running of these parameters for inflationary cosmology are also briefly discussed.

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arXiv1995

The beta functions of a scalar theory coupled to gravity

We study a scalar field theory coupled to gravity on a flat background, below Planck's energy. Einstein's theory is treated as an effective field theory. Within the context of Wilson's renormalization group, we compute gravitational corrections to the beta functions and the anomalous dimension of the scalar field, taking into account threshold effects.

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arXiv1994

The renormalization group flow of the dilaton potential

We consider a scalar-metric gauge theory of gravity with independent metric, connection and dilaton. The role of the dilaton is to provide the scale of all masses, via its vacuum expectation value. In this theory, we study the renormalization group flow of the dilaton potential, taking into account threshold effects at the Planck scale. Due to the running of the VEV of the dilaton all particles that would naively seem to have masses larger than Planck's mass, may actually not propagate. This could solve the problem of unitarity in these theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv1994

On Target-Space Duality in p-Branes

We study the target-space duality transformations in $p$--branes as transformations which mix the worldvolume field equations with Bianchi identities. We consider an $(m+p+1)$-dimensional spacetime with $p+1$ dimensions compactified, and a particular form of the background fields. We find that while a $GL(2)=SL(2)\times R$ group is realized when $m=0$, only a two parameter group is realized when $m>0$.

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arXiv1994

Renormalization group effects in the conformal sector of 4d quantom gravity with matter

We discuss the ``gravitationally dressed'' beta functions in the Gross--Neveu model interacting with 2d Liouville theory and in $SU(N)$ gauge theory interacting with the conformal sector of 4d quantum gravity. Among the effects that we suggest may feel the gravitational dressing are the minimum of the effective potential and the running of the gauge coupling.

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arXiv1993

The effective potential for the conformal factor in the standard model and beyond

There is a general mechanism by which certain matter fields coupled to gravity can generate a nontrivial effective potential for the conformal factor of the metric. It is based on a nonstandard regularization method, with the cutoff being defined independently of the conformal factor. This mechanism produces a coupling of the matter fields to a dilaton, and a complicated interaction between matter, dilaton and metric. When it is applied to the standard model, it gives an effective potential which can be used to predict the top and Higgs masses. If the purely gravitational contribution to the potential is added, the mass of the dilaton is of the order of Planck's mass and the large hierarchy between the Planck and Fermi scales appears to be due to the smallness of the Higgs-dilaton coupling.

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arXiv1993

Average Effective Potential for the Conformal Factor

In a four dimensional theory of gravity with lagrangian quadratic in curvature and torsion, we compute the effective action for metrics of the form $g_{μν}=ρ^2δ_{μν}$, with $ρ$ constant. Using standard field-theoretic methods we find that one loop quantum effects produce a nontrivial effective potential for $ρ$. We explain this unexpected result by showing how our regularization procedure differs from the one that is usually adopted in Quantum Gravity. Using the method of the average effective potential, we compute the scale dependence of the v.e.v. of the conformal factor.

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arXiv1993

Global Aspects of p-Branes

We generalize to dimension $p>1$ the notion of string structure and discuss the related obstruction. We apply our results to a model of bosonic $p$-branes propagating on a principal $G$-bundle, coupled to a Yang--Mills field and an antisymmetric tensor field and in the presence of a Wess-Zumino term in the Lagrangian. We construct the quantization line bundle and discuss the action of background gauge transformations on wave functions.

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arXiv1992

$U(1)$--Extended Gauge Algebras in $p$-Loop Space

We consider, for $p$ odd, a $p$--brane coupled to a $(p+1)$th rank background antisymmetric tensor field and to background Yang-Mills (YM) fields {\it via} a Wess-Zumino term. We obtain the generators of antisymmetric tensor and Yang-Mills gauge transformations acting on $p$--brane wavefunctionals (functions on `$p$-loop space'). The Yang-Mills generators do not form a closed algebra by themselves; instead, the algebra of Yang-Mills and antisymmetric tensor generators is a $U(1)$ extension of the usual algebra of Yang-Mills gauge transformations. We construct the $p$-brane's Hamiltonian and thereby find gauge-covariant functional derivatives acting on $p$--brane wavefunctionals that commute with the YM and $U(1)$ generators.

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arXiv1992

Symmetries of P-Branes

Using canonical methods, we study the invariance properties of a bosonic $p$--brane propagating in a curved background locally diffeomorphic to $M\times G$, where $M$ is spacetime and $G$ a group manifold. The action is that of a gauged sigma model in $p+1$ dimensions coupled to a Yang--Mills field and a $(p+1)$--form in $M$. We construct the generators of Yang-Mills and tensor gauge transformations and exhibit the role of the $(p+1)$--form in cancelling the potential Schwinger terms. We also discuss the Noether currents associated with the global symmetries of the action and the question of the existence of infinite dimensional symmetry algebras, analogous to the Kac-Moody symmetry of the string.

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arXiv1991

Quantum Mechanics on the Circle and W_{1+\INFTY}

The algebra W_{1+\infty} with central charge c=0 can be identified with the algebra of quantum observables of a particle moving on a circle. Mathematically, it is the universal enveloping algebra of the Euclidean algebra in two dimensions. Similarly, the super W_\infty algebra is found to be the universal enveloping algebra of the super-Euclidean algebra in two dimensions.

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