arXiv subjects

Roberto Percacci

Publications and source records attributed to Roberto Percacci.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Search of scaling solutions in scalar-tensor gravity

We write new functional renormalization group equations for a scalar nonminimally coupled to gravity. Thanks to the choice of the parametrization and of the gauge fixing they are simpler than older equations and avoid some of the difficulties that were previously present. In three dimensions these equations admit, at least for sufficiently small fields, a solution that may be interpreted as a gravitationally dressed Wilson-Fisher fixed point. We also find for any dimension d>2 two analytic scaling solutions which we study for d=3 and d=4. One of them corresponds to the fixed point of the Einstein-Hilbert truncation, the others involve a nonvanishing minimal coupling.

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arXiv2014

Consistency of matter models with asymptotically safe quantum gravity

We discuss the compatibility of quantum gravity with dynamical matter degrees of freedom. Specifically, we present bounds we obtained in [1] on the allowed number and type of matter fields within asymptotically safe quantum gravity. As a novel result, we show bounds on the allowed number of spin-3/2 (Rarita-Schwinger) fields, e.g., the gravitino. These bounds, obtained within truncated Renormalization Group flows, indicate the compatibility of asymptotic safety with the matter fields of the standard model. Further, they suggest that extensions of the matter content of the standard model are severely restricted in asymptotic safety. This means that searches for new particles at colliders could provide experimental tests for this particular approach to quantum gravity.

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arXiv2014

Matter matters in asymptotically safe quantum gravity

We investigate the compatibility of minimally coupled scalar, fermion and gauge fields with asymptotically safe quantum gravity, using nonperturbative functional Renormalization Group methods. We study d=4,5 and 6 dimensions and within certain approximations find that for a given number of gauge fields there is a maximal number of scalar and fermion degrees of freedom compatible with an interacting fixed point at positive Newton coupling. The bounds impose severe constraints on grand unification with fundamental Higgs scalars. Supersymmetry and universal extra dimensions are also generally disfavored. The standard model and its extensions accommodating right-handed neutrinos, the axion and dark-matter models with a single scalar are compatible with a fixed point.

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arXiv2013

Quantization and fixed points of non-integrable Weyl theory

We consider a simple but generic model of gravity where Weyl--invariance is realized thanks to the presence of a gauge field for dilatations. We quantize the theory by suitably defining renormalization group flows that describe the integration of successive momentum shells, in such a way that Weyl--invariance is maintained in the flow. When the gauge fields are massless the theory has, in addition to Weyl invariance, an abelian gauge symmetry. According to the definition of the cutoff, the flow can break or preserve this extended symmetry. We discuss the fixed points of these flows.

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arXiv2013

Higher Derivative Gravity and Asymptotic Safety in Diverse Dimensions

We derive the one-loop beta functions for a theory of gravity with generic action containing up to four derivatives. The calculation is done in arbitrary dimension and on an arbitrary background. The special cases of three, four, near four, five and six dimensions are discussed in some detail. We find that the theories have nontrivial UV fixed points and are asymptotically safe in all dimensions we study. We also find an indication that Weyl-invariant fixed point exists in four dimensions. The new massive gravity in three dimensions does not correspond to any fixed point.

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arXiv2013

Investigating the Ultraviolet Properties of Gravity with a Wilsonian Renormalization Group Equation

We review and extend in several directions recent results on the asymptotic safety approach to quantum gravity. The central issue in this approach is the search of a Fixed Point having suitable properties, and the tool that is used is a type of Wilsonian renormalization group equation. We begin by discussing various cutoff schemes, i.e. ways of implementing the Wilsonian cutoff procedure. We compare the beta functions of the gravitational couplings obtained with different schemes, studying first the contribution of matter fields and then the so-called Einstein-Hilbert truncation, where only the cosmological constant and Newton's constant are retained. In this context we make connection with old results, in particular we reproduce the results of the epsilon expansion and the perturbative one loop divergences. We then apply the Renormalization Group to higher derivative gravity. In the case of a general action quadratic in curvature we recover, within certain approximations, the known asymptotic freedom of the four-derivative terms, while Newton's constant and the cosmological constant have a nontrivial fixed point. In the case of actions that are polynomials in the scalar curvature of degree up to eight we find that the theory has a fixed point with three UV-attractive directions, so that the requirement of having a continuum limit constrains the couplings to lie in a three-dimensional subspace, whose equation is explicitly given. We emphasize throughout the difference between scheme-dependent and scheme-independent results, and provide several examples of the fact that only dimensionless couplings can have "universal" behavior.

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arXiv2012

Functional renormalization with fermions and tetrads

We investigate some aspects of the renormalization group flow of gravity in the presence of fermions, which have remained somewhat puzzling so far. The first is the sign of the fermionic contribution to the running of Newton's constant, which depends on details of the cutoff. We argue that only one of the previously used schemes correctly implements the cutoff on eigenvalues of the Dirac operator, and it acts in the sense of screening Newton's constant. We also show that Kähler fermions give the same contribution to the running of the cosmological and Newton constant as four Dirac spinors. We then calculate the graviton contributions to the beta functions by imposing the cutoffs on the irreducible spin components of the tetrad. In this way we can probe the gauge dependence of the off-shell flow. The results resemble closely those of the metric formalism, except for an increased scheme-- and (off shell) gauge--dependence.

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arXiv2012

On classicalization in nonlinear sigma models

We consider the phenomenon of classicalization in nonlinear sigma models with both positive and negative target space curvature and with any number of derivatives. We find that the theories with only two derivatives exhibit a weak form of classicalization, and that the quantitative results depend on the sign of the curvature. Nonlinear sigma models with higher derivatives show a strong form of the phenomenon which is independent of the sign of curvature. We argue that weak classicalization may actually be equivalent to asymptotic safety, whereas strong classicalization seems to be a genuinely different phenomenon. We also discuss possible ambiguities in the definition of the classical limit.

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arXiv2011

Scale-dependent Planck mass and Higgs VEV from holography and functional renormalization

We compute the scale-dependence of the Planck mass and of the vacuum expectation value of the Higgs field using two very different renormalization group methods: a "holographic" procedure based on Einstein's equations in five dimensions with matter confined to a 3-brane, and a "functional" procedure in four dimensions based on a Wilsonian momentum cutoff. Both calculations lead to very similar results, suggesting that the coupled theory approaches a non-trivial fixed point in the ultraviolet.

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arXiv2011

Inflationary solutions in asymptotically safe f(R) theories

We discuss the existence of inflationary solutions in a class of renormalization group improved polynomial f(R) theories, which have been studied recently in the context of the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum gravity. These theories seem to possess a nontrivial ultraviolet fixed point, where the dimensionful couplings scale according to their canonical dimensionality. Assuming that the cutoff is proportional to the Hubble parameter, we obtain modified Friedmann equations which admit both power law and exponential solutions. We establish that for sufficiently high order polynomial the solutions are reliable, in the sense that considering still higher order polynomials is very unlikely to change the solution.

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arXiv2010

Deformed Special Relativity from Asymptotically Safe Gravity

By studying the notion of a fundamentally minimal length scale in asymptotically safe gravity we find that a specific version of deformed special relativity (DSR) naturally arises in this approach. We then consider two thought experiments to examine the interpretation of the scenario and discuss similarities and differences to other approaches to DSR.

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arXiv2009

On the scheme dependence of gravitational beta functions

We discuss the arbitrariness in the choice of cutoff scheme in calculations of beta functions. We define a class of "pure" cutoff schemes, in which the cutoff is completely independent of the parameters that appear in the action. In a sense they are at the opposite extreme of the "spectrally adjusted" cutoffs, which depend on all the parameters that appear in the action. We compare the results for the beta functions of Newton's constant and of the cosmological constant obtained with a typical cutoff and with a pure cutoff, keeping all else fixed. We find that the dependence of the fixed point on an arbitrary parameter in the pure cutoff is rather mild. We then show in general that if a spectrally adjusted cutoff produces a fixed point, there is a corresponding pure cutoff that will give a fixed point in the same position.

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arXiv2009

Renormalization Group Flow in Scalar-Tensor Theories. I

We study the renormalization group flow in a class of scalar-tensor theories involving at most two derivatives of the fields. We show in general that minimal coupling is self consistent, in the sense that when the scalar self couplings are switched off, their beta functions also vanish. Complete, explicit beta functions that could be applied to a variety of cosmological models are given in a five parameter truncation of the theory in $d=4$. In any dimension $d>2$ we find that the flow has only a "Gaussian Matter" fixed point, where all scalar self interactions vanish but Newton's constant and the cosmological constant are nontrivial. The properties of these fixed points can be studied algebraically to some extent. In $d=3$ we also find a gravitationally dressed version of the Wilson-Fisher fixed point, but it seems to have unphysical properties. These findings are in accordance with the hypothesis that these theories are asymptotically safe.

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arXiv2009

The Running Gravitational Couplings

We compute the running of the cosmological constant and Newton's constant taking into account the effect of quantum fields with any spin between 0 and 2. We find that Newton's constant does not vary appreciably but the cosmological constant can change by many orders of magnitude when one goes from cosmological scales to typical elementary particle scales. In the extreme infrared, zero modes drive the cosmological constant to zero.

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arXiv2007

Ultraviolet properties of f(R)-Gravity

We discuss the existence and properties of a nontrivial fixed point in f(R)-gravity, where f is a polynomial of order up to six. Within this seven-parameter class of theories, the fixed point has three ultraviolet-attractive and four ultraviolet-repulsive directions; this brings further support to the hypothesis that gravity is nonperturbatively renormalizabile.

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arXiv2007

The Renormalization Group, Systems of Units and the Hierarchy Problem

In the context of the Renormalization Group (RG) for gravity I discuss the role of field rescalings and their relation to choices of units. I concentrate on a simple Higgs model coupled to gravity, where natural choices of units can be based on Newton's constant or on the Higgs mass. These quantities are not invariant under the RG, and the ratio between the units is scale-dependent. In the toy model, strong RG running occurs in the intermediate regime between the Higgs and the Planck scale, reproducing the results of the Randall-Sundrum I model. Possible connections with the problem of the mass hierarchy are pointed out.

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arXiv2004

On the Ultraviolet Behaviour of Newton's constant

We clarify a point concerning the ultraviolet behaviour of the Quantum Field Theory of gravity, under the assumption of the existence of an ultraviolet Fixed Point. We explain why Newton's constant should to scale like the inverse of the square of the cutoff, even though it is technically inessential. As a consequence of this behaviour, the existence of an UV Fixed Point would seem to imply that gravity has a built-in UV cutoff when described in Planck units, but not necessarily in other units.

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arXiv2003

Contraints on Matter from Asymptotic Safety

Recent studies of the ultraviolet behaviour of pure gravity suggest that it admits a non-Gaussian attractive fixed point, and therefore that the theory is asymptotically safe. We consider the effect on this fixed point of massless minimally coupled matter fields. The existence of a UV attractive fixed point puts bounds on the type and number of such fields.

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