arXiv subjects

Stephon Alexander

Publications and source records attributed to Stephon Alexander.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Magnetic Fields from Heterotic Cosmic Strings

Large-scale magnetic fields are observed today to be coherent on galactic scales. While there exists an explanation for their amplification and their specific configuration in spiral galaxies -- the dynamo mechanism -- a satisfying explanation for the original seed fields required is still lacking. Cosmic strings are compelling candidates because of their scaling properties, which would guarantee the coherence on cosmological scales of any resultant magnetic fields at the time of galaxy formation. We present a mechanism for the production of primordial seed magnetic fields from heterotic cosmic strings arising from M theory. More specifically, we make use of heterotic cosmic strings stemming from M5--branes wrapped around four of the compact internal dimensions. These objects are stable on cosmological time scales and carry charged zero modes. Therefore a scaling solution of such defects will generate seed magnetic fields which are coherent on galactic scales today.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

On the Transfer of Adiabatic Fluctuations through a Nonsingular Cosmological Bounce

We study the transfer of cosmological perturbations through a nonsingular cosmological bounce in a special model in which the parameters of the bounce and the equation of state of matter are chosen such as to allow for an exact calculation of the evolution of the fluctuations. We find that the growing mode of the metric fluctuations in the contracting phase goes over into the growing mode in the expanding phase, a result which is different from what is obtained in analyses in which fluctuations are matched at a singular hypersurface. Consequences for Ekpyrotic cosmology are discussed in a limit when the equation of state of a fluid becomes large.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Chern-Simons Modified Gravity as a Torsion Theory and its Interaction with Fermions

We study the tetrad formulation of Chern-Simons (CS) modified gravity, which adds a Pontryagin term to the Einstein-Hilbert action with a spacetime-dependent coupling field. We first verify that CS modified gravity leads to a theory with torsion, where this tensor is given by an antisymmetric product of the Riemann tensor and derivatives of the CS coupling. We then calculate the torsion in the far field of a weakly gravitating source within the parameterized post-Newtonian formalism, and specialize the result to Earth. We find that CS torsion vanishes only if the coupling vanishes, thus generically leading to a modification of gyroscopic precession, irrespective of the coupling choice. Perhaps most interestingly, we couple fermions to CS modified gravity via the standard Dirac action and find that these further correct the torsion tensor. Such a correction leads to two new results: (i) a generic enhancement of CS modified gravity by the Dirac equation and axial fermion currents; (ii) a new two-fermion interactions, mediated by an axial current and the CS correction. We conclude with a discussion of the consequences of these results in particle detectors and realistic astrophysical systems.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2007

A gravitational-wave probe of effective quantum gravity

The Green-Schwarz anomaly-cancelling mechanism in string theories requires a Chern-Simons term in the Einstein-Hilbert action, which leads to an amplitude birefringence of spacetime for the propagation of gravitational waves. While the degree of birefringence may be intrinsically small, its effects on a gravitational wave will accumulate as the wave propagates. The proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be sensitive enough to observe the gravitational waves from sources at cosmological distances great enough that interesting bounds on the Chern-Simons may be found. Here we evaluate the effect of a Chern-Simons induced spacetime birefringence to the propagation of gravitational waves from such systems. We find that gravitational waves from in coalescing binary black hole system are imprinted with a signature of Chern-Simons gravity. This signature appears as a time-dependent change in the apparent orientation of the binary's orbital angular momentum with respect to the observer line-of-sight, with the change magnitude reflecting the integrated history of the Chern-Simons coupling over the worldline of a radiation wavefront. While spin-orbit coupling in the binary system will also lead to an evolution of the system's orbital angular momentum, the time dependence and other details of this \emph{real} effect are different than the \emph{apparent} effect produced by Chern-Simons birefringence, allowing the two effects to be separately identified.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2007

A new PPN parameter to test Chern-Simons gravity

We study Chern-Simons (CS) gravity in the parameterized post-Newtonian (PPN) framework through a weak-field solution of the modified field equations. We find that CS gravity possesses the same PPN parameters as general relativity, except for the inclusion of a new term, proportional to the CS coupling and the curl of the PPN vector potential. This new term leads to a modification of frame dragging and gyroscopic precession and we provide an estimate of its size. This correction might be used in experiments, such as Gravity Probe B, to bound CS gravity and test string theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Parametrized Post-Newtonian Expansion of Chern-Simons Gravity

We investigate the weak-field, post-Newtonian expansion to the solution of the field equations in Chern-Simons gravity with a perfect fluid source. In particular, we study the mapping of this solution to the parameterized post-Newtonian formalism to 1 PN order in the metric. We find that the PPN parameters of Chern-Simons gravity are identical to those of general relativity, with the exception of the inclusion of a new term that is proportional to the Chern-Simons coupling parameter and the curl of the PPN vector potentials. We also find that the new term is naturally enhanced by the non-linearity of spacetime and we provide a physical interpretation for it. By mapping this correction to the gravito-electro-magnetic framework, we study the corrections that this new term introduces to the acceleration of point particles and the frame-dragging effect in gyroscopic precession. We find that the Chern-Simons correction to these classical predictions could be used by current and future experiments to place bounds on intrinsic parameters of Chern-Simons gravity and, thus, string theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Reheating, Dark Matter and Baryon Asymmetry: a Triple Coincidence in Inflationary Models

A scenario in which primeval black holes (PBHs) form at the end of an extended inflationary period is capable of producing, via Hawking radiation, the observed entropy, as well as the observed dark matter density in the form of Planck mass relics. The observed net baryon asymmetry is produced by sphaleron processes in the domain wall surrounding the PBHs as they evaporate around the electroweak transition epoch. The conditions required to satisfy these three observables determines the PBH formation epoch, which can be associated with the end of inflation, at $t\sim 10^{-32}\s$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

The Hubble Web: The Dark Matter Problem and Cosmic Strings

I propose a reinterpretation of cosmic dark matter in which a rigid network of cosmic strings formed at the end of inflation. The cosmic strings fulfill three functions: At recombination they provide an accretion mechanism for virializing baryonic and warm dark matter into disks. These cosmic strings survive as configurations which thread spiral and elliptical galaxies leading to the observed flatness of rotation curves and the Tully-Fisher relation. We find a relationship between the rotational velocity of the galaxy and the string tension and discuss the testability of this model.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

A fine tuning free resolution of the cosmological constant problem

In a recent paper we discovered that a fermionic condensate is formed from gravitational interactions due to the covariant coupling of fermions in the presence of a torsion-fermion contact interaction. The condensate gap gives a negative contribution to the bare cosmological constant. In this letter, we show that the cosmological constant problem can be solved without fine tuning of the bare cosmological constant. We demonstrate how a universe with a large initial cosmological constant undergoes inflation, during which time the energy gap grows as the volume of the universe. Eventually the gap becomes large enough to cancel out the bare cosmological term, inflation ends and we end up in a universe with an almost vanishing cosmological term. We provide a detailed numerical analysis of the system of equations governing the self regulating relaxation of the cosmological constant.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

A Quantum Gravitational Relaxation of The Cosmological Constant

Similar to QCD, general relativity has a $Θ$ sector due to large diffeomorphisms. We make explicit, for the first time, that the gravitational CP violating $Θ$ parameter is non-perturbatively related to the cosmological constant. A gravitational pseudoscalar coupling to massive fermions gives rise to general relativity from a topological $B\wedge F$ theory through a chiral symmetry breaking mechanism. We show that a gravitational Peccei-Quinn like mechanism can dynamically relax the cosmological constant.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Fermionic sectors for the Kodama state

Diffeomorphisms not connected to the identity can act nontrivially on the quantum state space for gravity. However, in stark contrast to the case of nonabelian Yang-Mills field theories, for which the quantum state space is always in 1 dimensional representation of the large gauge transformations, the quantum state space for gravity can have higher dimensional representations. In particular, the Kodama state will have 2 dimensional representations, that is sectors with spin 1/2, for many topologies that admit positive scalar curvature. The existence of these spin 1/2 states are used to point out a possible answer to certain criticisms raised recently in the literature.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2004

In the Realm of the Geometric Transitions

We complete the duality cycle by constructing the geometric transition duals in the type IIB, type I and heterotic theories. We show that in the type IIB theory the background on the closed string side is a Kahler deformed conifold, as expected, even though the mirror type IIA backgrounds are non-Kahler (both before and after the transition). On the other hand, the Type I and heterotic backgrounds are non-Kahler. Therefore, on the heterotic side these backgrounds give rise to new torsional manifolds that have not been studied before. We show the consistency of these backgrounds by verifying the torsional equation.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Birefringent Gravitational Waves and the Consistency Check of Inflation

In this work we show that the gravitational Chern-Simons term, aside from being a key ingredient in inflationary baryogenesis, modifies super-horizon gravitational waves produced during inflation. We compute the super-Hubble gravitational power spectrum in the slow-roll approximation and show that its overall amplitude is modified while its spectral index remains unchanged (at leading order in the slow-roll parameters). Then, we calculate the correction to the tensor to scalar ratio, T/S. We find a correction of T/S which is dependent on $\cal{N}$ (more precisely quadratic in ${\cal N}$), the parameter characterizing the amplitude of the Chern-Simons terms. In a stringy embedding of the leptogenesis mechanism, $\cal{N}$ is the ratio between the Planck scale and the fundamental string scale. Thus, in principle, we provide a direct probe of leptogenesis due to stringy dynamics in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). However, we demonstrate that the corresponding correction of T/S is in fact very small and not observable in the regime where our calculations are valid. To obtain a sizable effect, we argue that a non-linear calculation is necessary.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Quantum Gravity and Inflation

Using the Ashtekar-Sen variables of loop quantum gravity, a new class of exact solutions to the equations of quantum cosmology is found for gravity coupled to a scalar field, that corresponds to inflating universes. The scalar field, which has an arbitrary potential, is treated as a time variable, reducing the hamiltonian constraint to a time-dependent Schroedinger equation. When reduced to the homogeneous and isotropic case, this is solved exactly by a set of solutions that extend the Kodama state, taking into account the time dependence of the vacuum energy. Each quantum state corresponds to a classical solution of the Hamiltonian-Jacobi equation. The study of the latter shows evidence for an attractor, suggesting a universality in the phenomena of inflation. Finally, wavepackets can be constructed by superposing solutions with different ratios of kinetic to potential scalar field energy, resolving, at least in this case, the issue of normalizability of the Kodama state.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

The Gravitational Instability of the Vacuum: Insight into the Cosmological Constant Problem

A mechanism for suppressing the cosmological constant is developed, based on an analogy with a superconducting phaseshift in which free fermions coupled perturbatively to a weak gravitational field are in an unstable false vacuum state. The coupling of the fermions to the gravitational field generates fermion condensates with zero momentum and a phase transition induces a nonperturbative transition to a true vacuum state by producing a positive energy gap $Δ$ in the vacuum energy, identified with $\sqrtΛ$, where $Λ$ is the cosmological constant. In the strong coupling limit a large cosmological constant induces a period of inflation in the early universe, followed by a weak coupling limit in which $\sqrtΛ$ vanishes exponentially fast as the universe expands due to the dependence of the energy gap on the density of Fermi surface fermions, $D(ε)$, predicting a small cosmological constant in the present universe.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Non-Topological Inflation from Embedded Defects

We discuss a new mechanism of obtaining a period of cosmological inflation in the context of string theory. This mechanism is based on embedded defects which form dynamically on higher dimensional D-branes. Such defects generate topological inflation, but unlike topological inflation from stable defects, here there is a natural graceful exit from inflation: the decay of the embedded defect. We demonstrate the idea in the context of a brane-antibrane annihilation process. The graceful exit mechanism suggested here applies generically to all realizations of inflation on D-branes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2001

Quintessence and variation of the fine structure constant in the CMBR

We study dependence of the CMB temperature anisotropy spectrum on the value of the fine structure constant $α$ and the equation of state of the dark energy component of the total density of the universe. We find that bounds imposed on the variation of $α$ from the analysis of currently available CMB data sets can be significantly relaxed if one also allows for a change in the equation of state.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Non-Commutative Inflation

We show how a radiation dominated universe subject to space-time quantization may give rise to inflation as the radiation temperature exceeds the Planck temperature. We consider dispersion relations with a maximal momentum (i.e. a mimimum Compton wavelength, or quantum of space), noting that some of these lead to a trans-Planckian branch where energy increases with decreasing momenta. This feature translates into negative radiation pressure and, in well-defined circumstances, into an inflationary equation of state. We thus realize the inflationary scenario without the aid of an inflaton field. As the radiation cools down below the Planck temperature, inflation gracefully exits into a standard Big Bang universe, dispensing with a period of reheating. Thermal fluctuations in the radiation bath will in this case generate curvature fluctuations on cosmological scales whose amplitude and spectrum can be tuned to agree with observations.

hep-th↗