Compact Spatial Sections Research Articles

A new observable for holographic cosmology

The double-cone geometry is a saddle of the gravitational path integral, which explains the chaotic statistics of the spectrum of black hole microstates. This geometry is the usual AdS-Schwarzschild black hole, but with a periodic identification of the time coordinate; the resulting singularity at the black hole horizon is regulated by making the geometry slightly complex. Here, we consider generalizations of the double-cone geometry which include the Lorentzian cosmology that sits between the event horizon and the black hole singularity. We analyze this in two and three dimensions, where the cosmology has compact spatial sections and big bang/crunch singularities. These singularities are regulated in the same way by slightly complexifying the metric. We show that this is possible while satisfying the Kontsevich-Segal criterion, implying that these geometries can be interpreted as perturbatively stable saddle points in general relativity. This procedure leads to a novel description of the cosmology in terms of standard observables in the dual boundary CFT. In three dimensions, the cosmological solution gives a new contribution to the two-point function of the density of states in the boundary CFT. Unlike the usual double cone, it describes correlations between black hole microstates with different masses, and in a limit describes correlations between the statistics of heavy states and states near the BTZ threshold.

Vacua in locally de Sitter cosmologies, and how to distinguish them

(1+1)-dimensional locally de Sitter–Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies with compact spatial sections allow cosh, sinh, and exponential evolution laws, each with a freely specifiable spatial circumference parameter, and the value of this parameter has an invariant geometric meaning for the cosh and sinh evolution laws. We identify geometrically preferred states for a quantized massive scalar field on these cosmologies, some singled out by adiabatic criteria in the distant past, with an ambiguity remaining due to a massive zero mode, and others induced from the Euclidean vacuum on standard (1+1)-dimensional de Sitter space by a quotient construction. We show that a comoving quantum observer, modelled as an Unruh-DeWitt detector, can distinguish these states from the Euclidean vacuum on standard de Sitter space. Numerical plots are given in selected parameter regimes. We also evaluate the field’s stress-energy tensor expectation value for those states that are induced from the Euclidean vacuum by a quotient construction. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Inflation and Fractional Quantum Cosmology

The Wheeler–DeWitt equation for a flat and compact Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker cosmology at the pre-inflation epoch is studied in the contexts of the standard and fractional quantum cosmology. Working within the semiclassical regime and applying the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation, we show that some fascinating consequences are obtained for our simple fractional scenario that are completely different from their corresponding standard counterparts: (i) The conventional de Sitter behavior of the inflationary universe for constant potential is replaced by a power-law inflation. (ii) The non-locality of the Riesz’s fractional derivative produces a power-law inflation that depends on the fractal dimension of the compact spatial section of space-time, independent of the energy scale of the inflaton.

Electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations and topologically induced motion of a charged particle

We show that nontrivial topologies of the spatial section of Minkowski space–time allow for motion of a charged particle under quantum vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. This is a potentially observable effect of these fluctuations. We derive the mean squared velocity dispersion when the charged particle lies in Minkowski space–time with compact spatial sections in one, two and/or three directions. We concretely examine the details of these stochastic motions when the spatial section is endowed with different globally homogeneous and inhomogeneous topologies. We also show that compactification in just one direction of the spatial section of Minkowski space–time is sufficient to give rise to velocity dispersion components in the compact and noncompact directions. The question as to whether these stochastic motions under vacuum fluctuations can locally be used to unveil global (topological) homogeneity and inhomogeneity is discussed. In globally homogeneous space topologically induced velocity dispersion of a charged particle is the same regardless of the particle’s position, whereas in globally inhomogeneous the time-evolution of the velocity depends on the particle’s position. Finally, by using the Minkowskian topological limit of globally homogeneous spaces we show that the greater is the value of the compact topological length the longer is the time interval within which the velocity dispersion of a charged particle is negligible. This means that no motion of a charged particle under electromagnetic quantum fluctuations is allowed when Minkowski space–time is endowed with the simply-connected spatial topology. The ultimate ground for such stochastic motion of charged particle under electromagnetic quantum vacuum fluctuations is a nontrivial space topology.

Finite action principle revisited

We extend the cosmological predictions from assuming the total action of the universe is finite. When initial and final singularities in curvature invariants are avoided, it leads to singularities in the gravitational action of the universe. The following properties are required of a universe with finite action: Compact spatial sections (ie a closed universe) giving a finite total lifetime for the universe. Compactification of flat and open universes is excluded. The universe can contain perfect fluids with -1<p/\r{ho}<2 on approach to singularities. The universe cannot display a bounce' or indefinite cyclic behaviour to the past or the future. We find new consequences of imposing finite action: the universe cannot be dominated by massless scalar fields, the kinetic energy of scalar fields, or a p=\r{ho} perfect fluid on approach to the initial or final singularity The ekpyrotic scenario with an effective fluid obeying p/\r{ho}>2 in a closed, flat or open universe is excluded. Any bouncing model with indefinite past or future evolution is ruled out. Einstein static and steady-state universes are ruled out along with past or future eternal inflating universes. Anisotropies cannot dominate the dynamics at singularities. This excludes density inhomogeneity spectra versus mass, of the form {\delta}\r{ho}/\r{ho}proportional to M^{-q}, with q>2/3.Higher-order lagrangian theories of gravity are constrained. The Gauss-Bonnet combination causes an action singularity even though it does not contribute terms to the field equations. Scalar-tensor theories dominated by the scalar field on approach to singularities have action singularities. Dark energy cannot be a cosmological constant. The dark energy must evolve in a closed universe that collapses to a future singularity that cannot be dominated by the kinetic energy of the scalar field.

Einstein–Weyl spaces and near-horizon geometry

We show that a class of solutions of minimal supergravity in five dimensions is given by lifts of three-dimensional Einstein–Weyl structures of hyper-CR type. We characterise this class as most general near-horizon limits of supersymmetric solutions to the five-dimensional theory. In particular we deduce that a compact spatial section of a horizon can only be a Berger sphere, a product metric on or a flat three-torus.We then consider the problem of reconstructing all supersymmetric solutions from a given near-horizon geometry. By exploiting the ellipticity of the linearised field equations we demonstrate that the moduli space of transverse infinitesimal deformations of a near-horizon geometry is finite-dimensional.

Unitary evolution and uniqueness of the Fock representation of Dirac fields in cosmological spacetimes

We present a privileged Fock quantization of a massive Dirac field in a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology, partially selected by the criteria of invariance of the vacuum under the symmetries of the field equations, and unitary implementation of the dynamics. When quantizing free scalar fields in homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes with compact spatial sections, these criteria have been shown to pick out a unique Fock representation (up to unitary equivalence). Here, we employ the same criteria for fermion fields and explore whether that uniqueness result can be extended to the case of the Fock quantization of fermions. For the massive Dirac field, we start by introducing a specific choice of the complex structure that determines the Fock representation. Such structure is invariant under the symmetries of the equations of motion. We then prove that the corresponding representation of the canonical anticommutation relations admits a unitary implementation of the dynamics. Moreover, we construct a rather general class of representations that satisfy the above criteria, and we demonstrate that they are all unitarily equivalent to our previous choice. The complex structures in this class are restricted only by certain conditions on their asymptotic behavior for modes in the ultraviolet sector of the Dirac operator. We finally show that, if one assumes that these asymptotic conditions are in fact trivial once our criteria are fulfilled, then the time-dependent scaling in the definition of the fermionic annihilation and creation-like variables is essentially unique.

Dynamical symmetry enhancement near IIA horizons

We show that smooth type IIA Killing horizons with compact spatial sections preserve an even number of supersymmetries, and that the symmetry algebra of horizons with non-trivial fluxes includes an sl(2,R) subalgebra. This confirms the conjecture of [1] for type IIA horizons. As an intermediate step in the proof, we also demonstrate new Lichnerowicz type theorems for spin bundle connections whose holonomy is contained in a general linear group.

Gauge-invariant perturbations in hybrid quantum cosmology

We consider cosmological perturbations around homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes minimally coupled to a scalar field and present a formulation which is designed to preserve covariance. We truncate the action at quadratic perturbative order and particularize our analysis to flat compact spatial sections and a field potential given by a mass term, although the formalism can be extended to other topologies and potentials. The perturbations are described in terms of Mukhanov-Sasaki gauge invariants, linear perturbative constraints, and variables canonically conjugate to them. This set is completed into a canonical one for the entire system, including the homogeneous degrees of freedom. We find the global Hamiltonian constraint of the model, in which the contribution of the homogeneous sector is corrected with a term quadratic in the perturbations, that can be identified as the Mukhanov-Sasaki Hamiltonian in our formulation. We then adopt a hybrid approach to quantize the model, combining a quantum representation of the homogeneous sector with a more standard field quantization of the perturbations. Covariance is guaranteed in this approach inasmuch as no gauge fixing is adopted. Next, we adopt a Born-Oppenheimer ansatz for physical states and show how to obtain a Schrödinger-like equation for the quantum evolution of the perturbations. This evolution is governed by the Mukhanov-Sasaki Hamiltonian, with the dependence on the homogeneous geometry evaluated at quantum expectation values, and with a time parameter defined also in terms of suitable expectation values on that geometry. Finally, we derive effective equations for the dynamics of the Mukhanov-Sasaki gauge invariants, that include quantum contributions, but have the same ultraviolet limit as the classical equations. They provide the master equation to extract predictions about the power spectrum of primordial scalar perturbations.

Pure quasifree states of the Dirac field from the fermionic projector

We consider the quantized free massive Dirac field on oriented and globally hyperbolic ultrastatic slab spacetimes with compact spatial section and demonstrate how a gauge invariant, pure and quasifree state on the C*-completion of the self-dual CAR-algebra can be extracted from the fermionic projector construction of Finster and Reintjes. This state is analogous to the ‘SJ-state’ of the free scalar field recently discussed in the literature. We prove that this state generically fails to be Hadamard. However, we also show how a modified version of the construction, inspired by the work of Brum and Fredenhagen, yields states that are Hadamard. We also relate the Hadamard condition to the finiteness of fluctuations of Wick polynomials.

Removing the Faddeev-Popov zero modes from Yang-Mills theory in spacetimes with compact spatial sections

It is well known that in de Sitter space the (free) minimally coupled massless scalar field theory does not admit any de Sitter--invariant Hadamard state. Related to this is the fact that the propagator for the massive scalar field corresponding to the de Sitter--invariant vacuum state diverges in the massless limit, with the infrared-divergent term being a constant. Since the Faddeev-Popov ghosts for the covariantly quantized Yang-Mills theory are minimally coupled massless scalar fields, it might appear that de Sitter symmetry would be broken in the ghost sector of Yang-Mills theory in de Sitter space. It is shown in this paper that the modes responsible for de Sitter symmetry breaking can be removed in a way consistent with BRST invariance and that a de Sitter--invariant theory can be constructed. More generally, it is shown that the spatially constant modes (the zero modes) of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts can be disposed of in a wide class of spacetimes with compact spatial sections. Then, the effective theory obtained by removing the zero modes, which contains a nonlocal interaction term, is shown to be equivalent to the theory corresponding to using a Faddeev-Popov-ghost propagator with the constant infrared-divergent term removed, provided that one can freely integrate by parts in the spacetime integral at the vertex for the ghost interaction term.

Loop Quantum Cosmological Perturbations

In the context of loop quantum cosmology, we provide a complete quantization of an inhomogeneous inflationary model consisting of a perturbed Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe filled with a minimally coupled massive scalar field. We focus on the case of flat, compact spatial sections. After fixing the local gauge freedom, the kinematical Hilbert space is constructed by combining the representation used in loop quantum cosmology for the homogeneous sector with a preferred Fock quantization of the inhomogeneities. We characterize the physical states annihilated by the quantum Hamiltonian constraint and discuss the evolution of the inhomogeneities in the presence of an emergent relational time.

Unitary evolution and uniqueness of the Fock quantization in flat cosmologies

We study the Fock quantization of scalar fields with a time dependent mass in cosmological scenarios with flat compact spatial sections. This framework describes physically interesting situations like, e.g., cosmological perturbations in flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetimes, generally including a suitable scaling of them by a background function. We prove that the requirements of vacuum invariance under the spatial isometries and of a unitary quantum dynamics select (a) a unique canonical pair of field variables among all those related by time dependent canonical transformations which scale the field configurations, and (b) a unique Fock representation for the canonical commutation relations of this pair of variables. The proof is generalizable to any compact spatial topology in three or less dimensions, though we focus on the case of the three-torus owing to the especially relevant implications.

Uniqueness of the Fock quantization of scalar fields under mode preserving canonical transformations varying in time

We study the Fock quantization of scalar fields of Klein-Gordon type in nonstationary scenarios propagating in spacetimes with compact spatial sections, allowing for different field descriptions that are related by means of certain nonlocal linear canonical transformations that depend on time. More specifically, we consider transformations that do not mix eigenmodes of the Laplace-Beltrami operator, which are supposed to be dynamically decoupled. In addition, we assume that the canonical transformations admit an asymptotic expansion for large eigenvalues (in norm) of the Laplace-Beltrami operator in the form of a series of half integer powers. Canonical transformations of this kind are found in the study of scalar perturbations in inflationary cosmologies, relating for instance the physical degrees of freedom of these perturbations after gauge fixing with gauge invariant canonical pairs of Bardeen quantities. We characterize all possible transformations of this type and show that, independently of the initial field description, the combined criterion of requiring (i) invariance of the vacuum under the spatial symmetries and (ii) a unitary implementation of the dynamics, leads to a unique equivalence class of Fock quantizations, all of them related by unitary transformations. This conclusion provides even further robustness to the validity of the proposed criterion, completing the results that have already appeared in the literature about the uniqueness of the Fock quantization under changes of field description when one permits exclusively local time dependent canonical transformations that scale the field configuration.

The Universal Phase Space of AdS3 Gravity

We describe what can be called the "universal" phase space of AdS3 gravity, in which the moduli spaces of globally hyperbolic AdS spacetimes with compact spatial sections, as well as the moduli spaces of multi-black-hole spacetimes are realized as submanifolds. The universal phase space is parametrized by two copies of the Universal Teichm\"uller space T(1) and is obtained from the correspondence between maximal surfaces in AdS3 and quasisymmetric homeomorphisms of the unit circle. We also relate our parametrization to the Chern-Simons formulation of 2+1 gravity and, infinitesimally, to the holographic (Fefferman-Graham) description. In particular, we obtain a relation between the generators of quasiconformal deformations in each T(1) sector and the chiral Brown-Henneaux vector fields. We also relate the charges arising in the holographic description (such as the mass and angular momentum of an AdS3 spacetime) to the periods of the quadratic differentials arising via the Bers embedding of T(1)xT(1). Our construction also yields a symplectic map from T*T(1) to T(1)xT(1) generalizing the well-known Mess map in the compact spatial surface setting.

Massless scalar field vacuum in de Sitter spacetime

As a spacetime with compact spatial sections, de Sitter spacetime does not have a de Sitter-invariant ground state for a minimally-coupled massless scalar field that gives definite expectation values for any observables not invariant under constant shifts of the field. However, if one restricts to observables that are shift invariant, as the action is, then there is a unique vacuum state. Here we calculate the shift-invariant four-point function that is the vacuum expectation value of the product of the difference of the field values at one pair of points and of the difference of the field values at a second pair of points. We show that this vacuum expectation value obeys a cluster-decomposition property of vanishing in the limit that the one pair of points is moved arbitrarily far from the other pair. We also calculate the shift-invariant correlation of the gradient of the scalar field at two different points and show that it also obeys a cluster-decomposition property. Possible relevance to a putative de Sitter-invariant quantum state for gravity is discussed.

Unique Fock quantization of scalar cosmological perturbations

We investigate the ambiguities in the Fock quantization of the scalar perturbations of a Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker model with a massive scalar field as matter content. We consider the case of compact spatial sections (thus avoiding infrared divergences), with the topology of a three-sphere. After expanding the perturbations in series of eigenfunctions of the Laplace-Beltrami operator, the Hamiltonian of the system is written up to quadratic order in them. We fix the gauge of the local degrees of freedom in two different ways, reaching in both cases the same qualitative results. A canonical transformation, which includes the scaling of the matter field perturbations by the scale factor of the geometry, is performed in order to arrive at a convenient formulation of the system. We then study the quantization of these perturbations in the classical background determined by the homogeneous variables. Based on previous work, we introduce a Fock representation for the perturbations in which: (a) the complex structure is invariant under the isometries of the spatial sections and (b) the field dynamics is implemented as a unitary operator. These two properties select not only a unique unitary equivalence class of representations, but also a preferred field description, picking up a canonical pair of field variables among all those that can be obtained by means of a time-dependent scaling of the matter field (completed into a linear canonical transformation). Finally, we present an equivalent quantization constructed in terms of gauge-invariant quantities. We prove that this quantization can be attained by a mode-by-mode time-dependent linear canonical transformation which admits a unitary implementation, so that it is also uniquely determined.

Chiral modulations in curved space I: formalism

The goal of this paper is to present a formalism that allows to handle four-fermion effective theories at finite temperature and density in curved space. The formalism is based on the use of the effective action and zeta function regularization, supports the inclusion of inhomogeneous and anisotropic phases. One of the key points of the method is the use of a non-perturbative ansatz for the heat-kernel that returns the effective action in partially resummed form, providing a way to go beyond the approximations based on the Ginzburg-Landau expansion for the partition function. The effective action for the case of ultra-static Riemannian spacetimes with compact spatial section is discussed in general and a series representation, valid when the chemical potential satisfies a certain constraint, is derived. To see the formalism at work, we consider the case of static Einstein spaces at zero chemical potential. Although in this case we expect inhomogeneous phases to occur only as meta-stable states, the problem is complex enough and allows to illustrate how to implement numerical studies of inhomogeneous phases in curved space. Finally, we extend the formalism to include arbitrary chemical potentials and obtain the analytical continuation of the effective action in curved space.

Dyons inN=4gauged supergravity

We study monopole and dyon solutions to the equations of motion of the bosonic sector of N = 4 gauged supergravity in four dimensional space-time. A static, spherically symmetric ansatz for the metric, gauge fields, dilaton and axion leads to soliton solutions which, in the electrically charged case, have compact spatial sections. Both analytical and numerical results for the solutions are presented.

Brane-world creation and black holes

An inflating brane-world can be created from ``nothing'' together with its Anti-de Sitter (AdS) bulk. The resulting space-time has compact spatial sections bounded by the brane. During inflation, the continuum of KK modes is separated from the massless zero mode by the gap $m=(3/2) H$, where $H$ is the Hubble rate. We consider the analog of the Nariai solution and argue that it describes pair production of ``Black cigars'' attached to the inflating brane. In the case when the size of the instantons is much larger than the AdS radius, the 5-dimensional action agrees with the 4-dimensional one. Hence, the 5D and 4D gravitational entropies are the same in this limit. We also consider thermal instantons with an AdS black hole in the bulk. These may be interpreted as describing the creation of a hot universe from nothing, or the production of AdS black holes in the vicinity of a pre-existing inflating brane-world. The Lorentzian evolution of the brane-world after creation is briefly discussed. An additional "integration constant" in the Friedmann equation -accompanying a term which dilutes like radiation- describes the tidal force in the fifth direction and arises from the mass of a spherical object inside the bulk. This could be a 5-dimensional black hole or a "parallel" brane-world of negative tension concentrical with our brane-world. In the case of thermal solutions, and in the spirit of the $AdS/CFT$ correspondence, one may attribute the additional term to thermal radiation in the boundary theory. Then, for temperatures well below the AdS scale, the entropy of this radiation agrees with the entropy of the black hole in the AdS bulk.