Invariant Field Research Articles

On-shell effective field theory and quantum transport for hard photons

We develop an effective field theory for the description of high energetic or hard photons, the on-shell effective theory (OSEFT). The OSEFT describes the so-called eikonal or semiclassical optical limit, allowing for corrections organized in a systematic expansion on inverse powers of the photon energy. We derive the OSEFT from the Maxwell Lagrangian and study its different properties, such as the gauge symmetry and reparametrization invariance. The theory can be finally formulated in terms of a gauge invariant vector gauge field, without the need to introduce gauge-fixing. We then use the OSEFT to compute corrections to the Wigner photon function and derive its associated side jump effect from reparametrization invariance. Finally, we discuss how to properly define the Stokes parameters from transport theory once quantum effects are considered, so as to preserve their well-defined properties under Lorentz transformations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

T-Minkowski noncommutative spacetimes II: classical field theory

Abstract This paper is the second part of a series that develops the mathematical framework necessary for studying field theories on “T-Minkowski” noncommutative spacetimes. These spacetimes constitute a class of noncommutative geometries, introduced in Part I, that are each invariant under distinct quantum group deformations of the Poincaré group. All these noncommutative geometries possess certain physically desirable characteristics, which allow me to develop all the tools of differential geometry and functional analysis, that are necessary in order to build consistent and T-Poincaré invariant noncommutative classical field theories.

Conformally invariant random fields, Liouville quantum gravity measures, and random Paneitz operators on Riemannian manifolds of even dimension

AbstractFor large classes of even‐dimensional Riemannian manifolds , we construct and analyze conformally invariant random fields. These centered Gaussian fields , called co‐polyharmonic Gaussian fields, are characterized by their covariance kernels k which exhibit a precise logarithmic divergence: . They share a fundamental quasi‐invariance property under conformal transformations. In terms of the co‐polyharmonic Gaussian field , we define the Liouville Quantum Gravity measure, a random measure on , heuristically given as and rigorously obtained as almost sure weak limit of the right‐hand side with replaced by suitable regular approximations . In terms on the Liouville Quantum Gravity measure, we define the Liouville Brownian motion on and the random GJMS operators. Finally, we present an approach to a conformal field theory in arbitrary even dimension with an ansatz based on Branson's ‐curvature: we give a rigorous meaning to the Polyakov–Liouville measure and we derive the corresponding conformal anomaly. The set of admissible manifolds is conformally invariant. It includes all compact 2‐dimensional Riemannian manifolds, all compact non‐negatively curved Einstein manifolds of even dimension, and large classes of compact hyperbolic manifolds of even dimension. However, not every compact even‐dimensional Riemannian manifold is admissible. Our results concerning the logarithmic divergence of the kernel rely on new sharp estimates for heat kernels and higher order Green kernels on arbitrary closed manifolds.

Covariant and manifestly projective invariant formulation of Thomas-Whitehead gravity

Thomas-Whitehead (TW) gravity is a recently formulated projectively invariant extension of Einstein-Hilbert gravity. Projective geometry was used long ago by Thomas to succinctly package equivalent paths encoded by the geodesic equation. Projective invariance in gravity has further origins in string theory through a geometric action constructed from the method of coadjoint orbits using the Virasoro algebra. A projectively invariant connection arises from this construction, a part of which is known as the diffeomorphism field. TW gravity exploits projective Gauss-Bonnet terms in the action functional to endow the diffeomorphism field with dynamics, while allowing the theory to collapse to general relativity in the limit that the diffeomorphism field vanishes and the connection becomes Levi-Civita. In the original formulation of TW gravity, the diffeomorphism field is projectively invariant but not tensorial and the connection is projectively invariant but not affine. In this paper we reformulate TW gravity in terms of projectively invariant tensor fields and a projectively invariant covariant derivative, derive field equations respecting these symmetries, and show that the field equations obtained are classically equivalent across formulations. This provides a “Rosetta Stone” between this newly constructed covariant and projective invariant formulation of TW gravity and the original formulation that was manifestly projective invariant, but not covariant. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Thermodynamically Consistent Evolution Equations in Continuum Mechanics

This paper addresses the modelling of material behaviour in terms of differential (or rate) equations. To comply with the objectivity principle, recourse is made to invariant fields in the Lagrangian description or to objective time derivatives in the Eulerian description. The thermodynamic consistency is investigated in terms of the Clausius–Duhem inequality with two unusual features. Firstly, the (non-negative) entropy production is viewed as a constitutive function per se. Secondly, the inequality is viewed as a constraint on the pertinent fields and it is solved by using a representation formula, which allows for the the admissibility of a class of models. For definiteness, models of heat conduction are established, within Lagrangian descriptions, while models of the Navier–Stokes–Voigt fluid are investigated within Eulerian descriptions. In connection with thermo-viscous fluids, evolution equations are investigated within the Eulerian description. It is shown that the thermodynamic consistency is compatible with both objective and non-objective evolution equations.

On the Trajectories of a Particle in a Translation Invariant Involutive Field

On the Trajectories of a Particle in a Translation Invariant Involutive Field

Symmetry restoration in transverse diffeomorphism invariant scalar field theories

Symmetry restoration in transverse diffeomorphism invariant scalar field theories

Effective Abelian lattice gauge field theories for scalar-matter-monopole interactions

We present a gauge and Lorentz invariant effective field theory model for the interaction of a charged scalar matter field with a magnetic monopole source, described by an external magnetic current. The quantum fluctuations of the monopole field are described effectively by a strongly coupled “dual” Ud(1) gauge field, which is independent of the electromagnetic Uem(1) gauge field. The effective interactions of the charged matter with the monopole source are described by a gauge invariant mixed Chern-Simons-like (Pontryagin-density) term between the two U(1) gauge fields. The latter interaction coupling is left free, and a lattice study of the system is performed with the aim of determining the phase structure of this effective theory. Our study shows that, in the spontaneously broken-symmetry phase, the monopole source triggers, via the mixed Chern-Simons term, which is nontrivial in its presence, the generation of a dynamical singular configuration (magnetic-monopolelike) for the respective gauge fields. The scalar field also behaves in the broken phase in a way similar to that of the scalar sector of the ’t Hooft-Polyakov monopole. Moreover, we show that the modest size of the lattices involved does not have significant effects on the main conclusions of our analysis. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Order parameters for gauge invariant condensation far from equilibrium

Nuclear collisions at sufficiently high energies are expected to produce far-from-equilibrium matter with a high density of gluons at early times. We show gauge condensation, which occurs as a consequence of the large density of gluons. To identify this condensation phenomenon, we construct two local gauge invariant observables that carry the macroscopic zero mode of the gauge condensate. The first order parameter for gauge condensation investigated here is the correlator of the spatial Polyakov loop. We also consider, for the first time, the correlator of the gauge invariant scalar field, associated with the exponent of the Polyakov loop. Using real-time lattice simulations of classical-statistical SU(2) gauge theory, we find gauge condensation on a system-size-dependent timescale tcond∼L1/ζ with a universal scaling exponent ζ. Furthermore, we suggest an effective theory formulation describing the dynamics using one of the order parameters identified. The formation of a condensate at early times may have intriguing implications for the early stages in heavy-ion collisions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Dilaton in a multicritical 3+epsilon-D parity violating field theory

The multi-critical behavior of an approximately scale and conformal invariant quantum field theory, which can be regarded as the deformation of the critical Gross-Neveu model in 3+epsilon dimensions by a nearly marginal parity violating operator, is studied using a large N expansion. When epsilon is greater than a number of order 1/N, the deformation is marginally relevant and it is found to exhibit spontaneous breaking of the approximate scale symmetry accompanied by the appearance of a light scalar in its spectrum. The scalar mass is parametrically small, of order epsilon times the fermion mass and it can be identified with a light dilaton. When the dimension is reduced to 3 the deformation of the Gross-Neveu model becomes marginally irrelevant, what was a minimum of the potential becomes a maximum and the theory has a non-perturbative global instability. There is a metastable perturbative phase where the scalar does not condense and the fermions are massless separated by an energy barrier with height of order one (rather than N) from an energetically favored phase with a runaway condensate.

Transverse-diffeomorphism invariant gauge fields in cosmology

Transverse-diffeomorphism invariant gauge fields in cosmology

Irrelevant and marginal deformed BMS field theories

In this study, we investigate various deformations within the framework of Bondi-van der Burg-Metzner-Sachs invariant field theory (BMSFT). Specifically, we explore the impact of Bondi-van der Burg-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) symmetry on the theory by introducing key deformations, namely, TT¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ T\\overline{T} $$\\end{document}, JTμ, and TT¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sqrt{T\\overline{T}} $$\\end{document} deformations. In the context of generic seed theories possessing BMS symmetry, we derive the first-order correction of correlation functions using the systematic application of BMS symmetry ward identities. However, it is worth noting that higher-order corrections are intricately dependent on the specific characteristics of the seed theories. To illustrate our findings, we select the BMS free scalar and free fermion as representative seed theories. We then proceed to analytically determine the deformed action by solving the nontrivial flow equations. Additionally, we extend our analysis to include second-order deformations within these deformed theories.

Codazzi Tensor Fields in Reductive Homogeneous Spaces

We extend the results about left-invariant Codazzi tensor fields on Lie groups equipped with left-invariant Riemannian metrics obtained by d’Atri in 1985 to the setting of reductive homogeneous spaces G/H, where the curvature of the canonical connection of second kind associated with the fixed reductive decomposition g=h⊕m\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\mathfrak {g} = \\mathfrak {h}\\oplus \\mathfrak {m}$$\\end{document} enters the picture. In particular, we show that invariant Codazzi tensor fields on a naturally reductive homogeneous space are parallel.

Off-shell fields and conserved currents

We study interactions of higher-spin massless fields φ with conserved currents multilinear in the off-shell matter fields ϕ. Specifically, we focus on the 3d case where a slight modification of the σ−-cohomology technique developed earlier is directly applicable to control nontriviality of the interaction vertices at the convention that the vertices removable by a local field redefinition of a higher-spin field or having schematic form F(φ)G(ϕ), where F(φ) is a gauge invariant field strength of a free higher-spin field, are called deformationally trivial. It is demonstrated how the σ−-cohomology approach can be applied to the analysis of nonlinear vertices. Generally, deformationally trivial vertices are not σ−-closed while the deformationally non-trivial ones must be in H(σ−). It is shown that, at least in the 3d case, the relevant cohomology group H1(σ−)=0 and, hence, no deformationally non-trivial off-shell vertices exist. On the other hand, there exists an infinite class of deformationally trivial vertices, that includes the vertex recently proposed for spin three. Our analysis goes beyond the higher-spin vertices allowing to show that, at least in three dimensions, nonlinear combinations of the off-shell scalar fields and their derivatives cannot obey non-trivial equations.

TDiff invariant field theories for cosmology

We study scalar field theories invariant under transverse diffeomorphismsin cosmological contexts. We show that in the geometric optics approximation, the corresponding particles move along geodesics and contribute with the same active mass (energy) to the gravitational field as in Diff invariant theories. However, for low-frequency (super-Hubble) modes, the contributions to the energy-momentum tensor differ from that of Diff invariant theories. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for cosmological model building. As an example, we show that the simplest TDiff invariant scalar field theory with only kinetic term could drive inflation and generate a nearly scale invariant (red-tilted) spectrum of density fluctuations. We also present a detailed analysis of cosmological perturbations and show that the breaking of full Diff invariance generically induces new non-adiabatic pressure perturbations. A simple scalar field dark matter model based on a purely kinetic term that exhibits the same clustering properties as standard cold dark matter is also presented.

On the direct quantization of Proca gauge invariant field

In this study, we use the generalized integration constants method “GCI” [1,2] to quantize two fields with constraints. Indeed, Proca field, that describes a massive boson is studied first, based on a Lagrangian without gauge symmetry, in order to determine the necessary brackets for its canonical quantization. Then, another gauge invariant version of this field, obtained by adding an additional scalar field in the mass term, is quantized after fixing this gauge.”

Fundamentals of Lie categories

We introduce the basic notions and present examples and results on Lie categories – categories internal to the category of smooth manifolds. Demonstrating how the units of a Lie category \mathcal{C} dictate the behavior of its invertible morphisms \mathcal{G}(\mathcal{C}) , we develop sufficient conditions for \mathcal{G}(\mathcal{C}) to form a Lie groupoid. We show that the construction of Lie algebroids from the theory of Lie groupoids carries through, and ask when the Lie algebroid of \mathcal{G}(\mathcal{C}) is recovered. We reveal that the lack of the invertibility assumption on morphisms leads to a natural generalization of rank from linear algebra, develop its general properties, and show how the existence of an extension \mathcal{C}\hookrightarrow \mathcal{G} of a Lie category to a Lie groupoid affects the ranks of morphisms and the algebroids of \mathcal{C} . Furthermore, certain completeness results for invariant vector fields on Lie monoids and Lie categories with well-behaved boundaries are obtained. Interpreting the developed framework in the context of physical processes, we yield a rigorous approach to the theory of statistical thermodynamics by observing that entropy change, associated to a physical process, is a functor.

Dipole symmetries from the topology of the phase space and the constraints on the low-energy spectrum

We demonstrate the general existence of a local dipole conservation law in bosonic field theory. The scalar charge density arises from the symplectic form of the system, whereas the tensor current descends from its stress tensor. The algebra of spatial translations becomes centrally extended in presence of field configurations with a finite nonzero charge. Furthermore, when the symplectic form is closed but not exact, the system may, surprisingly, lack a well-defined momentum density. This leads to a theorem for the presence of additional light modes in the system whenever the short-distance physics is governed by a translationally invariant local field theory. We also illustrate this mechanism for axion electrodynamics as an example of a system with Nambu-Goldstone modes of higher-form symmetries.

Unified transverse diffeomorphism invariant field theory for the dark sector

Unified transverse diffeomorphism invariant field theory for the dark sector

On the trivializability of rank-one cocycles with an invariant field of projective measures

On the trivializability of rank-one cocycles with an invariant field of projective measures