Tensor Field Research Articles

The classification of general affine connections in Newton–Cartan geometry: Towards metric-affine Newton–Cartan gravity

Abstract We give a full classification of general affine connections on Galilei manifolds in terms of independently specifiable tensor fields. This generalises the well-known case of (torsional) Galilei connections, i.e. connections compatible with the metric structure of the Galilei manifold. Similarly to the well-known pseudo-Riemannian case, the additional freedom for connections that are not metric-compatible lies in the covariant derivatives of the two tensors defining the metric structure (the clock form and the space metric), which however are not fully independent of each other.

Hall-like behaviour of higher rank Chern-Simons theory of fractons

Fracton phases of matter constitute an interesting point of contact between condensed matter and high-energy physics. The limited mobility property of fracton quasi-particles finds applications in many different contexts, including quantum information, spin liquids, elasticity, hydrodynamics, gravity and holography. In this paper we adopt a field theoretical approach to investigate the three dimensional action of a rank-2 symmetric tensor field invariant under the covariant fracton symmetry. The theory appears as a non-topological higher rank generalization of the ordinary Chern-Simons model, depending only on the traceless part of the tensor gauge field. After defining a field strength, a rank-2 traceless “electric” field and a “magnetic” vector field are identified, in analogy with the standard Chern-Simons ones. Once matter is introduced, a Hall-like behaviour with fractonic features emerges. In particular, our model shows a Hall-like dipole current, together with a vectorial “flux-attachment” relation for dipoles. This gives a possible starting point for a fracton-vortex duality. A gauge-fixing term is then introduced, from which propagators are computed and the counting of the degrees of freedom is performed. Finally, the energy-momentum tensor is shown to be conserved and the integrated energy density is proved to be zero, which reminds the topological nature of the standard Chern-Simons model.

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

Spinor–Vector Duality and Mirror Symmetry

Mirror symmetry was first observed in worldsheet string constructions, and was shown to have profound implications in the Effective Field Theory (EFT) limit of string compactifications, and for the properties of Calabi–Yau manifolds. It opened up a new field in pure mathematics, and was utilised in the area of enumerative geometry. Spinor–Vector Duality (SVD) is an extension of mirror symmetry. This can be readily understood in terms of the moduli of toroidal compactification of the Heterotic String, which includes the metric the antisymmetric tensor field and the Wilson line moduli. In terms of the toroidal moduli, mirror symmetry corresponds to mappings of the internal space moduli, whereas Spinor–Vector Duality corresponds to maps of the Wilson line moduli. In the past few of years, we demonstrated the existence of Spinor–Vector Duality in the effective field theory compactifications of string theories. This was achieved by starting with a worldsheet orbifold construction that exhibited Spinor–Vector Duality and resolving the orbifold singularities, hence generating a smooth, effective field theory limit with an imprint of the Spinor–Vector Duality. Just like mirror symmetry, the Spinor–Vector Duality can be used to study the properties of complex manifolds with vector bundles. Spinor–Vector Duality offers a top-down approach to the “Swampland” program, by exploring the imprint of the symmetries of the ultra-violet complete worldsheet string constructions in the effective field theory limit. The SVD suggests a demarcation line between (2,0) EFTs that possess an ultra-violet complete embedding versus those that do not.

Isotropic tensor fields in amorphous solids: Correlation functions of displacement and strain tensor fields

Isotropic tensor fields in amorphous solids: Correlation functions of displacement and strain tensor fields

Log-Cholesky filtering of diffusion tensor fields: Impact on noise reduction

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a powerful neuroimaging technique that provides valuable insights into the microstructure and connectivity of the brain. By measuring the diffusion of water molecules along neuronal fibers, DTI allows the visualization and study of intricate networks of neural pathways.DTI is a noise-sensitive method, where a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) results in significant errors in the estimated tensor field. Tensor field regularization is an effective solution for noise reduction.Diffusion tensors are represented by symmetric positive-definite (SPD) matrices. The space of SPD matrices may be viewed as a Riemannian manifold after defining a suitable metric on its tangent bundle. The Log-Cholesky metric is a recently developed concept with advantages over previously defined Riemannian metrics, such as the affine-invariant and Log-Euclidean metrics. The utility of the Log-Cholesky metric for tensor field regularization and noise reduction has not been investigated in detail.This manuscript provides a quantitative investigation of the impact of Log-Cholesky filtering on noise reduction in DTI. It also provides sufficient details of the linear algebra and abstract differential geometry concepts necessary to implement this technique as a simple and effective solution to filtering diffusion tensor fields.

A Fourier approach to tomographic reconstruction of tensor fields in the plane

We consider the problem of inversion of the X-ray transform for sums of 1-forms and symmetric 2-tensor fields. Such a problem arises after linearization of a related travel time tomography problem, described via Mañé's action potential of the energy level 1/2 for a magnetic flow. In a strictly convex bounded domain in the Euclidean plane, we show when and how to recover simultaneously both unknown 1-tensor and symmetric 2-tensor field uniquely from measurement of radiating flux at the boundary. The approach to reconstruction is based on the Cauchy problem for a Beltrami-like equation associated with A-analytic maps.

Extracting parity-violating gravitational waves from projected tidal force tensor in three dimensions

Gravitational waves (GWs) may be produced by various mechanisms in the early universe. In particular, if parity is violated, it may lead to the production of parity-violating GWs. In this paper, we focus on GWs on the scale of the large-scale structure. Since GWs induce tidal deformations of the shape of galaxies, one can extract such GW signals by observing images of galaxies in galaxy surveys. Conventionally the detection of such signals is discussed by considering the three-dimensional power spectra of the E/B-modes. Here, we develop a complementary new technique to estimate the contribution of GWs to the tidal force tensor field projected on the celestial sphere, which is a directly observable quantity. We introduce two two-dimensional vector fields constructed by taking the divergence and curl of the projected tidal field in three dimensions. Their auto-correlation functions naturally contain contributions of the scalar-type tidal field. However, we find that the divergence of the curl of the projected tidal field, which is a pseudo-scalar quantity, is free from the scalar contribution and thus enables us to extract GW signals. We also find that we can detect parity-violating signals in the GWs by observing the nonzero cross-correlation between the divergence of the projected tidal field and the curl of it. It roughly corresponds to measuring the cross-power spectrum of E and B-modes, but these are complementary to each other in the sense that our estimator can be naturally defined locally in position space. Finally we present expressions of the correlation functions in the form of Fourier integrals, and discuss the properties of the kernels specific to the GW case, which we call the overlap reduction function, borrowing the terminology used in the pulsar timing array experiments.

Circular motion and QPOs near black holes in Kalb–Ramond gravity

General relativity (GR) theory modifications include different scalar, vector, and tensor fields with non-minimal gravitational coupling. Kalb–Ramond (KR) gravity is a modified theory formulated based on the presence of the bosonic field. One astrophysical way to test gravity is by studying the motion of test particles in the spacetime of black holes (BHs) using observational data. In the present work, we aimed to test KR gravity through theoretical studies of epicyclic frequencies of particle oscillations using quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) frequency data from microquasars. First, we derive equations of motion and analyze the effective potential for circular orbits. Also, we studied the energy and angular momentum of particles corresponding to circular orbits. In addition, we analyze the stability of circular orbits. It is shown that the radius of the innermost stable circular orbits is inversely proportional to the KR parameter. We are also interested in how the energy and angular momentum of test particles at ISCO behave around the KR BHs. We found that the Keplerian frequency for the test particles in KR gravity is the same as that in GR. Finally, we study the QPOs by applying epicyclic oscillations in the relativistic precession (RP), warped disc (WD), and epicyclic resonance (ER) models. We also analyze QPO orbits in the resonance cases of upper and lower frequencies 3:2, 4:3, and 5:4 in the QPO as mentioned above models. We obtain constraints on the KR gravity parameter and BH mass using a Monte Carlo Markov Chain simulation in the multidimensional parameter space for the microquasars GRO J1655-40 & XTE J1550-564, M82 X-1, and Sgr A*.

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. III. Projection effects

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. III. Projection effects

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. II. Loop corrections

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. II. Loop corrections

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. I. Basic formulation

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. I. Basic formulation

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. IV. Full-sky formulation

Integrated perturbation theory for cosmological tensor fields. IV. Full-sky formulation

Purity and hybridness of two tensors on a real hypersurface in complex projective space

Abstract On a real hypersurface M M in complex projective space, we can define two tensor fields of type (1, 2), A F ( k ) {A}_{F}^{\left(k)} and A T ( k ) {A}_{T}^{\left(k)} , associated with the shape operator A A of the real hypersurface, for any nonnull real number k k . Following Tachibana [Analytic tensor and its generalization, Tohoku Math. J. 12 (1960), 208–221], we study the purity and hybridness of such tensors with respect to A A .

Flows of geometric structures

Abstract We develop an abstract theory of flows of geometric 𝐻-structures, i.e., flows of tensor fields defining 𝐻-reductions of the frame bundle, for a closed and connected subgroup H ⊂ SO ⁢ ( n ) H\subset\mathrm{SO}(n) , on any connected and oriented 𝑛-manifold with sufficient topology to admit such structures. The first part of the article sets up a unifying theoretical framework for deformations of 𝐻-structures, by way of the natural infinitesimal action of GL ⁢ ( n , R ) \mathrm{GL}(n,\mathbb{R}) on tensors combined with various bundle decompositions induced by 𝐻-structures. We compute evolution equations for the intrinsic torsion under general flows of 𝐻-structures and, as applications, we obtain general Bianchi-type identities for 𝐻-structures, and, for closed manifolds, a general first variation formula for the L 2 L^{2} -Dirichlet energy functional ℰ on the space of 𝐻-structures. We then specialise the theory to the negative gradient flow of ℰ over isometric 𝐻-structures, i.e., their harmonic flow. The core result is an almost-monotonocity formula along the flow for a scale-invariant localised energy, similar to the classical formulas by Chen–Struwe [M. Struwe, On the evolution of harmonic maps in higher dimensions, J. Differential Geom. 28 (1988), 3, 485–502; Y. M. Chen and M. Struwe, Existence and partial regularity results for the heat flow for harmonic maps, Math. Z. 201 (1989), 1, 83–103] for the harmonic map heat flow. This yields an 𝜀-regularity theorem and an energy gap result for harmonic structures, as well as long-time existence for the flow under small initial energy, relative to the L ∞ L^{\infty} -norm of initial torsion, in the spirit of Chen–Ding [Y. M. Chen and W. Y. Ding, Blow-up and global existence for heat flows of harmonic maps, Invent. Math. 99 (1990), 3, 567–578]. Moreover, below a certain energy level, the absence of a torsion-free isometric 𝐻-structure in the initial homotopy class imposes the formation of finite-time singularities. These seemingly contrasting statements are illustrated by examples on flat 𝑛-tori, so long as the set [ S n , SO ⁢ ( n ) / H ] [\mathbb{S}^{n},\mathrm{SO}(n)/H] of homotopy classes of maps S n → SO ⁢ ( n ) / H \mathbb{S}^{n}\to\mathrm{SO}(n)/H contains more than one element and the universal cover of SO ⁢ ( n ) / H \mathrm{SO}(n)/H is a sphere, e.g. when n = 7 n=7 and H = G 2 H=\mathrm{G}_{2} , or n = 8 n=8 and H = Spin ⁢ ( 7 ) H=\mathrm{Spin}(7) .

Derivation of an effective plate theory for parallelogram origami from bar and hinge elasticity

Periodic origami patterns made with repeating unit cells of creases and panels bend and twist in complex ways. In principle, such soft modes of deformation admit a simplified asymptotic description in the limit of a large number of cells. Starting from a bar and hinge model for the elastic energy of a generic four parallelogram panel origami pattern, we derive a complete set of geometric compatibility conditions identifying the pattern’s soft modes in this limit. The compatibility equations form a system of partial differential equations constraining the actuation of the origami’s creases (a scalar angle field) and the relative rotations of its unit cells (a pair of skew tensor fields). We show that every solution of the compatibility equations is the limit of a sequence of soft modes — origami deformations with finite bending energy and negligible stretching. Using these sequences, we derive a plate-like theory for parallelogram origami patterns with an explicit coarse-grained quadratic energy depending on the gradient of the crease-actuation and the relative rotations of the cells. Finally, we illustrate our theory in the context of two well-known origami designs: the Miura and Eggbox patterns. Though these patterns are distinguished in their anticlastic and synclastic bending responses, they show a universal twisting response. General soft modes captured by our theory involve a rich nonlinear interplay between actuation, bending and twisting, determined by the underlying crease geometry.

Counting U(N)⊗r⊗O(N)⊗q\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$U(N)^{\\otimes r}\\otimes O(N)^{\\otimes q}$$\\end{document} invariants and tensor model observables

U(N)⊗r⊗O(N)⊗q\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$U(N)^{\\otimes r} \\otimes O(N)^{\\otimes q}$$\\end{document} invariants are constructed by contractions of complex tensors of order r+q\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$r+q$$\\end{document}, also denoted (r, q). These tensors transform under r fundamental representations of the unitary group U(N) and q fundamental representations of the orthogonal group O(N). Therefore, U(N)⊗r⊗O(N)⊗q\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$U(N)^{\\otimes r} \\otimes O(N)^{\\otimes q}$$\\end{document} invariants are tensor model observables endowed with a tensor field of order (r, q). We enumerate these observables using group theoretic formulae, for tensor fields of arbitrary order (r, q). Inspecting lower-order cases reveals that, at order (1, 1), the number of invariants corresponds to a number of 2- or 4-ary necklaces that exhibit pattern avoidance, offering insights into enumerative combinatorics. For a general order (r, q), the counting can be interpreted as the partition function of a topological quantum field theory (TQFT) with the symmetric group serving as gauge group. We identify the 2-complex pertaining to the enumeration of the invariants, which in turn defines the TQFT, and establish a correspondence with countings associated with covers of diverse topologies. For r>1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$r>1$$\\end{document}, the number of invariants matches the number of (q-dependent) weighted equivalence classes of branched covers of the 2-sphere with r branched points. At r=1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$r=1$$\\end{document}, the counting maps to the enumeration of branched covers of the 2-sphere with q+3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$q+3$$\\end{document} branched points. The formalism unveils a wide array of novel integer sequences that have not been previously documented. We also provide various codes for running computational experiments.

Gravitational radiation in generalized Brans–Dicke theory: compact binary systems

This paper investigates the generation and properties of gravitational radiation within the framework of generalized Brans–Dicke (GBD) theory, with a specific emphasis on its manifestation in compact binary systems. The study begins by examining the weak field equations in GBD theory, laying the foundation for subsequent analyses. Solutions to the linearized field equations for point particles are then presented, providing insights into the behavior of gravitational fields in the context of GBD theory. The equation of motion of point mass is explored, shedding light on the dynamics of compact binary systems within the GBD framework. The primary focus of this study lies in the comprehensive exploration of gravitational radiation generated by compact binaries. The energy momentum tensor and the associated gravitational wave (GW) radiation power in GBD theory are investigated, elucidating the relationship between these fundamental concepts. Furthermore, detailed calculations are provided for the GW radiation power originating from both tensor fields and scalar fields. Based on our calculations, both scalar fields contribute to GW radiation by producing dipole radiation. We also study the period derivative of compact binaries in this theory. By comparing with the observational data of the orbital period derivative of the quasicircular white dwarf-neutron star binary PSR J1012+5307, we put bounds on the two parameters of the theory: the Brans–Dicke coupling parameter ω0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\omega _{0}$$\\end{document} and the mass of geometrical scalar field mf\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$m_f$$\\end{document}, resulting in a lower bound ω0>6.09723×106\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\omega _{0}>6.09723\ imes 10^6$$\\end{document} for a massless BD scalar field and the geometrical field whose mass is smaller than 10-29GeV\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$10^{-29} \ ext { GeV}$$\\end{document}. The obtained bound on ω0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\omega _0$$\\end{document} is two orders of magnitude stricter than those derived from solar system data. Finally, we find the phase shift that GWs experience in the frequency domain during their propagation. These calculations offer a quantitative understanding of the contributions from different components within the GBD theory, facilitating a deeper comprehension of the overall behavior and characteristics of gravitational radiation.

Metric compatibility and Levi-Civita connections on quantum groups

Arbitrary connections on a generic Hopf algebra H are studied and shown to extend to connections on tensor fields. On this ground a general definition of metric compatible connection is proposed. This leads to a sufficient criterion for the existence and uniqueness of the Levi-Civita connection, that of invertibility of an H-valued matrix. Provided invertibility for one metric, existence and uniqueness of the Levi-Civita connection for all metrics conformal to the initial one is proven. This class consists of metrics which are neither central (bimodule maps) nor equivariant, in general. For central and bicoinvariant metrics the invertibility condition is further simplified to a metric independent one. Examples include metrics on SLq(2).

Stable Lorentz-breaking model for an antisymmetric two-tensor

In this work we investigate possible actions for antisymmetric two-tensor field models subject to constraints that force the field to acquire a nonzero vacuum expectation value, thereby spontaneously breaking Lorentz invariance. In order to assure stability, we require that the associate Hamiltonian be bounded from below. It is shown that this requirement rules out any quadratic action constructed only from the antisymmetric tensor field. We then explicitly construct a hybrid model consisting of the antisymmetric two-tensor field together with a vector field, subject to constraints forcing nonzero expectation values, that is stable in Minkowski space. Published by the American Physical Society 2024