Journal of High Energy Physics

The k_t and Cambridge/Aachen inclusive jet finding algorithms for hadron-hadron collisions can be seen as belonging to a broader class of sequential recombination jet algorithms, parametrised by the power of the energy scale in the distance measure. We examine some properties of a new member of this class, for which the power is negative. This ``anti-k<sub>t</sub>'' algorithm essentially behaves like an idealised cone algorithm, in that jets with only soft fragmentation are conical, active and passive areas are equal, the area anomalous dimensions are zero, the non-global logarithms are those of a rigid boundary and the Milan factor is universal. None of these properties hold for existing sequential recombination algorithms, nor for cone algorithms with split-merge steps, such as SISCone. They are however the identifying characteristics of the collinear unsafe plain ``iterative cone'' algorithm, for which the anti-k_t algorithm provides a natural, fast, infrared and collinear safe replacement.

We study information retrieval from evaporating black holes, assuming that the internal dynamics of a black hole is unitary and rapidly mixing, and assuming that the retriever has unlimited control over the emitted Hawking radiation. If the evaporation of the black hole has already proceeded past the ``half-way'' point, where half of the initial entropy has been radiated away, then additional quantum information deposited in the black hole is revealed in the Hawking radiation very rapidly. Information deposited prior to the half-way point remains concealed until the half-way point, and then emerges quickly. These conclusions hold because typical local quantum circuits are efficient encoders for quantum error-correcting codes that nearly achieve the capacity of the quantum erasure channel. Our estimate of a black hole's information retention time, based on speculative dynamical assumptions, is just barely compatible with the black hole complementarity hypothesis.

We extend earlier ideas about the appearance of noncommutative geometry in string theory with a nonzero B-field. We identify a limit in which the entire string dynamics is described by a minimally coupled (supersymmetric) gauge theory on a noncommutative space, and discuss the corrections away from this limit. Our analysis leads us to an equivalence between ordinary gauge fields and noncommutative gauge fields, which is realized by a change of variables that can be described explicitly. This change of variables is checked by comparing the ordinary Dirac-Born-Infeld theory with its noncommutative counterpart. We obtain a new perspective on noncommutative gauge theory on a torus, its T-duality, and Morita equivalence. We also discuss the D0/D4 system, the relation to M-theory in DLCQ, and a possible noncommutative version of the six-dimensional (2,0) theory.

We compute the three point correlation functions for primordial scalar and tensor fluctuations in single field inflationary models. We obtain explicit expressions in the slow roll limit where the answer is given terms of the two usual slow roll parameters. In a particular limit the three point functions are determined completely by the tilt of the spectrum of the two point functions. We also make some remarks on the relation of this computation to dS/CFT and AdS/CFT. We emphasize that (A)dS/CFT can be viewed as a statement about the wavefunction of the universe.

Applying the first law of thermodynamics to the apparent horizon of a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe and assuming the geometric entropy given by a quarter of the apparent horizon area, we derive the Friedmann equations describing the dynamics of the universe with any spatial curvature. Using entropy formulae for the static spherically symmetric black hole horizons in Gauss-Bonnet gravity and in more general Lovelock gravity, where the entropy is not proportional to the horizon area, we are also able to obtain the Friedmann equations in each gravity theory. We also discuss some physical implications of our results.

We consider the problem of how fast a quantum system can scramble (thermalize) information, given that the interactions are between bounded clusters of degrees of freedom; pairwise interactions would be an example. Based on previous work, we conjecture:

1. The most rapid scramblers take a time logarithmic in the number of degrees of freedom.

2. Matrix quantum mechanics (systems whose degrees of freedom are n byn matrices) saturate the bound.

3. Black holes are the fastest scramblers in nature.

This is an extended version of our short report [1], where a holographic interpretation of entanglement entropy in conformal field theories is proposed from AdS/CFT correspondence. In addition to a concise review of relevant recent progresses of entanglement entropy and details omitted in the earlier letter, this paper includes the following several new results: We give a more direct derivation of our claim which relates the entanglement entropy with the minimal area surfaces in the AdS₃/CFT₂ case as well as some further discussions on higher dimensional cases. Also the relation between the entanglement entropy and central charges in 4D conformal field theories is examined. We check that the logarithmic part of the 4D entanglement entropy computed in the CFT side agrees with the AdS₅ result at least under a specific condition. Finally we estimate the entanglement entropy of massive theories in generic dimensions by making use of our proposal.

We propose a dual non-perturbative description for maximally extended Schwarzschild Anti-de-Sitter spacetimes. The description involves two copies of the conformal field theory associated to the AdS spacetime and an initial entangled state. In this context we also discuss a version of the information loss paradox and its resolution.

A holographic duality is proposed relating quantum gravity on dS_D (D-dimensional de Sitter space) to conformal field theory on a single S^D−1 ((D-1)-sphere), in which bulk de Sitter correlators with points on the boundary are related to CFT correlators on the sphere, and points on ⁺ (the future boundary of dS_D) are mapped to the antipodal points on S^D−1 relative to those on ⁻. For the case of dS₃, which is analyzed in some detail, the central charge of the CFT₂ is computed in an analysis of the asymptotic symmetry group at ^±. This dS/CFT proposal is supported by the computation of correlation functions of a massive scalar field. In general the dual CFT may be non-unitary and (if for example there are sufficently massive stable scalars) contain complex conformal weights. We also consider the physical region ⁻ of dS₃ corresponding to the causal past of a timelike observer, whose holographic dual lives on a plane rather than a sphere. ⁻ can be foliated by asymptotically flat spacelike slices. Time evolution along these slices is generated by L₀+₀, and is dual to scale transformations in the boundary CFT₂.

Long-range forces between macroscopic objects are mediated by light particles that interact with the electrons or nucleons, and include spin-dependent static components as well as spin- and velocity-dependent components. We parametrize the long-range potential between two fermions assuming rotational invariance, and find 16 different components. Applying this result to electrically neutral objects, we show that the macroscopic potential depends on 72 measurable parameters. We then derive the potential induced by the exchange of a new gauge boson or spinless particle, and compare the limits set by measurements of macroscopic forces to the astrophysical limits on the couplings of these particles.

A linear stability analysis of twisted flux-tubes (strings) in an SU(2) semilocal theory — an Abelian-Higgs model with two charged scalar fields with a global SU(2) symmetry — is carried out. Here the twist refers to a relative phase between the two complex scalars (with linear dependence on, say, the z coordinate), and importantly it leads to a global current flowing along the the string. Such twisted strings bifurcate with the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen (ANO) solution embedded in the semilocal theory. Our numerical investigations of the small fluctuation spectrum confirm previous results that twisted strings exhibit instabilities whose amplitudes grow exponentially in time. More precisely twisted strings with a single magnetic flux quantum admit a continuous family of unstable eigenmodes with harmonic z dependence, indexed by a wavenumber k∊[−k_m, k_m]. Carrying out a perturbative semi-analytic analysis of the bifurcation, it is found that the purely numerical results are very well reproduced. This way one obtains not only a good qualitative description of the twisted solutions themselves as well as of their instabilities, but also a quantitative description of the numerical results. Our semi-analytic results indicate that in close analogy to the known instability of the embedded ANO vortex a twisted string is also likely to expand in size caused by the spreading out of its magnetic flux.

We provide a dual gravity description of a supersymmetric heavy nucleus, following the idea of our previous paper arXiv/0809.3141. The supersymmetric nucleus consists of a merginal bound state of A baryons distributed over a ball in 3 dimensions. In the gauge/string duality, the baryon in = 4 super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory corresponds to a D5-brane wrapping S⁵ of the AdS₅×S⁵ spacetime, so the nucleus corresponds to a collection of A D5-branes. We take a large A and a near horizon limits of a back-reacted geometry generated by the wrapped A D5-branes, where we find a gap in the supergravity fluctuation spectrum. This spectrum is a gravity dual of giant resonances of heavy nuclei, in the supersymmetric toy example of QCD.

We study the stochastic motion of a relativistic trailing string in black hole AdS₅. The classical string solution develops a world-sheet horizon and we determine the associated Hawking radiation spectrum. The emitted radiation causes fluctuations on the string both above and below the world-sheet horizon. In contrast to standard black hole physics, the fluctuations below the horizon are causally connected with the boundary of AdS. We derive a bulk stochastic equation of motion for the dual string and use the AdS/CFT correspondence to determine the evolution of a fast heavy quark in the strongly coupled = 4 plasma. We find that the kinetic mass of the quark decreases by ΔM = −(γλ)^1/2T/2 while the correlation time of world sheet fluctuations increases by γ^1/2.

We present a complete treatment of the diffusion processes for supersymmetric electroweak baryogenesis that characterizes transport dynamics ahead of the phase transition bubble wall within the symmetric phase. In particular, we generalize existing approaches to distinguish between chemical potentials of particles and their superpartners. This allows us to test the assumption of superequilibrium (equal chemical potentials for particles and sparticles) that has usually been made in earlier studies. We show that in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, superequilibrium is generically maintained — even in the absence of fast supergauge interactions — due to the presence of Yukawa interactions. We provide both analytic arguments as well as illustrative numerical examples. We also extend the latter to regions where analytical approximations are not available since down-type Yukawa couplings or supergauge interactions only incompletely equilibrate. We further comment on cases of broken superequilibrium wherein a heavy superpartner decouples from the electroweak plasma, causing a kinematic bottleneck in the chain of equilibrating reactions. Such situations may be relevant for baryogenesis within extensions of the MSSM. We also provide a compendium of inputs required to characterize the symmetric phase transport dynamics.

Starting from the semiclassical reduced-action approach to transplanckian scattering by Amati, Veneziano and one of us and from our previous quantum extension of that model, we investigate theS-matrix expression for inelastic processes by extending to this case the tunneling features previously found in the region of classical gravitational collapse. The resulting model exhibits some non-unitary S-matrix eigenvalues for impact parameters b < b_c, a critical value of the order of the gravitational radiusR = 2Gs^1/2, thus showing that some (inelastic) unitarity defect is generally present, and can be studied quantitatively. We find that S-matrix unitarity for b < b_c is restored only if the rapidity phase-space parameter y is allowed to take values larger than the effective coupling Gs/ℏ itself. Some features of the resulting unitary model are discussed.

In this article we will overview several aspects of the string landscape, namely intersecting D-brane models and their statistics, possible model independent LHC signatures of intersecting brane models, flux compactification, moduli stabilization in type II compactifications, domain wall solutions and brane inflation.