John Wheater

Abstract:

Numerical computations have suggested that in causal dynamical triangulation models of quantum gravity the effective dimension of spacetime in the UV is lower than in the IR. In this paper we develop a simple model based on previous work on random combs, which share some of the properties of CDT, in which this effect can be shown to occur analytically. We construct a definition for short and long distance spectral dimensions and show that the random comb models exhibit scale dependent spectral dimension defined in this way. We also observe that a hierarchy of apparent spectral dimensions may be obtained in the cross-over region between UV and IR regimes for suitable choices of the continuum variables. Our main result is valid for a wide class of tooth length distributions thereby extending previous work on random combs by Durhuus et al.

Abstract:

Minimal string theory has a number of FZZT brane boundary states; one for each Cardy state of the minimal model. It was conjectured by Seiberg and Shih that all branes in a minimal string theory could be expressed as a linear combination of the brane associated to the identity operator of the minimal model with complex shifts in the boundary cosmological constant. Subsequently it was found that this identification of FZZT branes does not hold exactly for some cylinder amplitudes but was spoiled by terms that are associated with vanishing worldsheet area and are therefore non-universal. In this paper we investigate this claim systematically, using both Liouville and matrix model methods, beyond the planar limit. We find that the aforementioned identification of FZZT branes is spoiled by terms that do not admit an interpretation as non-universal terms. Furthermore, the spoiling terms as computed using the matrix model are found to be in agreement with those coming from Liouville theory, which also suggests that these terms have universal meaning. Finally, we also investigate the identification of FZZT branes by replacing the boundary state with a sum of local operators. We find in this case that the brane associated with the identity operator appears to be special as it is the only one to correctly reproduce the correlation numbers for bulk operators on the torus.