Particle theory

Abstract:

The production of black holes in extra-dimensional brane-world theories can lead to detectable signals via the Hawking evaporation of the black hole to brane-localized standard model modes. We calculate, as a function of partial wave number and number of toroidally compactified extra dimensions, the leading correction to the energy spectrum of such Hawking radiation (the greybody factors) for decay into spin-1/2 fermions and spin-1 gauge fields localized on the standard model brane. We derive the associated improved differential emission rates for both types of fields. We provide both simple expressions for the leading behavior of the greybody factors in the low-energy limit [Formula Presented] and numerical evaluation of our full analytic expressions for the emission rates, valid for [Formula Presented] The full analytic expressions demonstrate that both the greybody factors and emission rates are enhanced as the number of extra dimensions increases. © 2003 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

The sky distribution of cosmic rays with energies above the “GZK cutoff” holds important clues to their origin. The AGASA data, although consistent with isotropy overall, shows evidence for small-angle clustering, and it has been argued that such clusters are aligned with BL Lacertae objects, implicating these as the sources. It has also been suggested that such clusters can arise if the cosmic rays come from the decays of very massive relic particles in the galactic halo, due to the expected clumping of cold dark matter. We examine these claims and show that both are, in fact, unjustified. © 2003 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We study flop transitions for M-theory on Calabi-Yau threefolds and their applications to cosmology in the context of the effective five-dimensional supergravity theory. In particular, the additional hypermultiplet which becomes massless at the transition is included in the effective action. We find the potential for this hypermultiplet which includes quadratic and quartic terms as well as additional dependence on the Kähler moduli. By constructing explicit cosmological solutions, it is demonstrated that a flop transition can indeed be achieved dynamically, as long as the hypermultiplet is set to zero. For an explicit example we find that once excitations of the hypermultiplet are taken into account, the transition is genetically not completed but the system is classically stabilized close to the transition region, at least as long as the transition states do not vanish. Regions of moduli space close to flop transitions can, therefore, be viewed as preferred by the cosmological evolution. ©2003 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We present a toy model for five-dimensional heterotic M theory where bulk three-branes, originating in 11 dimensions from M five-branes, are modeled as kink solutions of a bulk scalar field theory. It is shown that the vacua of this defect model correspond to a class of topologically distinct M-theory compactifications. Topology change can then be analyzed by studying the time evolution of the defect model. In the context of a four-dimensional effective theory, we study in detail the simplest such process, that is, the time evolution of a kink and its collision with a boundary. We find that the kink is generically absorbed by the boundary thereby changing the boundary charge. This opens up the possibility of exploring the relation between more complicated defect configurations and the topology of brane-world models. © 2003 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We report on our ongoing investigation of the deconfining phase transition in SU(4) and SU(6) gauge theories. We calculate the critical couplings while taking care to avoid the influence of a nearby bulk phase transition. We determine the latent heat of the phase transition and investigate the order and the strength of the transition at large Nc. We also report on our determination of the critical temperature expressed in units of the string tension in the large. Nc limit.