Modularity and Vacua in N = 1* Supersymmetric Gauge Theory Antoine Bourget

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Modularity and Vacua in N = 1* Supersymmetric Gauge Theory Antoine Bourget Modularity and vacua in N = 1* supersymmetric gauge theory Antoine Bourget To cite this version: Antoine Bourget. Modularity and vacua in N = 1* supersymmetric gauge theory. Physics [physics]. Université Paris sciences et lettres, 2016. English. NNT : 2016PSLEE011. tel-01427599 HAL Id: tel-01427599 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01427599 Submitted on 5 Jan 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. THÈSE DE DOCTORAT DE L’ÉCOLE NORMALE SUPÉRIEURE Spécialité : Physique École doctorale : Physique en Île-de-France réalisée au Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l’ENS présentée par Antoine BOURGET pour obtenir le grade de : DOCTEUR DE L’ÉCOLE NORMALE SUPÉRIEURE Sujet de la thèse : Vides et Modularité dans les théories de jauge supersymétriques = 1∗ N soutenue le 01/07/2016 devant le jury composé de : M. Ofer Aharony Rapporteur M. Costas Bachas Examinateur M. Amihay Hanany Rapporteur Mme Michela Petrini Examinateur M. Henning Samtleben Examinateur M. S. Prem Kumar Examinateur M. Jan Troost Directeur de thèse Résumé Nous explorons la structure des vides dans une déformation massive de la théorie de Yang-Mills maximalement supersymétrique en quatre dimensions. Sur un espace-temps topologiquement trivial, la théorie des orbites nilpotentes dans les algèbres de Lie rend possible le calcul exact de l’indice de Witten. Nous en donnons les fonctions génératrices pour les algèbres classiques, et recourons à un calcul explicite pour les exceptionnelles. Après compactification sur un cercle, un lien entre les théories de jauge supersymétriques et les systèmes intégrables est exploitable pour réduire la chasse aux vides à une extrémisation du hamiltonien de Calogero-Moser elliptique twisté. Une analyse soigneuse des propriétés globales du groupe de jauge et des opérateurs de ligne est nécessaire pour obtenir un accord parfait. En combinant exploration numérique sur ordinateur et contrôle analytique grâce à la théorie des formes modulaires, nous exhibons la structure des vides massifs pour des algèbres de rang petit, et mettons en évidence de nouvelles propriétés modulaires. Nous montrons que des branches de vides de masse nulle existent, et nous en donnons la structure exacte pour les algèbres de rang deux. Mots clés : Théories de jauge supersymétriques, Systèmes intégrables, Modularité 1 2 Abstract We investigate the vacuum structure of a massive deformation of the maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills gauge theory in four dimensions. When the topology of spacetime is trivial, the Witten index can be computed exactly for any gauge group using the theory of nilpotent orbits in Lie algebras. We provide generating functions for classical algebras and an explicit calculation for the exceptional ones. Upon compactification on a circle, one can use a bridge between supersymmetric gauge theories and complex integrable systems to reduce the analysis of vacua to the search of extrema of the twisted elliptic Calogero-Moser Hamiltonian. A careful inspection of global properties of the gauge group and line operators are needed to reach total agreement. Using a combination of numerical exploration on a computer and analytical control through the theory of modular forms, we determine the structure of massive vacua for low-rank gauge algebras and exhibit new modular properties. We also show that massless branches of vacua can exist, and provide an analytic description for rank two gauge algebras. Keywords : Supersymmetric gauge theories, Integrable systems, Modularity 3 4 Preface This work is based on three articles [1, 2, 3] by Jan Troost and myself that have been published in the Journal of High Energy Physics in 2015 and 2016. Large portions of these articles have been used with only formatting changes with the agreement of Jan Troost. The table 1 gives a list of sections of this thesis that are reproduced from the three papers. While I have chosen to focus this document on the content of the three aforementioned articles, I have also worked on other topics with Jan during the last three years [4, 5, 6]. Sections in this document [1][2][3] Sections 2.5 and 2.6 × Section 3.3 × Section 3.4 × Chapter 4 × Section 5.3 × Chapter 6 and 7 × Table 1: The sections listed here are in essence taken from the indicated papers. The chapter associated to number 0 is roughly a translation in French of the presentation chapter 1, supplemented with some elements from other chapters and the conclusion. 5 6 Remerciements Dans le travail qui est présenté ici, rien n’aurait vu le jour sans mon directeur de thèse, Jan Troost, qui a rempli son rôle avec une conscience et une présence sans égales. Il a su m’orienter dans l’univers fascinant des théories de jauge supersymétriques, sans toutefois me laisser accroire que l’on peut se passer de la théorie des cordes. Il m’a communiqué son enthousiasme ainsi que son audace inspirée face aux abstractions de la physique théorique. Et surtout, il m’a consacré un temps démesuré tout au long de cette thèse, de la rédaction des articles à la relecture de ce manuscrit, en passant par les longues discussions devant le tableau noir ou le mardi au ministère sur tous les sujets. Je conserverai un souvenir ému de cette collaboration. Je remercie également tous les membres du Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l’ENS pour m’avoir hébergé, et en particulier son directeur Costas Bachas qui m’a toujours soutenu et qui a accepté de faire partie de mon jury, Jean Iliopoulos qui m’a, le premier, introduit aux mystères de la théorie quantique des champs, Denis Bernard dont le spectre des précieux conseils s’est étalé des systèmes intégrables à l’orientation professionnelle, Marc-Thierry Jaekel qui m’a sauvé plus d’une fois de l’anéantissement numérique, ainsi que Sandrine Patacchini et Viviane Sebille pour leur aide efficace et chaleureuse. Merci également à tous les grands physiciens qui m’ont tant apporté au cours des dernières années, à Paris ou lors des écoles et conférences auxquelles j’ai eu la chance d’assister, et en particulier à Jean-Bernard Zuber, Massimo Bianchi, Amihay Hanany et Sébastien Balibar. Je remercie enfin les autres membres du jury ayant accepté de lire et d’évaluer ce travail, Michela Petrini, Prem Kumar et Henning Samtleben, qui faisant fi du Brexit et des risques de grève, sont pour certains venus de loin pour participer à ma soutenance de thèse. J’ai une pensée particulière pour Ofer Aharony qui, bien qu’il n’ait pas pu se rendre à Paris, s’est plongé en profondeur dans ce manuscrit et a formulé des commentaires inappréciables et des questions pertinentes. J’ai eu le réel privilège de côtoyer des doctorants et post-doctorants exceptionnels au cours des trois dernières années, et je me dois d’être reconnaissant au CPER1 pour m’avoir fourni l’occasion d’avoir autant d’estimables collègues de bureau. L’attribution à chacun ce qu’il m’a 2 apporté dépassant en difficulté la détermination de la structure des vides de E8 , je me contente de laisser cette tâche en exercice au lecteur, et de remercier par ordre d’apparition Jonathan, Sophie, Alice, Dario, Antoine, Thibaud, Bruno, Éric, Thimothée, et Mathieu pour, en vrac, les lundis-piscine, les demi-poulets, les places VIP au debating, les recommandations avisées de blogs, livres, et séries télé, l’eau chaude, Physique pour tous, le sympathique coin sieste du bureau 1La réelle signification de ce sigle peut et doit rester obscure, les intéressés comprendront. 2Non traité dans cette thèse. 7 8 obscur, ainsi que le château d’eau et la poudre du lumineux, les insectes séchés et les moutons, ShareLatex, les nombreux débats parfois enflammés – avec nos sincères excuses à Amir – ; merci de m’avoir éduqué sur les monuments du cyclisme ou sur comment on fait les bébés, en passant par les sous-préfectures ; merci pour l’assertivité savoureuse de certains, mais aussi pour votre tolérance affable envers mes maintes obsessions compulsives, et enfin merci pour l’atmosphère de travail enrichissante et infiniment stimulante que vous avez créée. Et par delà la rue Lhomond, ces trois années de pérégrinations n’auront pas été solitaires car d’autres ont gravi de concert les pentes du doctorat, en particulier Ricardo qu’anime la passion universelle, Jean-Baptiste qui restera toujours délicieux, Siavash qui m’a fait voir Paris autrement, Amaury qui m’a expliqué le monde, Grégoire pour nos inénarrables débats, Ruoting pour nos pots interdisciplinaires, Harold qui m’a prodigué des avis inestimables, mais aussi Shira, Lætitia, Corinne, Jonathan, Jie, Nicolas. Et bien sûr, je remercie la cohorte de mes amis de plus longue date qui m’ont pardonné mes errements théoriques, depuis nos années d’études à Paris, Palaiseau, ou même pour certains depuis l’école primaire. Je ne peux tous les nommer ici, mais s’ils lisent ces lignes, ils sont plus que probablement concernés. Enfin, mes parents et ma famille m’ont apporté tout au long de cette thèse, tout comme au cours des 24 années précédentes, un soutien indéfectible et une affection profonde, et ils sont pour plus qu’il ne le pensent sans doute dans l’achèvement de cette thèse. Au delà de l’aide matérielle de tous les instants pourtant déjà si cruciale, merci surtout à eux d’avoir fait de Sainte-Terre, de Meylan et de la rue Saint-Ferdinand les lieux qui demeurent pour moi les plus chers.
Recommended publications
  • Effective Field Theories, Reductionism and Scientific Explanation Stephan
    To appear in: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics Effective Field Theories, Reductionism and Scientific Explanation Stephan Hartmann∗ Abstract Effective field theories have been a very popular tool in quantum physics for almost two decades. And there are good reasons for this. I will argue that effec- tive field theories share many of the advantages of both fundamental theories and phenomenological models, while avoiding their respective shortcomings. They are, for example, flexible enough to cover a wide range of phenomena, and concrete enough to provide a detailed story of the specific mechanisms at work at a given energy scale. So will all of physics eventually converge on effective field theories? This paper argues that good scientific research can be characterised by a fruitful interaction between fundamental theories, phenomenological models and effective field theories. All of them have their appropriate functions in the research process, and all of them are indispens- able. They complement each other and hang together in a coherent way which I shall characterise in some detail. To illustrate all this I will present a case study from nuclear and particle physics. The resulting view about scientific theorising is inherently pluralistic, and has implications for the debates about reductionism and scientific explanation. Keywords: Effective Field Theory; Quantum Field Theory; Renormalisation; Reductionism; Explanation; Pluralism. ∗Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, 817 Cathedral of Learning, Pitts- burgh, PA 15260, USA (e-mail: [email protected]) (correspondence address); and Sektion Physik, Universit¨at M¨unchen, Theresienstr. 37, 80333 M¨unchen, Germany. 1 1 Introduction There is little doubt that effective field theories are nowadays a very popular tool in quantum physics.
    [Show full text]
  • Casimir Effect on the Lattice: U (1) Gauge Theory in Two Spatial Dimensions
    Casimir effect on the lattice: U(1) gauge theory in two spatial dimensions M. N. Chernodub,1, 2, 3 V. A. Goy,4, 2 and A. V. Molochkov2 1Laboratoire de Math´ematiques et Physique Th´eoriqueUMR 7350, Universit´ede Tours, 37200 France 2Soft Matter Physics Laboratory, Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok, 690950, Russia 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Gent, Krijgslaan 281, S9, B-9000 Gent, Belgium 4School of Natural Sciences, Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok, 690950, Russia (Dated: September 8, 2016) We propose a general numerical method to study the Casimir effect in lattice gauge theories. We illustrate the method by calculating the energy density of zero-point fluctuations around two parallel wires of finite static permittivity in Abelian gauge theory in two spatial dimensions. We discuss various subtle issues related to the lattice formulation of the problem and show how they can successfully be resolved. Finally, we calculate the Casimir potential between the wires of a fixed permittivity, extrapolate our results to the limit of ideally conducting wires and demonstrate excellent agreement with a known theoretical result. I. INTRODUCTION lattice discretization) described by spatially-anisotropic and space-dependent static permittivities "(x) and per- meabilities µ(x) at zero and finite temperature in theories The influence of the physical objects on zero-point with various gauge groups. (vacuum) fluctuations is generally known as the Casimir The structure of the paper is as follows. In Sect. II effect [1{3]. The simplest example of the Casimir effect is we review the implementation of the Casimir boundary a modification of the vacuum energy of electromagnetic conditions for ideal conductors and propose its natural field by closely-spaced and perfectly-conducting parallel counterpart in the lattice gauge theory.
    [Show full text]
  • Lectures on D-Branes
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by CERN Document Server CPHT/CL-615-0698 hep-th/9806199 Lectures on D-branes Constantin P. Bachas1 Centre de Physique Th´eorique, Ecole Polytechnique 91128 Palaiseau, FRANCE [email protected] ABSTRACT This is an introduction to the physics of D-branes. Topics cov- ered include Polchinski’s original calculation, a critical assessment of some duality checks, D-brane scattering, and effective worldvol- ume actions. Based on lectures given in 1997 at the Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, at the Trieste Spring School on String The- ory, and at the 31rst International Symposium Ahrenshoop in Buckow. June 1998 1Address after Sept. 1: Laboratoire de Physique Th´eorique, Ecole Normale Sup´erieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris, FRANCE, email : [email protected] Lectures on D-branes Constantin Bachas 1 Foreword Referring in his ‘Republic’ to stereography – the study of solid forms – Plato was saying : ... for even now, neglected and curtailed as it is, not only by the many but even by professed students, who can suggest no use for it, never- theless in the face of all these obstacles it makes progress on account of its elegance, and it would not be astonishing if it were unravelled. 2 Two and a half millenia later, much of this could have been said for string theory. The subject has progressed over the years by leaps and bounds, despite periods of neglect and (understandable) criticism for lack of direct experimental in- put. To be sure, the construction and key ingredients of the theory – gravity, gauge invariance, chirality – have a firm empirical basis, yet what has often catalyzed progress is the power and elegance of the underlying ideas, which look (at least a posteriori) inevitable.
    [Show full text]
  • EA-1092; Environmental Assessment and FONSI for Decontamination and Dismantlement June 1995
    EA-1092; Environmental Assessment and FONSI for Decontamination and Dismantlement June 1995 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR AGENCY ACTION 2.0 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES 3.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES 4.0 AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND PERSONS CONSULTED 5.0 REFERENCES 6.0 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATION 7.0 GLOSSARY LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A - Letter, Dated September 12, 1991,^ Florida Department of State Division of Historical Resources Appendix B - 1990 Base Year Pinellas County Transportation Appendix C Reference Tables from the Nonnuclear Consolidation Environmental Assessment, June 1993, Finding of No Significant Impact, September 1993 Appendix D - Letter, Dated July 25, 1991, United States Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1: Pinellas Plant Location Figure 1-2:Pinellas Plant Layout Figure 3-1:Pinellas Plant Areas Leased by DOE and Common Use Areas Figure 3-2:Solid Waste Management Units LIST OF TABLES Table 3-1. Pinellas Plant Building Summary Table 3-2. Calendar Years 1992, 1993, and 1994 Nonradiological Air Emissions Table 3-3. Discharge Standards and Average Concentrations for the Pinellas Plant Liquid Effluent Table 3-4. Tritium Released To PCSS In 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994 Table 3-5. Waste Management Storage Capabilities (Hazardous Waste Operating Permit No. HO52-228925) (Hazardous Waste Operating Permit No. HO52-228925) Table 3-6. Baseline Traffic by Link at Pinellas Plant Table 3-7. 1994 CAP88-PC Dose Calculations Table B-1. 1990 Base Year Pinellas County Transportation Table C-1. Estimated Hourly Traffic Volumes and Traffic Noise Levels Along the Access Routes to Pinellas Table C-2.
    [Show full text]
  • Every Nonsingular C Flow on a Closed Manifold of Dimension Greater Than
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Topology and its Applications 135 (2004) 131–148 www.elsevier.com/locate/topol Every nonsingular C1 flow on a closed manifold of dimension greater than two has a global transverse disk William Basener Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14414, USA Received 18 March 2002; received in revised form 27 May 2003 Abstract We prove three results about global cross sections which are disks, henceforth called global transverse disks. First we prove that every nonsingular (fixed point free) C1 flow on a closed (compact, no boundary) connected manifold of dimension greater than 2 has a global transverse disk. Next we prove that for any such flow, if the directed graph Gh has a loop then the flow does not have a closed manifold which is a global cross section. This property of Gh is easy to read off from the first return map for the global transverse disk. Lastly, we give criteria for an “M-cellwise continuous” (a special case of piecewise continuous) map h : D2 → D2 that determines whether h is the first return map for some global transverse disk of some flow ϕ. In such a case, we call ϕ the suspension of h. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Minimal flow; Global cross section; Suspension 1. Introduction Let M be a closed (compact, no boundary) connected n-dimensional manifold and ϕ : R × M → M a nonsingular (fixed point free) flow on M.
    [Show full text]
  • Particle & Nuclear Physics Quantum Field Theory
    Particle & Nuclear Physics Quantum Field Theory NOW AVAILABLE New Books & Highlights in 2019-2020 ON WORLDSCINET World Scientific Lecture Notes in Physics - Vol 83 Lectures of Sidney Coleman on Quantum Field Field Theory Theory A Path Integral Approach Foreword by David Kaiser 3rd Edition edited by Bryan Gin-ge Chen (Leiden University, Netherlands), David by Ashok Das (University of Rochester, USA & Institute of Physics, Derbes (University of Chicago, USA), David Griffiths (Reed College, Bhubaneswar, India) USA), Brian Hill (Saint Mary’s College of California, USA), Richard Sohn (Kronos, Inc., Lowell, USA) & Yuan-Sen Ting (Harvard University, “This book is well-written and very readable. The book is a self-consistent USA) introduction to the path integral formalism and no prior knowledge of it is required, although the reader should be familiar with quantum “Sidney Coleman was the master teacher of quantum field theory. All of mechanics. This book is an excellent guide for the reader who wants a us who knew him became his students and disciples. Sidney’s legendary good and detailed introduction to the path integral and most of its important course remains fresh and bracing, because he chose his topics with a sure application in physics. I especially recommend it for graduate students in feel for the essential, and treated them with elegant economy.” theoretical physics and for researchers who want to be introduced to the Frank Wilczek powerful path integral methods.” Nobel Laureate in Physics 2004 Mathematical Reviews 1196pp Dec 2018
    [Show full text]
  • Lectures on D-Branes
    CPHT/CL-615-0698 hep-th/9806199 Lectures on D-branes Constantin P. Bachas1 Centre de Physique Th´eorique, Ecole Polytechnique 91128 Palaiseau, FRANCE [email protected] ABSTRACT This is an introduction to the physics of D-branes. Topics cov- ered include Polchinski’s original calculation, a critical assessment of some duality checks, D-brane scattering, and effective worldvol- ume actions. Based on lectures given in 1997 at the Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, at the Trieste Spring School on String The- ory, and at the 31rst International Symposium Ahrenshoop in Buckow. arXiv:hep-th/9806199v2 17 Jan 1999 June 1998 1Address after Sept. 1: Laboratoire de Physique Th´eorique, Ecole Normale Sup´erieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris, FRANCE, email : [email protected] Lectures on D-branes Constantin Bachas 1 Foreword Referring in his ‘Republic’ to stereography – the study of solid forms – Plato was saying : ... for even now, neglected and curtailed as it is, not only by the many but even by professed students, who can suggest no use for it, never- theless in the face of all these obstacles it makes progress on account of its elegance, and it would not be astonishing if it were unravelled. 2 Two and a half millenia later, much of this could have been said for string theory. The subject has progressed over the years by leaps and bounds, despite periods of neglect and (understandable) criticism for lack of direct experimental in- put. To be sure, the construction and key ingredients of the theory – gravity, gauge invariance, chirality – have a firm empirical basis, yet what has often catalyzed progress is the power and elegance of the underlying ideas, which look (at least a posteriori) inevitable.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientific Report for the Year 2000
    The Erwin Schr¨odinger International Boltzmanngasse 9 ESI Institute for Mathematical Physics A-1090 Wien, Austria Scientific Report for the Year 2000 Vienna, ESI-Report 2000 March 1, 2001 Supported by Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Austria ESI–Report 2000 ERWIN SCHRODINGER¨ INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS, SCIENTIFIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2000 ESI, Boltzmanngasse 9, A-1090 Wien, Austria March 1, 2001 Honorary President: Walter Thirring, Tel. +43-1-4277-51516. President: Jakob Yngvason: +43-1-4277-51506. [email protected] Director: Peter W. Michor: +43-1-3172047-16. [email protected] Director: Klaus Schmidt: +43-1-3172047-14. [email protected] Administration: Ulrike Fischer, Eva Kissler, Ursula Sagmeister: +43-1-3172047-12, [email protected] Computer group: Andreas Cap, Gerald Teschl, Hermann Schichl. International Scientific Advisory board: Jean-Pierre Bourguignon (IHES), Giovanni Gallavotti (Roma), Krzysztof Gawedzki (IHES), Vaughan F.R. Jones (Berkeley), Viktor Kac (MIT), Elliott Lieb (Princeton), Harald Grosse (Vienna), Harald Niederreiter (Vienna), ESI preprints are available via ‘anonymous ftp’ or ‘gopher’: FTP.ESI.AC.AT and via the URL: http://www.esi.ac.at. Table of contents General remarks . 2 Winter School in Geometry and Physics . 2 Wolfgang Pauli und die Physik des 20. Jahrhunderts . 3 Summer Session Seminar Sophus Lie . 3 PROGRAMS IN 2000 . 4 Duality, String Theory, and M-theory . 4 Confinement . 5 Representation theory . 7 Algebraic Groups, Invariant Theory, and Applications . 7 Quantum Measurement and Information . 9 CONTINUATION OF PROGRAMS FROM 1999 and earlier . 10 List of Preprints in 2000 . 13 List of seminars and colloquia outside of conferences .
    [Show full text]
  • David Olive: His Life and Work
    David Olive his life and work Edward Corrigan Department of Mathematics, University of York, YO10 5DD, UK Peter Goddard Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA St John's College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP, UK Abstract David Olive, who died in Barton, Cambridgeshire, on 7 November 2012, aged 75, was a theoretical physicist who made seminal contributions to the development of string theory and to our understanding of the structure of quantum field theory. In early work on S-matrix theory, he helped to provide the conceptual framework within which string theory was initially formulated. His work, with Gliozzi and Scherk, on supersymmetry in string theory made possible the whole idea of superstrings, now understood as the natural framework for string theory. Olive's pioneering insights about the duality between electric and magnetic objects in gauge theories were way ahead of their time; it took two decades before his bold and courageous duality conjectures began to be understood. Although somewhat quiet and reserved, he took delight in the company of others, generously sharing his emerging understanding of new ideas with students and colleagues. He was widely influential, not only through the depth and vision of his original work, but also because the clarity, simplicity and elegance of his expositions of new and difficult ideas and theories provided routes into emerging areas of research, both for students and for the theoretical physics community more generally. arXiv:2009.05849v1 [physics.hist-ph] 12 Sep 2020 [A version of section I Biography is to be published in the Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society.] I Biography Childhood David Olive was born on 16 April, 1937, somewhat prematurely, in a nursing home in Staines, near the family home in Scotts Avenue, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey.
    [Show full text]
  • Lectures on Effective Field Theories
    Adam Falkowski Lectures on Effective Field Theories Version of September 21, 2020 Abstract Effective field theories (EFTs) are widely used in particle physics and well beyond. The basic idea is to approximate a physical system by integrating out the degrees of freedom that are not relevant in a given experimental setting. These are traded for a set of effective interactions between the remaining degrees of freedom. In these lectures I review the concept, techniques, and applications of the EFT framework. The 1st lecture gives an overview of the EFT landscape. I will review the philosophy, basic techniques, and applications of EFTs. A few prominent examples, such as the Fermi theory, the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian, and the SMEFT, are presented to illustrate some salient features of the EFT. In the 2nd lecture I discuss quantitatively the procedure of integrating out heavy particles in a quantum field theory. An explicit example of the tree- and one-loop level matching between an EFT and its UV completion will be discussed in all gory details. The 3rd lecture is devoted to path integral methods of calculating effective Lagrangians. Finally, in the 4th lecture I discuss the EFT approach to constraining new physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). To this end, the so- called SM EFT is introduced, where the SM Lagrangian is extended by a set of non- renormalizable interactions representing the effects of new heavy particles. 1 Contents 1 Illustrated philosophy of EFT3 1.1 Introduction..................................3 1.2 Scaling and power counting.........................6 1.3 Illustration #1: Fermi theory........................8 1.4 Illustration #2: Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian..............
    [Show full text]
  • Gauge Theories in Particle Physics
    GRADUATE STUDENT SERIES IN PHYSICS Series Editor: Professor Douglas F Brewer, MA, DPhil Emeritus Professor of Experimental Physics, University of Sussex GAUGE THEORIES IN PARTICLE PHYSICS A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION THIRD EDITION Volume 1 From Relativistic Quantum Mechanics to QED IAN J R AITCHISON Department of Physics University of Oxford ANTHONY J G HEY Department of Electronics and Computer Science University of Southampton CONTENTS Preface to the Third Edition xiii PART 1 INTRODUCTORY SURVEY, ELECTROMAGNETISM AS A GAUGE THEORY, AND RELATIVISTIC QUANTUM MECHANICS 1 Quarks and Leptons 3 1.1 The Standard Model 3 1.2 Levels of structure: from atoms to quarks 5 1.2.1 Atoms ---> nucleus 5 1.2.2 Nuclei -+ nucleons 8 1.2.3 . Nucleons ---> quarks 12 1.3 The generations and flavours of quarks and leptons 18 1.3.1 Lepton flavour 18 1.3.2 Quark flavour 21 2 Partiele Interactions in the Standard Model 28 2.1 Introduction 28 2.2 The Yukawa theory of force as virtual quantum exchange 30 2.3 The one-quantum exchange amplitude 34 2.4 Electromagnetic interactions 35 2.5 Weak interactions 37 2.6 Strong interactions 40 2.7 Gravitational interactions 44 2.8 Summary 48 Problems 49 3 Eleetrornagnetism as a Gauge Theory 53 3.1 Introduction 53 3.2 The Maxwell equations: current conservation 54 3.3 The Maxwell equations: Lorentz covariance and gauge invariance 56 3.4 Gauge invariance (and covariance) in quantum mechanics 60 3.5 The argument reversed: the gauge principle 63 3.6 Comments an the gauge principle in electromagnetism 67 Problems 73 viii CONTENTS 4
    [Show full text]
  • Spotlight on Quantum Black Holes
    Physics monitor the results continuing to emerge from them with the declared objectives of charges (magnetic monopoles) do the HERA electron-proton collider at the world's major Laboratories. T.D. not exist. Particle theorists are not so DESY, Hamburg, where the Zeus Lee drew attention to the need for sure, and for a long time magnetic and H1 experiments look deep inside future studies to understand CP monopoles have been tentatively the proton, showing that its gluon violation - the delicate asymmetry included on the theoretical menu. content increases as the momentum between matter and antimatter. The role of these monopoles has fraction decreases. With a large now become crucial. kinematical range now covered, Information from Klaus Monig and Also playing a central role is the these results correlate well with data Clara Matteuzzi idea of supersymmetry. In a quantum from fixed target experiments. theory, basic particles, like quarks The two HERA experiments con­ and leptons (fermions), interact tinue to see 'rapidity gaps', where through force-carrying particles events pile up in kinematical bands. Spotlight on quantum (bosons) like the photon of electro- Many people have understood this in magnetism, the W and Z of the weak terms of the incoming electron black holes nuclear force and the gluon of the bouncing off a proton constituent in a strong inter-quark force. In super- 'colourless' way ('colour' is for the article theorists are getting symmetry, each fermion has addi­ quark-gluon force what electric P unusually excited these days as tional boson partners, and vice versa. charge is for the electromagnetic new ideas and different approaches So far, no evidence for super- force).
    [Show full text]