# All Questions

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### Superfields and the Inconsistency of regularization by dimensional reduction

Question: How can you show the inconsistency of regularization by dimensional reduction in the $\mathcal{N}=1$ superfield approach (without reducing to components)? Background and some references: ...
840 views

### What is the upper-limit on intrinsic heating due to dark matter?

Cold dark matter is thought to fill our galactic neighborhood with a density $\rho$ of about 0.3 GeV/cm${}^3$ and with a velocity $v$ of roughly 200 to 300 km/s. (The velocity dispersion is much ...
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### Experimental test of the non-statisticality theorem?

Context: The recent paper The quantum state cannot be interpreted statistically by Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph (now On the reality of the quantum state, Nature Physics 8, 475–478 (2012), ...
724 views

### On the Coulomb branch of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory

The chiral ring of the Coulomb branch of a 4D $\mathcal N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theory is given by the Casimirs of the vector multiplet scalars, and they don't have non-trivial relations; the ...
524 views

### Sigma Models on Riemann Surfaces

I'm interested in knowing whether sigma models with an $n$-sheeted Riemann surface as the target space have been considered in the literature. To be explicit, these would have the action ...
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### Linear sigma models and integrable systems

I'm a mathematician who recently became very interested in questions related to mathematical physics but somehow I have already difficulties in penetrating the literature... I'd highly appreciate any ...
287 views

### Orbits of maximally entangled mixed states

It is well known (Please, see for example Geometry of quantum states by Bengtsson and Życzkowski ) that the set of $N-$dimensional density matrices is stratified by the adjoint action of $U(N)$, where ...
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### Systematic approach to deriving equations of collective field theory to any order

The collective field theory (see nLab for a list of main historical references) which came up as a generalization of the Bohm-Pines method in treating plasma oscillations are often used in the study ...
281 views

### Does the 4/3 problem of classical electromagnetism remain in quantum mechanics?

In Volume II Chapter 28 of the Feymann Lectures on Physics, Feynman discusses the infamous 4/3 problem of classical electromagnetism. Suppose you have a charged particle of radius $a$ of charge $q$ ...
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### Anomalous target space diffeomorphisms for one-loop world-line integrals

The Schwinger effect can be calculated in the world-line formalism by coupling the particle to the target space potential $A$. My question relates to how this calculation might extend to computing ...
531 views

### Optimal telescope size?

Consider a diffraction-limited telescope with unobstructed aperture $D$. Such a scope is capable of yielding an angular resolution $\alpha$ that scales as $\lambda/D$, with $\lambda$ denoting the ...
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### What is the status of Witten's and Vafa's argument that the QCD vacuum energy is a minimum for zero $\theta$ angle?

The argument, which I reproduce here from Ramond's Journies BSM', is originally by Witten and Vafa in ($\it{Phys}$. $\it{Rev}$. $\it{Lett}$. 53, 535(1984)). The argument is that for $\theta = 0$ ...
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### A dictionary of string - standard physics correspondences

Motivated by the (for me very useful) remark ''Standard model generations in string theory are the Euler number of the Calabi Yau, and it is actually reasonably doable to get 4,6,8, or 3 ...
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### Mass of empty AdS$_5$

Five dimensional empty AdS$_5$ space has mass $$E = \frac{3 \pi \ell^2}{32 G}.$$ Is the above equation correct? Let's do some dimensional analysis to confirm. In natural units, in 5 dimensions ...
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### How trustworthy are numerically-obtained periodic solutions to the three body problem?

This question is part of this week's Journal Club session. I recently found out about the discovery of 13 beautiful periodic solutions to the three-body problem, described in the paper ...
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### Infrared-free QED and Higgsless standard model phenomenology

This is one of those "what if" fantasy world type questions. I like hard sci-fi so please no "well, you changed one thing about the world so now anything goes." :) What if the Higgs had no vev? That ...
496 views

### What determines the angle of the cushion on a pool table?

If you look at the cushions (bumpers) on a pool table, you'll see that they're not vertical. They're tilted inwards. About 10 years ago, I came across a physics exam in which one of the problems ...
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### Bell polytopes with nontrivial symmetries

Take $N$ parties, each of which receives an input $s_i \in {1, \dots, m_i}$ and produces an output $r_i \in {1, \dots, v_i}$, possibly in a nondeterministic manner. We are interested in joint ...
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### Before inflation, what sets the initial value of the inflaton field?

[This is a version of the question that I've revised based on helpful comments from Dan.] I haven't studied inflation at a technical level. My picture of the process is that we have an inflaton field ...
260 views

### How is Matter Modelled in Loop Quantum Gravity?

I have a basic understanding of how gravitational degrees of freedom are modelled in loop quantum gravity, but as far as I know, the main machinery - spin network states and observables, does not ...
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### Is general relativity holonomic?

Is it meaningful to ask whether general relativity is holonomic or nonholonomic, and if so, which is it? If not, then does the question become meaningful if, rather than the full dynamics of the ...
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### Compactifying on a circle and the exchange of R and NS sectors

I've noticed a general phenomenon in compactifying on a circle where if you start with, say, an NS field, then the KK fields with an index along the circle will be in the R sector, and those without ...
276 views

### Local explanation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in terms of force fields

Here is an interesting paper for the Physics SE community: On the role of potentials in the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Lev Vaidman. Phys. Rev. A 86 no. 4, 040101 (R) (2012). arXiv:1110.6169 ...
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### Do Franck-Condon oscillations have natural lineshapes?

I recently found a paper (for the curious, this one) that talks about observing the motion of a nuclear wavepacket in H2O, as initiated by tunnel ionization. This wavepacket should be thought of as a ...
243 views

### Derivation of KLT relations

The KLT relations (Kawai, Lewellen, Tye) relate a closed string amplitude to a product of open ones. While I get the physics behind this I don't really understand the derivation in the original paper ...
175 views

### Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Conceptual Questions

Let $M$ be the magnetic moment of a system. Below are the Bloch equations, including the relaxation terms. $$\frac{\partial M_x}{\partial t}=({\bf M} \times \gamma {\bf H_0})_x-\frac{M_x}{T_2}$$ ...
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### About defining “baryons” and “mesons”

I want to understand the proof of the claims (of the construction as well as of its uniqueness) of gauge singlet states given around equation 2.13 (page 10) of this paper. Also does the listing of ...
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### Is the Hawking radiation of a charged black hole thermal?

Suppose you have a Schwarzschild black hole of mass $M$ and angular parameter $a = 0$ (no rotation). Question: is it possible to throw a charge $Q$ at a faster rate than it will be re-radiated? Will ...
207 views

### Magnetic monopole and electromagnetic field quantization procedure

From the Maxwell's equations point of view, existence of magnetic monopole leads to unsuitability of the introduction of vector potential as $\vec B = \operatorname{rot}\vec A$. As a result, it was ...
137 views

### Intuitive sketch of the correspondence of a string theory to its limiting quantum field theory

I'm looking for an intuitive sketch of how one shows the correspondence of string theory to a certain QFT. My best guess is that one calculates the scattering amplitudes in the string theory as a ...
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### Quantum statistics of branes

Quantum statistics of particles (bosons, fermions, anyons) arises due to the possible topologies of curves in D-dimensional spacetime winding around each other What happens if we replace particles by ...
132 views

### Can Lee-Yang zeros theorem account for triple point phase transition?

Now the prominent Lee-Yang theorem (or Physical Review 87, 410, 1952) has almost bocome standard ingredient of any comprehensive statistical mechanics textbook. If the volume tends to infinity, ...
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### Subtlety of analytic continuation - Euclidean / Minkowski path integral

I subconsciously feel not fully comfortable about Wick rotating or analytic continuation from Euclidean to Minkowski space. I simply wonder whether there is any subtlety here, and when we need to be ...