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Kalb–Ramond Field
In theoretical physics in general and string theory in particular, the Kalb–Ramond field (named after Michael Kalb and Pierre Ramond), also known as the Kalb–Ramond ''B''-field or Kalb–Ramond NS–NS ''B''-field, is a quantum field that transforms as a two- form, i.e., an antisymmetric tensor field with two indices. The adjective "NS" reflects the fact that in the RNS formalism, these fields appear in the NS–NS sector in which all vector fermions are anti-periodic. Both uses of the word "NS" refer to André Neveu and John Henry Schwarz, who studied such boundary conditions (the so-called Neveu–Schwarz boundary conditions) and the fields that satisfy them in 1971. Details The Kalb–Ramond field generalizes the electromagnetic potential but it has two indices instead of one. This difference is related to the fact that the electromagnetic potential is integrated over one-dimensional worldlines of particles to obtain one of its contributions to the action while the Kalb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theoretical Physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimental tools to probe these phenomena. The advancement of science generally depends on the interplay between experimental studies and theory. In some cases, theoretical physics adheres to standards of mathematical rigour while giving little weight to experiments and observations.There is some debate as to whether or not theoretical physics uses mathematics to build intuition and illustrativeness to extract physical insight (especially when normal experience fails), rather than as a tool in formalizing theories. This links to the question of it using mathematics in a less formally rigorous, and more intuitive or heuristic way than, say, mathematical physics. For example, while developing special relativity, Albert Einstein was concerned wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worldline
The world line (or worldline) of an object is the path that an object traces in 4-dimensional spacetime. It is an important concept in modern physics, and particularly theoretical physics. The concept of a "world line" is distinguished from concepts such as an "orbit" or a "trajectory" (e.g., a planet's ''orbit in space'' or the ''trajectory'' of a car on a road) by the ''time'' dimension, and typically encompasses a large area of spacetime wherein perceptually straight paths are recalculated to show their ( relatively) more absolute position states—to reveal the nature of special relativity or gravitational interactions. The idea of world lines originates in physics and was pioneered by Hermann Minkowski. The term is now most often used in relativity theories (i.e., special relativity and general relativity). Usage in physics In physics, a world line of an object (approximated as a point in space, e.g., a particle or observer) is the sequence of spacetime events correspon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramond–Ramond Field
In theoretical physics, Ramond–Ramond fields are differential form fields in the 10-dimensional spacetime of type II supergravity theories, which are the classical limits of type II string theory. The ranks of the fields depend on which type II theory is considered. As Joseph Polchinski argued in 1995, D-branes are the charged objects that act as sources for these fields, according to the rules of p-form electrodynamics. It has been conjectured that quantum RR fields are not differential forms, but instead are classified by twisted K-theory. The adjective "Ramond–Ramond" reflects the fact that in the RNS formalism, these fields appear in the Ramond–Ramond sector in which all vector fermions are periodic. Both uses of the word "Ramond" refer to Pierre Ramond, who studied such boundary conditions (the so-called Ramond boundary conditions) and the fields that satisfy them in 1971. Defining the fields The fields in each theory As in Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism and its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
P-form Electrodynamics
In theoretical physics, -form electrodynamics is a generalization of Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. Ordinary (via. one-form) Abelian electrodynamics We have a one-form \mathbf, a gauge symmetry :\mathbf \rightarrow \mathbf + d\alpha , where \alpha is any arbitrary fixed 0-form and d is the exterior derivative, and a gauge-invariant vector current \mathbf with density 1 satisfying the continuity equation :d\mathbf = 0 , where is the Hodge star operator. Alternatively, we may express \mathbf as a closed -form, but we do not consider that case here. \mathbf is a gauge-invariant 2-form defined as the exterior derivative \mathbf = d\mathbf. \mathbf satisfies the equation of motion :d\mathbf = \mathbf (this equation obviously implies the continuity equation). This can be derived from the action :S=\int_M \left frac\mathbf \wedge \mathbf - \mathbf \wedge \mathbf\right, where M is the spacetime manifold. ''p''-form Abelian electrodynamics We have a -form \mathbf, a gaug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtright Field
In theoretical physics, the Curtright field (named after Thomas Curtright) is a tensor quantum field of mixed symmetry, whose gauge-invariant dynamics are dual to those of the general relativistic graviton in higher (''D''>4) spacetime dimensions. Or at least this holds for the linearized theory. For the full nonlinear theory, less is known. Several difficulties arise when interactions of mixed symmetry fields are considered, but at least in situations involving an infinite number of such fields (notably string theory) these difficulties are not insurmountable. The Lanczos tensor has a gauge-transformation dynamics similar to that of Curtright. But Lanczos tensor exists only in 4D. Overview In four spacetime dimensions, the field is not dual to the graviton, if massless, but it can be used to describe ''massive'', pure spin 2 quanta. Similar descriptions exist for other massive higher spins, in ''D''≥4. The simplest example of the linearized theory is given by a rank three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Closed String
In physics, a string is a physical entity postulated in string theory and related subjects. Unlike elementary particles, which are zero-dimensional or point-like by definition, strings are one-dimensional extended entities. Researchers often have an interest in string theories because theories in which the fundamental entities are strings rather than point particles automatically have many properties that some physicists expect to hold in a fundamental theory of physics. Most notably, a theory of strings that evolve and interact according to the rules of quantum mechanics will automatically describe quantum gravity. Overview In string theory, the strings may be open (forming a segment with two endpoints) or closed (forming a loop like a circle) and may have other special properties. Prior to 1995, there were five known versions of string theory incorporating the idea of supersymmetry, which differed in the type of strings and in other aspects. Today these different string theor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dilaton
In particle physics, the hypothetical dilaton particle is a particle of a scalar field \varphi that appears in theories with extra dimensions when the volume of the compactified dimensions varies. It appears as a radion in Kaluza–Klein theory's compactifications of extra dimensions. In Brans–Dicke theory of gravity, Newton's constant is not presumed to be constant but instead 1/''G'' is replaced by a scalar field \varphi and the associated particle is the dilaton. Exposition In Kaluza–Klein theories, after dimensional reduction, the effective Planck mass varies as some power of the volume of compactified space. This is why volume can turn out as a dilaton in the lower-dimensional effective theory. Although string theory naturally incorporates Kaluza–Klein theory that first introduced the dilaton, perturbative string theories such as type I string theory, type II string theory, and heterotic string theory already contain the dilaton in the maximal number of 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metric Tensor
In the mathematical field of differential geometry, a metric tensor (or simply metric) is an additional structure on a manifold (such as a surface) that allows defining distances and angles, just as the inner product on a Euclidean space allows defining distances and angles there. More precisely, a metric tensor at a point of is a bilinear form defined on the tangent space at (that is, a bilinear function that maps pairs of tangent vectors to real numbers), and a metric tensor on consists of a metric tensor at each point of that varies smoothly with . A metric tensor is ''positive-definite'' if for every nonzero vector . A manifold equipped with a positive-definite metric tensor is known as a Riemannian manifold. Such a metric tensor can be thought of as specifying ''infinitesimal'' distance on the manifold. On a Riemannian manifold , the length of a smooth curve between two points and can be defined by integration, and the distance between and can be defined as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worldsheet
In string theory, a worldsheet is a two-dimensional manifold which describes the embedding of a string in spacetime. The term was coined by Leonard Susskind as a direct generalization of the world line concept for a point particle in special and general relativity. The type of string, the geometry of the spacetime in which it propagates, and the presence of long-range background fields (such as gauge fields) are encoded in a two-dimensional conformal field theory defined on the worldsheet. For example, the bosonic string in 26 dimensions has a worldsheet conformal field theory consisting of 26 free scalar bosons. Meanwhile, a superstring worldsheet theory in 10 dimensions consists of 10 free scalar fields and their fermionic superpartners. Mathematical formulation Bosonic string We begin with the classical formulation of the bosonic string. First fix a d-dimensional flat spacetime (d-dimensional Minkowski space), M, which serves as the ambient space for the string. A w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electromagnetic Potential
An electromagnetic four-potential is a relativistic vector function from which the electromagnetic field can be derived. It combines both an electric scalar potential and a magnetic vector potential into a single four-vector.Gravitation, J.A. Wheeler, C. Misner, K.S. Thorne, W.H. Freeman & Co, 1973, As measured in a given frame of reference, and for a given gauge, the first component of the electromagnetic four-potential is conventionally taken to be the electric scalar potential, and the other three components make up the magnetic vector potential. While both the scalar and vector potential depend upon the frame, the electromagnetic four-potential is Lorentz covariant. Like other potentials, many different electromagnetic four-potentials correspond to the same electromagnetic field, depending upon the choice of gauge. This article uses tensor index notation and the Minkowski metric sign convention . See also covariance and contravariance of vectors and raising and lowering in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
String Theory
In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string looks just like an ordinary particle, with its mass, charge, and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the graviton, a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. Thus, string theory is a theory of quantum gravity. String theory is a broad and varied subject that attempts to address a number of deep questions of fundamental physics. String theory has contributed a number of advances to mathematical physics, which have been applied to a variety of problems in black hole physics, early universe cosmology, nuclear physics, and conde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neveu–Schwarz Boundary Conditions
In mathematical physics, a super Virasoro algebra is an extension of the Virasoro algebra (named after Miguel Ángel Virasoro) to a Lie superalgebra. There are two extensions with particular importance in superstring theory: the Ramond algebra (named after Pierre Ramond) and the Neveu–Schwarz algebra (named after André Neveu and John Henry Schwarz). Both algebras have ''N'' = 1 supersymmetry and an even part given by the Virasoro algebra. They describe the symmetries of a superstring in two different sectors, called the Ramond sector and the Neveu–Schwarz sector. The ''N'' = 1 super Virasoro algebras There are two minimal extensions of the Virasoro algebra with ''N'' = 1 supersymmetry: the Ramond algebra and the Neveu–Schwarz algebra. They are both Lie superalgebras whose even part is the Virasoro algebra: this Lie algebra has a basis consisting of a central element ''C'' and generators ''L''''m'' (for integer ''m'') satisfying L_m , L_n = ( m - n ) L_ + \frac m ( m^2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
