Topics in gravitation and gauge fields

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:5094143

Leen, T K

The theoretical studies presented here address three distinct topics. The first deals with quantum-mechanical effects of classical gravitational radiation. Specifically, the use of the interstellar medium itself as a remote quantum-mechanical detector of gravitational waves is investigated. This study is motivated by the presumed existence of atomic hydrogen in the vicinity of astrophysical sources of gravitational radiation. Space-time curvature produces uniquely identifiable shifts in atomic hydrogen energy levels. The oscillating level shifts induced by a passing gravitational wave could conceivably be detected spectroscopically. Accordingly the level shifts for both low-lying and highly excited states of single electron atoms immersed in gravitational radiation have been studied. The second two topics deal with the theory of quantized fields on curved space-times. In the first of these studies, a naive model of cosmological baryon synthesis is examined. The model incorporates a hard CP violation as well as a baryon (and lepton) non-conserving interaction and is thus capable of generating an excess of matter over antimatter. The time dependent background geometry of the early universe drives the interaction producing net excess of baryon/lepton pairs. In the final topic, the question of renormalizability of non-Abelian gauge fields theories in a general curved space-time is addressed. All modern theories of elementary particle physics are gauge theories and one would like to know if their perturbative expansions continue to be well defined (i.e. renormalizable) on curved backgrounds. In general, one is interested in knowing if field theories renormalizable in Minkowski space remain so in a general curved space-time.

• Research Organization: Wisconsin Univ., Milwaukee (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5094143
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
FIELD THEORIES
RENORMALIZATION
GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
BARYONS
DETECTION
LEPTONS
ATOMS
COSMOLOGICAL MODELS
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITED STATES
GAUGE INVARIANCE
GRAVITATIONAL RADIATION
HYDROGEN
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
QUANTUM MECHANICS
SPACE-TIME
UNIVERSE
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
FERMIONS
HADRONS
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICS
NONMETALS
RADIATIONS
SPACE
640106* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Cosmology
645400 - High Energy Physics- Field Theory