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We derive new all-purpose methods that involve the Dirac Delta distribution. Some of the new methods use derivatives in the argument of the Dirac Delta. We highlight potential avenues for applications to quantum field theory and we also exhibit a connection to the problem of blurring/deblurring in signal processing. We find that blurring, which can be thought of as a result of multi-path evolution, is, in Euclidean quantum field theory without spontaneous symmetry breaking, the strong coupling dual of the usual small coupling expansion in terms of the sum over Feynman graphs.
Lecture notes for the course Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism and applications in topological quantum field theory given at the University of Notre Dame in the Fall 2016 for a mathematical audience. In these lectures we give a slow introduction to the perturbative path integral for gauge theories in Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism and the associated mathematical concepts.
In this paper we construct $mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric (SUSY) quantum mechanics over several configurations of Dirac-$delta$ potentials from one single delta to a Dirac comb rqrq. We show in detail how the building of supersymmetry on potentials with delta interactions placed in two or more points on the real line requires the inclusion of quasi-square wells. Therefore, the basic ingredient of a supersymmetric Hamiltonian containing two or more Dirac-$delta$s is the singular potential formed by a Dirac-$delta$ plus a step ($theta$) at the same point. In this $delta/theta$ SUSY Hamiltonian there is only one singlet ground state of zero energy annihilated by the two supercharges or a doublet of ground states paired by supersymmetry of positive energy depending on the relation between the Dirac well strength and the height of the step potential. We find a scenario of either unbroken supersymmetry with Witten index one or supersymmetry breaking when there is one bosonicrqrq and one fermionicrqrq ground state such that the Witten index is zero. We explain next the different structure of the scattering waves produced by three $delta/theta$ potentials with respect to the eigenfunctions arising in the non-SUSY case. In particular, many more bound states paired by supersymmetry exist within the supersymmetric framework compared with the non-SUSY problem. An infinite array of equally spaced $delta$-interactions of the same strength but alternatively attractive and repulsive are susceptible of being promoted to a ${cal N}=2$ supersymmetric system...
Linking numbers appear in local quantum field theory in the presence of tensor fields, which are closed two-forms on Minkowski space. Given any pair of such fields, it is shown that the commutator of the corresponding intrinsic (gauge invariant) vector potentials, integrated about spacelike separated, spatial loops, are elements of the center of the algebra of all local fields. Moreover, these commutators are proportional to the linking numbers of the underlying loops. If the commutators are different from zero, the underlying two-forms are not exact (there do not exist local vector potentials for them). The theory then necessarily contains massless particles. A prominent example of this kind, due to J.E. Roberts, is given by the free electromagnetic field and its Hodge dual. Further examples with more complex mass spectrum are presented in this article.
We introduce the concept of multisymplectic formalism, familiar in covariant field theory, for the study of integrable defects in 1+1 classical field theory. The main idea is the coexistence of two Poisson brackets, one for each spacetime coordinate. The Poisson bracket corresponding to the time coordinate is the usual one describing the time evolution of the system. Taking the nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equation as an example, we introduce the new bracket associated to the space coordinate. We show that, in the absence of any defect, the two brackets yield completely equivalent Hamiltonian descriptions of the model. However, in the presence of a defect described by a frozen Backlund transformation, the advantage of using the new bracket becomes evident. It allows us to reinterpret the defect conditions as canonical transformations. As a consequence, we are also able to implement the method of the classical r matrix and to prove Liouville integrability of the system with such a defect. The use of the new Poisson bracket completely bypasses all the known problems associated with the presence of a defect in the discussion of Liouville integrability. A by-product of the approach is the reinterpretation of the defect Lagrangian used in the Lagrangian description of integrable defects as the generating function of the canonical transformation representing the defect conditions.
The Riemann hypothesis states that all nontrivial zeros of the zeta function lie in the critical line $Re(s)=1/2$. Hilbert and Polya suggested that one possible way to prove the Riemann hypothesis is to interpret the nontrivial zeros in the light of spectral theory. Following this approach, we discuss a necessary condition that such a sequence of numbers should obey in order to be associated with the spectrum of a linear differential operator of a system with countably infinite number of degrees of freedom described by quantum field theory. The sequence of nontrivial zeros is zeta regularizable. Then, functional integrals associated with hypothetical systems described by self-adjoint operators whose spectra is given by this sequence can be constructed. However, if one considers the same situation with primes numbers, the associated functional integral cannot be constructed, due to the fact that the sequence of prime numbers is not zeta regularizable. Finally, we extend this result to sequences whose asymptotic distributions are not far away from the asymptotic distribution of prime numbers.