Agullo, I., del Rio, A., & Navarro-Salas, J. (2018). On the Electric-Magnetic Duality Symmetry: Quantum Anomaly, Optical Helicity, and Particle Creation. Symmetry-Basel, 10(12), 763–14pp.
Abstract: It is well known that not every symmetry of a classical field theory is also a symmetry of its quantum version. When this occurs, we speak of quantum anomalies. The existence of anomalies imply that some classical Noether charges are no longer conserved in the quantum theory. In this paper, we discuss a new example for quantum electromagnetic fields propagating in the presence of gravity. We argue that the symmetry under electric-magnetic duality rotations of the source-free Maxwell action is anomalous in curved spacetimes. The classical Noether charge associated with these transformations accounts for the net circular polarization or the optical helicity of the electromagnetic field. Therefore, our results describe the way the spacetime curvature changes the helicity of photons and opens the possibility of extracting information from strong gravitational fields through the observation of the polarization of photons. We also argue that the physical consequences of this anomaly can be understood in terms of the asymmetric quantum creation of photons by the gravitational field.
|
Bernabeu, J., & Navarro-Salas, J. (2019). A Non-Local Action for Electrodynamics: Duality Symmetry and the Aharonov-Bohm Effect, Revisited. Symmetry-Basel, 11(10), 1191–13pp.
Abstract: A non-local action functional for electrodynamics depending on the electric and magnetic fields, instead of potentials, has been proposed in the literature. In this work we elaborate and improve this proposal. We also use this formalism to confront the electric-magnetic duality symmetry of the electromagnetic field and the Aharonov-Bohm effect, two subtle aspects of electrodynamics that we examine in a novel way. We show how the former can be derived from the simple harmonic oscillator character of vacuum electrodynamics, while also demonstrating how the magnetic version of the latter naturally arises in an explicitly non-local manner.
|
Navarro-Salas, J., & Pla, S. (2022). Particle Creation and the Schwinger Model. Symmetry-Basel, 14(11), 2435–9pp.
Abstract: We study the particle creation process in the Schwinger model coupled with an external classical source. One can approach the problem by taking advantage of the fact that the full quantized model is solvable and equivalent to a (massive) gauge field with a non-local effective action. Alternatively, one can also face the problem by following the standard semiclassical route. This means quantizing the massless Dirac field and considering the electromagnetic field as a classical background. We evaluate the energy created by a generic, homogeneous, and time-dependent source. The results match exactly in both approaches. This proves in a very direct and economical way the validity of the semiclassical approach for the (massless) Schwinger model, in agreement with a previous analysis based on the linear response equation. Our discussion suggests that a similar analysis for the massive Schwinger model could be used as a non-trivial laboratory to confront a fully quantized solvable model with its semiclassical approximation, therefore mimicking the long-standing confrontation of quantum gravity with quantum field theory in curved spacetime.
|
Agullo, I., Navarro-Salas, J., Olmo, G. J., & Parker, L. (2010). Hawking Radiation by Kerr Black Holes and Conformal Symmetry. Phys. Rev. Lett., 105(21), 211305–4pp.
Abstract: The exponential blueshift associated with the event horizon of a black hole makes conformal symmetry play a fundamental role in accounting for its thermal properties. Using a derivation based on two-point functions, we show that the full spectrum of thermal radiation of scalar particles by Kerr black holes can be explicitly derived on the basis of a conformal symmetry arising in the wave equation near the horizon. The simplicity of our approach emphasizes the depth of the connection between conformal symmetry and black hole radiance.
|
Agullo, I., del Rio, A., & Navarro-Salas, J. (2017). Electromagnetic Duality Anomaly in Curved Spacetimes. Phys. Rev. Lett., 118(11), 111301–5pp.
Abstract: The source-free Maxwell action is invariant under electric-magnetic duality rotations in arbitrary spacetimes. This leads to a conserved classical Noether charge. We show that this conservation law is broken at the quantum level in the presence of a background classical gravitational field with a nontrivial Chern-Pontryagin invariant, in parallel with the chiral anomaly for massless Dirac fermions. Among the physical consequences, the net polarization of the quantum electromagnetic field is not conserved.
|
del Rio, A., Sanchis-Gual, N., Mewes, V., Agullo, I., Font, J. A., & Navarro-Salas, J. (2020). Spontaneous Creation of Circularly Polarized Photons in Chiral Astrophysical Systems. Phys. Rev. Lett., 124(21), 211301–6pp.
Abstract: This work establishes a relation between chiral anomalies in curved spacetimes and the radiative content of the gravitational field. In particular, we show that a flux of circularly polarized gravitational waves triggers the spontaneous creation of photons with net circular polarization from the quantum vacuum. Using waveform catalogs, we identify precessing binary black holes as astrophysical configurations that emit such gravitational radiation and then solve the fully nonlinear Einstein's equations with numerical relativity to evaluate the net effect. The quantum amplitude for a merger is comparable to the Hawking emission rate of the final black hole and small to be directly observed. However, the implications for the inspiral of binary neutron stars could be more prominent, as argued on symmetry grounds.
|
Agullo, I., Navarro-Salas, J., Olmo, G. J., & Parker, L. (2010). Reply to "Comment on 'Insensitivity of Hawking radiation to an invariant Planck-scale cutoff' ''. Phys. Rev. D, 81(10), 108502–3pp.
Abstract: We clarify the relationship between the conclusions of the previous Comment of A. Helfer [A. Helfer, preceding Comment, Phys. Rev. D 81, 108501 (2010)] and that of our Brief Report [I. Agullo, J. Navarro-Salas, G. J. Olmo, and L. Parker, Phys. Rev. D 80, 047503 (2009).].
|
Agullo, I., Navarro-Salas, J., Olmo, G. J., & Parker, L. (2010). Revising the observable consequences of slow-roll inflation. Phys. Rev. D, 81(4), 043514–14pp.
Abstract: We study the generation of primordial perturbations in a (single-field) slow-roll inflationary Universe. In momentum space, these (Gaussian) perturbations are characterized by a zero mean and a nonzero variance Delta(2) (k, t). However, in position space the variance diverges in the ultraviolet. The requirement of a finite variance in position space forces one to regularize Delta(2) (k, t). This can (and should) be achieved by proper renormalization in an expanding Universe in a unique way. This affects the predicted scalar and tensorial power spectra (evaluated when the modes acquire classical properties) for wavelengths that today are at observable scales. As a consequence, the imprint of slow-roll inflation on the cosmic microwave background anisotropies is significantly altered. We find a nontrivial change in the consistency condition that relates the tensor-to-scalar ratio r to the spectral indices. For instance, an exact scale-invariant tensorial power spectrum, n(t) = 0, is now compatible with a nonzero ratio r approximate to 0.12 +/- 0.06, which is forbidden by the standard prediction (r = -8n(t)). The influence of relic gravitational waves on the cosmic microwave background may soon come within the range of planned measurements, offering a nontrivial test of the new predictions.
|
Agullo, I., Navarro-Salas, J., Olmo, G. J., & Parker, L. (2011). Remarks on the renormalization of primordial cosmological perturbations. Phys. Rev. D, 84(10), 107304–5pp.
Abstract: We briefly review the need to perform renormalization of inflationary perturbations to properly work out the physical power spectra. We also summarize the basis of (momentum-space) renormalization in curved spacetime and address several misconceptions found in recent literature on this subject.
|
Landete, A., Navarro-Salas, J., & Torrenti, F. (2013). Adiabatic regularization for spin-1/2 fields. Phys. Rev. D, 88(6), 061501–5pp.
Abstract: We extend the adiabatic regularization method to spin-1/2 fields. The ansatz for the adiabatic expansion for fermionic modes differs significantly from the WKB-type template that works for scalar modes. We give explicit expressions for the first adiabatic orders and analyze particle creation in de Sitter spacetime. As for scalar fields, the adiabatic method can be distinguished by its capability to overcome the UV divergences of the particle number operator. We also test the consistency of the extended method by working out the conformal and axial anomalies for a Dirac field in a Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker spacetime, in exact agreement with those obtained from other renormalization prescriptions. We finally show its power by computing the renormalized stress-energy tensor for Dirac fermions in de Sitter space.
|