This dissertation consist of three parts. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the study of gravity and higher spin gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions. We construct cosmological so-lutions of higher spin gravity in 2+1 dimensional de Sitter space. We show that a consistent thermodynamics can be obtained for their horizons by demanding appropriate holonomy conditions. This is equivalent to demanding the integrability of the Euclidean boundary CFT partition function, and reduces to Gibbons-Hawking thermodynamics in the spin-2 case. By using a prescription of Maldacena, we relate the thermodynamics of these solutions to those of higher spin black holes in AdS3. For the case of negative cosmological constant we show that interpreting the inverse AdS3 radius 1=l as a Grassmann variable results in a formal map from gravity in AdS3 to gravity in flat space. The underlying reason for this is the fact that ISO(2,1) is the Inonu-Wigner contraction of SO(2,2). We show how this works for the Chern-Simons actions, demonstrate how the general (Banados) solution in AdS3 maps to the general flat space solution, and how the Killing vectors, charges and the Virasoro algebra in the Brown-Henneaux case map to the corresponding quantities in the BMS3 case. Our results straightforwardly generalize to the higher spin case: the flat space higher spin theories emerge automatically in this approach from their AdS counterparts. We also demonstrate the power of our approach by doing singularity resolution in the BMS gauge as an application. Finally, we construct a candidate for the most general chiral higher spin theory with AdS3 boundary conditions. In the Chern-Simons language, the left-moving solution has Drinfeld-Sokolov reduced form, but on the right-moving solution all charges and chemical potentials are turned on. Altogether (for the spin-3 case) these are 19 functions. Despite this, we show that the resulting metric has the form of the “most general” AdS3 boundary conditions discussed by Grumiller and Riegler. The asymptotic symmetry algebra is a product of a W3 algebra on the left and an affine sl(3)k current algebra on the right, as desired. The metric and higher spin fields depend on all the 19 functions. The second part is devoted to the problem of Neumann boundary condition in Einstein’s gravity. The Gibbons-Hawking-York (GHY) boundary term makes the Dirichlet problem for gravity well defined, but no such general term seems to be known for Neumann boundary conditions. In our work, we view Neumann boundary condition not as fixing the normal derivative of the metric (“velocity”) at the boundary, but as fixing the functional derivative of the action with respect to the boundary metric (“momentum”). This leads directly to a new boundary term for gravity: the trace of the extrinsic curvature with a specific dimension-dependent coefficient. In three dimensions this boundary term reduces to a “one-half” GHY term noted in the literature previously, and we observe that our action translates precisely to the Chern-Simons action with no extra boundary terms. In four dimensions the boundary term vanishes, giving a natural Neumann interpretation to the standard Einstein-Hilbert action without boundary terms. We also argue that a natural boundary condition for gravity in asymptotically AdS spaces is to hold the renormalized boundary stress tensor density fixed, instead of the boundary metric. This leads to a well-defined variational problem, as well as new counter-terms and a finite on-shell action. We elaborate this in various (even and odd) dimensions in the language of holographic renormalization. Even though the form of the new renormalized action is distinct from the standard one, once the cut-off is taken to infinity, their values on classical solutions coincide when the trace anomaly vanishes. For AdS4, we compute the ADM form of this renormalized action and show in detail how the correct thermodynamics of Kerr-AdS black holes emerge. We comment on the possibility of a consistent quantization with our boundary conditions when the boundary is dynamical, and make a connection to the results of Compere and Marolf. The difference between our approach and microcanonical-like ensembles in standard AdS/CFT is emphasized. In the third part of the dissertation, we use the recently developed CFT techniques of Rychkov and Tan to compute anomalous dimensions in the O(N) Gross-Neveu model in d = 2 + dimensions. To do this, we extend the “cow-pie contraction” algorithm of Basu and Krishnan to theories with fermions. Our results match perfectly with Feynman diagram computations.

The subject of study of this thesis is the Kerr-Newman-(anti-)de Sitter space- time, a rotating and charged exact black-hole solution of the Einstein-Maxwell equations with a non-zero cosmological constant. In the first part of the thesis we examine admissible extremal configurations, present the corresponding Penrose diagrams, and investigate the effects of frame-dragging. In the second part, we follow the motion of charged particles via the Lagrangian formalism, focusing on the equatorial plane and the axis where we arrived at some analytic results con- cerning the trajectories. Static particles, effective potentials and - in the case of the equatorial plane - stationary circular orbits are examined. We also perform numerical simulations of particle motion to be able to check our analytic results and also to foster our intuition regarding the behaviour of the test particles. The last part concerns quantum tunnelling of particles through the space-time's hori- zons, specifically the null geodesic method. The main goal of these computations is to obtain horizon temperatures, in which we succeed up to a constant multi- plicative factor. We discuss various pitfalls of the method and stake out a possible approach when applying it to the extreme horizons present in KN(a)dS. 1

Masters thesis of Liam Farrell, under the supervision of Dr. Duncan O'Dell. Successfully defended on August 26, 2021. / Caustics are regions created by the natural focusing of waves. Some examples include rainbows, spherical aberration, and sonic booms. The intensity of a caustic is singular in the classical ray theory, but can be smoothed out by taking into account the interference of waves. Caustics are generic in nature and are universally described by the mathematical theory known as catastrophe theory, which has successfully been applied to physically describe a wide variety of phenomena. Interestingly, caustics can exist in quantum mechanical systems in the form of phase singularities. Since phase is such a central concept in wave theory, this heralds the breakdown of the wave description of quantum mechanics and is in fact an example of a quantum catastrophe. Similarly to classical catastrophes, quantum catastrophes require some previously ignored property or degree of freedom to be taken into account in order to smooth the phase divergence. Different forms of spontaneous pair-production appear to suffer logarithmic phase singularities, specifically Hawking radiation from gravitational black holes. This is known as the trans-Planckian problem. We will investigate Hawking radiation formed in an analogue black hole consisting of a flowing ultra-cold Bose-Einstein condensate. By moving from an approximate hydrodynamical continuum description to a quantum mechanical discrete theory, the phase singularity is cured. We describe this process, and make connections to a new theory of logarithmic catastrophes. We show that our analogue Hawking radiation is mathematically described by a logarithmic Airy catastrophe, which further establishes the plausibility of pair-production being a quantum catastrophe / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Hawking radiation is a phenomenon where the combination of geometry of spacetime around a black hole and quantum effects near its event horizon causes particle emission. Stephen Hawking was one of the first to make computations and conclude that this is valid for every black hole in general. Therefore, the goal of the project was to understand how the presence of a black hole changes geometry of spacetime, explore some of its peculiar properties and, finally, connect it to Hawking radiation. It turns out that one way to describe geometry around a black hole is to use the Schwarzchild metric which fully describes surroundings of a non-rotating and uncharged black hole. Using the so called Klein-Gordon equation and some additional computations one then sees that there’s indeed a particle emission. However, the radiation appears to be observer dependent which is due to curvature near event horizon. Hawking radiation has temperature which happens to be extremely small to detect, but this result reveals the fact that black holes radiate faster as they shrink. However, the time it takes for an arbitrary black hole to evaporate is much longer than the age of the Universe. Encountering those and some other challenges Hawking radiation remains hypothetical. / Hawkingstrålning är ett fenomen där kombinationen av geometri av rumtid runt ett svart hål och kvantmekaniska effekter nära dess händelsehorisont leder till partikel emission. Stephen Hawking var bland de första att göra beräkningar och dra slutsatsen att detta är giltigt för alla svarta hål. Syftet med projektet var därför att förstå hur närvaron av ett svart hål ändrar geometri av rumtid, undersöka dess vissa speciella egenskaper samt anknyta det till Hawkingstrålning. Det visar sig att ett sätt att beskriva geometri kring ett svart hål är att använda Schwarzchild metriken som helt beskriver omgivningen av ett icke roterande och oladdat svart hål .Använder man sig av så kallade Klein-Gordon ekvationen och några ytterligare beräkningar så kommer man till slutsaten att det verkligen finns enemission av partiklar. Emissionen verkar dock vara observatörsberoende på grund av krökning nära händelsehorisont. Hawkingstrålning har temperatur som visar sig vara extremt liten för att upptäcka, men resultaten avslöjar faktumet att svarta hål strålar ut snabbare då de krymper. Tiden det tar för ett godtyckligt svart hål att koka bort är dock mycket längre än åldern of Universum. På grund av dessa och några andra utmanningar återstår Hawkingstrålning hypotetiskt.

This thesis is a study of certain aspects of quantum gravity in two- and three-dimensional de Sitter spaces. The model used in dS2 is the Jackiw- Tetitelboim gravity which involves a scalar coupling. At low-energy limit this model becomes Schwarzian theory for which one can compute one-loop partition function. Along the way, the model is recasted into the first order formalism which helps to find an appropriate measure for the partition function. The layout for quantum gravity in dS3 is practically the same and many results appear to be quite similar. Although, there are as many dissimilarities. Ultimately, the goal is different, namely to determine one-loop correction to the central charge of the theory dual to dS3 . Additionally, a putative genus expansion for Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity is investigated along with some concrete computations being done. / Detta examensarbete ̈ar en studie av vissa aspekter av kvantgravita-tion i två och tredimensionella de Sitter-rummen. Den behandlar Jackiw-Teitelboim gravitation i dS2 , en model med en skalär koppling. Vid lågenergigränns blir modellen till Schwarzian teorin som används för att beräkna första ordningskorrektionen till partitionsfunktion. På vägen dit skrivs om modelen till första ordningens formalism som sedan hjälper att hitta ett lämpligt mått för partitionsfunktionen. Plannen för dS3 ser ut i princip likadant och en stor del av resultater är liknande. Emellertid finns det lika många olikheter. I slut änden, målet är annorludna, nämligen att beräkna första ordningens korrektion till centrala laddningen av teorin som dual till dS3 . Dessutom, en förmodad genus expansion för Jackiw-Teitelboim gravitation är undersökt och vissa konkreta beräkningar är gjorda.

This thesis considers the problem of calculating and observing the mixing of modes of positive and negative frequency in inhomogeneous, dispersive media. Scattering of vacuum modes of the electromagnetic field at a moving interface in the refractive index of a dielectric medium is discussed. Kinematics arguments are used to demonstrate that this interface may, in a regime of linear dispersion, act as the analogue of the event horizon of a black hole to modes of the field. Furthermore, a study of the dispersion of the dielectric shows that five distinct configurations of modes of the inhomogeneous medium at the interface exist as a function of frequency. Thus it is shown that the interface is simultaneously a black- and white-hole horizon-like and horizonless emitter. The role, and importance, of negative-frequency modes of the field in mode conversion at the horizon is established and yields a calculation of the spontaneous photonic flux at the interface. An algorithm to calculate the scattering of vacuum modes at the interface is introduced. Spectra of the photonic flux in the moving and laboratory frame, for all modes and all realisable increase in the refractive index at the interface are computed. As a result of the various mode configurations, the spectra are highly structured in intervals with black-hole, white-hole and no horizon. The spectra are dominated by a negative-frequency mode, which is the partner in any Hawking-type emission. An experiment in which an incoming positive-frequency wave is populated with photons is assembled to observe the transfer of energy to outgoing waves of positive and negative frequency at the horizon. The effect of mode conversion at the interface is clearly shown to be a feature of horizon physics. This is a classical version of the quantum experiment that aims at validating the mechanism of Hawking radiation.

<p>We discuss various aspects of D-branes in string theory and holography in string theory and loop quantum gravity. </p><p>One way to study D-branes is from a microscopic perspective, using conformal field theory techniques. For example, we investigate the question of how D-branes can be introduced into orbifolded theories. Another way to study D-branes is from a space-time perspective. An example is provided by unstable D-branes, where we compute an effective action describing the decay of a bosonic D-brane. </p><p>The holographic principle is a proposed duality which suggests that a theory in any region has a dual description on the boundary. We explore two examples: (1) The area law for the entropy of a black hole in the framework of loop quantum gravity, related to particular regularizations of the area operator. (2) The AdS/CFT correspondence proposal, where we investigate a string pulsating on AdS using spin chains.</p>

We discuss various aspects of D-branes in string theory and holography in string theory and loop quantum gravity. One way to study D-branes is from a microscopic perspective, using conformal field theory techniques. For example, we investigate the question of how D-branes can be introduced into orbifolded theories. Another way to study D-branes is from a space-time perspective. An example is provided by unstable D-branes, where we compute an effective action describing the decay of a bosonic D-brane. The holographic principle is a proposed duality which suggests that a theory in any region has a dual description on the boundary. We explore two examples: (1) The area law for the entropy of a black hole in the framework of loop quantum gravity, related to particular regularizations of the area operator. (2) The AdS/CFT correspondence proposal, where we investigate a string pulsating on AdS using spin chains.