In einigen Ansätzen zu einer Quantentheorie der Gravitation wie Gruppenfeldtheorie und Schleifenquantengravitation zeigt sich, dass Zustände und Entwicklungen der geometrischen Freiheitsgrade auf einer diskreten Raumzeit basieren. Die dringendste Frage ist dann, wie die glatten Geometrien der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie, beschrieben durch geeignete geometrische Beobachtungsgrößen, aus solch diskreten Quantengeometrien im semiklassischen und Kontinuums-Limes hervorgehen. Hier nehme ich die Frage geeigneter Beobachtungsgrößen mit Fokus auf die effektive Dimension der Quantengeometrien in Angriff. Dazu gebe ich eine rein kombinatorische Beschreibung der zugrunde liegenden diskreten Strukturen. Als Nebenthema erlaubt dies eine Erweiterung der Gruppenfeldtheorie, so dass diese den kombinatorisch größeren kinematischen Zustandsraum der Schleifenquantengravitation abdeckt. Zudem führe ich einen diskreten Differentialrechnungskalkül für Felder auf solch fundamental diskreten Geometrien mit einem speziellen Augenmerk auf dem Laplace-Operator ein. Dies ermöglicht die Definition der Dimensionsobservablen für Quantengeometrien. Die Untersuchung verschiedener Klassen von Quantengeometrien zeigt allgemein, dass die spektrale Dimension stärker von der zugrunde liegenden kombinatorischen Struktur als von den Details der zusätzlichen geometrischen Daten darauf abhängt. Semiklassische Zustände in Schleifenquantengravitation approximieren die entsprechenden klassischen Geometrien gut ohne Anzeichen für stärkere Quanteneffekte. Dagegen zeigt sich im Kontext eines allgemeineren, auf analytischen Lösungen basierenden Modells für Zustände, die aus Überlagerungen einer großen Anzahl von Komplexen bestehen, ein Fluss der spektralen Dimension von der topologischen Dimension d bei kleinen Energieskalen hin zu einem reellen Wert zwischen 0 und d bei hohen Energien. Im Spezialfall 1 erlauben diese Resultate, die Quantengeometrie als effektiv fraktal aufzufassen. / In several approaches towards a quantum theory of gravity, such as group field theory and loop quantum gravity, quantum states and histories of the geometric degrees of freedom turn out to be based on discrete spacetime. The most pressing issue is then how the smooth geometries of general relativity, expressed in terms of suitable geometric observables, arise from such discrete quantum geometries in some semiclassical and continuum limit. In this thesis I tackle the question of suitable observables focusing on the effective dimension of discrete quantum geometries. For this purpose I give a purely combinatorial description of the discrete structures which these geometries have support on. As a side topic, this allows to present an extension of group field theory to cover the combinatorially larger kinematical state space of loop quantum gravity. Moreover, I introduce a discrete calculus for fields on such fundamentally discrete geometries with a particular focus on the Laplacian. This permits to define the effective-dimension observables for quantum geometries. Analysing various classes of quantum geometries, I find as a general result that the spectral dimension is more sensitive to the underlying combinatorial structure than to the details of the additional geometric data thereon. Semiclassical states in loop quantum gravity approximate the classical geometries they are peaking on rather well and there are no indications for stronger quantum effects. On the other hand, in the context of a more general model of states which are superposition over a large number of complexes, based on analytic solutions, there is a flow of the spectral dimension from the topological dimension d on low energy scales to a real number between 0 and d on high energy scales. In the particular case of 1 these results allow to understand the quantum geometry as effectively fractal.

We study three types of theories, using supersymmetry and ideas from string theory as tools to gain understanding of systems of more general interest. Firstly, we introduce non-relativistic Chern-Simons-matter field theories in three dimensions and study their anyonic spectrum in a conformal phase. These theories have supersymmetric completions, which in the non-relativistic case suffices to protect certain would-be BPS quantities from corrections. This allows us to compute one-loop exact anomalous dimensions of various bound states of non-Abelian anyons, analyse some interesting unitarity bound violations, and test some recently proposed bosonization dualities. Secondly, we turn on a chemical potential and break conformal invariance, putting the theory into the regime of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect (FQHE). This is illustrated in detail: the theory supports would-be BPS vortices which model the electrons of the FQHE, and they form bag-like states with the appropriate filling fractions, Hall conductivities, and anyonic excitations. This formalism makes possible some novel explicit computations: an analytic calculation of the anyonic phases experienced by Abelian quasiholes; analytic relationships to the boundary Wess-Zumino-Witten model; and derivations of a wide class of QHE wavefunctions from a bulk field theory. We also further test the three-dimensional bosonization dualities in this new setting. Along the way, we accumulate new descriptions of the QHE. Finally, we turn away from flat space and investigate a problem in (3+1)-dimensional quantum gravity. We find that even as an effective theory, the theory has enough structure to suggest the inclusion of certain gravitational instantons in the path integral. An explicit computation in a minimally supersymmetric case illustrates the principles at work, and highlights the role of a hitherto unidentified scale in quantum gravity. It also is an interesting result in itself: a non-perturbative quantum instability of a flat supersymmetric Kaluza-Klein compactification.

In thinking about quantum causality one would like to approach rigorous QFT from outside the perspective of QFT, which one expects to recover only in a specific physical domain of quantum gravity. This thesis considers issues in causality using Category Theory, and their application to field theoretic observables. It appears that an abstract categorical Machian principle of duality for a ribbon graph calculus has the potential to incorporate the recent calculation of particle rest masses by Brannen, as well as the Bilson-Thompson characterisation of the particles of the Standard Model. This thesis shows how Veneziano n point functions may be recovered in such a framework, using cohomological techniques inspired by twistor theory and recent MHV techniques. This distinct approach fits into a rich framework of higher operads, leaving room for a generalisation to other physical amplitudes. The utility of operads raises the question of a categorical description for the underlying physical logic. We need to consider quantum analogues of a topos. Grothendieck's concept of a topos is a genuine extension of the notion of a space that incorporates a logic internal to itself. Conventional quantum logic has yet to be put into a form of equal utility, although its logic has been formulated in category theoretic terms. Axioms for a quantum topos are given in this thesis, in terms of braided monoidal categories. The associated logic is analysed and, in particular, elements of linear vector space logic are shown to be recovered. The usefulness of doing so for ordinary quantum computation was made apparent recently by Coecke et al. Vector spaces underly every notion of algebra, and a new perspective on it is therefore useful. The concept of state vector is also readdressed in the language of tricategories.

In the following thesis, I will conduct a thermodynamic analysis of the Taub-NUT spacetime in various dimensions, as well as show uses for Taub-NUT and other Hyper-Kahler spacetimes. <br /><br /> Thermodynamic analysis (by which I mean the calculation of the entropy and other thermodynamic quantities, and the analysis of these quantities) has in the past been done by use of background subtraction. The recent derivation of the (A)dS/CFT correspondences from String theory has allowed for easier and quicker analysis. I will use Taub-NUT space as a template to test these correspondences against the standard thermodynamic calculations (via the N&ouml;ether method), with (in the Taub-NUT-dS case especially) some very interesting results. <br /><br /> There is also interest in obtaining metrics in eleven dimensions that can be reduced down to ten dimensional string theory metrics. Taub-NUT and other Hyper-Kahler metrics already possess the form to easily facilitate the Kaluza-Klein reduction, and embedding such metrics into eleven dimensional metrics containing M2 or M5 branes produces metrics with interesting Dp-brane results.

In this dissertation the dynamics of general relativity is studied via the spin-foam approach to quantum gravity. Spin-foams are a proposal to compute a transition amplitude from a triangulated space-time manifold for the evolution of quantum 3d geometry via path integral. Any path integral formulation of a quantum theory has two important parts, the measure factor and a phase part. The correct measure factor is obtained by careful canonical analysis at the continuum level. The basic variables in the Plebanski-Holst formulation of gravity from which spin-foam is derived are a Lorentz connection and a Lorentz-algebra valued two-form, called the Plebanski two-form. However, in the final spin-foam sum, one usually sums over only spins and intertwiners, which label eigenstates of the Plebanski two-form alone. The spin-foam sum is therefore a discretized version of a Plebanski-Holst path integral in which only the Plebanski two-form appears, and in which the conne ction degrees of freedom have been integrated out. Calculating the measure factor for Plebanksi Holst formulation without the connection degrees of freedom is one of the aims of this dissertation. This analysis is at the continuum level and in order to be implemented in spin-foams one needs to properly discretize and quantize this measure factor. The correct phase is determined by semi-classical behavior. In asymptotic analysis of the Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine spin-foam model, due to the inclusion of more than the usual gravitational sector, more than the usual Regge term appears in the asymptotics of the vertex amplitude. As a consequence, solutions to the classical equations of motion of GR fail to dominate in the semi-classical limit. One solution to this problem has been proposed in which one quantum mechanically imposes restriction to a single gravitational sector, yielding what has been called the “proper” spin-foam model. However, this revised model of quantum gravity, like any proposal for a theory of quantum gravity, must pass certain tests. In the regime of small curvature, one expects a given model of quantum gravity to reproduce the predictions of the linearized theory. As a consistency check we calculate the graviton two-point function predicted by the Lorentzian proper vertex and examine its semiclassical limit. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

In the following thesis, I will conduct a thermodynamic analysis of the Taub-NUT spacetime in various dimensions, as well as show uses for Taub-NUT and other Hyper-Kahler spacetimes. <br /><br /> Thermodynamic analysis (by which I mean the calculation of the entropy and other thermodynamic quantities, and the analysis of these quantities) has in the past been done by use of background subtraction. The recent derivation of the (A)dS/CFT correspondences from String theory has allowed for easier and quicker analysis. I will use Taub-NUT space as a template to test these correspondences against the standard thermodynamic calculations (via the N&ouml;ether method), with (in the Taub-NUT-dS case especially) some very interesting results. <br /><br /> There is also interest in obtaining metrics in eleven dimensions that can be reduced down to ten dimensional string theory metrics. Taub-NUT and other Hyper-Kahler metrics already possess the form to easily facilitate the Kaluza-Klein reduction, and embedding such metrics into eleven dimensional metrics containing M2 or M5 branes produces metrics with interesting Dp-brane results.

The concept of time in physics underwent significant changes in the decades following World War II. This dissertation considers several ways in which American physicists grappled with these changes, analyzing the extent to which philosophical methods and questions played a role in physicists' engagement with time. Two lines of questioning run through the dissertation. The first asks about the professional identities of postwar American physicists in relation to philosophy, as exemplified by their engagement with the concept of time. The second analyzes the heterogeneous nature of time in physics, and the range of presuppositions and assumptions that have constituted this "fundamental" physical concept. The first chapter looks to the development of atomic clocks and atomic time standards from 1948-1958, and the ways in which new timekeeping technologies placed concepts such as “clock”, “second,” and “measure of time” in a state of flux. The second chapter looks to the experimental discovery of CP violation by particle physicists in the early 1960s, raising questions about nature of time understood as the variable “t” in the equations of quantum mechanics. The third chapter considers attempts to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity in the late 1960s, which prompted physicists to question the “existence” of time in relation to the universe as a whole. In each episode considered, physicists engaged with the concept of time in a variety of ways, revealing a multiplicity of relationships between physics, philosophy, and time. Further, in each case physicists brought a unique set of assumptions to their concepts of time, revealing the variety ways in which fundamental conceptsfunctioned and changed in late twentieth century physics. The result is a heterogeneous picture of the practice of physics, as well as one of physics’ most basic concepts. / History of Science

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία αποτελεί μια σύντομη εισαγωγή στη θεωρία των Χορδών, ενώ ιδιαίτερη έμαφαση έχει δοθεί στις D-Branes. Αρχικά παρουσιάζεται η κλασική μποζονική χορδή, καθώς και η κβάντωσή της. Στη συνέχεια περιγράφεται ο Τ-δυϊσμός και εισάγονται οι D-Branes στη θεωρία, των οποίων και αναλύονται τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά, ενώ παρουσιάζεται και η δράση κοσμικού όγκου για την περιγραφή τους. Ακολουθεί μια συνοπτική περιγραφή των υπερσυμετρικών χορδών και των διαφορετικών θεωριών χορδών που προκύπτουν. Τέλος, παρουσιάζεται η γεωμετρία που παράγουν οι D-Branes, σε αναλογία με την αντίστοιχη των μελανών οπών, και περιγράφεται ο τρόπος με τον οπίο κατασκευάζονται extremal μελανές οπές στη θεωρία χορδών καθώς και η μικροσκοπική περιγραφή τους μέσω κατάλληλων διατάξεων από D-Branes. / This thesis consists of a short introduction to string theory, while emphasis has been given on D-Branes. First, the classical bosonic string is presented, and its quantization. T-duality is described and D-Branes are introduced in the theory, the basic properties of which are analyzed. A short discussion of supersymmetric strings follows. Finally, the geometry of D-branes is presented, with respect to the geometry of black holes, and the way that extremal black holes are constructed in string theory, while also their microscopic describtion in terms of D-branes.

Diese Arbeit befaßt sich mit der Koppelung von Vertex-Modellen an die planaren $\phi^4$-Zufallsgraphen des Zugangs zur Quantengravitation über dynamische Polygonifizierungen. Das betrachtete System hat eine doppelte Bedeutung, einerseits als die Koppelung einer konformen Feldtheorie mit zentraler Ladung $C=1$ an zweidimensionale Euklidische Quantengravitation, andererseits als Anwendung von geometrischer, "annealed" Unordnung auf ein prototypisches Modell der statistischen Mechanik. Da das Modell mit Hilfe einer großangelegten Reihe von Monte Carlo Simulationen untersucht wird, müssen entsprechende Techniken für die Simulation von dynamischen Quadrangulierungen bzw. die dualen $\phi^4$-Graphen entwickelt werden. Hierzu werden verschiedene Algorithmen und die dazugehörigen Züge vorgeschlagen und hinsichtlich ihrer Ergodizität und Effizienz untersucht. Zum Vergleich mit exakten Ergebnissen werden die Verteilung der Koordinationszahlen bzw. bestimmte Analoga davon konstruiert. Für Simulationen des $F$-Modells auf $\phi^4$-Zufallsgraphen wird ein Ordnungsparameter für den antiferroelektrischen Phasenübergang mit Hilfe einer Plakettenspindarstellung formuliert. Ausführliche "finite-size scaling"-Analysen des Kosterlitz-Thouless-Phasenübergangs des $F$-Modells auf dem Quadratgitter und auf Zufallsgraphen werden vorgestellt und die Positionen der jeweiligen kritischen Punkte sowie die dazugehörigen kritischen Exponenten werden bestimmt. Die Rückreaktion des Vertex-Modells auf die Zufallsgraphen wird in Form der Koordinationszahlverteilung, der Verteilung der "Baby-Universen" und dem daraus resultierenden String-Suszeptibilitäts-Exponenten sowie durch die geometrische Zweipunktfunktion analysiert, die eine Schätzung der intrinsischen Hausdorff-Dimension des gekoppelten Systems liefert. / In this thesis, the coupling of ice-type vertex models to the planar $\phi^4$ random graphs of the dynamical polygonifications approach to quantum gravity is considered. The investigated system has a double significance as a conformal field theory with central charge $C=1$ coupled to two-dimensional Euclidean quantum gravity and as the application of a special type of annealed connectivity disorder to a prototypic model of statistical mechanics. Since the model is analyzed by means of large-scale Monte Carlo simulations, suitable simulation techniques for the case of dynamical quadrangulations and the dual $\phi^4$ random graphs have to be developed. Different algorithms and the associated update moves are proposed and investigated with respect to their ergodicity and performance. For comparison to exact results, the co-ordination number distribution of the dynamical polygonifications model, or certain analogues of it, are constructed. For simulations of the 6-vertex $F$ model on $\phi^4$ random graphs, an order parameter for its anti-ferroelectric phase transitions is constructed in terms of a "plaquette spin" representation. Extensive finite-size scaling analyses of the Kosterlitz-Thouless point of the square-lattice and random graph $F$ models are presented and the locations of the critical points as well as the corresponding critical exponents are determined. The back-reaction of the coupled vertex model on the random graphs is investigated by an analysis of the co-ordination number distribution, the distribution of "baby universes" and the string susceptibility exponent as well as the geometric two-point function, yielding an estimate for the internal Hausdorff dimension of the coupled system.

In thinking about quantum causality one would like to approach rigorous QFT from outside the perspective of QFT, which one expects to recover only in a specific physical domain of quantum gravity. This thesis considers issues in causality using Category Theory, and their application to field theoretic observables. It appears that an abstract categorical Machian principle of duality for a ribbon graph calculus has the potential to incorporate the recent calculation of particle rest masses by Brannen, as well as the Bilson-Thompson characterisation of the particles of the Standard Model. This thesis shows how Veneziano n point functions may be recovered in such a framework, using cohomological techniques inspired by twistor theory and recent MHV techniques. This distinct approach fits into a rich framework of higher operads, leaving room for a generalisation to other physical amplitudes. The utility of operads raises the question of a categorical description for the underlying physical logic. We need to consider quantum analogues of a topos. Grothendieck's concept of a topos is a genuine extension of the notion of a space that incorporates a logic internal to itself. Conventional quantum logic has yet to be put into a form of equal utility, although its logic has been formulated in category theoretic terms. Axioms for a quantum topos are given in this thesis, in terms of braided monoidal categories. The associated logic is analysed and, in particular, elements of linear vector space logic are shown to be recovered. The usefulness of doing so for ordinary quantum computation was made apparent recently by Coecke et al. Vector spaces underly every notion of algebra, and a new perspective on it is therefore useful. The concept of state vector is also readdressed in the language of tricategories.