Related papers: Instantons: topological aspects
Instantons are tunneling solutions that connect two vacua, and under a small change in the potential, instantons sometimes disappear. We classify these disappearances as smooth (decay rate goes to 0 at disappearance) or abrupt (decay rate…
In this expository review we discuss various aspects of gauge theory. While the focus is on mathematics, wherever possible we make contact with theoretical high energy physics. Particular emphasis is placed on instantons and monopoles,…
This is an overview article on finite type invariants, written for the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics
The purpose of this paper is to give, on one hand, a mathematical exposition of the main topological and geometrical properties of geometric transitions, on the other hand, a quick outline of their principal applications, both in…
We point out the existence of some singular, radial, spin-0 instantons for curvature-quadratic gravity theories. They are complex.
Recent efforts in lattice evaluation of the topological susceptibility had shown that at high temperatures it is given by well-separated instantons (even in QCD with light fermions, where those are highly suppressed). Recent development of…
We present an introduction to the use of noncommutative geometry for gauge theories with emphasis on a construction of instantons for a class of four dimensional toric noncommutative manifolds. These instantons are solutions of self-duality…
We consider topology changing processes in SU(2)--Higgs theory. In the Standard Model of particle physics they are accompanied by baryon--and lepton--number non--conservation. At fixed energy and multiplicity of initial state, these…
These are the (twice) extended notes of a set of lectures given at the ``12th Workshop on Hadronic Interactions'' at the IF/UERJ, Rio de Janeiro (31. 5. - 2. 6. 2000). The lectures aim at introducing essential concepts of instanton physics,…
We give a quick tour through many of the classical results in the field of minimal submanifolds, starting at the definition. The field of minimal submanifolds remains extremely active and has very recently seen major developments that have…
The topological index of a surface was previously introduced by the first author as the topological analogue of the index of an unstable minimal surface. Here we show that surfaces of arbitrarily high topological index exist.
A new mechanism for suppression of the instanton density in the infrared is considered. This mechanism is based on the phenomenon of topological charge screening, which leads to an effective cutoff in the contribution of large instantons.
A brief review of some selected topics in p-adic mathematical physics is presented.
This article, written in honor of Fritz Rohrlich, briefly surveys the role of topology in physics.
Within the context of finding the initial conditions of the universe we consider gravitational instantons falling into the Bianchi IX classification. That is, a Euclidean four-manifold with a metric that satisfies Einstein's equations with…
Topological excitations are prominent candidates for explaining nonperturbative effects in QCD like confinement. In these lectures, I cover both formal treatments and applications of topological objects. The typical phenomena like BPS…
We present a novel approach to constructing gravitational instantons based on the observation that the gravitational action of general relativity in its teleparallel formulation can be expressed as a product of the torsion and excitation…
A characterization of instanton contributions to gauge field theory is given. The dynamics of instantons with the gluon field is given in terms of 'classical' instanton contributions, i.e. on the same footing as tree amplitudes in field…
We present calculations of the size distribution of instantons in the 2d O(3) non-linear sigma-model, and briefly discuss the effects cooling has upon the configurations and the topological objects. (This preprint is also available via…
Draft version of an article prepared for the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, Elsevier, to appear in 2006.