Interpolating Action for Strings and Membranes - a Study of Symmetries in the Constrained Hamiltonian Approach

A master action for bosonic strings and membranes, interpolating between the Nambu--Goto and Polyakov formalisms, is discussed. The role of the gauge symmetries vis-\`{a}-vis reparametrization symmetries of the various actions is analyzed by a constrained Hamiltonian approach. This analysis reveals the difference between strings and higher branes, which is essentially tied to a degree of freedom count. The cosmological term for membranes follows naturally in this scheme. The conncetion of our aproach with the Arnowitt--Deser--Misner representation in general relativity is illuminated.Comment: LaTex, 23 pages; discussion on ADM representation included and new references adde

Entropy of the Kerr-Sen Black Hole

We study the entropy of Kerr-Sen black hole of heterotic string theory beyond semiclassical approximations. Applying the properties of exact differentials for three variables to the first law thermodynamics we derive the corrections to the entropy of the black hole. The leading (logarithmic) and non leading corrections to the area law are obtained.Comment: 8 pages. Corrected references

Self dual models and mass generation in planar field theory

We analyse in three space-time dimensions, the connection between abelian self dual vector doublets and their counterparts containing both an explicit mass and a topological mass. Their correspondence is established in the lagrangian formalism using an operator approach as well as a path integral approach. A canonical hamiltonian analysis is presented, which also shows the equivalence with the lagrangian formalism. The implications of our results for bosonisation in three dimensions are discussed.Comment: 15 pages,Revtex, No figures; several changes; revised version to appear in Physical Review

Quantisation of second class systems in the Batalin-Tyutin formalism

We review the Batalin-Tyutin approach of quantising second class systems which consists in enlarging the phase space to convert such systems into first class. The quantisation of first class systems, it may be mentioned, is already well founded. We show how the usual analysis of Batalin-Tyutin may be generalised, particularly if one is dealing with nonabelian theories. In order to gain a deeper insight into the formalism we have considered two specific examples of second class theories-- the massive Maxwell theory (Proca model) and its nonabelian extension. The first class constraints and the involutive Hamiltonian are explicitly constructed. The connection of our Hamiltonian approach with the usual Lagrangian formalism is elucidated. For the Proca model we reveal the importance of a boundary term which plays a significant role in establishing an exact identification of the extra fields in the Batalin-Tyutin approach with the St\"uckelberg scalar. Some comments are also made concerning the corresponding identification in the nonabelian example.Comment: 26 pages, Latex file, e-mail [email protected] SINP-TNP/94-

Non-Abelian Proca model based on the improved BFT formalism

We present the newly improved Batalin-Fradkin-Tyutin (BFT) Hamiltonian formalism and the generalization to the Lagrangian formulation, which provide the much more simple and transparent insight to the usual BFT method, with application to the non-Abelian Proca model which has been an difficult problem in the usual BFT method. The infinite terms of the effectively first class constraints can be made to be the regular power series forms by ingenious choice of $X_{\alpha \beta}$ and $\omega^{\alpha \beta}$-matrices. In this new method, the first class Hamiltonian, which also needs infinite correction terms is obtained simply by replacing the original variables in the original Hamiltonian with the BFT physical variables. Remarkably all the infinite correction terms can be expressed in the compact exponential form. We also show that in our model the Poisson brackets of the BFT physical variables in the extended phase space are the same structure as the Dirac brackets of the original phase space variables. With the help of both our newly developed Lagrangian formulation and Hamilton's equations of motion, we obtain the desired classical Lagrangian corresponding to the first class Hamiltonian which can be reduced to the generalized St\"uckelberg Lagrangian which is non-trivial conjecture in our infinitely many terms involved in Hamiltonian and Lagrangian.Comment: Notable improvements in Sec. I

An environment-mediated quantum deleter

Environment-induced decoherence presents a great challenge to realizing a quantum computer. We point out the somewhat surprising fact that decoherence can be useful, indeed necessary, for practical quantum computation, in particular, for the effective erasure of quantum memory in order to initialize the state of the quantum computer. The essential point behind the deleter is that the environment, by means of a dissipative interaction, furnishes a contractive map towards a pure state. We present a specific example of an amplitude damping channel provided by a two-level system's interaction with its environment in the weak Born-Markov approximation. This is contrasted with a purely dephasing, non-dissipative channel provided by a two-level system's interaction with its environment by means of a quantum nondemolition interaction. We point out that currently used state preparation techniques, for example using optical pumping, essentially perform as quantum deleters.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physics Letters