Hurewicz fibrations, almost submetries and critical points of smooth maps

We prove that the existence of a Hurewicz fibration between certain spaces with the homotopy type of a CW-complex implies some topological restrictions on their universal coverings. This result is used to deduce differentiable and metric properties of maps between compact Riemannian manifolds under curvature restrictions

Plane waves from double extended spacetimes

We study exact string backgrounds (WZW models) generated by nonsemisimple algebras which are obtained as double extensions of generic D--dimensional semisimple algebras. We prove that a suitable change of coordinates always exists which reduces these backgrounds to be the product of the nontrivial background associated to the original algebra and two dimensional Minkowski. However, under suitable contraction, the algebra reduces to a Nappi--Witten algebra and the corresponding spacetime geometry, no more factorized, can be interpreted as the Penrose limit of the original background. For both configurations we construct D--brane solutions and prove that {\em all} the branes survive the Penrose limit. Therefore, the limit procedure can be used to extract informations about Nappi--Witten plane wave backgrounds in arbitrary dimensions.Comment: 27 pages, no figures, references adde

On the Euler angles for SU(N)

In this paper we reconsider the problem of the Euler parametrization for the unitary groups. After constructing the generic group element in terms of generalized angles, we compute the invariant measure on SU(N) and then we determine the full range of the parameters, using both topological and geometrical methods. In particular, we show that the given parametrization realizes the group $SU(N+1)$ as a fibration of U(N) over the complex projective space $\mathbb{CP}^n$. This justifies the interpretation of the parameters as generalized Euler angles.Comment: 16 pages, references adde

Pair-production of charged Dirac particles on charged Nariai and ultracold black hole manifolds

Spontaneous loss of charge by charged black holes by means of pair-creation of charged Dirac particles is considered. We provide three examples of exact calculations for the spontaneous discharge process for 4D charged black holes by considering the process on three special non-rotating de Sitter black hole backgrounds, which allow to bring back the problem to a Kaluza-Klein reduction. Both the zeta-function approach and the transmission coefficient approach are taken into account. A comparison between the two methods is also provided, as well as a comparison with WKB results. In the case of non-zero temperature of the geometric background, we also discuss thermal effects on the discharge process.Comment: 27 page

Path integral quantization of the relativistic Hopfield model

The path integral quantization method is applied to a relativistically covariant version of the Hopfield model, which represents a very interesting mesoscopic framework for the description of the interaction between quantum light and dielectric quantum matter, with particular reference to the context of analogue gravity. In order to take into account the constraints occurring in the model, we adopt the Faddeev-Jackiw approach to constrained quantization in the path integral formalism. In particular we demonstrate that the propagator obtained with the Faddeev-Jackiw approach is equivalent to the one which, in the framework of Dirac canonical quantization for constrained systems, can be directly computed as the vacuum expectation value of the time ordered product of the fields. Our analysis also provides an explicit example of quantization of the electromagnetic field in a covariant gauge and coupled with the polarization field, which is a novel contribution to the literature on the Faddeev-Jackiw procedure.Comment: 16 page

(2 + 1) noncommutative gravity and conical spacetimes

We solve (2+1) noncommutative gravity coupled to point-like sources. We find continuity with Einstein gravity since we recover the classical gravitational field in the $\theta \to 0$ limit or at large distance from the source. It appears a limitation on the mass which is twice than expected. Since the distance is not gauge invariant, the measure of the deficit angle near the source is intrinsically ambiguous, with the gauge group playing the role of statistical ensemble. Einstein determinism can be recovered only at large distance from the source, compared with the scale of the noncommutative parameter $\sqrt{\theta}$.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, no figure

Spectral boundary conditions and solitonic solutions in a classical Sellmeier dielectric

Electromagnetic field interactions in a dielectric medium represent a longstanding field of investigation, both at the classical level and at the quantum one. We propose a 1+1 dimensional toy-model which consists of an half-line filling dielectric medium, with the aim to set up a simplified situation where technicalities related to gauge invariance and, as a consequence, physics of constrained systems are avoided, and still interesting features appear. In particular, we simulate the electromagnetic field and the polarization field by means of two coupled scalar fields $\phi$,$\psi$ respectively, in a Hopfield-like model. We find that, in order to obtain a physically meaningful behaviour for the model, one has to introduce spectral boundary conditions depending on the particle spectrum one is dealing with. This is the first interesting achievement of our analysis. The second relevant achievement is that, by introducing a nonlinear contribution in the polarization field $\psi$, with the aim of mimicking a third order nonlinearity in a nonlinear dielectric, we obtain solitonic solutions in the Hopfield model framework, whose classical behaviour is analyzed too.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur