Curvature and geodesic instabilities in a geometrical approach to the planar three-body problem

The Maupertuis principle allows us to regard classical trajectories as reparametrized geodesics of the Jacobi-Maupertuis (JM) metric on configuration space. We study this geodesic reformulation of the planar three-body problem with both Newtonian and attractive inverse-square potentials. The associated JM metrics possess translation and rotation isometries in addition to scaling isometries for the inverse-square potential with zero energy E. The geodesic flow on the full configuration space $C^3$ (with collision points excluded) leads to corresponding flows on its Riemannian quotients: the center of mass configuration space $C^2$ and shape space $R^3$ (as well as $S^3$ and the shape sphere $S^2$ for the inverse-square potential when E = 0). The corresponding Riemannian submersions are described explicitly in `Hopf' coordinates which are particularly adapted to the isometries. For equal masses subject to inverse-square potentials, Montgomery shows that the zero-energy `pair of pants' JM metric on the shape sphere is geodesically complete and has negative gaussian curvature except at Lagrange points. We extend this to a proof of boundedness and strict negativity of scalar curvatures everywhere on $C^2, R^3$ & $S^3$ with collision points removed. Sectional curvatures are also found to be largely negative, indicating widespread geodesic instabilities. We obtain asymptotic metrics near collisions, show that scalar curvatures have finite limits and observe that the geodesic reformulation `regularizes' pairwise and triple collisions on $C^2$ and its quotients for arbitrary masses and allowed energies. For the Newtonian potential with equal masses and E=0, we find that the scalar curvature on $C^2$ is strictly negative though it could have either sign on $R^3$. However, unlike for the inverse-square potential, geodesics can encounter curvature singularities at collisions in finite geodesic time.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures. Published version, typos corrected and references update

On lightest baryon and its excitations in large-N 1+1-dimensional QCD

We study baryons in multicolour 1+1D QCD via Rajeev's gauge-invariant reformulation as a non-linear classical theory of a bilocal meson field constrained to lie on a Grassmannian. It is known to reproduce 't Hooft's meson spectrum via small oscillations around the vacuum, while baryons arise as topological solitons. The lightest baryon has zero mass per colour in the chiral limit; we find its form factor. It moves at the speed of light through a family of massless states. To model excitations of this baryon, we linearize equations for motion in the tangent space to the Grassmannian, parameterized by a bilocal field U. A redundancy in U is removed and an approximation is made in lieu of a consistency condition on U. The baryon spectrum is given by an eigenvalue problem for a hermitian singular integral operator on such tangent vectors. Excited baryons are like bound states of the lightest one with a meson. Using a rank-1 ansatz for U in a variational formulation, we estimate the mass and form factor of the first excitation.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, shorter published version, added remarks on parit

Phase transition in matrix model with logarithmic action: Toy-model for gluons in baryons

We study the competing effects of gluon self-coupling and their interactions with quarks in a baryon, using the very simple setting of a hermitian 1-matrix model with action tr A^4 - log det(nu + A^2). The logarithmic term comes from integrating out N quarks. The model is a caricature of 2d QCD coupled to adjoint scalars, which are the transversely polarized gluons in a dimensional reduction. nu is a dimensionless ratio of quark mass to coupling constant. The model interpolates between gluons in the vacuum (nu=infinity), gluons weakly coupled to heavy quarks (large nu) and strongly coupled to light quarks in a baryon (nu to 0). It's solution in the large-N limit exhibits a phase transition from a weakly coupled 1-cut phase to a strongly coupled 2-cut phase as nu is decreased below nu_c = 0.27. Free energy and correlation functions are discontinuous in their third and second derivatives at nu_c. The transition to a two-cut phase forces eigenvalues of A away from zero, making glue-ring correlations grow as nu is decreased. In particular, they are enhanced in a baryon compared to the vacuum. This investigation is motivated by a desire to understand why half the proton's momentum is contributed by gluons.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Algebra and geometry of Hamilton's quaternions

Inspired by the relation between the algebra of complex numbers and plane geometry, William Rowan Hamilton sought an algebra of triples for application to three dimensional geometry. Unable to multiply and divide triples, he invented a non-commutative division algebra of quadruples, in what he considered his most significant work, generalizing the real and complex number systems. We give a motivated introduction to quaternions and discuss how they are related to Pauli matrices, rotations in three dimensions, the three sphere, the group SU(2) and the celebrated Hopf fibrations.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

A critique of recent semi-classical spin-half quantum plasma theories

Certain recent semi-classical theories of spin-half quantum plasmas are examined with regard to their internal consistency, physical applicability and relevance to fusion, astrophysical and condensed matter plasmas. It is shown that the derivations and some of the results obtained in these theories are internally inconsistent and contradict well-established principles of quantum and statistical mechanics, especially in their treatment of fermions and spin. Claims of large semi-classical effects of spin magnetic moments that could dominate the plasma dynamics are found to be invalid both for single-particles and collectively. Larmor moments dominate at high temperature while spin moments cancel due to Pauli blocking at low temperatures. Explicit numerical estimates from a variety of plasmas are provided to demonstrate that spin effects are indeed much smaller than many neglected classical effects. The analysis presented suggests that the aforementioned `Spin Quantum Hydrodynamic' theories are not relevant to conventional laboratory or astrophysical plasmas.Comment: 11 pages, To appear in Contributions to Plasma Physics. Minor correction on page 3 to electron spin magnetic momen

Schwinger-Dyson operator of Yang-Mills matrix models with ghosts and derivations of the graded shuffle algebra

We consider large-N multi-matrix models whose action closely mimics that of Yang-Mills theory, including gauge-fixing and ghost terms. We show that the factorized Schwinger-Dyson loop equations, expressed in terms of the generating series of gluon and ghost correlations G(xi), are quadratic equations S^i G = G xi^i G in concatenation of correlations. The Schwinger-Dyson operator S^i is built from the left annihilation operator, which does not satisfy the Leibnitz rule with respect to concatenation. So the loop equations are not differential equations. We show that left annihilation is a derivation of the graded shuffle product of gluon and ghost correlations. The shuffle product is the point-wise product of Wilson loops, expressed in terms of correlations. So in the limit where concatenation is approximated by shuffle products, the loop equations become differential equations. Remarkably, the Schwinger-Dyson operator as a whole is also a derivation of the graded shuffle product. This allows us to turn the loop equations into linear equations for the shuffle reciprocal, which might serve as a starting point for an approximation scheme.Comment: 13 pages, added discussion & references, title changed, minor corrections, published versio