Pseudo-topological transitions in 2D gravity models coupled to massless scalar fields

Jan Ambjørn, A. T. Gorlich, J. Jurkiewicz, H-G. Zhang

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We study the geometries generated by two-dimensional causal dynamical triangulations (CDT) coupled to d massless scalar fields. Using methods similar to those used to study four-dimensional CDT we show that there exists a c=1 "barrier", analogous to the c=1 barrier encountered in non-critical string theory, only the CDT transition is easier to be detected numerically. For d≤1 we observe time-translation invariance and geometries entirely governed by quantum fluctuations around the uniform toroidal topology put in by hand. For d>1 the effective average geometry is no longer toroidal but "semiclassical" and spherical with Hausdorff dimension d H=3. In the d>1 sector we study the time dependence of the semiclassical spatial volume distribution and show that the observed behavior is described by an effective mini-superspace action analogous to the actions found in the de Sitter phase of three- and four-dimensional pure CDT simulations and in the three-dimensional CDT-like Hořava-Lifshitz models.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNuclear Physics B
Volume863
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)421-434
ISSN0550-3213
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Oct 2012

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