Taking Euclidean signature space-time with its local Spin(4)=SU(2)xSU(2) group of space-time symmetries as fundamental, one can consistently gauge one SU(2) factor to get a chiral spin connection formulation of general relativity, the other to get part of the Standard Model gauge fields. Reconstructing a Lorentz signature theory requires introducing a degree of freedom specifying the imaginary time direction, which will play the role of the Higgs field.
To make sense of this one needs to work with twistor geometry, which provides tautological spinor degrees of freedom and a framework for relating by analytic continuation spinors in Minkowski and Euclidean space-time. It also provides internal U(1) and SU(3) symmetries as well as a simple construction of the degrees of freedom of a Standard Model generation of matter fields. In this proposal the theory is naturally defined on projective twistor space rather than the usual space-time, so will require further development of a gauge theory and spinor field quantization formalism in that context.
We introduce the D=4 twistorial tensionfull bosonic string by considering the canonical twistorial 2--form in two--twistor space. We demonstrate its equivalence to two bosonic string models: due to Siegel (with covariant worldsheet vectorial string momenta $P_μ^{m}(τ,σ)$) and the one with tensorial string momenta $P_{[μν]}(τ,σ)$. We show how to obtain in mixed space-time--twistor formulation the Soroka--Sorokin--Tkach--Volkov (SSTV) string model and subsequently by harmonic gauge fixing the Bandos--Zheltukhin (BZ) model, with constrained spinorial coordinates.
We generalize the idea of supertwistors and introduce a new supersymmetric object - the $θ$-twistor which includes the composite Ramond vector [11] well known from the spinning string dynamics. The symmetries of the chiral $θ$-twistor superspace are studied. It is shown that the chiral spin structure introduced by the $θ$-twistor breaks the superconformal boost symmetry but preserves the scale symmetry and the super-Poincare symmetry. This geometrical effect of breaking correlates with the Gross-Wess effect of the conformal boost breaking for bosonic scattering amplitudes.
The Penrose transform between twistors and the phase space of massless particles is generalized from the massless case to an assortment of other particle dynamical systems, including special examples of massless or massive particles, relativistic or non-relativistic, interacting or non-interacting, in flat space or curved spaces. Our unified construction involves always the \it{same} twistor Z^A with only four complex degrees of freedom and subject to the \it{same} helicity constraint. Only the twistor to phase space transform differs from one case to another. Hence a unification of diverse pa…
We reformulate Euclidean general relativity without cosmological constant as an action governing the complex structure of twistor space. Extending Penrose's non-linear graviton construction, we find a correspondence between twistor spaces with partially integrable almost complex structures and four-dimensional space-times with off-shell metrics. Using this, we prove that our twistor action reduces to Plebanski's action for general relativity via the Penrose transform. This should lead to new insights into the geometry of graviton scattering as well as to the derivation of computational tools l…
The classical double copy relating exact solutions of biadjoint scalar, gauge and gravity theories continues to receive widespread attention. Recently, a derivation of the exact classical double copy was presented, using ideas from twistor theory, in which spacetime fields are mapped to Cech cohomology classes in twistor space. A puzzle remains, however, in how to interpret the twistor double copy, in that it relies on somehow picking special representatives of each cohomology class. In this paper, we provide two alternative formulations of the twistor double copy using the more widely-used la…
Hughston has shown that projective pure spinors can be used to construct massless solutions in higher dimensions, generalizing the four-dimensional twistor transform of Penrose. In any even (Euclidean) dimension d=2n, projective pure spinors parameterize the coset space SO(2n)/U(n), which is the space of all complex structures on R^{2n}. For d=4 and d=6, these spaces are CP^1 and CP^3, and the appropriate twistor transforms can easily be constructed. In this paper, we show how to construct the twistor transform for d>6 when the pure spinor satisfies nonlinear constraints, and present explicit …
We consider the twistor space ${\cal P}^6\cong{\mathbb R}^4{\times}{\mathbb C}P^1$ of ${\mathbb R}^4$ with a non-integrable almost complex structure ${\cal J}$ such that the canonical bundle of the almost complex manifold $({\cal P}^6, {\cal J})$ is trivial. It is shown that ${\cal J}$-holomorphic Chern-Simons theory on a real $(6|2)$-dimensional graded extension ${\cal P}^{6|2}$ of the twistor space ${\cal P}^6$ is equivalent to self-dual Yang-Mills theory on Euclidean space ${\mathbb R}^4$ with Lorentz invariant action. It is also shown that adding a local term to a Chern-Simons-type action …
We consider the fuzzy 4-sphere $S_N^4$ as a background in the IKKT matrix model and explore the relation between $S_N^4$ and fuzzy twistor space in the semi-classical limit. A novel description for the IKKT-matrix model in terms of spinorial indices is given, which is reminiscent of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-symmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) in $4d$. On fuzzy twistor space, the interactions of the IKKT model are of gravitational type. The higher-spin (HS) gauge theory emerging in this limit from the IKKT model, denoted as HS-IKKT, on fuzzy twistor space is shown to be a higher-spin extension of $\mathcal…
Finding the exact, quantum corrected metric on the hypermultiplet moduli space in Type II string compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds is an outstanding open problem. We address this issue by relating the quaternionic-Kahler metric on the hypermultiplet moduli space to the complex contact geometry on its twistor space. In this framework, Euclidean D-brane instantons are captured by contact transformations between different patches. We derive those by recasting the previously known A-type D2-instanton corrections in the language of contact geometry, covariantizing the result under electro-…
We consider the generalized Kahler structures (g,J_+,J_-) that arise on a hyperkahler manifold (M,g,I,J,K) when we choose J_+ and J_- from the twistor space of M. We find a relation between semichiral and arctic superfields which can be used to determine the generalized Kahler potential for hyperkahler manifolds whose description in projective superspace is fully understood. We use this relation to determine an S^2-family of generalized Kahler potentials for Euclidean space and for the Eguchi-Hanson geometry. Cotangent bundles of Hermitian symmetric spaces constitute a class of hyperkahler man…
This is a tribute to Abdus Salam's memory whose insight and creative thinking set for me a role model to follow. In this contribution I show that the simple requirement of volume quantization in space-time (with Euclidean signature) uniquely determines the geometry to be that of a noncommutative space whose finite part is based on an algebra that leads to Pati-Salam grand unified models. The Standard Model corresponds to a special case where a mathematical constraint (order one condition) is satisfied. This provides evidence that Salam was a visionary who was generations ahead of his time.
Recently by us was proposed the model where Einstein's equation on the brane was connected with Maxwell's multi-dimensional equations in pseudo-Euclidean space. Based on this idea unification of 4-dimensional gravity and electromagnetism in (2+4)-space is found. In this picture photon is massless in four dimensions and obtains large mass in extra (1+1)-space normal to the brane.
We introduce a gauge and diffeomorphism invariant theory on Yang-Mills phase space. The theory is well defined for an arbitrary gauge group with an invariant bilinear form, it contains only first class constraints, and the spacetime metric has a simple form in terms of the phase space variables. With gauge group $SO(3,C)$, the theory equals the Ashtekar formulation of gravity with a cosmological constant. For Lorentzian signature, the theory is complex, and we have not found any good reality conditions. In the Euclidean signature case, everything is real. In a weak field expansion around de Si…
Quaternionic formulation of D=4 conformal group and of its associated twistors and their relation to harmonic analyticity is presented. Generalization of $SL(2,\cal{C})$ to the D=4 conformal group SO(5,1) and its covering group $SL(2,\cal{Q})$ that generalizes the euclidean Lorentz group in $R^4$ [namely $SO(3,1)\approx SL(2,\cal{C})$ which allow us to obtain the projective twistor space $CP^3$] is shown. Quasi-conformal fields are introduced in D=4 and Fueter mappings are shown to map self-dual sector onto itself (and similarly for the anti-self-dual part). Differentiation of Fueter series an…
In this paper, we discuss the vacuum structure of the gauge-Higgs unification theory, which is one of the attractive candidates of physics beyond the standard model. This scenario has a remarkable feature, namely it has infinitely degenerate vacua due to the characteristic periodic potential of the Higgs filed, to be identified with the extra space component of the higher dimensional gauge field. We address a question, whether to form the superposition of such degenerate vacua, like the $θ$-vacuum in QCD, is necessary or not, in order to realize the true vacuum state of the theory. We derive g…
We outline the construction of the Atiyah-Hitchin metric on the moduli space of SU(2) BPS monopoles with charge 2, first as an algebraic curve in C^3 following Donaldson and then as a solution of the Toda field equations in the continual large N limit. We adopt twistor methods to solve the underlying uniformization problem, which by the generalized Legendre transformation yield the Kahler coordinates and the Kahler potential of the metric. We also comment on the connection between twistors and the Seiberg-Witten construction of quantum moduli spaces, as they arise in three dimensional supersym…
The model of a stationary universe and the notion of local times presented in [10] are reviewed with some alternative formulation of the consistent unification of the Riemannian and Euclidean geometries of general relativity and quantum mechanics. The method of unification adopted in the present paper is by constructing a vector bundle $X\times R^6$ or $X\times R^4$ with $X$ being the observer's reference frame and $R^6$ or $R^4$ being the unobservable inner space(-time) within each observer's local system. Some applications of our theory to two concrete examples of human size and of cosmologi…
It is noted that the internal space-time symmetries of relativistic particles are dictated by Wigner's little groups. The symmetry of massive particles is like the three-dimensional rotation group, while the symmetry of massless particles is locally isomorphic to the two-dimensional Euclidean group. It is noted also that, while the rotational degree of freedom for a massless particle leads to its helicity, the two translational degrees of freedom correspond to its gauge degrees of freedom. It is shown that the E(2)-like symmetry of of massless particles can be obtained as an infinite-momentum …
We study classical and quantum dynamics on the Euclidean Taub-NUT geometry coupled to an abelian gauge field with self-dual curvature and show that, even though Taub-NUT has neither bounded orbits nor quantum bound states, the magnetic binding via the gauge field produces both. The conserved Runge-Lenz vector of Taub-NUT dynamics survives, in a modified form, in the gauged model and allows for an essentially algebraic computation of classical trajectories and energies of quantum bound states. We also compute scattering cross sections and find a surprising electric-magnetic duality. Finally, we…
We introduce a Chern-Simons Lagrangian for Yang-Mills theory as formulated on ambitwistor space via the Ward, Isenberg, Yasskin, Green, Witten construction. The Lagrangian requires the selection of a codimension-2 Cauchy-Riemann submanifold which is naturally picked out by the choice of space-time reality structure and we focus on the choice of Euclidean signature. The action is shown to give rise to a space-time action that is equivalent to the standard one, but has just cubic vertices. We identify the ambitwistor propagators and vertices and work out their corresponding expressions on space-…
Combining elements of twistor-space, phase space and Clifford algebras, we propose a framework for the construction and quantization of certain (quadric) varieties described by Lorentz-covariant multivector coordiantes. The correspondent multivectors can be parametrized by second order polynomials in the phase space. Thus the multivectors play a double role, as covariant objects in $D=2,3,4 \texttt{ Mod } 8$ space-time dimensions, and as mechanical observables of a non-relativistic system in $2^{[D/2]-1}$ euclidean dimensions. The latter attribute permits a dual interpretation of concepts of n…
We discuss the gauge theory for quantum group $SU_q (2)\times U(1) $ on the quantum Euclidean space. This theory contains three physical gauge fields and one$\; U(1)-$gauge field with a zero field strength. We construct the quantum-group self-duality equation (QGSDE) in terms of differential forms and with the help of the field-strength decomposition. A deformed analog of the BPST-instanton solution is obtained. We consider a harmonic (twistor) interpretation of QGSDE in terms of $SU_q (2)/U(1) $ quantum harmonics. The quantum harmonic gauge equations are formulated in the framework of a left-…
