Speaker
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Prof. Herbert Weigel, weigel@sun.ac.za, Stellenbosch University
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)<br><a href="http://events.saip.org.za/getFile.py/access?resId=0&materialId=0&confId=34" target="_blank">Formatting &<br>Special chars</a>
In field theory vacuum polarization effects may significantly alter classical predictions for non-perturbative configurations. This is particularly the case when comparing the vacuum polarization energy (VPE) of different topological sectors that represent different particle numbers. For this reason we calculate the VPE of the kink-antikink interaction in models with one time and one space dimension. We compute the VPE from the spectral method. This approach makes heavy use of scattering data for fluctuations around the non-perturbative background configuration. In a first step we compare our numerical results for the (anti)kink background in the φ4 and sine-Gordon models to analytical results from the literature. In the next step the VPE is computed for backgrounds that have a kink and antikink at a certain separation. Since each calculation is done at a fixed separation, we must exclude quantum fluctuations from modes which correspond to the variation of this separation. This enforces an orthogonality constraint in the symmetric channel. Ultimately, the first order quantum correction to the kink-antikink potential is extracted from the calculation of the VPE.
Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
Yes
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, N/A)?
MSc
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
Yes
Please indicate whether<br>this abstract may be<br>published online<br>(Yes / No)
Yes
