Standard Model in Weyl conformal geometry

We study the Standard Model (SM) in Weyl conformal geometry. This embedding is truly minimal with no new fields beyond the SM spectrum and Weyl geometry. The action inherits a gauged scale symmetry D(1) (known as Weyl gauge symmetry) from the underlying geometry. The associated Weyl quadratic gravity undergoes spontaneous breaking of D(1) by a geometric Stueckelberg mechanism in which the Weyl gauge field ($$\omega _\mu $$ ω μ ) acquires mass by “absorbing” the spin-zero mode of the $${\tilde{R}}^2$$ R ~ 2 term in the action. This mode also generates the Planck scale and the cosmological constant. The Einstein-Proca action emerges in the broken phase. In the presence of the SM, this mechanism receives corrections (from the Higgs) and it can induce electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking. The EW scale is proportional to the vev of the Stueckelberg field. The Higgs field ($$\sigma $$ σ ) has direct couplings to the Weyl gauge field ($$\sigma ^2\omega _\mu \omega ^\mu $$ σ 2 ω μ ω μ ). The SM fermions only acquire such couplings for non-vanishing kinetic mixing of the gauge fields of $$D(1)\times U(1)_Y$$ D ( 1 ) × U ( 1 ) Y . If this mixing is present, part of the mass of Z boson is not due to the usual Higgs mechanism, but to its mixing with massive $$\omega _\mu $$ ω μ . Precision measurements of Z mass then set lower bounds on the mass of $$\omega _\mu $$ ω μ which can be light (few TeV). In the early Universe the Higgs field can have a geometric origin, by Weyl vector fusion, and the Higgs potential can drive inflation. The dependence of the tensor-to-scalar ratio r on the spectral index $$n_s$$ n s is similar to that in Starobinsky inflation but mildly shifted to lower r by the Higgs non-minimal coupling to Weyl geometry.

Conformal geometry on a class of embedded hypersurfaces in spacetimes

In this work, we study various geometric properties of embedded spacelike hypersurfaces in $1+1+2$ decomposed spacetimes with a preferred spatial direction, denoted $e^{\mu}$, which are orthogonal to the fluid flow velocity of the spacetime and admit a proper conformal transformation. To ensure non-vanishing and positivity of the scalar curvature of the induced metric on the hypersurface, we impose that the scalar curvature of the conformal metric is non-negative and that the associated conformal factor $\varphi$ satisfies $\hat{\varphi}^2+2\hat{\hat{\varphi}}>0$, where \hat{\ast} denotes derivative along the preferred spatial direction. Firstly, it is demonstrated that such hypersurface is either of Einstein type or the spatial twist vanishes on them, and that the scalar curvature of the induced metric is constant. It is then proved that if the hypersurface is compact and of Einstein type and admits a proper conformal transformation, then these hypersurfaces must be isomorphic to the 3-sphere, where we make use of some well known results on Riemannian manifolds admitting conformal transformations. If the hypersurface is not of Einstein type and have nowhere vanishing sheet expansion, we show that this conclusion fails. However, with the additional conditions that the scalar curvatures of the induced metric and the conformal metric coincide, the associated conformal factor is strictly negative and the third and higher order derivatives of the conformal factor vanish, the conclusion that the hypersurface is isomorphic to the 3-sphere follows. Furthermore, additional results are obtained under the conditions that the scalar curvature of a metric conformal to the induced metric is also constant. Finally, we consider some of our results in the context of locally rotationally symmetric spacetimes and show that, if the hypersurfaces are compact and not of Einstein type, then under certain specified conditions the hypersurface is isomorphic to the 3-sphere, where we constructed explicit examples of several proper conformal Killing vector fields along $e^{\mu}$.

Unfolding conformal geometry

Conformal geometry is studied using the unfolded formulation à la Vasiliev. Analyzing the first-order consistency of the unfolded equations, we identify the content of zero-forms as the spin-two off-shell Fradkin-Tseytlin module of $$ \mathfrak{so}\left(2,d\right) $$ so 2 d . We sketch the nonlinear structure of the equations and explain how Weyl invariant densities, which Type-B Weyl anomaly consist of, could be systematically computed within the unfolded formulation. The unfolded equation for conformal geometry is also shown to be reduced to various on-shell gravitational systems by requiring additional algebraic constraints.

Pose Estimation of Non-Cooperative Space Targets Based on Cross-Source Point Cloud Fusion

On-orbit space technology is used for tasks such as the relative navigation of non-cooperative targets, rendezvous and docking, on-orbit assembly, and space debris removal. In particular, the pose estimation of space non-cooperative targets is a prerequisite for studying these applications. The capabilities of a single sensor are limited, making it difficult to achieve high accuracy in the measurement range. Against this backdrop, a non-cooperative target pose measurement system fused with multi-source sensors was designed in this study. First, a cross-source point cloud fusion algorithm was developed. This algorithm uses the unified and simplified expression of geometric elements in conformal geometry algebra, breaks the traditional point-to-point correspondence, and constructs matching relationships between points and spheres. Next, for the fused point cloud, we proposed a plane clustering-method-based CGA to eliminate point cloud diffusion and then reconstruct the 3D contour model. Finally, we used a twistor along with the Clohessy–Wiltshire equation to obtain the posture and other motion parameters of the non-cooperative target through the unscented Kalman filter. In both the numerical simulations and the semi-physical experiments, the proposed measurement system met the requirements for non-cooperative target measurement accuracy, and the estimation error of the angle of the rotating spindle was 30% lower than that of other, previously studied methods. The proposed cross-source point cloud fusion algorithm can achieve high registration accuracy for point clouds with different densities and small overlap rates.

On n-superharmonic functions and some geometric applications

In this paper we study asymptotic behaviors of n-superharmonic functions at singularity using the Wolff potential and capacity estimates in nonlinear potential theory. Our results are inspired by and extend [6] of Arsove–Huber and [63] of Taliaferro in 2 dimensions. To study n-superharmonic functions we use a new notion of thinness in terms of n-capacity motivated by a type of Wiener criterion in [6]. To extend [63], we employ the Adams–Moser–Trudinger’s type inequality for the Wolff potential, which is inspired by the inequality used in [15] of Brezis–Merle. For geometric applications, we study the asymptotic end behaviors of complete conformally flat manifolds as well as complete properly embedded hypersurfaces in hyperbolic space. These geometric applications seem to elevate the importance of n-Laplace equations and make a closer tie to the classic analysis developed in conformal geometry in general dimensions.

A note on boundary conditions in Euclidean gravity

We review what is known about boundary conditions in General Relativity on a spacetime of Euclidean signature. The obvious Dirichlet boundary condition, in which one specifies the boundary geometry, is actually not elliptic and in general does not lead to a well-defined perturbation theory. It is better-behaved if the extrinsic curvature of the boundary is suitably constrained, for instance if it is positive- or negative-definite. A different boundary condition, in which one specifies the conformal geometry of the boundary and the trace of the extrinsic curvature, is elliptic and always leads formally to a satisfactory perturbation theory. These facts might have interesting implications for semiclassical approaches to quantum gravity. April, 2018