In a recent paper we presented a model for a unified quantization of gravity with other fundamental sources of nature. After quantization we had to solve a Wheeler-DeWitt equation which was a hyperbolic equation in a fiber bundle which was equipped with a Lorentzian metric with a time function $t$ ranging from $0$ to infinity. The Lorentzian metric had a big bang singularity in $t=0$ and the coefficients of the hyperbolic operator also inherited this singularity. The solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation were products of spatial and temporal eigenfunctions and in order to prove that these solutions also experience a big bang singularity in $t=0$ the temporal eigenfunctions $w(t)$ had to become unbounded if $t$ tends to $0$. In our former paper this was only proved in special cases where $w$ could be expressed with the help of Bessel functions but not in general. In the present paper we prove that also in the general case the temporal solutions become unbounded near $t=0$, or more precisely: $\lim_{t\ra 0} (\abs w^2+t^2 \abs{\dot w}^2)=\un$ and $\limsup_{t\ra 0}\abs w^2=\un$.

We propose a geometric inequality for two-dimensional spacelike surfaces in the Schwarzschild spacetime. This inequality implies the Penrose inequality for collapsing dust shells in general relativity, as proposed by Penrose and Gibbons. We prove that the inequality holds in several important cases.

Recent work explores the candidate phases of the 4d adjoint quantum chromodynamics (QCD$_4$) with an SU(2) gauge group and two massless adjoint Weyl fermions. Both Cordova-Dumitrescu and Bi-Senthil propose possible low energy 4d topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) to saturate the higher 't Hooft anomalies of adjoint QCD$_4$ under a renormalization-group (RG) flow from high energy. In this work, we generalize the symmetry-extension method [arXiv:1705.06728] to higher symmetries, and formulate higher group cohomology and cobordism theory approach to construct higher-symmetric TQFTs. We prove that the symmetry-extension method saturates certain anomalies, but also prove that neither $A \mathcal{P}_2(B_2)$ nor $\mathcal{P}_2(B_2)$ can be fully trivialized, with the background 1-form field $A$, Pontryagin square $\mathcal{P}_2$ and 2-form field $B_2$. Surprisingly, this indicates an obstruction to constructing a fully 1-form center and 0-form chiral symmetry (full discrete axial symmetry) preserving 4d TQFT with confinement, a no-go scenario via symmetry-extension for specific higher anomalies. We comment on the implications and constraints on deconfined quantum critical points (dQCP), quantum spin liquids (QSL) or quantum fermionic liquids in condensed matter, and ultraviolet-infrared (UV-IR) duality in 3+1 spacetime dimensions.

Previous work has shown that in a two-dimensional periodic medium under focusing or defocusing cubic nonlinearities, gap solitons in the form of low-amplitude and slowly modulated single-Bloch-wave packets can bifurcate out from the edges of Bloch bands. In this paper, linear stability properties of these gap solitons near band edges are determined both analytically and numerically. Through asymptotic analysis, it is shown that these gap solitons are linearly unstable if the slope of their power curve at the band edge has the opposite sign of nonlinearity
here focusing nonlinearity is said to have a positive sign, and defocusing nonlinearity to have a negative sign. An equivalent condition for linear instability is that the power of the gap solitons near the band edge is lower than the limit power value on the band edge. Through numerical computations of the power curves, it is found that this condition is always satisfied, thus two-dimensional gap solitons near band edges are linearly unstable. The analytical formula for the unstable eigenvalue of gap solitons near band edges is also asymptotically derived. It is shown that this unstable eigenvalue is proportional to the cubic power of the soliton’s amplitude, and it induces width instabilities of gap solitons. A comparison between this analytical eigenvalue formula and numerically computed eigenvalues shows excellent agreement.

In this article, we survey recent developments in defining the quasi-local mass in general relativity. We discuss various approaches and the properties and applications of the different definitions. Among the expected properties, we focus on the rigidity property: for a surface in the Minkowski spacetime, one expects that the mass should vanish. We describe the Wang-Yau quasi-local mass whose definition is motivated by this rigidity property and by the Hamilton-Jacobi analysis of the Einstein-Hilbert action. In addition, we survey recent results on the minimizing property the Wang-Yau quasi-local mass.