Univ.-Doz. Dr. Anton Rebhan

Institut für Theoretische Physik
Technische Universität Wien
Wiedner Hauptstr. 8-10/136
A-1040 Vienna, Austria

Telefon: +43-1-58801-5695
Fax: +43-1-5867760
E-Mail: rebhana@tph.tuwien.ac.at

A 3D PICTURE - A BUBBLING PARTICLE PLASMA ?

Research

My main current research interests are
Quantum field theory at finite temperature and density
which is the theoretical tool to study quantum matter under extreme conditions. Of particular interest is the high-temperature regime of quantum chromodynamics which is supposed to describe the hypothetical quark-gluon plasma that is sought for in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. One of the main theoretical problems is to develop analytic methods for studying dynamic processes. A major breakthrough has been the development of a resummed perturbation theory around 1990 which is still being worked out. In particular I have been concerned with questions of gauge (in)dependence, damping of quasiparticle excitations, and nonabelian Debye screening. Another important open problem is the field-theoretical treatment of nonlinear deviations from thermal equilibrium.
(Particle) Physics of the very early universe
which is also a very ``hot'' topic. The COBE satellite has detected small anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation which is a direct probe on the structure of the early universe. I have been concerned with developing quantum field theoretical methods for studying the dynamics of cosmological perturbations in density, vorticity, and gravitational radiation in the presence of an ultrarelativistic weakly self-interacting plasma.
Quantization of solitons
Recently major progress in the understanding of non-perturbative aspects of (supersymmetric) field (and string) theories has been achieved by exploiting dualities in which quantized (supersymmetric) solitons play a central role. We have found that at least in N=1 two-dimensional supersymmetric field theory quantized solitons no longer satisfy the all-important Bogomolnyi bound so that the quantum theory is more complicated as hitherto expected. Two-dimensional solitons are also of interest in the quantum theory of two-dimensional black holes and are the topic of a common research project with the universities of Winnipeg and New Brunswick (Canada).
This research was done partly within the EU-HCM network ``Physics at High Energy Colliders'', partner institutes in the thermal-field-theory subnetwork: LAPP Annecy (F), Univ. Bielefeld (D), DAMTP Cambridge (GB), INLN Nice (F), LPTHE Orsay (F), and Univ. Thessaloniki (GR).
Since July 1997 I am involved in an Austrian-French research program (sponsered by ÖAD) with CE Saclay on ``Infrared problems and nonperturbative aspects of quantum field theories at high temperature''.
Scientific collaborations moreover include Univ. Hannover (D), Univ. Heidelberg (D), U.o.Winnipeg (Canada), U.o.Western Ontario (Canada), Washington Univ., St. Louis (US), and State University of New York at Stony Brook.

I am currently involved in the organization of the following research workshops:

Teaching

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Page last modified: Oct. 13, 1999