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Using the O(4) linear $\sigma$ model, we address the topic of non-equilibrium relaxation of an inhomogeneous initial configuration due to quantum and thermal fluctuations. The space-time evolution of an inhomogeneous fluctuation of the condensate in the isoscalar channel decaying via the emission of pions in the medium is studied within the context of disoriented chiral condensates. We use out of equilibrium closed time path methods in field theory combined with the amplitude expansion. We give explicit expressions for the asymptotic space-time evolution of an initial inhomogeneous configuration including the contribution of thresholds at zero and non-zero temperature. At non-zero temperature we find new relaxational processes due to thermal cuts that have no counterpart in the homogeneous case. Within the one-loop approximation, we find that the space time evolution of such inhomogeneous configuration out of equilibrium is effectively described in terms of a rapidity dependent temperature $T(\vartheta)=T/\cosh[\vartheta]$ as well as a rapidity dependent decay rate $\Gamma(\vartheta, T(\vartheta))$. This rate is to be interpreted as the production minus absorption rate of pions in the medium and approaches the zero temperature value at large rapidities. An initial configuration localized on a bounded region spreads and decays in spherical waves with slower relaxational dynamics at large rapidity., Comment: 25 pages Revtex 3.0, two figures available upon request

The reheating stage in post-inflationary cosmologies is reanalyzed. New techniques from non-equilibrium quantum field theory allow a consistent derivation of the equation of motion including the non-linearity of the dynamics. These offer a rationale for the elementary theory of reheating based on single particle decay which is seen to be valid only in the linear regime of coherent oscillations of the scalar field. A new non-perturbative mechanism of induced amplification of quantum fluctuations is introduced and studied in detail, both analytically and numerically. This is a non-linear mechanism that is typically a far more efficient way of transfering energy out of the zero mode and into production of lighter particles than single particle decay. Thermalization is discussed and we estimate the reheating temperature to be of the order of the inflaton mass, thus providing a potential solution to the Polonyi and moduli problems., Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the School on String Gravity and Physics at the Planck Scale, Erice, Sicily, 8-19 September, Editor: N. Sanchez, Revtex, 39 pages, 9 figures available upon request

We consider the case of a scalar field, the inflaton, coupled to both lighter scalars and fermions, and the study the relaxation of the inflaton via particle production in both the linear and non-linear regimes. This has an immediate application to the reheating problem in inflationary universe models. The linear regime analysis offers a rationale for the standard approach to the reheating problem, but we make a distinction between relaxation and thermalization. We find that particle production when the inflaton starts in the {\it non-linear} region is typically a far more efficient way of transfering energy out of the inflaton zero mode and into the quanta of the lighter scalar than single particle decay. For the non-linear regime we take into account self-consistently the evolution of the expectation value of the inflaton field coupled to the evolution of the quantum fluctuations. An exhaustive numerical analysis reveals that the distribution of produced particles is far from thermal, and the effect of open channels. In the fermionic case, Pauli blocking begins to hinder the transfer of energy into the fermion modes very early on in the evolution of the inflaton. We examine the implications of our results to the question of how to calculate the reheating temperature of the universe after inflation., Comment: Revtex 3.0; 34 pages

We study the conditions under which a symmetry is spontaneously broken in the Wilson renormalization group formulation. Both for a global and local symmetry, the result is that in perturbation theory one has to perform a fine tuning of the boundary conditions for the flow of the relevant couplings. We consider in detail the discrete $Z_2$ case and the Abelian Higgs model., Comment: 19 pages, latex, no figures

We consider the non-equilibrium evolution of the inflaton field coupled to both lighter scalars and fermions. The dissipational dynamics of this field is studied and found to be quite different than that believed in inflationary models. In particular, the damping time scale for the expectation value of the zero momentum mode of the inflaton can be much shorter than that given by the single particle decay rate when the inflaton amplitudes are large, as in chaotic inflation scenarios. We find that the reheating temperature may depart considerably from the usual estimates., Comment: 9 pages, revtex 3.0, 3 figures available upon request

By using the exact renormalization group formulation we prove perturbatively the Slavnov-Taylor (ST) identities in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. This results from two properties: {\it locality}, i.e. the ST identities are valid if their local part is valid; {\it solvability}, i.e. the local part of ST identities is valid if the couplings of the effective action with non-negative dimensions are properly chosen., Comment: 9 pages, LaTex, to be published in Phys. Lett. B

In the exact renormalization group (RG) flow in the infrared cutoff $\Lambda$ one needs boundary conditions. In a previous paper on $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory we proposed to use the nine physical relevant couplings of the effective action as boundary conditions at the physical point $\Lambda=0$ (these couplings are defined at some non-vanishing subtraction point $\mu \ne 0$). In this paper we show perturbatively that it is possible to appropriately fix these couplings in such a way that the full set of Slavnov-Taylor (ST) identities are satisfied. Three couplings are given by the vector and ghost wave function normalization and the three vector coupling at the subtraction point; three of the remaining six are vanishing (\eg the vector mass) and the others are expressed by irrelevant vertices evaluated at the subtraction point. We follow the method used by Becchi to prove ST identities in the RG framework. There the boundary conditions are given at a non-physical point $\Lambda=\Lambda' \ne 0$, so that one avoids the need of a non-vanishing subtraction point., Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX style, University of Parma preprint UPRF 94-412

The global chiral symmetry of a $SU(2)$ gauge theory is studied in the framework of renormalization group (RG). The theory is defined by the RG flow equations in the infrared cutoff $\L$ and the boundary conditions for the relevant couplings. The physical theory is obtained at $\L=0$. In our approach the symmetry is implemented by choosing the boundary conditions for the relevant couplings not at the ultraviolet point $\L=\L_0\to\infty$ but at the physical value $\L=0$. As an illustration, we compute the triangle axial anomalies., Comment: 11 pages + 1 appended EPS figure, LaTeX, UPRF 94-392

We study the formulation of the Wilson renormalization group (RG) method for a non-Abelian gauge theory. We analyze the simple case of $SU(2)$ and show that the local gauge symmetry can be implemented by suitable boundary conditions for the RG flow. Namely we require that the relevant couplings present in the physical effective action, \ie the coefficients of the field monomials with dimension not larger than four, are fixed to satisfy the Slavnov-Taylor identities. The full action obtained from the RG equation should then satisfy the same identities. This procedure is similar to the one we used in QED. In this way we avoid the cospicuous fine tuning problem which arises if one gives instead the couplings of the bare Lagrangian. To show the practical character of this formulation we deduce the perturbative expansion for the vertex functions in terms of the physical coupling $g$ at the subtraction point $\mu$ and perform one loop calculations. In particular we analyze to this order some ST identities and compute the nine bare couplings. We give a schematic proof of perturbative renormalizability., Comment: 25 pages + 4 figures appended as PostScript file, LaTeX style, UPRF 93-388, explanations added

We analyze a formulation of QED based on the Wilson renormalization group. Although the ``effective Lagrangian'' used at any given scale does not have simple gauge symmetry, we show that the resulting renormalized Green's functions correctly satisfies Ward identities to all orders in perturbation theory. The loop expansion is obtained by solving iteratively the Polchinski's renormalization group equation. We also give a new simple proof of perturbative renormalizability. The subtractions in the Feynman graphs and the corresponding counterterms are generated in the process of fixing the physical conditions., Comment: LaTex file, 26 pages. Figures available upon request. Parma preprint UPRF 93-382

A new proof of perturbative renormalizability and infrared finiteness for a scalar massless theory is obtained from a formulation of renormalized field theory based on the Wilson renormalization group. The loop expansion of the renormalized Green functions is deduced from the Polchinski equation of renormalization group. The resulting Feynman graphs are organized in such a way that the loop momenta are ordered. It is then possible to analyse their ultraviolet and infrared behaviours by iterative methods. The necessary subtractions and the corresponding counterterms are automatically generated in the process of fixing the physical conditions for the ``relevant'' vertices at the normalization point. The proof of perturbative renormalizability and infrared finiteness is simply based on dimensional arguments and does not require the usual analysis of topological properties of Feynman graphs., Comment: Latex file, 21 pages and 6 figures (included), Parma Univ. preprint UPRF-92-360