Exponential stabilization without geometric control

We present examples of exponential stabilization for the damped wave equation on a compact manifold in situations where the geometric control condition is not satisfied. This follows from a dynamical argument involving a topological pressure on a suitable uncontrolled set

Spectral morphisms, K-theory, and stable ranks

We give a brief account of the interplay between spectral morphisms, K-theory, and stable ranks in the context of Banach algebras.Comment: 12 pages; to appear in the Proceedings of the Workshop on Noncommutative Geometry (Fields Institute, Toronto 2008

Seeking the Ground State of String Theory

Recently, a number of authors have challenged the conventional assumption that the string scale, Planck mass, and unification scale are roughly comparable. It has been suggested that the string scale could be as low as a TeV. The greatest obstacle to developing a string phenomenology is our lack of understanding of the ground state. We explain why the dynamics which determines this state is not likely to be accessible to any systematic approximation. We note that the racetrack scheme, often cited as a counterexample, suffers from similar difficulties. We stress that the weakness of the gauge couplings, the gauge hierarchy, and coupling unification suggest that it may be possible to extract some information in a systematic approximation. We review the ideas of Kahler stabilization, an attempt to reconcile these facts. We consider whether the system is likely to sit at extremes of the moduli space, as in recent proposals for a low string scale. Finally we discuss the idea of Maximally Enhanced Symmetry, a hypothesis which is technically natural, compatible with basic facts about cosmology, and potentially predictive.Comment: 22 pp. latex. Invited talk presented at Yukawa-Nishinomiya symposium. Minor correction

Racetrack inflation and assisted moduli stabilisation

We present a model of inflation based on a racetrack model without flux stabilization. The initial conditions are set automatically through topological inflation. This ensures that the dilaton is not swept to weak coupling through either thermal effects or fast roll. Including the effect of non-dilaton fields we find that moduli provide natural candidates for the inflaton. The resulting potential generates slow-roll inflation without the need to fine tune parameters. The energy scale of inflation must be near the GUT scale and the scalar density perturbation generated has a spectrum consistent with WMAP data.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures (Latex); Error in v.1 eliminated and improved example of modular inflation presente

Defect-Mediated Emulsification in Two Dimensions

We consider two dimensional dispersions of droplets of isotropic phase in a liquid with an XY-like order parameter, tilt, nematic, and hexatic symmetries being included. Strong anchoring boundary conditions are assumed. Textures for a single droplet and a pair of droplets are calculated and a universal droplet-droplet pair potential is obtained. The interaction of dispersed droplets via the ordered phase is attractive at large distances and repulsive at short distances, which results in a well defined preferred separation for two droplets and topological stabilization of the emulsion. This interaction also drives self-assembly into chains. Preferred separations and energy barriers to coalescence are calculated, and effects of thermal fluctuations and film thickness are discussed.Comment: revtex4, 13 pages, 12 figure

Braids, knots and contact structures

These notes were prepared to supplement the talk that I gave on Feb 19, 2004, at the First East Asian School of Knots and Related Topics, Seoul, South Korea. In this article I review aspects of the interconnections between braids, knots and contact structures on Euclidean 3-space. I discuss my recent work with William Menasco (arXiv math.GT/0310279)} and (arXiv math.GT/0310280). In the latter we prove that there are distinct transversal knot types in contact 3-space having the same topological knot type and the same Bennequin invariant.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure