Logarithmic Corrections to Extremal Black Hole Entropy in N = 2, 4 and 8 Supergravity

We compute the logarithmic correction to black hole entropy about exponentially suppressed saddle points of the Quantum Entropy Function corresponding to Z(N) orbifolds of the near horizon geometry of the extremal black hole under study. By carefully accounting for zero mode contributions we show that the logarithmic contributions for quarter--BPS black holes in N=4 supergravity and one--eighth BPS black holes in N=8 supergravity perfectly match with the prediction from the microstate counting. We also find that the logarithmic contribution for half--BPS black holes in N = 2 supergravity depends non-trivially on the Z(N) orbifold. Our analysis draws heavily on the results we had previously obtained for heat kernel coefficients on Z(N) orbifolds of spheres and hyperboloids in arXiv:1311.6286 and we also propose a generalization of the Plancherel formula to Z(N) orbifolds of hyperboloids to an expression involving the Harish-Chandra character of SL(2,R), a result which is of possible mathematical interest.Comment: 40 page

A multiscale method for heterogeneous bulk-surface coupling

In this paper, we construct and analyze a multiscale (finite element) method for parabolic problems with heterogeneous dynamic boundary conditions. As origin, we consider a reformulation of the system in order to decouple the discretization of bulk and surface dynamics. This allows us to combine multiscale methods on the boundary with standard Lagrangian schemes in the interior. We prove convergence and quantify explicit rates for low-regularity solutions, independent of the oscillatory behavior of the heterogeneities. As a result, coarse discretization parameters, which do not resolve the fine scales, can be considered. The theoretical findings are justified by a number of numerical experiments including dynamic boundary conditions with random diffusion coefficients

Spectral Generalized Multi-Dimensional Scaling

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a family of methods that embed a given set of points into a simple, usually flat, domain. The points are assumed to be sampled from some metric space, and the mapping attempts to preserve the distances between each pair of points in the set. Distances in the target space can be computed analytically in this setting. Generalized MDS is an extension that allows mapping one metric space into another, that is, multidimensional scaling into target spaces in which distances are evaluated numerically rather than analytically. Here, we propose an efficient approach for computing such mappings between surfaces based on their natural spectral decomposition, where the surfaces are treated as sampled metric-spaces. The resulting spectral-GMDS procedure enables efficient embedding by implicitly incorporating smoothness of the mapping into the problem, thereby substantially reducing the complexity involved in its solution while practically overcoming its non-convex nature. The method is compared to existing techniques that compute dense correspondence between shapes. Numerical experiments of the proposed method demonstrate its efficiency and accuracy compared to state-of-the-art approaches

RG flows of Quantum Einstein Gravity on maximally symmetric spaces

We use the Wetterich-equation to study the renormalization group flow of $f(R)$-gravity in a three-dimensional, conformally reduced setting. Building on the exact heat kernel for maximally symmetric spaces, we obtain a partial differential equation which captures the scale-dependence of $f(R)$ for positive and, for the first time, negative scalar curvature. The effects of different background topologies are studied in detail and it is shown that they affect the gravitational RG flow in a way that is not visible in finite-dimensional truncations. Thus, while featuring local background independence, the functional renormalization group equation is sensitive to the topological properties of the background. The detailed analytical and numerical analysis of the partial differential equation reveals two globally well-defined fixed functionals with at most a finite number of relevant deformations. Their properties are remarkably similar to two of the fixed points identified within the $R^2$-truncation of full Quantum Einstein Gravity. As a byproduct, we obtain a nice illustration of how the functional renormalization group realizes the "integrating out" of fluctuation modes on the three-sphere.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figure

The asymptotic behaviour of the heat equation in a twisted Dirichlet-Neumann waveguide

We consider the heat equation in a straight strip, subject to a combination of Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. We show that a switch of the respective boundary conditions leads to an improvement of the decay rate of the heat semigroup of the order of $t^{-1/2}$. The proof employs similarity variables that lead to a non-autonomous parabolic equation in a thin strip contracting to the real line, that can be analyzed on weighted Sobolev spaces in which the operators under consideration have discrete spectra. A careful analysis of its asymptotic behaviour shows that an added Dirichlet boundary condition emerges asymptotically at the switching point, breaking the real line in two half-lines, which leads asymptotically to the 1/2 gain on the spectral lower bound, and the $t^{-1/2}$ gain on the decay rate in the original physical variables. This result is an adaptation to the case of strips with twisted boundary conditions of previous results by the authors on geometrically twisted Dirichlet tubes.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure