10,847 research outputs found
Coupled equations for KĂ€hler metrics and Yang-Mills connections
We study equations on a principal bundle over a compact complex manifold
coupling a connection on the bundle with a Kahler structure on the base. These
equations generalize the conditions of constant scalar curvature for a Kahler
metric and Hermite-Yang-Mills for a connection. We provide a moment map
interpretation of the equations and study obstructions for the existence of
solutions, generalizing the Futaki invariant, the Mabuchi K-energy and geodesic
stability. We finish by giving some examples of solutions.Comment: 61 pages; v2: introduction partially rewritten; minor corrections and
improvements in presentation, especially in Section 4; added references; v3:
To appear in Geom. Topol. Minor corrections and improvements, following
comments by referee
The Stationary Phase Method for a Wave Packet in a Semiconductor Layered System. The applicability of the method
Using the formal analysis made by Bohm in his book, {\em "Quantum theory"},
Dover Publications Inc. New York (1979), to calculate approximately the phase
time for a transmitted and the reflected wave packets through a potential
barrier, we calculate the phase time for a semiconductor system formed by
different mesoscopic layers. The transmitted and the reflected wave packets are
analyzed and the applicability of this procedure, based on the stationary phase
of a wave packet, is considered in different conditions. For the applicability
of the stationary phase method an expression is obtained in the case of the
transmitted wave depending only on the derivatives of the phase, up to third
order. This condition indicates whether the parameters of the system allow to
define the wave packet by its leading term. The case of a multiple barrier
systems is shown as an illustration of the results. This formalism includes the
use of the Transfer Matrix to describe the central stratum, whether it is
formed by one layer (the single barrier case), or two barriers and an inner
well (the DBRT system), but one can assume that this stratum can be comprise of
any number or any kind of semiconductor layers.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures although figure 4 has 5 graph
Rudiments of Holography
An elementary introduction to Maldacena's AdS/CFT correspondence is given,
with some emphasis in the Fefferman-Graham construction. This is based on
lectures given by one of us (E.A.) at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid.Comment: 60 pages, additional misprints corrected, references adde
Large N and double scaling limits in two dimensions
Recently, the author has constructed a series of four dimensional
non-critical string theories with eight supercharges, dual to theories of light
electric and magnetic charges, for which exact formulas for the central charge
of the space-time supersymmetry algebra as a function of the world-sheet
couplings were obtained. The basic idea was to generalize the old matrix model
approach, replacing the simple matrix integrals by the four dimensional matrix
path integrals of N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, and the Kazakov
critical points by the Argyres-Douglas critical points. In the present paper,
we study qualitatively similar toy path integrals corresponding to the two
dimensional N=2 supersymmetric non-linear sigma model with target space CP^n
and twisted mass terms. This theory has some very strong similarities with N=2
super Yang-Mills, including the presence of critical points in the vicinity of
which the large n expansion is IR divergent. The model being exactly solvable
at large n, we can study non-BPS observables and give full proofs that double
scaling limits exist and correspond to universal continuum limits. A complete
characterization of the double scaled theories is given. We find evidence for
dimensional transmutation of the string coupling in some non-critical string
theories. We also identify en passant some non-BPS particles that become
massless at the singularities in addition to the usual BPS states.Comment: 38 pages, including an introductory section that makes the paper
self-contained, two figures and one appendix; v2: typos correcte
A geometric bound on F-term inflation
We discuss a general bound on the possibility to realise inflation in any
minimal supergravity with F-terms. The derivation crucially depends on the
sGoldstini, the scalar field directions that are singled out by spontaneous
supersymmetry breaking. The resulting bound involves both slow-roll parameters
and the geometry of the K\"ahler manifold of the chiral scalars. We analyse the
inflationary implications of this bound, and in particular discuss to what
extent the requirements of single field and slow-roll can both be met in F-term
inflation.Comment: 14 pages, improved analysis, references added, matches published
versio
Topological defects and misfit strain in magnetic stripe domains of lateral multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
Stripe domains are studied in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy films
nanostructured with a periodic thickness modulation that induces the lateral
modulation of both stripe periods and inplane magnetization. The resulting
system is the 2D equivalent of a strained superlattice with properties
controlled by interfacial misfit strain within the magnetic stripe structure
and shape anisotropy. This allows us to observe, experimentally for the first
time, the continuous structural transformation of a grain boundary in this 2D
magnetic crystal in the whole angular range. The magnetization reversal process
can be tailored through the effect of misfit strain due to the coupling between
disclinations in the magnetic stripe pattern and domain walls in the in-plane
magnetization configuration
Lipid-free Antigen B subunits from echinococcus granulosus: oligomerization, ligand binding, and membrane interaction properties
Background:
The hydatid disease parasite Echinococcus granulosus has a restricted lipid metabolism, and needs to harvest essential lipids from the host. Antigen B (EgAgB), an abundant lipoprotein of the larval stage (hydatid cyst), is thought to be important in lipid storage and transport. It contains a wide variety of lipid classes, from highly hydrophobic compounds to phospholipids. Its protein component belongs to the cestode-specific Hydrophobic Ligand Binding Protein family, which includes five 8-kDa isoforms encoded by a multigene family (EgAgB1-EgAgB5). How lipid and protein components are assembled into EgAgB particles remains unknown. EgAgB apolipoproteins self-associate into large oligomers, but the functional contribution of lipids to oligomerization is uncertain. Furthermore, binding of fatty acids to some EgAgB subunits has been reported, but their ability to bind other lipids and transfer them to acceptor membranes has not been studied.<p></p>
Methodology/Principal Findings:
Lipid-free EgAgB subunits obtained by reverse-phase HPLC were used to analyse their oligomerization, ligand binding and membrane interaction properties. Size exclusion chromatography and cross-linking experiments showed that EgAgB8/2 and EgAgB8/3 can self-associate, suggesting that lipids are not required for oligomerization. Furthermore, using fluorescent probes, both subunits were found to bind fatty acids, but not cholesterol analogues. Analysis of fatty acid transfer to phospholipid vesicles demonstrated that EgAgB8/2 and EgAgB8/3 are potentially capable of transferring fatty acids to membranes, and that the efficiency of transfer is dependent on the surface charge of the vesicles.<p></p>
Conclusions/Significance:
We show that EgAgB apolipoproteins can oligomerize in the absence of lipids, and can bind and transfer fatty acids to phospholipid membranes. Since imported fatty acids are essential for Echinococcus granulosus, these findings provide a mechanism whereby EgAgB could engage in lipid acquisition and/or transport between parasite tissues. These results may therefore indicate vulnerabilities open to targeting by new types of drugs for hydatidosis therapy.<p></p>
Local Anomalies, Local Equivariant Cohomology and the Variational Bicomplex
The locality conditions for the vanishing of local anomalies in field theory
are shown to admit a geometrical interpretation in terms of local equivariant
cohomology, thus providing a method to deal with the problem of locality in the
geometrical approaches to the study of local anomalies based on the
Atiyah-Singer index theorem. The local cohomology is shown to be related to the
cohomology of jet bundles by means of the variational bicomplex theory. Using
these results and the techniques for the computation of the cohomology of
invariant variational bicomplexes in terms of relative Gel'fand-Fuks cohomology
introduced in [6], we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the
cancellation of local gravitational and mixed anomalies.Comment: 36 pages. The paper is divided in two part
Riemannian Geometry of Noncommutative Surfaces
A Riemannian geometry of noncommutative n-dimensional surfaces is developed
as a first step towards the construction of a consistent noncommutative
gravitational theory. Historically, as well, Riemannian geometry was recognized
to be the underlying structure of Einstein's theory of general relativity and
led to further developments of the latter. The notions of metric and
connections on such noncommutative surfaces are introduced and it is shown that
the connections are metric-compatible, giving rise to the corresponding Riemann
curvature. The latter also satisfies the noncommutative analogue of the first
and second Bianchi identities. As examples, noncommutative analogues of the
sphere, torus and hyperboloid are studied in detail. The problem of covariance
under appropriately defined general coordinate transformations is also
discussed and commented on as compared with other treatments.Comment: 28 pages, some clarifications, examples and references added, version
to appear in J. Math. Phy
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