64 research outputs found
Closed string tachyons, flips and conifolds
Following the analysis of tachyons and orbifold flips described in
hep-th/0412337, we study nonsupersymmetric analogs of the supersymmetric
conifold singularity and show using their toric geometry description that they
are nonsupersymmetric orbifolds of the latter. Using linear sigma models, we
see that these are unstable to localized closed string tachyon condensation and
exhibit flip transitions between their two small resolutions (involving
2-cycles), in the process mediating mild dynamical topology change. Our
analysis shows that the structure of these nonsupersymmetric conifolds as
quotients of the supersymmetric conifold obstructs the 3-cycle deformation of
such singularities, suggesting that these nonsupersymmetric conifolds decay by
evolving towards their stable small resolutions.Comment: Latex, 22 pgs, 2 figs. v4: matches JHEP version, 29 pgs, 3 figures,
more elaborate Introduction, various clarifications adde
Probing the Statistical Properties of Unknown Texts: Application to the Voynich Manuscript
While the use of statistical physics methods to analyze large corpora has been useful to unveil many patterns in texts, no comprehensive investigation has been performed on the interdependence between syntactic and semantic factors. In this study we propose a framework for determining whether a text (e.g., written in an unknown alphabet) is compatible with a natural language and to which language it could belong. The approach is based on three types of statistical measurements, i.e. obtained from first-order statistics of word properties in a text, from the topology of complex networks representing texts, and from intermittency concepts where text is treated as a time series. Comparative experiments were performed with the New Testament in 15 different languages and with distinct books in English and Portuguese in order to quantify the dependency of the different measurements on the language and on the story being told in the book. The metrics found to be informative in distinguishing real texts from their shuffled versions include assortativity, degree and selectivity of words. As an illustration, we analyze an undeciphered medieval manuscript known as the Voynich Manuscript. We show that it is mostly compatible with natural languages and incompatible with random texts. We also obtain candidates for keywords of the Voynich Manuscript which could be helpful in the effort of deciphering it. Because we were able to identify statistical measurements that are more dependent on the syntax than on the semantics, the framework may also serve for text analysis in language-dependent applications
Three particles in a finite volume: The breakdown of spherical symmetry
Lattice simulations of light nuclei necessarily take place in finite volumes,
thus affecting their infrared properties. These effects can be addressed in a
model-independent manner using Effective Field Theories. We study the model
case of three identical bosons (mass m) with resonant two-body interactions in
a cubic box with periodic boundary conditions, which can also be generalized to
the three-nucleon system in a straightforward manner. Our results allow for the
removal of finite volume effects from lattice results as well as the
determination of infinite volume scattering parameters from the volume
dependence of the spectrum. We study the volume dependence of several states
below the break-up threshold, spanning one order of magnitude in the binding
energy in the infinite volume, for box side lengths L between the two-body
scattering length a and L = 0.25a. For example, a state with a three-body
energy of -3/(ma^2) in the infinite volume has been shifted to -10/(ma^2) at L
= a. Special emphasis is put on the consequences of the breakdown of spherical
symmetry and several ways to perturbatively treat the ensuing partial wave
admixtures. We find their contributions to be on the sub-percent level compared
to the strong volume dependence of the S-wave component. For shallow bound
states, we find a transition to boson-diboson scattering behavior when
decreasing the size of the finite volume.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, 2 table
Supersymmetry Breaking from a Calabi-Yau Singularity
We conjecture a geometric criterion for determining whether supersymmetry is
spontaneously broken in certain string backgrounds. These backgrounds contain
wrapped branes at Calabi-Yau singularites with obstructions to deformation of
the complex structure. We motivate our conjecture with a particular example:
the quiver gauge theory corresponding to a cone over the first del
Pezzo surface, . This setup can be analyzed using ordinary supersymmetric
field theory methods, where we find that gaugino condensation drives a
deformation of the chiral ring which has no solutions. We expect this breaking
to be a general feature of any theory of branes at a singularity with a smaller
number of possible deformations than independent anomaly-free fractional
branes.Comment: 32 pages, 6 figures, latex, v2: minor changes, refs adde
Comments on the non-conformal gauge theories dual to Ypq manifolds
We study the infrared behavior of the entire class of Y(p,q) quiver gauge
theories. The dimer technology is exploited to discuss the duality cascades and
support the general belief about a runaway behavior for the whole family. We
argue that a baryonic classically flat direction is pushed to infinity by the
appearance of ADS-like terms in the effective superpotential. We also study in
some examples the IR regime for the L(a,b,c) class showing that the same
situation might be reproduced in this more general case as well.Comment: 48 pages, 27 figures; updated reference
Dynamical Jahn-Teller Effect and Berry Phase in Positively Charged Fullerene I. Basic Considerations
We study the Jahn-Teller effect of positive fullerene ions C
and C. The aim is to discover if this case, in analogy with the
negative ion, possesses a Berry phase or not, and what are the consequences on
dynamical Jahn-Teller quantization. Working in the linear and spherical
approximation, we find no Berry phase in C, and
presence/absence of Berry phase for coupling of one hole to an
/ vibration. We study in particular the special equal-coupling case
(), which is reduced to the motion of a particle on a 5-dimensional
sphere. In the icosahedral molecule, the final outcome assesses the
presence/absence of a Berry phase of for the hole coupled to
/ vibrations. Some qualitative consequences on ground-state symmetry,
low-lying excitations, and electron emission from C are spelled out.Comment: 31 pages (RevTeX), 3 Postscript figures (uuencoded
All-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum measured with 26 IceTop stations
We report on a measurement of the cosmic ray energy spectrum with the IceTop
air shower array, the surface component of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at
the South Pole. The data used in this analysis were taken between June and
October, 2007, with 26 surface stations operational at that time, corresponding
to about one third of the final array. The fiducial area used in this analysis
was 0.122 km^2. The analysis investigated the energy spectrum from 1 to 100 PeV
measured for three different zenith angle ranges between 0{\deg} and 46{\deg}.
Because of the isotropy of cosmic rays in this energy range the spectra from
all zenith angle intervals have to agree. The cosmic-ray energy spectrum was
determined under different assumptions on the primary mass composition. Good
agreement of spectra in the three zenith angle ranges was found for the
assumption of pure proton and a simple two-component model. For zenith angles
{\theta} < 30{\deg}, where the mass dependence is smallest, the knee in the
cosmic ray energy spectrum was observed between 3.5 and 4.32 PeV, depending on
composition assumption. Spectral indices above the knee range from -3.08 to
-3.11 depending on primary mass composition assumption. Moreover, an indication
of a flattening of the spectrum above 22 PeV were observed.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figure
An improved method for measuring muon energy using the truncated mean of dE/dx
The measurement of muon energy is critical for many analyses in large
Cherenkov detectors, particularly those that involve separating
extraterrestrial neutrinos from the atmospheric neutrino background. Muon
energy has traditionally been determined by measuring the specific energy loss
(dE/dx) along the muon's path and relating the dE/dx to the muon energy.
Because high-energy muons (E_mu > 1 TeV) lose energy randomly, the spread in
dE/dx values is quite large, leading to a typical energy resolution of 0.29 in
log10(E_mu) for a muon observed over a 1 km path length in the IceCube
detector. In this paper, we present an improved method that uses a truncated
mean and other techniques to determine the muon energy. The muon track is
divided into separate segments with individual dE/dx values. The elimination of
segments with the highest dE/dx results in an overall dE/dx that is more
closely correlated to the muon energy. This method results in an energy
resolution of 0.22 in log10(E_mu), which gives a 26% improvement. This
technique is applicable to any large water or ice detector and potentially to
large scintillator or liquid argon detectors.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figure
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Metastable vacua and geometric deformations
We study the geometric interpretation of metastable vacua for systems of D3
branes at non isolated toric deformable singularities. Using the L^{aba}
examples, we investigate the relations between the field theoretic susy
breaking and restoration and the complex deformations of the CY singularities.Comment: Minor corrections, references added, published in JHE
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