12,392 research outputs found
Embedding the Pentagon
The Pentagon Model is an explicit supersymmetric extension of the Standard
Model, which involves a new strongly-interacting SU(5) gauge theory at
TeV-scale energies. We show that the Pentagon can be embedded into an SU(5) x
SU(5) x SU(5) gauge group at the GUT scale. The doublet-triplet splitting
problem, and proton decay compatible with experimental bounds, can be
successfully addressed in this context. The simplest approach fails to provide
masses for the lighter two generations of quarks and leptons; however, this
problem can be solved by the addition of a pair of antisymmetric tensor fields
and an axion.Comment: 39 page
Vertex Operators in 2K Dimensions
A formula is proposed which expresses free fermion fields in 2K dimensions in
terms of the Cartan currents of the free fermion current algebra. This leads,
in an obvious manner, to a vertex operator construction of nonabelian free
fermion current algebras in arbitrary even dimension. It is conjectured that
these ideas may generalize to a wide class of conformal field theories.Comment: Minor change in notation. Change in references
D-instantons probing D3-branes and the AdS/CFT correspondence
D-instantons are considered as a probe of coinciding D3-branes. They can
feel an external metric via the commutator terms in their effective action. We
show that when the D-instantons are separated from the D3-branes, the metric
which is probed at the one loop level, {\it exactly} coincides with that of the
BPS R-R 3-brane. Interesting connection of this result to the possible
explanation of the AdS/CFT correspondence within IKKT M-atrix theory is
discussed.Comment: 8pp., Latex. Minor changes, misprints are correcte
Short Note: Report of mummified leopard seal carcass in the southern Dry Valleys, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.
The wide spread occurrence of mummified seal and penguin carcasses tens of kilometres from the open ocean is an interesting phenomenon occurring in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Mummified seal carcasses were first reported by Scott’s expedition in 1903 (Scott 1969), and live seals and seal carcasses have since been reported many kilometres from the nearest ice-free ocean. Seal carcasses found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys are predominantly crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga (Hombron & Jacquinot)) with a smaller number of Weddell seals, (Leptonychotes weddellii (Lesson)), also reported. Here we present only the second published report of a leopard seal carcass from the McMurdo Dry Valleys
QCD with Large Number of Quarks: Effects of the Instanton -- Anti-instanton Pairs
We calculate the contribution of the instanton -- anti-instanton ()
pairs to the vacuum energy of QCD-like theories with light fermions using
the saddle point method. We find a qualitative change of the behavior: for it starts to oscillate with . Similar behaviour was known for
quantum mechanical systems interacting with fermions. We discuss the possible
consequences of this phenomenon, and its relation to the mechanism of chiral
symmetry breaking in these theories. We also discuss the asymptotics of the
perturbative series associated with the contribution, comparing our
results with those in literature.Comment: 11 pages, Late
Remarks on the Racetrack Scheme
There are only a small number of ideas for stabilizing the moduli of string
theory. One of the most appealing of these is the racetrack mechanism, in which
a delicate interplay between two strongly interacting gauge groups fixes the
value of the coupling constant. In this note, we explore this scenario. We find
that quite generally, some number of discrete tunings are required in order
that the mechanism yield a small gauge coupling. Even then, there is no sense
in which a weak coupling approximation is valid. On the other hand, certain
holomorphic quantities can be computed, so such a scheme is in principle
predictive. Searching for models which realize this mechanism is thus of great
interest. We also remark on cosmology in these schemes.Comment: 20 pp, latex, discussion of calculability modifie
4d Conformal Field Theories and Strings on Orbifolds
We propose correspondences between 4d quantum field theories with N=2,1,0
(super)conformal invariance and Type IIB string theory on various orbifolds. We
argue using the spacetime string theory, and check using the beta functions
(exactly for N=2,1 and so far at 1-loop for the gauge couplings in the N=0
case), that these theories have conformal fixed lines. The latter case
potentially gives well-defined non-supersymmetric vacua of string theory, with
a mechanism for making the curvature and cosmological constant small at
nontrivial string coupling. We suggest a correspondence between
nonsupersymmetric conformal fixed lines and nonsupersymmetric string vacua with
vanishing vacuum energy.Comment: 11 pages, harvmac big. Reference adde
On the Possibility of Large Axion Decay Constants
The decay constant of the QCD axion is required by observation to be small
compared to the Planck scale. In theories of "natural inflation," and certain
proposed anthropic solutions of the cosmological constant problem, it would be
interesting to obtain a large decay constant for axion-like fields from
microscopic physics. String theory is the only context in which one can
sensibly address this question. Here we survey a number of periodic fields in
string theory in a variety of string vacua. In some examples, the decay
constant can be parameterically larger than the Planck scale but the effective
action then contains appreciable harmonics of order . As a result,
these fields are no better inflaton candidates than Planck scale axions.Comment: 17 pages, no figures, minor change mad
CPT and Other Symmetries in String/M Theory
We initiate a search for non-perturbative consistency conditions in M theory.
Some non-perturbative conditions are already known in Type I theories; we
review these and search for others. We focus principally on possible anomalies
in discrete symmetries. It is generally believed that discrete symmetries in
string theories are gauge symmetries, so anomalies would provide evidence for
inconsistencies. Using the orbifold cosmic string construction, we give some
evidence that the symmetries we study are gauged. We then search for anomalies
in discrete symmetries in a variety of models, both with and without
supersymmetry. In symmetric orbifold models we extend previous searches, and
show in a variety of examples that all anomalies may be canceled by a
Green-Schwarz mechanism. We explore some asymmetric orbifold constructions and
again find that all anomalies may be canceled this way. Then we turn to Type
IIB orientifold models where it is known that even perturbative anomalies are
non-universal. In the examples we study, by combining geometric discrete
symmetries with continuous gauge symmetries, one may define non-anomalous
discrete symmetries already in perturbation theory; in other cases, the
anomalies are universal. Finally, we turn to the question of CPT conservation
in string/M theory. It is well known that CPT is conserved in all string
perturbation expansions; here in a number of examples for which a
non-perturbative formulation is available we provide evidence that it is
conserved exactly.Comment: 52 pages.1 paragraph added in introduction to clarify assumption
Ten Dimensional Black Hole and the D0-brane Threshold Bound State
We discuss the ten dimensional black holes made of D0-branes in the regime
where the effective coupling is large, and yet the 11D geometry is unimportant.
We suggest that these black holes can be interpreted as excitations over the
threshold bound state. Thus, the entropy formula for the former is used to
predict a scaling region of the wave function of the latter. The horizon radius
and the mass gap predicted in this picture agree with the formulas derived from
the classical geometry.Comment: 11 pages, harvmac; v2: typos corrected, argument for the convergence
of two integrals improved, v3: one ref. adde
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