33 research outputs found
Quasi-Topological Field Theories in Two Dimensions as Soluble Models
We study a class of lattice field theories in two dimensions that includes
gauge theories. Given a two dimensional orientable surface of genus , the
partition function is defined for a triangulation consisting of
triangles of area . The reason these models are called
quasi-topological is that depends on , and but not on the
details of the triangulation. They are also soluble in the sense that the
computation of their partition functions can be reduced to a soluble one
dimensional problem. We show that the continuum limit is well defined if the
model approaches a topological field theory in the zero area limit, i.e.,
with finite . We also show that the universality classes of
such quasi-topological lattice field theories can be easily classified.
Yang-Mills and generalized Yang-Mills theories appear as particular examples of
such continuum limits.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures, uses psbox.te
Three Dimensional de Sitter Gravity and the Correspondence
Certain aspects of three dimensional asymptotically de Sitter spaces are
studied, with emphasis on the mapping between gravity observables and the
representation of the conformal symmetry of the boundary. In particular, we
show that non-real conformal weights for the boundary theory correspond to
space-times that have non-zero angular momentum. Some miscellaneous results on
the role of the holonomies and isometry groups are also presented.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, uses epsf. Added references and a discussion on
the (dis)similarities with previous work
Kerr-CFT From Black-Hole Thermodynamics
We analyze the near-horizon limit of a general black hole with two commuting
killing vector fields in the limit of zero temperature. We use black hole
thermodynamics methods to relate asymptotic charges of the complete spacetime
to those obtained in the near-horizon limit. We then show that some
diffeomorphisms do alter asymptotic charges of the full spacetime, even though
they are defined in the near horizon limit and, therefore, count black hole
states. We show that these conditions are essentially the same as considered in
the Kerr/CFT corresponcence. From the algebra constructed from these
diffeomorphisms, one can extract its central charge and then obtain the black
hole entropy by use of Cardy's formula.Comment: 19 pages, JHEP3, no figures. V2: References added, small typos fixe
Dwelling on de Sitter
A careful reduction of the three-dimensional gravity to the Liouville
description is performed, where all gauge fixing and on-shell conditions come
from the definition of asymptotic de Sitter spaces. The roles of both past and
future infinities are discussed and the conditions space-time evolution imposes
on both Liouville fields are explicited. Space-times which correspond to
non-equivalent profiles of the Liouville field at past and future infinities
are shown to exist. The qualitative implications of this for any tentative dual
theory are presented.Comment: RevTeX 4, 8 pages, v3: Small clarifications on sections III and IV
and references added/corrected, v4: typo
Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research
Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4
While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge
of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In
the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of
Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus
crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced
environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian
Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by
2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status,
much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Recommended from our members
Evidence confirms an anthropic origin of Amazonian Dark Earths.
Arising from: Silva et al. Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20184-2 (2021
Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research
Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost