3,031 research outputs found
Sub-Milliarcsecond Precision of Pulsar Motions: Using In-Beam Calibrators with the VLBA
We present Very Long Baseline Array phase-referenced measurements of the
parallax and proper motion of two pulsars, B0919+06 and B1857-26.
Sub-milliarcsecond positional accuracy was obtained by simultaneously observing
a weak calibrator source within the 40' field of view of the VLBA at 1.5 GHz.
We discuss the merits of using weak close calibrator sources for VLBI
observations at low frequencies, and outline a method of observation and data
reduction for these type of measurements. For the pulsar B1919+06 we measure a
parallax of 0.31 +/- 0.14 mas. The accuracy of the proper motions is
approximately 0.5 mas, an order of magnitude improvement over most previous
determinations.Comment: 11 pages plus 4 figures. In press, Astronomical Journa
On Berenstein-Douglas-Seiberg Duality
I review the proposal of Berenstein-Douglas for a completely general
definition of Seiberg duality. To give evidence for their conjecture I present
the first example of a physical dual pair and explicitly check that it
satisfies the requirements. Then I explicitly show that a pair of toric dual
quivers is also dual according to their proposal. All these computations go
beyond tilting modules, and really work in the derived category. I introduce
all necessary mathematics where needed.Comment: 22 pages, LaTe
Remarks on Legendrian Self-Linking
The Thurston-Bennequin invariant provides one notion of self-linking for any
homologically-trivial Legendrian curve in a contact three-manifold. Here we
discuss related analytic notions of self-linking for Legendrian knots in
Euclidean space. Our definition is based upon a reformulation of the elementary
Gauss linking integral and is motivated by ideas from supersymmetric gauge
theory. We recover the Thurston-Bennequin invariant as a special case.Comment: 42 pages, many figures; v2: minor revisions, published versio
Measurement of the Parallax of PSR B0950+08 Using the VLBA
A new technique has been developed to remove the ionosphere's distorting
effects from low frequency VLBI data. By fitting dispersive and non-dispersive
components to the phases of multi-frequency data, the ionosphere can be
effectively removed from the data without the use of {\em a priori} calibration
information. This technique, along with the new gating capability of the VLBA
correlator, was used to perform accurate astrometry on pulsar B0950+08,
resulting in a much improved measurement of this pulsar's proper motion
( mas/yr, mas/yr)
and parallax ( mas). This puts the pulsar at a distance of
parsecs, about twice as far as previous estimates, but in good
agreement with models of the electron density in the local bubble.Comment: 5 pages, Latex with AASTEX. Accepted for publication in Ap
A Note on Fluxes and Superpotentials in M-theory Compactifications on Manifolds of G_2 Holonomy
We consider the breaking of N=1 supersymmetry by non-zero G-flux when
M-theory is compactified on a smooth manifold X of G_2 holonomy. Gukov has
proposed a superpotential W to describe this breaking in the low-energy
effective theory. We check this proposal by comparing the bosonic potential
implied by W with the corresponding potential deduced from the
eleven-dimensional supergravity action. One interesting aspect of this check is
that, though W depends explicitly only on G-flux supported on X, W also
describes the breaking of supersymmetry by G-flux transverse to X.Comment: 15 pages, harvmac, v2: reference adde
Classification and Moduli Kahler Potentials of G_2 Manifolds
Compact manifolds of G_2 holonomy may be constructed by dividing a
seven-torus by some discrete symmetry group and then blowing up the
singularities of the resulting orbifold. We classify possible group elements
that may be used in this construction and use this classification to find a set
of possible orbifold groups. We then derive the moduli Kahler potential for
M-theory on the resulting class of G_2 manifolds with blown up co-dimension
four singularities.Comment: 30 pages, Latex, references adde
Proximity Effect and Josephson Coupling in the SO(5) Theory of High-Tc Superconductivity
We consider proximity effect coupling in
Superconducting/Antiferromagnetic/Superconducting (S-A-S) sandwiches using the
recently developed SO(5) effective theory of high temperature
superconductivity. We find that, for narrow junctions, the A region acts like a
strong superconductor, and that there is a critical junction thickness which
depends on the effective SO(5) coupling constants and on the phase difference
across the junction, at which the A region undergoes a Freedericksz-like
transition to a state which is intermediate between superconductor and
antiferromagnet. For thick junctions, the current-phase relation is sinusoidal,
as in standard S-N-S and S-I-S junctions, but for thin junctions it shows a
sharp break in slope at the Freedericksz point.Comment: 4 pages, LATEX, 5 eps fig
BayesGmed : An R-package for Bayesian Causal Mediation Analysis
3 figures. A missing appendix sections added and a text about prior specification added in section 4Preprin
Mastering the Master Space
Supersymmetric gauge theories have an important but perhaps under-appreciated
notion of a master space, which controls the full moduli space. For
world-volume theories of D-branes probing a Calabi-Yau singularity X the
situation is particularly illustrative. In the case of one physical brane, the
master space F is the space of F-terms and a particular quotient thereof is X
itself. We study various properties of F which encode such physical quantities
as Higgsing, BPS spectra, hidden global symmetries, etc. Using the plethystic
program we also discuss what happens at higher number N of branes. This letter
is a summary and some extensions of the key points of a longer companion paper
arXiv:0801.1585.Comment: 10 pages, 1 Figur
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