808 research outputs found
On the supergravity description of boost invariant conformal plasma at strong coupling
We study string theory duals of the expanding boost invariant conformal gauge
theory plasmas at strong coupling. The dual supergravity background is
constructed as an asymptotic late-time expansion, corresponding to
equilibration of the gauge theory plasma. The absence of curvature
singularities in the first few orders of the late-time expansion of the dual
gravitational background unambiguously determines the equilibrium equation of
the state, and the shear viscosity of the gauge theory plasma. While the
absence of the leading pole singularities in the gravitational curvature
invariants at the third order in late-time expansion determines the relaxation
time of the plasma, the subleading logarithmic singularity can not be canceled
within a supergravity approximation. Thus, a supergravity approximation to a
dual description of the strongly coupled boost invariant expanding plasma is
inconsistent. Nevertheless we find that the relaxation time determined from
cancellation of pole singularities is quite robust.Comment: 26 pages, no figures; v2: references adde
On Tree Amplitudes in Gauge Theory and Gravity
The BCFW recursion relations provide a powerful way to compute tree
amplitudes in gauge theories and gravity, but only hold if some amplitudes
vanish when two of the momenta are taken to infinity in a particular complex
direction. This is a very surprising property, since individual Feynman
diagrams all diverge at infinite momentum. In this paper we give a simple
physical understanding of amplitudes in this limit, which corresponds to a hard
particle with (complex) light-like momentum moving in a soft background, and
can be conveniently studied using the background field method exploiting
background light-cone gauge. An important role is played by enhanced spin
symmetries at infinite momentum--a single copy of a "Lorentz" group for gauge
theory and two copies for gravity--which together with Ward identities give a
systematic expansion for amplitudes at large momentum. We use this to study
tree amplitudes in a wide variety of theories, and in particular demonstrate
that certain pure gauge and gravity amplitudes do vanish at infinity. Thus the
BCFW recursion relations can be used to compute completely general gluon and
graviton tree amplitudes in any number of dimensions. We briefly comment on the
implications of these results for computing massive 4D amplitudes by KK
reduction, as well understanding the unexpected cancelations that have recently
been found in loop-level gravity amplitudes.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure
Note on graviton MHV amplitudes
Two new formulas which express n-graviton MHV tree amplitudes in terms of
sums of squares of n-gluon amplitudes are discussed. The first formula is
derived from recursion relations. The second formula, simpler because it
involves fewer permutations, is obtained from the variant of the Berends,
Giele, Kuijf formula given in Arxiv:0707.1035.Comment: 10 page
Effects of sub-optimal temperatures on seed germination of three warm-season turfgrasses with perspectives of cultivation in transition zone
Warm-season turfgrass species prevail in tropical and subtropical areas, but can also be grown in the transition zone. In this case, cold tolerance is a key aspect for germination and successful turfgrass establishment. The germination response to sub-optimal temperatures was investigated for Cynodon dactylon (cvs Jackpot, La Paloma, Transcontinental, Yukon, Riviera), Buchloe dactyloides (cv SWI 2000) and Paspalum vaginatum (cv Pure Dynasty). Four temperature regimes were applied, i.e., 20/30 °C, 15/25 °C, 10/20 °C and 5/15 °C, with a 12:12 h (light:dark) photoperiod. Germination assays were performed twice, with six replicates (Petri dishes) per treatment in each experiment, fifty seeds per dish. The final germinated percentages at last inspection time (FGP) were obtained for each Petri dish and processed by using a generalized linear mixed model (binomial error and logit link). Germination curves were fitted to each Petri dish by using time-to-event methods and germination rates (GR) for the 10th, 20th and 30th percentiles were derived and used to fit a linear thermal-time model. For all cultivars, FGP decreased with decreasing mean daily temperatures. Base temperatures (Tb) ranged between 11.4 °C and 17.0 °C, while the thermal time to obtain 30% germination ranged from 51.3 °C day for SWI 2000 to 144.0 °C day for Pure Dynasty. The estimated parameters were used to predict germination time in the field, considering the observed soil temperatures in Legnaro. The estimated date for the beginning of germination in the field would range from early April for SWI 2000 and Transcontinental to mid-May for Riviera. These results might be used as a practical support for planning spring sowing, which is crucial for successful turfgrass establishment, especially without irrigation
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