5,250 research outputs found
M5-branes from gauge theories on the 5-sphere
We use the 5-sphere partition functions of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories
to explore the (2,0) superconformal theory on S^5 x S^1. The 5d theories can be
regarded as Scherk-Schwarz reductions of the 6d theory along the circle. In a
special limit, the perturbative partition function takes the form of the
Chern-Simons partition function on S^3. With a simple non-perturbative
completion, it becomes a 6d index which captures the degeneracy of a sector of
BPS states as well as the index version of the vacuum Casimir energy. The
Casimir energy exhibits the N^3 scaling at large N. The large N index for U(N)
gauge group also completely agrees with the supergravity index on AdS_7 x S^4.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure, v4: ref added, clarified weak/strong coupling
behaviors of large N free energy, minor improvements, version to be published
in JHE
Algebraic charge liquids
High temperature superconductivity emerges in the cuprate compounds upon
changing the electron density of an insulator in which the electron spins are
antiferromagnetically ordered. A key characteristic of the superconductor is
that electrons can be extracted from them at zero energy only if their momenta
take one of four specific values (the `nodal points'). A central enigma has
been the evolution of the zero energy electrons in the metallic state between
the antiferromagnet and the superconductor, and recent experiments yield
apparently contradictory results. The oscillation of the resistance in this
metal as a function of magnetic field indicate that the zero energy electrons
carry momenta which lie on elliptical `Fermi pockets', while ejection of
electrons by high intensity light indicates that the zero energy electrons have
momenta only along arc-like regions. We present a theory of new states of
matter, which we call `algebraic charge liquids', which arise naturally between
the antiferromagnet and the superconductor, and reconcile these observations.
Our theory also explains a puzzling dependence of the density of
superconducting electrons on the total electron density, and makes a number of
unique predictions for future experiments.Comment: 6+8 pages, 2 figures; (v2) Rewritten for broader accessibility; (v3)
corrected numerical error in Eq. (5
Mott physics and band topology in materials with strong spin-orbit interaction
Recent theory and experiment have revealed that strong spin-orbit coupling
can have dramatic qualitative effects on the band structure of weakly
interacting solids. Indeed, it leads to a distinct phase of matter, the
topological band insulator. In this paper, we consider the combined effects of
spin-orbit coupling and strong electron correlation, and show that the former
has both quantitative and qualitative effects upon the correlation-driven Mott
transition. As a specific example we take Ir-based pyrochlores, where the
subsystem of Ir 5d electrons is known to undergo a Mott transition. At weak
electron-electron interaction, we predict that Ir electrons are in a metallic
phase at weak spin-orbit interaction, and in a topological band insulator phase
at strong spin-orbit interaction. Very generally, we show that with increasing
strength of the electron-electron interaction, the effective spin-orbit
coupling is enhanced, increasing the domain of the topological band insulator.
Furthermore, in our model, we argue that with increasing interactions, the
topological band insulator is transformed into a "topological Mott insulator"
phase, which is characterized by gapless surface spin-only excitations. The
full phase diagram also includes a narrow region of gapless Mott insulator with
a spinon Fermi surface, and a magnetically ordered state at still larger
electron-electron interaction.Comment: 10+ pages including 3+ pages of Supplementary Informatio
Redirecting an Anticancer to an Antibacterial Hit Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
YM155 is a clinically evaluated anticancer with a fused naphthoquinone-imidazolium scaffold. In this study, we demonstrated that based on weak or cryptic antibacterial activity of YM155 against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (MIC of 50 μg/ml), some congeneric compounds with short alkyl chains (e.g., c5 with a hexyl chain) at the N3 position of the scaffold, displayed more potent antibacterial activity against MRSA (MIC of 3.13 μg/ml), which is in a clinically achievable range. Their antibacterial activity was evident against Gram-negative bacteria, only in the presence of the outer membrane-permeabilizing agent, polymyxin B. The antibacterial efficacy of c5 was confirmed using the Drosophila systemic infection model. We also characterized five spontaneous c5-resistant MRSA mutants that carry mutations in the ubiE gene, for quinone metabolism and respiratory electron transfer, and subsequently exhibited reduced respiration activity. The antibacterial activity of c5 was compromised either by an antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine, or in an anaerobic condition. These suggest that the antibacterial mechanism of c5 involves the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), presumably during respiratory electron transport. This study provides an insight into “drug redirecting,” through a chemical modification, based on an ROS-generating pharmacophore
Density-dependence of functional development in spiking cortical networks grown in vitro
During development, the mammalian brain differentiates into specialized
regions with distinct functional abilities. While many factors contribute to
functional specialization, we explore the effect of neuronal density on the
development of neuronal interactions in vitro. Two types of cortical networks,
dense and sparse, with 50,000 and 12,000 total cells respectively, are studied.
Activation graphs that represent pairwise neuronal interactions are constructed
using a competitive first response model. These graphs reveal that, during
development in vitro, dense networks form activation connections earlier than
sparse networks. Link entropy analysis of dense net- work activation graphs
suggests that the majority of connections between electrodes are reciprocal in
nature. Information theoretic measures reveal that early functional information
interactions (among 3 cells) are synergetic in both dense and sparse networks.
However, during later stages of development, previously synergetic
relationships become primarily redundant in dense, but not in sparse networks.
Large link entropy values in the activation graph are related to the domination
of redundant ensembles in late stages of development in dense networks. Results
demonstrate differences between dense and sparse networks in terms of
informational groups, pairwise relationships, and activation graphs. These
differences suggest that variations in cell density may result in different
functional specialization of nervous system tissue in vivo.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Degenerate Rotating Black Holes, Chiral CFTs and Fermi Surfaces I - Analytic Results for Quasinormal Modes
In this work we discuss charged rotating black holes in
that degenerate to extremal black holes with zero entropy. These black holes
have scaling properties between charge and angular momentum similar to those of
Fermi surface operators in a subsector of SYM. We add a
massless uncharged scalar to the five dimensional supergravity theory, such
that it still forms a consistent truncation of the type IIB ten dimensional
supergravity and analyze its quasinormal modes. Separating the equation of
motion to a radial and angular part, we proceed to solve the radial equation
using the asymptotic matching expansion method applied to a Heun equation with
two nearby singularities. We use the continued fraction method for the angular
Heun equation and obtain numerical results for the quasinormal modes. In the
case of the supersymmetric black hole we present some analytic results for the
decay rates of the scalar perturbations. The spectrum of quasinormal modes
obtained is similar to that of a chiral 1+1 CFT, which is consistent with the
conjectured field-theoretic dual. In addition, some of the modes can be found
analytically.Comment: 41 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX; v2: typos corrected, references adde
Dense active matter model of motion patterns in confluent cell monolayers
Epithelial cell monolayers show remarkable displacement and velocity
correlations over distances of ten or more cell sizes that are reminiscent of
supercooled liquids and active nematics. We show that many observed features
can be described within the framework of dense active matter, and argue that
persistent uncoordinated cell motility coupled to the collective elastic modes
of the cell sheet is sufficient to produce swirl-like correlations. We obtain
this result using both continuum active linear elasticity and a normal modes
formalism, and validate analytical predictions with numerical simulations of
two agent-based cell models, soft elastic particles and the self-propelled
Voronoi model together with in-vitro experiments of confluent corneal
epithelial cell sheets. Simulations and normal mode analysis perfectly match
when tissue-level reorganisation occurs on times longer than the persistence
time of cell motility. Our analytical model quantitatively matches measured
velocity correlation functions over more than a decade with a single fitting
parameter.Comment: updated version accepted for publication in Nat. Com
Understanding how excess lead iodide precursor improves halide perovskite solar cell performance
The presence of excess lead iodide in halide perovskites has been key for surpassing 20% photon-to-power conversion efficiency. To achieve even higher power conversion efficiencies, it is important to understand the role of remnant lead iodide in these perovskites. To that end, we explored the mechanism facilitating this effect by identifying the impact of excess lead iodide within the perovskite film on charge diffusion length, using electron-beam-induced current measurements, and on film formation properties, from grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Based on our results, we propose that excess lead iodide in the perovskite precursors can reduce the halide vacancy concentration and lead to formation of azimuthal angle-oriented cubic alpha-perovskite crystals in-between 0 degrees and 90 degrees. We further identify a higher perovskite carrier concentration inside the nanostructured titanium dioxide layer than in the capping layer. These effects are consistent with enhanced lead iodide-rich perovskite solar cell performance and illustrate the role of lead iodide
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