3,524 research outputs found
The Mean Drift: Tailoring the Mean Field Theory of Markov Processes for Real-World Applications
The statement of the mean field approximation theorem in the mean field
theory of Markov processes particularly targets the behaviour of population
processes with an unbounded number of agents. However, in most real-world
engineering applications one faces the problem of analysing middle-sized
systems in which the number of agents is bounded. In this paper we build on
previous work in this area and introduce the mean drift. We present the concept
of population processes and the conditions under which the approximation
theorems apply, and then show how the mean drift is derived through a
systematic application of the propagation of chaos. We then use the mean drift
to construct a new set of ordinary differential equations which address the
analysis of population processes with an arbitrary size
Simplifying instanton corrections to N=4 SYM correlators
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited
Thermal quenches in N=2* plasmas
We exploit gauge/gravity duality to study `thermal quenches' in a plasma of
the strongly coupled N=2* gauge theory. Specifically, we consider the response
of an initial thermal equilibrium state of the theory under variations of the
bosonic or fermionic mass, to leading order in m/T<<1. When the masses are made
to vary in time, novel new counterterms must be introduced to renormalize the
boundary theory. We consider transitions the conformal super-Yang-Mills theory
to the mass deformed gauge theory and also the reverse transitions. By
construction, these transitions are controlled by a characteristic time scale
\calt and we show how the response of the system depends on the ratio of this
time scale to the thermal time scale 1/T. The response shows interesting
scaling behaviour both in the limit of fast quenches with T\calt<<1 and slow
quenches with T\calt>>1. In the limit that T\calt\to\infty, we observe the
expected adiabatic response. For fast quenches, the relaxation to the final
equilibrium is controlled by the lowest quasinormal mode of the bulk scalar
dual to the quenched operator. For slow quenches, the system relaxes with a
(nearly) adiabatic response that is governed entirely by the late time profile
of the mass. We describe new renormalization scheme ambiguities in defining
gauge invariant observables for the theory with time dependant couplings.Comment: 78 pages, 17 figure
Finite-gap equations for strings on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 with mixed 3-form flux
We study superstrings on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 supported by a combination of
Ramond-Ramond and Neveu-Schwarz-Neveu-Schwarz three form fluxes, and construct
a set of finite-gap equations that describe the classical string spectrum.
Using the recently proposed all-loop S-matrix we write down the all-loop Bethe
ansatz equations for the massive sector. In the thermodynamic limit the Bethe
ansatz reproduces the finite-gap equations. As part of this derivation we
propose expressions for the leading order dressing phases. These phases differ
from the well-known Arutyunov-Frolov-Staudacher phase that appears in the pure
Ramond-Ramond case. We also consider the one-loop quantization of the algebraic
curve and determine the one-loop corrections to the dressing phases. Finally we
consider some classical string solutions including finite size giant magnons
and circular strings.Comment: 44 pages, 3 figures. v2: references and a discussion about
perturbative results adde
The a-theorem and conformal symmetry breaking in holographic RG flows
We study holographic models describing an RG flow between two fixed points
driven by a relevant scalar operator. We show how to introduce a spurion field
to restore Weyl invariance and compute the anomalous contribution to the
generating functional in even dimensional theories. We find that the
coefficient of the anomalous term is proportional to the difference of the
conformal anomalies of the UV and IR fixed points, as expected from anomaly
matching arguments in field theory. For any even dimensions the coefficient is
positive as implied by the holographic a-theorem. For flows corresponding to
spontaneous breaking of conformal invariance, we also compute the two-point
functions of the energy-momentum tensor and the scalar operator and identify
the dilaton mode. Surprisingly we find that in the simplest models with just
one scalar field there is no dilaton pole in the two-point function of the
scalar operator but a stronger singularity. We discuss the possible
implications.Comment: 50 pages. v2: minor changes, added references, extended discussion.
v3: we have clarified some of the calculations and assumptions, results
unchanged. v4: published version in JHE
On correlation functions of operators dual to classical spinning string states
We explore how to compute, classically at strong coupling, correlation
functions of local operators corresponding to classical spinning string states.
The picture we obtain is of `fattened' Witten diagrams, the evaluation of which
turns out to be surprisingly subtle and requires a modification of the naive
classical action due to a necessary projection onto appropriate wave functions.
We examine string solutions which compute the simplest case of a two-point
function and reproduce the right scaling with the anomalous dimensions
corresponding to the energies of the associated spinning string solutions. We
also describe, under some simplifying assumptions, how the spacetime dependence
of a conformal three-point correlation function arises in this setup.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures; v2: references and comments added
Holographic three-point functions for short operators
We consider holographic three-point functions for operators dual to short
string states at strong coupling in N=4 super Yang-Mills. We treat the states
as point-like as they come in from the boundary but as strings in the
interaction region in the bulk. The interaction position is determined by
saddle point, which is equivalent to conservation of the canonical momentum for
the interacting particles, and leads to conservation of their conformal
charges. We further show that for large dimensions the rms size of the
interaction region is small compared to the radius of curvature of the AdS
space, but still large compared to the string Compton wave-length. Hence, one
can approximate the string vertex operators as flat-space vertex operators with
a definite momentum, which depends on the conformal and R-charges of the
operator. We then argue that the string vertex operator dual to a primary
operator is chosen by satisfying a twisted version of Q^L=Q^R, up to spurious
terms. This leads to a unique choice for a scalar vertex operator with the
appropriate charges at the first massive level. We then comment on some
features of the corresponding three-point functions, including the application
of these results to Konishi operators.Comment: 24 pages; v2: References added, typos fixed, minor change
Mineralisation of surfactants using ultrasound and the Advanced Fenton Process
The destruction of the surfactants, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) and dodecyl pyridinium chloride (DPC), using an advanced oxidation process is described. The use of zero valent iron (ZVI) and hydrogen peroxide at pH = 2.5 (the advanced Fenton process), with and without, the application of 20 kHz ultrasound leads to extensive mineralisation of both materials as determined by total organic carbon (TOC)measurements. For DBS, merely stirring with ZVI and H2O2 at 20°C leads to a 51% decrease in TOC, but using 20 kHz ultrasound at 40°C, maintaining the pH at 2.5 throughout and adding extra amounts of ZVI and H2O2 during the degradation, then the extent of mineralisation of DBS is substantially increased to 93%. A similar result is seen for DPC where virtually no degradation occurs at 20°C, but if extra amounts of both ZVI and hydrogen peroxide are introduced during the reaction at 40°C and the pH is maintained at 2.5, then an 87% mineralisation of DPC is obtained. The slow latent remediation of both surfactants and the mechanism of degradation are also discussed
Matching three-point functions of BMN operators at weak and strong coupling
The agreement between string theory and field theory is demonstrated in the
leading order by providing the first calculation of the correlator of three
two-impurity BMN states with all non-zero momenta. The calculation is performed
in two completely independent ways: in field theory by using the large-
perturbative expansion, up to the terms subleading in finite-size, and in
string theory by using the Dobashi-Yoneya 3-string vertex in the leading order
of the Penrose expansion. The two results come out to be completely identical.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur
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