7,907 research outputs found
Sculpting the Extra Dimensions: Inflation from Codimension-2 Brane Back-reaction
We construct an inflationary model in 6D supergravity that is based on
explicit time-dependent solutions to the full higher-dimensional field
equations, back-reacting to the presence of a 4D inflaton rolling on a
space-filling codimension-2 source brane. Fluxes in the bulk stabilize all
moduli except the `breathing' modulus (that is generically present in
higher-dimensional supergravities). Back-reaction to the inflaton roll causes
the 4D Einstein-frame on-brane geometry to expand, a(t) ~ t^p, as well as
exciting the breathing mode and causing the two off-brane dimensions to expand,
r(t) ~ t^q. The model evades the general no-go theorems precluding 4D de Sitter
solutions, since adjustments to the brane-localized inflaton potential allow
the power p to be dialed to be arbitrarily large, with the 4D geometry becoming
de Sitter in the limit p -> infinity (in which case q = 0). Slow-roll solutions
give accelerated expansion with p large but finite, and q = 1/2. Because the
extra dimensions expand during inflation, the present-day 6D gravity scale can
be much smaller than it was when primordial fluctuations were generated -
potentially allowing TeV gravity now to be consistent with the much higher
gravity scale required at horizon-exit for observable primordial gravity waves.
Because p >> q, the 4 on-brane dimensions expand more quickly than the 2
off-brane ones, providing a framework for understanding why the observed four
dimensions are presently so much larger than the internal two. If uplifted to a
10D framework with 4 dimensions stabilized, the 6D evolution described here
could describe how two of the six extra dimensions evolve to become much larger
than the others, as a consequence of the enormous expansion of the 4 large
dimensions we can see.Comment: 27 pages + appendices, 2 figure
Bulk Axions, Brane Back-reaction and Fluxes
Extra-dimensional models can involve bulk pseudo-Goldstone bosons (pGBs)
whose shift symmetry is explicitly broken only by physics localized on branes.
Reliable calculation of their low-energy potential is often difficult because
it requires details of the stabilization of the extra dimensions. In rugby ball
solutions, for which two compact extra dimensions are stabilized in the
presence of only positive-tension brane sources, the effects of brane
back-reaction can be computed explicitly. This allows the calculation of the
shape of the low-energy pGB potential and response of the extra dimensional
geometry as a function of the perturbing brane properties. If the
pGB-dependence is a small part of the total brane tension a very general
analysis is possible, permitting an exploration of how the system responds to
frustration when the two branes disagree on what the proper scalar vacuum
should be. We show how the low-energy potential is given by the sum of brane
tensions (in agreement with common lore) when only the brane tensions couple to
the pGB. We also show how a direct brane coupling to the flux stabilizing the
extra dimensions corrects this result in a way that does not simply amount to
the contribution of the flux to the brane tensions. We calculate the mass of
the would-be zero mode, and briefly describe several potential applications,
including a brane realization of `natural inflation,' and a dynamical mechanism
for suppressing the couplings of the pGB to matter localized on the branes.
Since the scalar can be light enough to be relevant to precision tests of
gravity (in a technically natural way) this mechanism can be relevant to
evading phenomenological bounds.Comment: 36 pages, JHEP styl
Comment on Higgs Inflation and Naturalness
We rebut the recent claim (arXiv:0912.5463) that Einstein-frame scattering in
the Higgs inflation model is unitary above the cut-off energy Lambda ~ Mp/xi.
We show explicitly how unitarity problems arise in both the Einstein and Jordan
frames of the theory. In a covariant gauge they arise from non-minimal Higgs
self-couplings, which cannot be removed by field redefinitions because the
target space is not flat. In unitary gauge, where there is only a single scalar
which can be redefined to achieve canonical kinetic terms, the unitarity
problems arise through non-minimal Higgs-gauge couplings.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure V3: Journal Versio
A Mathematical Framework for Modelling the Metastatic Spread of Cancer
Cancer is a complex disease that starts with mutations of key genes in one cell or a small group of cells at a primary site in the body. If these cancer cells continue to grow successfully and, at some later stage, invade the surrounding tissue and acquire a vascular network, they can spread to distant secondary sites in the body. This process, known as metastatic spread, is responsible for around 90% of deaths from cancer and is one of the so-called hallmarks of cancer. To shed light on the metastatic process, we present a mathematical modelling framework that captures for the first time the interconnected processes of invasion and metastatic spread of individual cancer cells in a spatially explicit manner—a multigrid, hybrid, individual-based approach. This framework accounts for the spatiotemporal evolution of mesenchymal- and epithelial-like cancer cells, membrane-type-1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) and the diffusible matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and for their interactions with the extracellular matrix. Using computational simulations, we demonstrate that our model captures all the key steps of the invasion-metastasis cascade, i.e. invasion by both heterogeneous cancer cell clusters and by single mesenchymal-like cancer cells; intravasation of these clusters and single cells both via active mechanisms mediated by matrix-degrading enzymes (MDEs) and via passive shedding; circulation of cancer cell clusters and single cancer cells in the vasculature with the associated risk of cell death and disaggregation of clusters; extravasation of clusters and single cells; and metastatic growth at distant secondary sites in the body. By faithfully reproducing experimental results, our simulations support the evidence-based hypothesis that the membrane-bound MT1-MMP is the main driver of invasive spread rather than diffusible MDEs such as MMP-2
Metabolic differences in colon mucosal cells
The colonic expression of cytochromes P450 from the CYP1A, CYP3A and CYP4B subfamilies has been characterized in rabbit and human tissues using RNA blotting, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry and hybridization histochemistry. These studies demonstrate negligible expression of the CYP1A subfamily in either rabbit or human colon. The CYP3A6 gene is expressed in rabbit colon although at markedly reduced levels relative to liver and small intestine. Whilst at least two CYP3A genes are expressed at the mRNA level in human colon tissue from some individuals, no expression was demonstrated in others. Where expression was observed, this expression was continuous throughout the length of the colon. In rabbits, CYP4B1 represents a major colon P450 enzyme, expressed at levels in colon comparable to liver and small intestine. In contrast, the human CYP4B1 gene is expressed at low levels in some individuals. These studies highlight individual differences in the expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes of importance in procarcinogen metabolism
Extended Dualization: a method for the Bosonization of Anomalous Fermion Systems in Arbitrary Dimension
The technique of extended dualization developed in this paper is used to
bosonize quantized fermion systems in arbitrary dimension in the low energy
regime. In its original (minimal) form, dualization is restricted to models
wherein it is possible to define a dynamical quantized conserved charge. We
generalize the usual dualization prescription to include systems with dynamical
non--conserved quantum currents. Bosonization based on this extended
dualization requires the introduction of an additional rank (scalar) field
together with the usual antisymmetric tensor field of rank . Our
generalized dualization prescription permits one to clearly distinguish the
arbitrariness in the bosonization from the arbitrariness in the quantization of
the system. We study the bosonization of four--fermion interactions with large
mass in arbitrary dimension. First, we observe that dualization permits one to
formally bosonize these models by invoking the bosonization of the free massive
Dirac fermion and adding some extra model--dependent bosonic terms. Secondly,
we explore the potential of extended dualization by considering the particular
case of \underbar{chiral} four--fermion interactions. Here minimal dualization
is inadequate for calculating the extra bosonic terms. We demonstrate the
utility of extended dualization by successfully completing the bosonization of
this chiral model. Finally, we consider two examples in two dimensions which
illuminate the utility of using extended dualization by showing how
quantization ambiguities in a fermionic theory propagate into the bosonized
version. An explicit parametrization of the quantization ambiguities of the
chiral current in the Chiral Schwinger model is obtained. Similarly, for the
sine--Gordon interaction in the massive Thirring model the quantizationComment: Revised version including major changes in section 3, to be published
in Phys. Rev.
The hierarchy problem, radion mass, localization of gravity and 4D effective Newtonian potential in string theory on
We present a systematical study of brane worlds in string theory on
. Starting with the toroidal compactification of the NS/NS sector
in (D+d) dimensions, we first obtain an effective -dimensional action, and
then compactify one of the spatial dimensions by introducing two
orbifold branes as its boundaries. By combining the Gauss-Codacci and Lanczos
equations, we write down explicitly the general gravitational field equations
on each of the two branes, while using distribution theory we express the
matter field equations on the branes in terms of the discontinuities of the
first derivatives of the matter fields. Afterwards, we address three important
issues: (i) the hierarchy problem; (ii) the radion mass; and (iii) the
localization of gravity, the 4-dimensional Newtonian effective potential and
the Yukawa corrections due to the gravitational high-order Kaluza-Klein (KK)
modes. With a very conservative estimation, we find that the radion mass is of
the order of . The gravity is localized on the visible brane, and
the spectrum of the gravitational KK modes is discrete and can be of the order
of TeV. The corrections to the 4-dimensional Newtonian potential from the
higher order of gravitational KK modes are exponentially suppressed and can be
safely neglected in current experiments. In an appendix, we also present a
systematical and pedagogical study of the Gauss-Codacci equations and Israel's
junction conditions across a (D-1)-dimensional hypersurface, which can be
either spacelike or timelike.Comment: Considerably extended, Revtex4, 19 pages, 5 figures, published in
IJMPA, 25, 1661-1698 (2010
Volume Stabilization via Corrections in Type IIB Theory with Fluxes
We consider the Type IIB string theory in the presence of various extra
-brane pairs compactified on a warped Calabi-Yau threefold that
admits a conifold singularity. We demonstrate that the volume modulus can be
stabilized perturbatively at a non-supersymmetric vacuum by the
effective potential that includes the stringy correction
obtained by Becker {\it et al.} together with a combination of positive tension
and anomalous negative tension terms generated by the additional
7-brane-antibrane pairs.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, parts of introduction and conclusions are
modifie
Cosmology and two-body problem of D-branes
In this paper, we investigate the dynamics and the evolution of the scale
factor of a probe Dp-brane which move in the background of source Dp-branes.
Action of the probe brane is described by the Born-Infeld action and the
interaction with the background R-R field. When the probe brane moves away from
the source branes, it expands by power law, whose index depends on the
dimension of the brane. If the energy density of the gauge field on the brane
is subdominant, the expansion is decelerating irrespective of the dimension of
the brane. On the other hand, when the probe brane is a Nambu-Goto brane, the
energy density of the gauge field can be dominant, in which case accelerating
expansion occurs for . The accelerating expansion stops when the
brane has expanded sufficiently so that the energy density of the gauge field
become subdominant.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, reference added, accepted for publication in PR
Examining the role of individual movement in promoting coexistence in a spatially explicit prisoner's dilemma
AEFB gratefully acknowledges the support of an EPSRC CASE PhD studentship.The emergence of cooperation is a major conundrum of evolutionary biology. To unravel this evolutionary riddle, several models have been developed within the theoretical framework of spatial game theory, focussing on the interactions between two general classes of player, "cooperators" and "defectors". Generally, explicit movement in the spatial domain is not considered in these models, with strategies moving via imitation or through colonisation of neighbouring sites. We present here a spatially explicit stochastic individual-based model in which pure cooperators and defectors undergo random motion via diffusion and also chemotaxis guided by the gradient of a semiochemical. Individual movement rules are derived from an underlying system of reaction-diffusion-taxis partial differential equations which describes the dynamics of the local number of individuals and the concentration of the semiochemical. Local interactions are governed by the payoff matrix of the classical prisoner's dilemma, and accumulated payoffs are translated into offspring. We investigate the cases of both synchronous and non-synchronous generations. Focussing on an ecological scenario where defectors are parasitic on cooperators, we find that random motion and semiochemical sensing bring about self-generated patterns in which resident cooperators and parasitic defectors can coexist in proportions that fluctuate about non-zero values. Remarkably, coexistence emerges as a genuine consequence of the natural tendency of cooperators to aggregate into clusters, without the need for them to find physical shelter or outrun the parasitic defectors. This provides further evidence that spatial clustering enhances the benefits of mutual cooperation and plays a crucial role in preserving cooperative behaviours.PostprintPeer reviewe
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