864 research outputs found
PT-symmetric interpretation of double-scaling
The conventional double-scaling limit of an O(N)-symmetric quartic quantum
field theory is inconsistent because the critical coupling constant is
negative. Thus, at the critical coupling the Lagrangian defines a quantum
theory with an upside-down potential whose energy appears to be unbounded
below. Worse yet, the integral representation of the partition function of the
theory does not exist. It is shown that one can avoid these difficulties if one
replaces the original theory by its PT-symmetric analog. For a zero-dimensional
O(N)-symmetric quartic vector model the partition function of the PT-symmetric
analog is calculated explicitly in the double-scaling limit.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Black Holes and Large Order Quantum Geometry
We study five-dimensional black holes obtained by compactifying M theory on
Calabi-Yau threefolds. Recent progress in solving topological string theory on
compact, one-parameter models allows us to test numerically various conjectures
about these black holes. We give convincing evidence that a microscopic
description based on Gopakumar-Vafa invariants accounts correctly for their
macroscopic entropy, and we check that highly nontrivial cancellations -which
seem necessary to resolve the so-called entropy enigma in the OSV conjecture-
do in fact occur. We also study analytically small 5d black holes obtained by
wrapping M2 branes in the fiber of K3 fibrations. By using heterotic/type II
duality we obtain exact formulae for the microscopic degeneracies in various
geometries, and we compute their asymptotic expansion for large charges.Comment: 42 pages, 20 eps figures, small correction
Decoupling A and B model in open string theory -- Topological adventures in the world of tadpoles
In this paper we analyze the problem of tadpole cancellation in open
topological strings. We prove that the inclusion of unorientable worldsheet
diagrams guarantees a consistent decoupling of A and B model for open
superstring amplitudes at all genera. This is proven by direct microscopic
computation in Super Conformal Field Theory. For the B-model we explicitly
calculate one loop amplitudes in terms of analytic Ray-Singer torsions of
appropriate vector bundles and obtain that the decoupling corresponds to the
cancellation of D-brane and orientifold charges. Local tadpole cancellation on
the worldsheet then guarantees the decoupling at all loops. The holomorphic
anomaly equations for open topological strings at one loop are also obtained
and compared with the results of the Quillen formula
INSPIRING-SNI:Investigating SDN Programmability Improving Optical South- and North- bound Interfaces
Unquenched flavor and tropical geometry in strongly coupled Chern-Simons-matter theories
We study various aspects of the matrix models calculating free energies and
Wilson loop observables in supersymmetric Chern-Simons-matter theories on the
three-sphere. We first develop techniques to extract strong coupling results
directly from the spectral curve describing the large N master field. We show
that the strong coupling limit of the gauge theory corresponds to the so-called
tropical limit of the spectral curve. In this limit, the curve degenerates to a
planar graph, and matrix model calculations reduce to elementary line integrals
along the graph. As an important physical application of these tropical
techniques, we study N=3 theories with fundamental matter, both in the quenched
and in the unquenched regimes. We calculate the exact spectral curve in the
Veneziano limit, and we evaluate the planar free energy and Wilson loop
observables at strong coupling by using tropical geometry. The results are in
agreement with the predictions of the AdS duals involving tri-Sasakian
manifoldsComment: 32 pages, 7 figures. v2: small corrections, added an Appendix on the
relation with the approach of 1011.5487. v3: further corrections and
clarifications, final version to appear in JHE
La corteza cerebral modula la transmisión cutánea a través de los núcleos de los cordones posteriores
The mechanisms used by the cerebral cortex to modulate the cutaneous information at prethalamic level
have been scarcely studied. This article reviews experimental evidence leading to a better understanding of this issue at the level
of the cuneate nucleus (Burdach nucleus). Development. The primary afferents and the corticocuneate fibers make synaptic
contact with cuneothalamic neurons and with inhibitory interneurons in the middle cuneate nucleus. By stimulating the skin at
different places while recording the cuneothalamic intracellular activity in anaesthetized animals with the cortex intact, with
the cortex pharmacologically inactivated, or in absence of a cerebral cortex it was possible to ascertain the functional role of
the corticocuneate fibers. The primary afferents activated by stimulating a particular zone of the skin induce monosynaptic
excitation on a group of cuneothalamic cells at the same time at which inhibit, through intranuclear interneurons, neighboring
cuneothalamic cells with unmatched receptive fields. Similarly, the corticocuneate cells receiving information from the stimulated skin
further increase the excitation of the cuneothalamic neurons with matched receptive fields while inhibiting others with unmatched fields.
The cortex exaggerates an excited center surrounded by an inhibited periphery thus increasing the tactile discrimination both spatially
and temporally which is essential for exploratory and manipulative purpose
Distinct roles in autophagy and importance in infectivity of the two ATG4 cysteine peptidases of leishmania major
Macroautophagy in Leishmania, which is important for the cellular remodeling required during differentiation, relies upon the hydrolytic activity of two ATG4 cysteine peptidases (ATG4.1 and ATG4.2). We have investigated the individual contributions of each ATG4 to Leishmania major by generating individual gene deletion mutants (Δatg4.1 and Δatg4.2); double mutants could not be generated, indicating that ATG4 activity is required for parasite viability. Both mutants were viable as promastigotes and infected macrophages in vitro and mice, but Δatg4.2 survived poorly irrespective of infection with promastigotes or amastigotes, whereas this was the case only when promastigotes of Δatg4.1 were used. Promastigotes of Δatg4.2 but not Δatg4.1 were more susceptible than wild type promastigotes to starvation and oxidative stresses, which correlated with increased reactive oxygen species levels and oxidatively damaged proteins in the cells as well as impaired mitochondrial function. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine reversed this phenotype, reducing both basal and induced autophagy and restoring mitochondrial function, indicating a relationship between reactive oxygen species levels and autophagy. Deletion of ATG4.2 had a more dramatic effect upon autophagy than did deletion of ATG4.1. This phenotype is consistent with a reduced efficiency in the autophagic process in Δatg4.2, possibly due to ATG4.2 having a key role in removal of ATG8 from mature autophagosomes and thus facilitating delivery to the lysosomal network. These findings show that there is a level of functional redundancy between the two ATG4s, and that ATG4.2 appears to be the more important. Moreover, the low infectivity of Δatg4.2 demonstrates that autophagy is important for the virulence of the parasite
Counting BPS states on the Enriques Calabi-Yau
We study topological string amplitudes for the FHSV model using various
techniques. This model has a type II realization involving a Calabi-Yau
threefold with Enriques fibres, which we call the Enriques Calabi-Yau. By
applying heterotic/type IIA duality, we compute the topological amplitudes in
the fibre to all genera. It turns out that there are two different ways to do
the computation that lead to topological couplings with different BPS content.
One of them leads to the standard D0-D2 counting amplitudes, and from the other
one we obtain information about bound states of D0-D4-D2 branes on the Enriques
fibre. We also study the model using mirror symmetry and the holomorphic
anomaly equations. We verify in this way the heterotic results for the D0-D2
generating functional for low genera and find closed expressions for the
topological amplitudes on the total space in terms of modular forms, and up to
genus four. This model turns out to be much simpler than the generic B-model
and might be exactly solvable.Comment: 62 pages, v3: some results at genus 3 corrected, more typos correcte
AuNx stabilization with interstitial nitrogen atoms: A Density Functional Theory Study
Researchers have been studying 4d and 5d Series Transition Metal Nitrides lately as a result of the experimental production of AuN, PtN, CuN. In this paper, we used the Density Functional Theory (DFT) implementing a pseudopotential plane-wave method to study the incorporation of nitrogen atoms in the face-centered cube (fcc) lattice of gold (Au). First, we took the fcc structure of gold, and gradually located the nitrogen atoms in tetrahedral (TH) and octahedral (OH) interstitial sites. AuN stabilized in: 2OH (30%), 4OH and 4TH (50%), 4OH - 2TH (close to the wurtzite structure) and 6TH (60%). This leads us to think that AuN behaves like a Transition Metal Nitride since the nitrogen atoms look for tetrahedral sites. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd
Direct Integration of the Topological String
We present a new method to solve the holomorphic anomaly equations governing
the free energies of type B topological strings. The method is based on direct
integration with respect to the non-holomorphic dependence of the amplitudes,
and relies on the interplay between non-holomorphicity and modularity
properties of the topological string amplitudes. We develop a formalism valid
for any Calabi-Yau manifold and we study in detail two examples, providing
closed expressions for the amplitudes at low genus, as well as a discussion of
the boundary conditions that fix the holomorphic ambiguity. The first example
is the non-compact Calabi-Yau underlying Seiberg-Witten theory and its
gravitational corrections. The second example is the Enriques Calabi-Yau, which
we solve in full generality up to genus six. We discuss various aspects of this
model: we obtain a new method to generate holomorphic automorphic forms on the
Enriques moduli space, we write down a new product formula for the fiber
amplitudes at all genus, and we analyze in detail the field theory limit. This
allows us to uncover the modularity properties of SU(2), N=2 super Yang-Mills
theory with four massless hypermultiplets.Comment: 75 pages, 3 figure
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