1,629 research outputs found
Volume elements and torsion
We reexamine here the issue of consistency of minimal action formulation with
the minimal coupling procedure (MCP) in spaces with torsion. In Riemann-Cartan
spaces, it is known that a proper use of the MCP requires that the trace of the
torsion tensor be a gradient, , and that the modified
volume element be
used in the action formulation of a physical model. We rederive this result
here under considerably weaker assumptions, reinforcing some recent results
about the inadequacy of propagating torsion theories of gravity to explain the
available observational data. The results presented here also open the door to
possible applications of the modified volume element in the geometric theory of
crystalline defects.Comment: Revtex, 8 pages, 1 figure. v2 includes a discussion on
-symmetr
Higher dimensional gravity invariant under the Poincare group
It is shown that the Stelle-West Grignani-Nardelli-formalism allows, both
when odd dimensions and when even dimensions are considered, constructing
actions for higher dimensional gravity invariant under local Lorentz rotations
and under local Poincar\`{e} translations. It is also proved that such actions
have the same coefficients as those obtained by Troncoso and Zanelli in ref.
Class. Quantum Grav. 17 (2000) 4451.Comment: 7 pages, Latex, accepted in Phys. Rev.
Normal frames and the validity of the equivalence principle
We investigate the validity of the equivalence principle along paths in
gravitational theories based on derivations of the tensor algebra over a
differentiable manifold. We prove the existence of local bases, called normal,
in which the components of the derivations vanish along arbitrary paths. All
such bases are explicitly described. The holonomicity of the normal bases is
considered. The results obtained are applied to the important case of linear
connections and their relationship with the equivalence principle is described.
In particular, any gravitational theory based on tensor derivations which obeys
the equivalence principle along all paths, must be based on a linear
connection.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX 2e, the package amsfonts is neede
Entropy of Lovelock Black Holes
A general formula for the entropy of stationary black holes in Lovelock
gravity theories is obtained by integrating the first law of black hole
mechanics, which is derived by Hamiltonian methods. The entropy is not simply
one quarter of the surface area of the horizon, but also includes a sum of
intrinsic curvature invariants integrated over a cross section of the horizon.Comment: 15 pages, plain Latex, NSF-ITP-93-4
Kerr-Gauss-Bonnet Black Holes: An Analytical Approximation
Gauss-Bonnet gravity provides one of the most promising frameworks to study
curvature corrections to the Einstein action in supersymmetric string theories,
while avoiding ghosts and keeping second order field equations. Although
Schwarzschild-type solutions for Gauss-Bonnet black holes have been known for
long, the Kerr-Gauss-Bonnet metric is missing. In this paper, a five
dimensional Gauss-Bonnet approximation is analytically derived for spinning
black holes and the related thermodynamical properties are briefly outlined.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
Benthic meiofaunal community response to the cascading effects of herbivory within an algal halo system of the Great Barrier Reef
© 2018 Ollivier et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Benthic fauna play a crucial role in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling at the sediment-water boundary in aquatic ecosystems. In terrestrial systems, grazing herbivores have been shown to influence below-ground communities through alterations to plant distribution and composition, however whether similar cascading effects occur in aquatic systems is unknown. Here, we assess the relationship between benthic invertebrates and above-ground fish grazing across the ‘grazing halos’ of Heron Island lagoon, Australia. Grazing halos, which occur around patch reefs globally, are caused by removal of seagrass or benthic macroalgae by herbivorous fish that results in distinct bands of unvegetated sediments surrounding patch reefs. We found that benthic algal canopy height significantly increased with distance from patch reef, and that algal canopy height was positively correlated with the abundances of only one invertebrate taxon (Nematoda). Both sediment carbon to nitrogen ratios (C:N) and mean sediment particle size (?m) demonstrated a positive correlation with Nematoda and Arthropoda (predominantly copepod) abundances, respectively. These positive correlations indicate that environmental conditions are a major contributor to benthic invertebrate community distribution, acting on benthic communities in conjunction with the cascading effects of above-ground algal grazing. These results suggest that benthic communities, and the ecosystem functions they perform in this system, may be less responsive to changes in above-ground herbivorous processes than those previously studied in terrestrial systems. Understanding how above-ground organisms, and processes, affect their benthic invertebrate counterparts can shed light on how changes in aquatic communities may affect ecosystem function in previously unknown ways
Analysing Charges in even dimensions
Lanczos-Lovelock theories of gravity, in its first order version, are studied
on asymptotically locally anti de Sitter spaces. It is shown that
thermodynamics satisfies the standard behavior and an expression for entropy is
found for this formalism. Finally a short analysis of the algebra of conserved
charges is displayed
Nutrient Enrichment Increases Mortality of Mangroves
Nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone places intense pressure on marine communities. Previous studies have shown that growth of intertidal mangrove forests is accelerated with enhanced nutrient availability. However, nutrient enrichment favours growth of shoots relative to roots, thus enhancing growth rates but increasing vulnerability to environmental stresses that adversely affect plant water relations. Two such stresses are high salinity and low humidity, both of which require greater investment in roots to meet the demands for water by the shoots. Here we present data from a global network of sites that documents enhanced mortality of mangroves with experimental nutrient enrichment at sites where high sediment salinity was coincident with low rainfall and low humidity. Thus the benefits of increased mangrove growth in response to coastal eutrophication is offset by the costs of decreased resilience due to mortality during drought, with mortality increasing with soil water salinity along climatic gradients
Trophic amplification of climate warming
Ecosystems can alternate suddenly between contrasting persistent states due to internal processes or external drivers. It is important to understand the mechanisms by which these shifts occur, especially in exploited ecosystems. There have been several abrupt marine ecosystem shifts attributed either to fishing, recent climate change or a combination of these two drivers. We show that temperature has been an important driver of the trophodynamics of the North Sea, a heavily fished marine ecosystem, for nearly 50 years and that a recent pronounced change in temperature established a new ecosystem dynamic regime through a series of internal mechanisms. Using an end-to-end ecosystem approach that included primary producers, primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, and detritivores, we found that temperature modified the relationships among species through nonlinearities in the ecosystem involving ecological thresholds and trophic amplifications. Trophic amplification provides an alternative mechanism to positive feedback to drive an ecosystem towards a new dynamic regime, which in this case favours jellyfish in the plankton and decapods and detritivores in the benthos. Although overfishing is often held responsible for marine ecosystem degeneration, temperature can clearly bring about similar effects. Our results are relevant to ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), seen as the way forward to manage exploited marine ecosystems
The Consistency of Causal Quantum Geometrodynamics and Quantum Field Theory
We consider quantum geometrodynamics and parametrized quantum field theories
in the framework of the Bohm-de Broglie interpretation. In the first case, and
following the lines of our previous work [1], where a hamiltonian formalism for
the bohmian trajectories was constructed, we show the consistency of the theory
for any quantum potential, completing the scenarios for canonical quantum
cosmology presented there. In the latter case, we prove the consistency of
scalar field theory in Minkowski spacetime for any quantum potential, and we
show, using this alternative hamiltonian method, a concrete example where
Lorentz invariance of individual events is broken.Comment: Final version. See also http://www.cosmologia.cbpf.b
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