2,481 research outputs found
Collider Production of TeV Scale Black Holes and Higher-Curvature Gravity
We examine how the production of TeV scale black holes at colliders is
influenced by the presence of Lovelock higher-curvature terms in the action of
models with large extra dimensions. Such terms are expected to arise on rather
general grounds, e.g., from string theory and are often used in the literature
to model modifications to the Einstein-Hilbert action arising from quantum
and/or stringy corrections. While adding the invariant which is quadratic in
the curvature leads to quantitative modifications in black hole properties,
cubic and higher invariants are found to produce significant qualitative
changes, e.g., classically stable black holes. We use these higher-order
curvature terms to construct a toy model of the black hole production cross
section threshold. For reasonable parameter values we demonstrate that detailed
measurements of the properties of black holes at future colliders will be
highly sensitive to the presence of the Lovelock higher-order curvature terms.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figures, references adde
Massive IIA flux compactifications and U-dualities
We attempt to find a rigorous formulation for the massive type IIA
orientifold compactifications of string theory introduced in hep-th/0505160. An
approximate double T-duality converts this background into IIA string theory on
a twisted torus, but various arguments indicate that the back reaction of the
orientifold on this geometry is large. In particular, an AdS calculation of the
entropy suggests a scaling appropriate for N M2-branes, in a certain limit of
the compactification, though not the one studied in hep-th/0505160. The
M-theory lift of this specific regime is not 4 dimensional. We suggest that the
generic limit of the background corresponds to a situation analogous to
F-theory, where the string coupling is small in some regions of a compact
geometry, and large in others, so that neither a long wavelength 11D SUGRA
expansion, nor a world sheet expansion exists for these compactifications. We
end with a speculation on the nature of the generic compactification.Comment: JHEP3 LaTeX - 34 pages - 3 figures; v2: Added references; v3: mistake
in entropy scaling corrected, major changes in conclusions; v4: changed
claims about original DeWolfe et al. setup, JHEP versio
Characterizing Scales of Genetic Recombination and Antibiotic Resistance in Pathogenic Bacteria Using Topological Data Analysis
Pathogenic bacteria present a large disease burden on human health. Control
of these pathogens is hampered by rampant lateral gene transfer, whereby
pathogenic strains may acquire genes conferring resistance to common
antibiotics. Here we introduce tools from topological data analysis to
characterize the frequency and scale of lateral gene transfer in bacteria,
focusing on a set of pathogens of significant public health relevance. As a
case study, we examine the spread of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus
aureus. Finally, we consider the possible role of the human microbiome as a
reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. To appear in AMT 2014 Special Session on
Advanced Methods of Interactive Data Mining for Personalized Medicin
Warped Phenomenology of Higher-Derivative Gravity
We examine the phenomenological implications at colliders for the existence
of higher-derivative gravity terms as extensions to the Randall-Sundrum model.
Such terms are expected to arise on rather general grounds, e.g., from string
theory. In 5-d, if we demand that the theory be unitary and ghost free, these
new contributions to the bulk action are uniquely of the Gauss-Bonnet form. We
demonstrate that the usual expectations for the production cross section and
detailed properties of graviton Kaluza-Klein resonances and TeV-scale black
holes can be substantially altered by existence of these additional
contributions. It is shown that measurements at future colliders will be highly
sensitive to the presence of such terms.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figure
Special Geometry of Euclidean Supersymmetry III: the local r-map, instantons and black holes
We define and study projective special para-Kahler manifolds and show that
they appear as target manifolds when reducing five-dimensional vector
multiplets coupled to supergravity with respect to time. The dimensional
reductions with respect to time and space are carried out in a uniform way
using an epsilon-complex notation. We explain the relation of our formalism to
other formalisms of special geometry used in the literature. In the second part
of the paper we investigate instanton solutions and their dimensional lifting
to black holes. We show that the instanton action, which can be defined after
dualising axions into tensor fields, agrees with the ADM mass of the
corresponding black hole. The relation between actions via Wick rotation, Hodge
dualisation and analytic continuation of axions is discussed.Comment: 72 pages, 2 figure
A bacterial-based algorithm to simulate complex adaptive systems
Following a bacterial-based modeling approach, we want to model and analyze the impact of both decentralization and heterogeneity on group behavior and collective learning. Inspired by bacterial conjugation, we have defined an artificial society in which agents' strategies adapt to changes in resources location, allowing migration and survival in a dynamic sugarscape-like scenario. To study the impact of these variables we have simulated a scenario in which resources are limited and localized. We also have defined three constraints in genetic information processing (inhibition of plasmid conjugation, inhibition of plasmid reproduction and inhibition of plasmid mutation). Our results affirmed the hypothesis that efficiency of group adaptation to dynamic environments is better when societies are varied and distributed than when they are homogeneous and centralized
Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance–improving conservation outcomes
The Ramsar Convention (or the Convention on Wetlands), signed in 1971, was one of the first international conservation agreements, promoting global wise use of wetlands. It has three primary objectives: national designation and management of wetlands of international importance; general wise use of wetlands; and international cooperation. We examined lessons learnt for improving wetland conservation after Ramsar’s nearly five decades of operation. The number of wetlands in the Ramsar Site Network has grown over time (2,391 Ramsar Sites, 2.5 million km2, as at 2020-06-09) but unevenly around the world, with decreasing rate of growth in recent decades. Ramsar Sites are concentrated in countries with a high Gross Domestic Product and human pressure (e.g., western Europe) but, in contrast, Ramsar Sites with the largest wetland extent are in central-west Africa and South America. We identified three key challenges for improving effectiveness of the Ramsar Site Network: increasing number of sites and wetland area, improved representation (functional, geographical and biological); and effective management and reporting. Increasing the number of sites and area in the Ramsar network could benefit from targets, implemented at national scales. Knowledge of representativeness is inadequate, requiring analyses of functional ecotypes, geographical and biological representativeness. Finally, most countries have inadequate management planning and reporting on the ecological character of their Ramsar Sites, requiring more focused attention on a vision and objectives, with regular reporting of key indicators to guide management. There are increasing opportunities to rigorously track ecological character, utilizing new tools and available indicators (e.g., remote sensing). It is critical that the world protect its wetlands, with an effective Ramsar Convention or the Convention on Wetlands at the core
Conductance anomalies and the extended Anderson model for nearly perfect quantum wires
Anomalies near the conductance threshold of nearly perfect semiconductor
quantum wires are explained in terms of singlet and triplet resonances of
conduction electrons with a single weakly-bound electron in the wire. This is
shown to be a universal effect for a wide range of situations in which the
effective single-electron confinement is weak. The robustness of this generic
behavior is investigated numerically for a wide range of shapes and sizes of
cylindrical wires with a bulge. The dependence on gate voltage, source-drain
voltage and magnetic field is discussed within the framework of an extended
Hubbard model. This model is mapped onto an extended Anderson model, which in
the limit of low temperatures is expected to lead to Kondo resonance physics
and pronounced many-body effects
Perspectives on fatigue in short-haul flight operations from US pilots: A focus group study
There are few studies investigating the impact of fatigue in short-haul flight operations conducted under United States (US) 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 117 flight and duty limitations and rest requirements. In order to understand the fatigue factors unique to short-haul operations, we conducted a series of focus groups across four major commercial passenger airlines in the US. Ninety short-haul pilots were recruited through emails distributed by airline safety teams and labor representatives. Fourteen focus groups were conducted via an online conferencing platform in which participants were asked to identify short-haul schedules and operations that they felt: a) elevated fatigue, b) were not fatiguing, and c) were important to study. Data were collected anonymously and coded using conventional qualitative content analysis, with axial coding and summative analysis used to identify main themes and over-arching categories. The six fatigue factor categories identified were: circadian disruption, high workload, inadequate rest opportunity, schedule changes, regulation implementation and policy issues, and long sits. It appears that additional mitigation strategies may be needed to manage fatigue in short-haul operations beyond the current regulations. Future field studies of short-haul operations in the US should investigate the prevalence and impact of these factors
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