Gauge Field Emergence from Kalb-Ramond Localization

A new mechanism, valid for any smooth version of the Randall-Sundrum model, of getting localized massless vector field on the brane is described here. This is obtained by dimensional reduction of a five dimension massive two form, or Kalb-Ramond field, giving a Kalb-Ramond and an emergent vector field in four dimensions. A geometrical coupling with the Ricci scalar is proposed and the coupling constant is fixed such that the components of the fields are localized. The solution is obtained by decomposing the fields in transversal and longitudinal parts and showing that this give decoupled equations of motion for the transverse vector and KR fields in four dimensions. We also prove some identities satisfied by the transverse components of the fields. With this is possible to fix the coupling constant in a way that a localized zero mode for both components on the brane is obtained. Then, all the above results are generalized to the massive $p-$form field. It is also shown that in general an effective $p$ and $(p-1)-$forms can not be localized on the brane and we have to sort one of them to localize. Therefore, we can not have a vector and a scalar field localized by dimensional reduction of the five dimensional vector field. In fact we find the expression $p=(d-1)/2$ which determines what forms will give rise to both fields localized. For $D=5$, as expected, this is valid only for the KR field.Comment: Improved version. Some factors corrected and definitions added. The main results continue vali

Gemini spectra of 12000K white dwarf stars

We report signal-to-noise ratio SNR ~ 100 optical spectra for four DA white dwarf stars acquired with the GMOS spectrograph of the 8m Gemini north telescope. These stars have 18<g<19 and are around Teff ~ 12000 K, were the hydrogen lines are close to maximum. Our purpose is to test if the effective temperatures and surface gravities derived from the relatively low signal-to-noise ratio ( ~ 21) optical spectra acquired by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey through model atmosphere fitting are trustworthy. Our spectra range from 3800A to 6000A, therefore including H beta to H9. The H8 line was only marginally present in the SDSS spectra, but is crucial to determine the gravity. When we compare the values published by Kleinman et al. (2004) and Eisenstein et al. (2006) with our line-profile (LPT) fits, the average differences are: Delta Teff ~ 320 K, systematically lower in SDSS, and Delta log g ~ 0.24 dex, systematically larger in SDSS. The correlation between gravity and effective temperature can only be broken at wavelengths bluer than 3800 A. The uncertainties in Teff are 60% larger, and in log g larger by a factor of 4, than the Kleinman et al. (2004) and Eisenstein et al. (2006) internal uncertainties.Comment: 11 pages and 8 figure

New Analytical Solutions for Bosonic Field Trapping in Thick Branes

New analytical solutions for gravity, scalar and vector field localization in Randall-Sundrum(RS) models are found. A smooth version of the warp factor with an associated function $f(z)=\exp(3A(z)/2)$ inside the walls ($|z|<d$) is defined, leading to an associated equation and physical constraints on the continuity and smoothness of the background resulting in a new space of analytical solutions. We solve this associated equation analytically for the parabolic and P\"oschl-Teller potentials and analyze the spectrum of resonances for these fields. By using the boundary conditions we are able to show that, for any of these solutions, the density probability for finding a massive mode in the membrane has a universal behavior for small values of mass given by $|\psi_m(0)|^2=\beta_1m+\beta_3m^3+\beta_L m^3\log(m)+\cdots$. As a consequence, the form of the leading order correction, for example, to the Newton's law is general and does not depend on the potential used. At the end we also discuss why complications arises when we try to use the method to find analytical solutions to the fermion case.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures; v2: extended version; references and section added; title, conclusions and abstract change

Prestress losses in NSM-CFRP flexurally strengthened RC beams

The use of prestressed near surface mounted fibre reinforced polymers (NSM-FRP) has been long acknowledged to be a suitable approach to strengthen and retrofit existing reinforced concrete structures. The application of a certain amount of prestress to the FRP prior to its installation provides a number of benefits, mainly related to crack width and deflection requisites at serviceability limit state conditions. After transferring the prestress to a structural element, some of the existing cracks can be closed, decreasing the vulnerability of the element to corrosion and, a certain amount of deflection can be recovered due to the introduced negative curvature. However, these benefits can only be assured if the prestress is properly preserved over time. In this context, three series of reinforced concrete beams, in a total of 10 beams, were strengthened with a prestressed carbon FRP laminate (CFRP) and monitored for about 40 days. The data obtained from these tests is in this paper presented and analysed. The observed losses of strain in the CFRP laminate were found to be mainly located in the extremities of the bonded length, while in the central zone most of the initial strain was well-preserved over time. Additionally, the highest CFRP strain losses were observed in the first 6 to 12 days after prestress transfer, suggesting that the benefits of prestressed NSM-FRP will not be considerably lost over time.The research carried out is part of the project PreLami (PTDC/ECM/114945/2009). The first Author acknowledges the support provided by the FCT grant, SFRH/BD/61756/2009. The authors would also like to acknowledge S&P for providing the epoxy adhesive and FRP laminate, and Unibetao, Pregaia and Casais for providing the reinforced concrete beams