Lifshitz black holes in string theory

We provide the first black hole solutions with Lifshitz asymptotics found in string theory. These are expected to be dual to models enjoying anisotropic scale invariance with dynamical exponent z=2 at finite temperature. We employ a consistent truncation of type IIB supergravity to four dimensions with an arbitrary 5-dimensional Einstein manifold times a circle as internal geometry. New interesting features are found that significantly differ from previous results in phenomenological models. In particular, small black holes are shown to be thermodynamically unstable, analogously to the usual AdS-Schwarzschild black holes, and extremality is never reached. This signals a possible Hawking-Page like phase transition at low temperatures.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures. v2 references adde

Schr\"odinger Deformations of AdS_3 x S^3

We study Schr\"odinger invariant deformations of the AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 (or K3) solution of IIB supergravity and find a large class of solutions with integer and half-integer dynamical exponents. We analyze the supersymmetries preserved by our solutions and find an infinite number of solutions with four supersymmetries. We study the solutions holographically and find that the dual D1-D5 (or F1-NS5) CFT is deformed by irrelevant operators of spin one and two.Comment: 23 page

Holographic flows to IR Lifshitz spacetimes

Recently we studied `vanishing' horizon limits of `boosted' black D3-brane geometry \cite{hsnr}. The type IIB solutions obtained by taking these special double limits were found to describe nonrelativistic Lifshitz spacetimes at zero temperature. In the present work we study these limits for TsT black-hole solutions which include $B$-field. The new Galilean solutions describe a holographic RG flow from Schr\"odinger ($a=2$) spacetime in UV to a Lifshitz universe ($a=3$) in the IR.Comment: 10 pages; v2: A bad typo in eq.8 corrected; v3: Discussion and reference on Kaigorodov spaces included, correction in sec-3, to be published in JHE

Universality and exactness of Schrodinger geometries in string and M-theory

We propose an organizing principle for classifying and constructing Schrodinger-invariant solutions within string theory and M-theory, based on the idea that such solutions represent nonlinear completions of linearized vector and graviton Kaluza-Klein excitations of AdS compactifications. A crucial simplification, derived from the symmetry of AdS, is that the nonlinearities appear only quadratically. Accordingly, every AdS vacuum admits infinite families of Schrodinger deformations parameterized by the dynamical exponent z. We exhibit the ease of finding these solutions by presenting three new constructions: two from M5 branes, both wrapped and extended, and one from the D1-D5 (and S-dual F1-NS5) system. From the boundary perspective, perturbing a CFT by a null vector operator can lead to nonzero beta-functions for spin-2 operators; however, symmetry restricts them to be at most quadratic in couplings. This point of view also allows us to easily prove nonrenormalization theorems: for any Sch(z) solution of two-derivative supergravity constructed in the above manner, z is uncorrected to all orders in higher derivative corrections if the deforming KK mode lies in a short multiplet of an AdS supergroup. Furthermore, we find infinite classes of 1/4 BPS solutions with 4-,5- and 7-dimensional Schrodinger symmetry that are exact.Comment: 31 pages, plus appendices; v2, minor corrections, added refs, slight change in interpretation in section 2.3, new Schrodinger and Lifshitz solutions included; v3, clarifications in sections 2 and 3 regarding existence of solutions and multi-trace operator

Effect of Carbonate Chemistry Alteration on the Early Embryonic Development of the Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

Ocean acidification, due to anthropogenic CO2 absorption by the ocean, may have profound impacts on marine biota. Calcareous organisms are expected to be particularly sensitive due to the decreasing availability of carbonate ions driven by decreasing pH levels. Recently, some studies focused on the early life stages of mollusks that are supposedly more sensitive to environmental disturbances than adult stages. Although these studies have shown decreased growth rates and increased proportions of abnormal development under low pH conditions, they did not allow attribution to pH induced changes in physiology or changes due to a decrease in aragonite saturation state. This study aims to assess the impact of several carbonate-system perturbations on the growth of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) larvae during the first 3 days of development (until shelled D-veliger larvae). Seawater with five different chemistries was obtained by separately manipulating pH, total alkalinity and aragonite saturation state (calcium addition). Results showed that the developmental success and growth rates were not directly affected by changes in pH or aragonite saturation state but were highly correlated with the availability of carbonate ions. In contrast to previous studies, both developmental success into viable D-shaped larvae and growth rates were not significantly altered as long as carbonate ion concentrations were above aragonite saturation levels, but they strongly decreased below saturation levels. These results suggest that the mechanisms used by these organisms to regulate calcification rates are not efficient enough to compensate for the low availability of carbonate ions under corrosive conditions

Generating SQL queries from visual specifications

Abstract: Structured Query Language (SQL) is the most widely used declarative language for accessing relational databases, and an essential topic in introductory database courses in higher learning institutions. Despite the intuitiveness of SQL, formulating and comprehending written queries can be confusing, especially for undergraduate students. One major reason for this is that the simple syntax of SQL is often misleading and hard to comprehend. A number of tools have been developed to aid the comprehension of queries and improve the mental models of students concerning the underlying logic of SQL. Some of these tools employed visualisation and animation in their approach to aid the comprehension of SQL. This paper presents an interactive comprehension aid based on visualisation, specifically designed to support the SQL SELECT statement, an area identified in the literature as problematic for students. The visualisation tool uses visual specifications depicting SQL operations to build queries. This is expected to reduce the cognitive load of a student who is learning SQL. We have shown with an online survey that adopting visual specifications in teaching systems assist students in attaining a richer learning experience in introductory database courses

Expression analysis of E-cadherin, Slug and GSK3β in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer progression is linked to a partially dedifferentiated epithelial cell phenotype. The signaling pathways Wnt, Hedgehog, TGF-β and Notch have been implicated in experimental and developmental epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Recent findings from our laboratory confirm that active Wnt/β-catenin signaling is critically involved in invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) of breast.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the current study, we analyzed the expression patterns and relationships between the key Wnt/β-catenin signaling components- E-cadherin, Slug and GSK3β in IDCs of breast.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 98 IDCs analyzed, 53 (54%) showed loss/or reduced membranous staining of E-cadherin in tumor cells. Nuclear accumulation of Slug was observed in 33 (34%) IDCs examined. Loss or reduced level of cytoplasmic GSK3β expression was observed in 52/98 (53%) cases; while 34/98 (35%) tumors showed nuclear accumulation of GSK3β. Statistical analysis revealed associations of nuclear Slug expression with loss of membranous E-cadherin (p = 0.001); nuclear β-catenin (p = 0.001), and cytoplasmic β-catenin (p = 0.005), suggesting Slug mediated E-cadherin suppression via the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in IDCs. Our study also demonstrated significant correlation between GSK3β nuclear localization and tumor grade (p = 0.02), suggesting its association with tumor progression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study for the first time provided the clinical evidence in support of Wnt/β-catenin signaling upregulation in IDCs and key components of this pathway - E-cadherin, Slug and GSK3β with β-catenin in implementing EMT in these cells.</p

Quantum dynamics in strong fluctuating fields

A large number of multifaceted quantum transport processes in molecular systems and physical nanosystems can be treated in terms of quantum relaxation processes which couple to one or several fluctuating environments. A thermal equilibrium environment can conveniently be modelled by a thermal bath of harmonic oscillators. An archetype situation provides a two-state dissipative quantum dynamics, commonly known under the label of a spin-boson dynamics. An interesting and nontrivial physical situation emerges, however, when the quantum dynamics evolves far away from thermal equilibrium. This occurs, for example, when a charge transferring medium possesses nonequilibrium degrees of freedom, or when a strong time-dependent control field is applied externally. Accordingly, certain parameters of underlying quantum subsystem acquire stochastic character. Herein, we review the general theoretical framework which is based on the method of projector operators, yielding the quantum master equations for systems that are exposed to strong external fields. This allows one to investigate on a common basis the influence of nonequilibrium fluctuations and periodic electrical fields on quantum transport processes. Most importantly, such strong fluctuating fields induce a whole variety of nonlinear and nonequilibrium phenomena. A characteristic feature of such dynamics is the absence of thermal (quantum) detailed balance.Comment: review article, Advances in Physics (2005), in pres

Stochastic Gravity: Theory and Applications

Whereas semiclassical gravity is based on the semiclassical Einstein equation with sources given by the expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of quantum fields, stochastic semiclassical gravity is based on the Einstein-Langevin equation, which has in addition sources due to the noise kernel. In the first part, we describe the fundamentals of this new theory via two approaches: the axiomatic and the functional. In the second part, we describe three applications of stochastic gravity theory. First, we consider metric perturbations in a Minkowski spacetime, compute the two-point correlation functions of these perturbations and prove that Minkowski spacetime is a stable solution of semiclassical gravity. Second, we discuss structure formation from the stochastic gravity viewpoint. Third, we discuss the backreaction of Hawking radiation in the gravitational background of a black hole and describe the metric fluctuations near the event horizon of an evaporating black holeComment: 100 pages, no figures; an update of the 2003 review in Living Reviews in Relativity gr-qc/0307032 ; it includes new sections on the Validity of Semiclassical Gravity, the Stability of Minkowski Spacetime, and the Metric Fluctuations of an Evaporating Black Hol