175 research outputs found
Universality and Critical Phenomena in String Defect Statistics
The idea of biased symmetries to avoid or alleviate cosmological problems
caused by the appearance of some topological defects is familiar in the context
of domain walls, where the defect statistics lend themselves naturally to a
percolation theory description, and for cosmic strings, where the proportion of
infinite strings can be varied or disappear entirely depending on the bias in
the symmetry. In this paper we measure the initial configurational statistics
of a network of string defects after a symmetry-breaking phase transition with
initial bias in the symmetry of the ground state. Using an improved algorithm,
which is useful for a more general class of self-interacting walks on an
infinite lattice, we extend the work in \cite{MHKS} to better statistics and a
different ground state manifold, namely , and explore various different
discretisations. Within the statistical errors, the critical exponents of the
Hagedorn transition are found to be quite possibly universal and identical to
the critical exponents of three-dimensional bond or site percolation. This
improves our understanding of the percolation theory description of defect
statistics after a biased phase transition, as proposed in \cite{MHKS}. We also
find strong evidence that the existence of infinite strings in the Vachaspati
Vilenkin algorithm is generic to all (string-bearing) vacuum manifolds, all
discretisations thereof, and all regular three-dimensional lattices.Comment: 62 pages, plain LaTeX, macro mathsymb.sty included, figures included.
also available on
http://starsky.pcss.maps.susx.ac.uk/groups/pt/preprints/96/96011.ps.g
Open Heterotic Strings
We classify potential cosmic strings according to the topological charge
measurable outside the string core. We conjecture that in string theory it is
this charge that governs the stability of long strings. This would imply that
the SO(32) heterotic string can have endpoints, but not the E_8 x E_8 heterotic
string. We give various arguments in support of this conclusion.Comment: 15 pages. v.2: typos, references correcte
Dynamics of tachyonic preheating after hybrid inflation
We study the instability of a scalar field at the end of hybrid inflation,
using both analytical techniques and numerical simulations. We improve previous
studies by taking the inflaton field fully into account, and show that the
range of unstable modes depends sensitively on the velocity of the inflaton
field, and thereby on the Hubble rate, at the end of inflation. If topological
defects are formed, their number density is determined by the shortest unstable
wavelength. Finally, we show that the oscillations of the inflaton field
amplify the inhomogeneities in the energy density, leading to local symmetry
restoration and faster thermalization. We believe this explains why tachyonic
preheating is so effective in transferring energy away from the inflaton zero
mode.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, REVTeX. Minor changes, some references added.
To appear in PR
Complete genome sequence of the Medicago microsymbiont Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) medicae strain WSM419
Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) medicae is an effective nitrogen fixing microsymbiont of a diverse range of annual Medicago (medic) species. Strain WSM419 is an aerobic, motile, non-spore forming, Gram-negative rod isolated from a M. murex root nodule collected in Sardinia, Italy in 1981. WSM419 was manufactured commercially in Australia as an inoculant for annual medics during 1985 to 1993 due to its nitrogen fixation, saprophytic competence and acid tolerance properties. Here we describe the basic features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence, and annotation. This is the first report of a complete genome se-quence for a microsymbiont of the group of annual medic species adapted to acid soils. We reveal that its genome size is 6,817,576 bp encoding 6,518 protein-coding genes and 81 RNA only encoding genes. The genome contains a chromosome of size 3,781,904 bp and 3 plasmids of size 1,570,951 bp, 1,245,408 bp and 219,313 bp. The smallest plasmid is a fea-ture unique to this medic microsymbiont
A Hedged Monte Carlo Approach to Real Option Pricing
In this work we are concerned with valuing optionalities associated to invest
or to delay investment in a project when the available information provided to
the manager comes from simulated data of cash flows under historical (or
subjective) measure in a possibly incomplete market. Our approach is suitable
also to incorporating subjective views from management or market experts and to
stochastic investment costs. It is based on the Hedged Monte Carlo strategy
proposed by Potters et al (2001) where options are priced simultaneously with
the determination of the corresponding hedging. The approach is particularly
well-suited to the evaluation of commodity related projects whereby the
availability of pricing formulae is very rare, the scenario simulations are
usually available only in the historical measure, and the cash flows can be
highly nonlinear functions of the prices.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figure
On the M-theory description of supersymmetric gluodynamics
We study the stringy description of N=1 supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory on
R^{1,2} X S^1. Our description is based on the known Klebanov-Strassler and
Maldacena-Nunez solutions, properly modified to account for the compact
dimension. The presence of this circle turns out to be a non trivial
modification and it leads us to consider the up-lifted eleven dimensional
solution. We discuss some of its properties. Perhaps the most interesting one
is that extra BPS M-branes are present. These generate a non-perturbative
superpotential that we explicitly compute. Our findings, besides their interest
in the gauge-string correspondence, may also have applications in the
cosmological KKLT and KKLMMT scenarios.Comment: 24 pages; typos corrected and references adde
Estimation of vortex density after superconducting film quench
This paper addresses the problem of vortex formation during a rapid quench in
a superconducting film. It builds on previous work showing that in a local
gauge theory there are two distinct mechanisms of defect formation, based on
fluctuations of the scalar and gauge fields, respectively. We show how vortex
formation in a thin film differs from the fully two-dimensional case, on which
most theoretical studies have focused. We discuss ways of testing theoretical
predictions in superconductor experiments and analyse the results of recent
experiments in this light.Comment: 7 pages, no figure
Winding Number Correlation Functions and Cosmic String Formation
We develop winding number correlation functions that allow us to assess the
role of field fluctuations on vortex formation in an Abelian gauge theory. We
compute the behavior of these correlation functions in simple circumstances and
show how fluctuations are important in the vicinity of the phase transition. We
further show that, in our approximation, the emerging population of
long/infinite string is produced by the classical dynamics of the fields alone,
being essentially unaffected by field fluctuations.Comment: Latex file, 27 pages. 8 figures, available in compressed form by
anonymous ftp from ftp://euclid.tp.ph.ic.ac.uk/papers/94-5_39.fig Latex and
postscript versions also available at
http://euclid.tp.ph.ic.ac.uk/Papers/index.htm
Godel brane
We consider the brane-world generalisation of the Godel universe and analyse
its dynamical interaction with the bulk. The exact homogeneity of the standard
Godel spacetime no longer holds, unless the bulk is also static. We show how
the anisotropy of the Godel-type brane is dictated by that of the bulk and find
that the converse is also true. This determines the precise evolution of the
nonlocal anisotropic stresses, without any phenomenological assumptions, and
leads to a self-consistent closed set of equations for the evolution of the
Godel brane. We also examine the causality of the Godel brane and show that the
presence of the bulk cannot prevent the appearance of closed timelike curves.Comment: Revised version, to match paper published in Phys. Rev.
Out-of-equilibrium evolution of quantum fields in the hybrid model with quantum back reaction
The hybrid model with a scalar "inflaton" field coupled to a "Higgs" field
with a broken symmetry potential is one of the promising models for inflation
and (p)reheating after inflation. We consider the nonequilibrium evolution of
the quantum fields of this model with quantum back reaction in the Hartree
approximation, in particular the transition of the Higgs field from the
metastable "false vacuum" to the broken symmetry phase. We have performed the
renormalization of the equations of motion, of the gap equations and of the
energy density, using dimensional regularization. We study the influence of the
back reaction on the evolution of the classical fields and of the quantum
fluctuations. We observe that back reaction plays an important role over a wide
range of parameters. Some implications of our investigation for the preheating
stage after cosmic inflation are presented.Comment: 35 pages, 16 eps figures, revtex4; v2: typos corrected and references
added, accepted for publication in Physical Review
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