Lodged in the throat: Internal infinities and AdS/CFT

In the context of AdS3/CFT2, we address spacetimes with a certain sort of internal infinity as typified by the extreme BTZ black hole. The internal infinity is a null circle lying at the end of the black hole's infinite throat. We argue that such spacetimes may be described by a product CFT of the form CFT-L * CFT-R, where CFT-R is associated with the asymptotically AdS boundary while CFT-L is associated with the null circle. Our particular calculations analyze the CFT dual of the extreme BTZ black hole in a linear toy model of AdS3/CFT2. Since the BTZ black hole is a quotient of AdS3, the dual CFT state is a corresponding quotient of the CFT vacuum state. This state turns out to live in the aforementioned product CFT. We discuss this result in the context of general issues of AdS/CFT duality and entanglement entropy.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; v2 - some typos corrected, minor revision

Backward correlations and dynamic heterogeneities: a computer study of ion dynamics

We analyse the correlated back and forth dynamics and dynamic heterogeneities, i.e. the presence of fast and slow ions, for a lithium metasilicate system via computer simulations. For this purpose we define, in analogy to previous work in the field of glass transition, appropriate three-time correlation functions. They contain information about the dynamics during two successive time intervals. First we apply them to simple model systems in order to clarify their information content. Afterwards we use this formalism to analyse the lithium trajectories. A strong back-dragging effect is observed, which also fulfills the time-temperature superposition principle. Furthermore, it turns out that the back-dragging effect is long-ranged and exceeds the nearest neighbor position. In contrast, the strength of the dynamic heterogeneities does not fulfill the time-temperature superposition principle. The lower the temperature, the stronger the mobility difference between fast and slow ions. The results are then compared with the simple model systems considered here as well as with some lattice models of ion dynamics.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Microlensing by natural wormholes: theory and simulations

We provide an in depth study of the theoretical peculiarities that arise in effective negative mass lensing, both for the case of a point mass lens and source, and for extended source situations. We describe novel observational signatures arising in the case of a source lensed by a negative mass. We show that a negative mass lens produces total or partial eclipse of the source in the umbra region and also show that the usual Shapiro time delay is replaced with an equivalent time gain. We describe these features both theoretically, as well as through numerical simulations. We provide negative mass microlensing simulations for various intensity profiles and discuss the differences between them. The light curves for microlensing events are presented and contrasted with those due to lensing produced by normal matter. Presence or absence of these features in the observed microlensing events can shed light on the existence of natural wormholes in the Universe.Comment: 16 pages, 24 postscript figures (3 coloured), revtex style, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry and cross section for inclusive neutral pion production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

We report a measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL and the differential cross section for inclusive Pi0 production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The cross section was measured over a transverse momentum range of 1 < p_T < 17 GeV/c and found to be in good agreement with a next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculation. The longitudinal double-spin asymmetry was measured in the range of 3.7 < p_T < 11 GeV/c and excludes a maximal positive gluon polarization in the proton. The mean transverse momentum fraction of Pi0's in their parent jets was found to be around 0.7 for electromagnetically triggered events.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (RC

Hazard ranking system evaluation of CERCLA inactive waste sites at Hanford: Volume 3: Unplanned-release sites (HISS data base)

The purpose of this report is to formally document the assessment activities at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site. These activities were carried out pursuant to the DOE orders that address the Comprehensive Environmental Response, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Program for the cleanup of inactive waste sites. The DOE orders incorporate the US Environmental Protection Agency methodology, which is based on the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. This methodology includes:PA/SI, remedial investigation/feasibility study, record of decision, design and implementation or remedial action, operation and monitoring, and verification monitoring. Volume 1 of this report discusses the CERCLA inactive waste-site evaluation process, assumptions, and results of the Hazard Ranking System methodology employed. Volume 2 presents the data on the individual CERCLA engineered-facility sites at Hanford, as contained in the Hanford Inactive Site Surveillance (HISS) Data Base. Volume 3 presents the data on the individual CERCLA unplanned-release sites at Hanford, as contained in the HISS Data Base. 13 figs

Clinical characteristics of women captured by extending the definition of severe postpartum haemorrhage with 'refractoriness to treatment': a cohort study

Background: The absence of a uniform and clinically relevant definition of severe postpartum haemorrhage hampers comparative studies and optimization of clinical management. The concept of persistent postpartum haemorrhage, based on refractoriness to initial first-line treatment, was proposed as an alternative to common definitions that are either based on estimations of blood loss or transfused units of packed red blood cells (RBC). We compared characteristics and outcomes of women with severe postpartum haemorrhage captured by these three types of definitions. Methods: In this large retrospective cohort study in 61 hospitals in the Netherlands we included 1391 consecutive women with postpartum haemorrhage who received either ≥4 units of RBC or a multicomponent transfusion. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of women with severe postpartum haemorrhage defined as persistent postpartum haemorrhage were compared to definitions based on estimated blood loss or transfused units of RBC within 24 h following birth. Adverse maternal outcome was a composite of maternal mortality, hysterectomy, arterial embolisation and intensive care unit admission. Results: One thousand two hundred sixty out of 1391 women (90.6%) with postpartum haemorrhage fulfilled the definition of persistent postpartum haemorrhage. The majority, 820/1260 (65.1%), fulfilled this definition within 1 h following birth, compared to 819/1391 (58.7%) applying the definition of ≥1 L blood loss and 37/845 (4.4%) applying the definition of ≥4 units of RBC. The definition persistent postpartum haemorrhage captured 430/471 adverse maternal outcomes (91.3%), compared to 471/471 (100%) for ≥1 L blood loss and 383/471 (81.3%) for ≥4 units of RBC. Persistent postpartum haemorrhage did not capture all adverse outcomes because of missing data on timing of initial, first-line treatment. Conclusion: The definition persistent postpartum haemo

Fluctuations Of Charge Separation Perpendicular To The Event Plane And Local Parity Violation In S Nn = 200 Gev Au + Au Collisions At The Bnl Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Previous experimental results based on data (∼15×106 events) collected by the STAR detector at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider suggest event-by-event charge-separation fluctuations perpendicular to the event plane in noncentral heavy-ion collisions. Here we present the correlator previously used split into its two component parts to reveal correlations parallel and perpendicular to the event plane. The results are from a high-statistics 200-GeV Au + Au collisions data set (57×106 events) collected by the STAR experiment. We explicitly count units of charge separation from which we find clear evidence for more charge-separation fluctuations perpendicular than parallel to the event plane. We also employ a modified correlator to study the possible P-even background in same- and opposite-charge correlations, and find that the P-even background may largely be explained by momentum conservation and collective motion. © 2013 American Physical Society.886NRF-2012004024; National Research FoundationLee, T.D., Yang, C.N., (1956) Phys. Rev., 104. , 1, 254. 0031-899X PHRVAO 10.1103/PhysRev.104.254Vafa, C., Witten, E., (1984) Phys. Rev. Lett., 53. , 2, 535. 0031-9007 PRLTAO 10.1103/PhysRevLett.53.535Lee, T.D., (1973) Phys. Rev. D, 8. , 3, 1226. 0556-2821 10.1103/PhysRevD.8.1226Lee, T.D., Wick, G.C., (1974) Phys. Rev. D, 9. , 4, 2291. 0556-2821 10.1103/PhysRevD.9.2291Kharzeev, D., Parity violation in hot QCD: Why it can happen, and how to look for it (2006) Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics, 633 (2-3), pp. 260-264. , DOI 10.1016/j.physletb.2005.11.075, PII S0370269305017430Kharzeev, D., Zhitnitsky, A., (2007) Nucl. Phys. 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Event-plane-dependent Dihadron Correlations With Harmonic Vn Subtraction In Au + Au Collisions At S Nn =200 Gev

STAR measurements of dihadron azimuthal correlations (Δφ) are reported in midcentral (20-60%) Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV as a function of the trigger particle's azimuthal angle relative to the event plane, φs=|φt-ψEP|. The elliptic (v2), triangular (v3), and quadratic (v4) flow harmonic backgrounds are subtracted using the zero yield at minimum (ZYAM) method. The results are compared to minimum-bias d+Au collisions. It is found that a finite near-side (|Δφ|π/2) correlation shows a modification from d+Au data, varying with φs. The modification may be a consequence of path-length-dependent jet quenching and may lead to a better understanding of high-density QCD. © 2014 American Physical Society.894DOE; U.S. Department of EnergyArsene, I., (2005) Nucl. Phys. A, 757, p. 1. , (BRAHMS Collaboration), () NUPABL 0375-9474 10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2005.02. 130;Back, B.B., (2005) Nucl. Phys. 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Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. Methods: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model—a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates—with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality—which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. Findings: The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2–100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1–290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1–211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4–48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3–37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7–9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. Interpretation: Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation