1,619 research outputs found
Full characterization of Gaussian bipartite entangled states by a single homodyne detector
We present the full experimental reconstruction of Gaussian entangled states
generated by a type--II optical parametric oscillator (OPO) below threshold.
Our scheme provides the entire covariance matrix using a single homodyne
detector and allows for the complete characterization of bipartite Gaussian
states, including the evaluation of purity, entanglement and nonclassical
photon correlations, without a priori assumptions on the state under
investigation. Our results show that single homodyne schemes are convenient and
robust setups for the full characterization of OPO signals and represent a tool
for quantum technology based on continuous variable entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, slightly longer version of published PR
Metastable de Sitter vacua in N=2 to N=1 truncated supergravity
We study the possibility of achieving metastable de Sitter vacua in general
N=2 to N=1 truncated supergravities without vector multiplets, and compare with
the situations arising in N=2 theories with only hypermultiplets and N=1
theories with only chiral multiplets. In N=2 theories based on a quaternionic
manifold and a graviphoton gauging, de Sitter vacua are necessarily unstable,
as a result of the peculiar properties of the geometry. In N=1 theories based
on a Kahler manifold and a superpotential, de Sitter vacua can instead be
metastable provided the geometry satisfies some constraint and the
superpotential can be freely adjusted. In N=2 to N=1 truncations, the crucial
requirement is then that the tachyon of the mother theory be projected out from
the daughter theory, so that the original unstable vacuum is projected to a
metastable vacuum. We study the circumstances under which this may happen and
derive general constraints for metastability on the geometry and the gauging.
We then study in full detail the simplest case of quaternionic manifolds of
dimension four with at least one isometry, for which there exists a general
parametrization, and study two types of truncations defining Kahler
submanifolds of dimension two. As an application, we finally discuss the case
of the universal hypermultiplet of N=2 superstrings and its truncations to the
dilaton chiral multiplet of N=1 superstrings. We argue that de Sitter vacua in
such theories are necessarily unstable in weakly coupled situations, while they
can in principle be metastable in strongly coupled regimes.Comment: 40 pages, no figure
The 21Na(p,gamma)22Mg Reaction and Oxygen-Neon Novae
The 21Na(p,gamma)22Mg reaction is expected to play an important role in the
nucleosynthesis of 22Na in Oxygen-Neon novae. The decay of 22Na leads to the
emission of a characteristic 1.275 MeV gamma-ray line. This report provides the
first direct measurement of the rate of this reaction using a radioactive 21Na
beam, and discusses its astrophysical implications. The energy of the important
state was measured to be E= 205.7 0.5 keV with a resonance
strength meV.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
Baryonic symmetries and M5 branes in the AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence
We study U(1) symmetries dual to Betti multiplets in the AdS_4/CFT_3
correspondence for M2 branes at Calabi-Yau four-fold singularities. Analysis of
the boundary conditions for vector fields in AdS_4 allows for a choice where
wrapped M5 brane states carrying non-zero charge under such symmetries can be
considered. We begin by focusing on isolated toric singularities without
vanishing six-cycles, and study in detail the cone over Q^{111}. The boundary
conditions considered are dual to a CFT where the gauge group is U(1)^2 x
SU(N)^4. We find agreement between the spectrum of gauge-invariant
baryonic-type operators in this theory and wrapped M5 brane states. Moreover,
the physics of vacua in which these symmetries are spontaneously broken
precisely matches a dual gravity analysis involving resolutions of the
singularity, where we are able to match condensates of the baryonic operators,
Goldstone bosons and global strings. We also argue more generally that theories
where the resolutions have six-cycles are expected to receive non-perturbative
corrections from M5 brane instantons. We give a general formula relating the
instanton action to normalizable harmonic two-forms, and compute it explicitly
for the Q^{222} example. The holographic interpretation of such instantons is
currently unclear.Comment: 92 pages, 10 figure
Topological Invariants, Instantons and Chiral Anomaly on Spaces with Torsion
In a spacetime with nonvanishing torsion there can occur topologically stable
configurations associated with the frame bundle which are independent of the
curvature. The relevant topological invariants are integrals of local scalar
densities first discussed by Nieh and Yan (N-Y). In four dimensions, the N-Y
form is the only closed
4-form invariant under local Lorentz rotations associated with the torsion of
the manifold. The integral of over a compact D-dimensional (Euclidean)
manifold is shown to be a topological invariant related to the Pontryagin
classes of SO(D+1) and SO(D). An explicit example of a topologically nontrivial
configuration carrying nonvanishing instanton number proportional to
is costructed. The chiral anomaly in a four-dimensional spacetime with torsion
is also shown to contain a contribution proportional to , besides the usual
Pontryagin density related to the spacetime curvature. The violation of chiral
symmetry can thus depend on the instanton number of the tangent frame bundle of
the manifold. Similar invariants can be constructed in D>4 dimensions and the
existence of the corresponding nontrivial excitations is also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, RevTeX, no figures, two column
The working group on the analysis and management of accidents (WGAMA): A historical review of major contributions
The Working Group on the Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA) was created on December 31st,
1999 to assess and strengthen the technical basis needed for the prevention, mitigation and management of
potential accidents in NPP and to facilitate international convergence on safety issues and accident management
analyses and strategies. WGAMA addresses reactor coolant system thermal-hydraulics, in-vessel behaviour of
degraded cores and in-vessel protection, containment behaviour and containment protection, and fission product
(FP) release, transport, deposition and retention, for both current and advanced reactors. As a result, WGAMA
contributions in thermal-hydraulics, computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) and severe accidents along the first
two decades of the 21st century have been outstanding and are summarized in this paper. Beyond any doubt, the
Fukushima-Daiichi accident heavily impacted WGAMA activities and the substantial outcomes produced in the
accident aftermath are neatly identified in the paper. Beyond specific events, most importantly, around 50
technical reports have become reference material in the different fields covered by the group and they are
gathered altogether in the reference section of the paper; a common outstanding feature in most of these reports
is the recommendations included for further research, some of which have eventually given rise to some of the
projects conducted or underway within the OECD framework. Far from declining, ongoing WGAMA activities are
numerous and a number of them is already planned to be launched in the near future; a short mention to them is
also included in this paper
A special road to AdS vacua
We apply the techniques of special Kaehler geometry to investigate AdS_4
vacua of general N=2 gauged supergravities underlying flux compactifications of
type II theories. We formulate the scalar potential and its extremization
conditions in terms of a triplet of prepotentials P_x and their special Kaehler
covariant derivatives only, in a form that recalls the potential and the
attractor equations of N=2 black holes. We propose a system of first order
equations for the P_x which generalize the supersymmetry conditions and yield
non-supersymmetric vacua. Special geometry allows us to recast these equations
in algebraic form, and we find an infinite class of new N=0 and N=1 AdS_4
solutions, displaying a rich pattern of non-trivial charges associated with
NSNS and RR fluxes. Finally, by explicit evaluation of the entropy function on
the solutions, we derive a U-duality invariant expression for the cosmological
constant and the central charges of the dual CFT's.Comment: 41 pages; v2, v3: minor improvements, references added, published
versio
Pure Spinor Approach to Type IIA Superstring Sigma Models and Free Differential Algebras
This paper considers the Free Differential Algebra and rheonomic
parametrization of type IIA Supergravity, extended to include the BRS
differential and the ghosts. We consider not only the ghosts lambda's of
supersymmetry but also the ghosts corresponding to gauge and Lorentz
transformations. In this way we can derive not only the BRS transformations of
fields and ghosts but also the standard pure spinor constraints on lambda's.
Moreover the formalism allows to derive the action for the pure spinor
formulation of type IIA superstrings in a general background, recovering the
action first obtained by Berkovits and Howe.Comment: 1+23 pages, v2: added clarifications and a reference, misprints
corrected, v3: presentation improved, results unchange
The Recent Seismicity of Campi Flegrei Caldera (Italy)
Campi Flegrei caldera is located in a very densely populated
area. Half of the city of Naples lies within the caldera
rims with about 350000 people living on this active
volcano. For this reason the surveillance of this volcano
requires advanced monitoring techniques in order to
forecast even minor eruptions. The area was interested
in the period 1982-84 by an unrest crisis with more than
16000 earthquakes and about 2m of ground uplift...INGV;Sezione di Napoli,Osservatorio VesuvianoPublishedTenerife, Canary Islands, Spain1.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attiveope
Non-supersymmetric Extremal RN-AdS Black Holes in N=2 Gauged Supergravity
We investigate extremal Reissner-Nordstrom-AdS black holes in
four-dimensional N=2 abelian gauged supergravity. We find a new attractor
equation which is not reduced to the one in the asymptotically flat spacetime.
Focusing on so-called the T^3-model with a single neutral vector multiplet, we
obtain non-supersymmetric extremal Reissner-Nordstrom-AdS black hole solutions
with regular event horizon in the D0-D4 and the D2-D6 charge configurations.
The negative cosmological constant emerges even without the Fayet-Iliopoulos
parameters. Furthermore, we also argue the formal description of the
non-supersymmetric black hole solutions of the T^3-model and the STU-model in
generic configurations.Comment: 23 pages, accepted version in JHE
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