Non-invertible Symmetries and Higher Representation Theory II

In this paper we continue our investigation of the global categorical symmetries that arise when gauging finite higher groups and their higher subgroups with discrete torsion. The motivation is to provide a common perspective on the construction of non-invertible global symmetries in higher dimensions and a precise description of the associated symmetry categories. We propose that the symmetry categories obtained by gauging higher subgroups may be defined as higher group-theoretical fusion categories, which are built from the projective higher representations of higher groups. As concrete applications we provide a unified description of the symmetry categories of gauge theories in three and four dimensions based on the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{so}(N)$, and a fully categorical description of non-invertible symmetries obtained by gauging a 1-form symmetry with a mixed 't Hooft anomaly. We also discuss the effect of discrete torsion on symmetry categories, based a series of obstructions determined by spectral sequence arguments.Comment: 56 pages + appendix, v2: clarifications and citations adde

Generalized Symmetries and Anomalies of 3d N=4 SCFTs

We study generalized global symmetries and their 't Hooft anomalies in 3d N=4 superconformal field theories (SCFTs). Following some general considerations, we focus on good quiver gauge theories, comprised of balanced unitary nodes and unbalanced unitary and special unitary nodes. While the global form of the Higgs branch symmetry group may be determined from the UV Lagrangian, the global form of Coulomb branch symmetry groups and associated mixed 't Hooft anomalies are more subtle due to potential symmetry enhancement in the IR. We describe how Coulomb branch symmetry groups and their mixed 't Hooft anomalies can be deduced from the UV Lagrangian by studying center charges of various types of monopole operators, providing a concrete and unambiguous way to implement 't Hooft anomaly matching. The final expression for the symmetry group and 't Hooft anomalies has a concise form that can be easily read off from the quiver data, specifically from the positions of the unbalanced and flavor nodes with respect to the positions of the balanced nodes. We provide consistency checks by applying our method to compute symmetry groups of 3d N=4 theories corresponding to magnetic quivers of 4d Class S theories and 5d SCFTs. We are able to match these results against the flavor symmetry groups of the 4d and 5d theories computed using independent methods. Another strong consistency check is provided by comparing symmetry groups and anomalies of two theories related by 3d mirror symmetry.Comment: 79 pages, v2: Corrected an important typo reported by M. Sperlin

Schizophrenia and the progression of emotional expression in relation to others

Gaining an improved understanding of people diagnosed with schizophrenia has the potential to influence priorities for therapy. Psychosis is commonly understood through the perspective of the medical model. However, the experience of social context surrounding psychosis is not well understood. In this research project we used a phenomenological methodology with a longitudinal design to interview 7 participants across a 12-month period to understand the social experiences surrounding psychosis. Eleven themes were explicated and divided into two phases of the illness experience: (a) transition into emotional shutdown included the experiences of not being acknowledged, relational confusion, not being expressive, detachment, reliving the past, and having no sense of direction; and (b) recovery from emotional shutdown included the experiences of being acknowledged, expression, resolution, independence, and a sense of direction. The experiential themes provide clinicians with new insights to better assess vulnerability, and have the potential to inform goals for therapy

A Grassmannian Etude in NMHV Minors

Arkani-Hamed, Cachazo, Cheung and Kaplan have proposed a Grassmannian formulation for the S-matrix of N=4 Yang-Mills as an integral over link variables. In parallel work, the connected prescription for computing tree amplitudes in Witten's twistor string theory has also been written in terms of link variables. In this paper we extend the six- and seven-point results of arXiv:0909.0229 and arXiv:0909.0499 by providing a simple analytic proof of the equivalence between the two formulas for all tree-level NMHV superamplitudes. Also we note that a simple deformation of the connected prescription integrand gives directly the ACCK Grassmannian integrand in the limit when the deformation parameters equal zero.Comment: 17 page

In situ delivery of nanoparticles formulated with micron-sized crystals protects from murine melanoma.

INTRODUCTION Intratumoral injections of novel therapeutics can activate tumor antigen-specific T cells for locoregional tumor control and may even induce durable systemic protection (against distant metastases) via recirculating T cells. Here we explored the possibility of a universal immunotherapy that promotes T-cell responses in situ and beyond, upon intratumoral injection of nanoparticles formulated with micron-sized crystals. METHODS Cucumber mosaic virus-like particles containing a tetanus toxin peptide (CuMVTT) were formulated with microcrystalline tyrosine (MCT) adjuvant and injected directly in B16F10 melanoma tumors. To further enhance immunogenicity, we loaded the nanoparticles with a TLR7/8 ligand and incorporated a universal tetanus toxin T-helper cell peptide. We assessed therapeutic efficacy and induction of local and systemic immune responses, including RNA sequencing, providing broad insight into the tumor microenvironment and correlates of protection. RESULTS MCT crystals were successfully decorated with CuMVTT nanoparticles. This 'immune-enhancer' formed immunogenic depots in injected tumors, enhanced polyfunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, and inhibited B16F10 tumor growth locally and systemically. Local inflammation and immune responses were associated with upregulation of genes involved in complement activation and collagen formation. CONCLUSIONS Our new immune-enhancer turned immunologically cold tumors into hot ones and inhibited local and distant tumor growth. This type of immunotherapy does not require the identification of (patient-individual) relevant tumor antigens. It is well tolerated, non-infectious, and affordable, and can readily be upscaled for future clinical testing and broad application in melanoma and likely other solid tumors

Clinoform architecture and along-strike variability through an exhumed erosional to accretionary basin margin transition

Exhumed basin margin‐scale clinothems provide important archives for understanding process interactions and reconstructing the physiography of sedimentary basins. However, studies of coeval shelf through slope to basin‐floor deposits are rarely documented, mainly due to outcrop or subsurface dataset limitations. Unit G from the Laingsburg depocentre (Karoo Basin, South Africa) is a rare example of a complete basin margin scale clinothem (>60 km long, 200 m‐high), with >10 km of depositional strike control, which allows a quasi‐3D study of a preserved shelf‐slope‐basin floor transition over a ca. 1200 km2 area. Sand‐prone, wave‐influenced topset deposits close to the shelf‐edge rollover zone can be physically mapped down dip for ca. 10 km as they thicken and transition into heterolithic foreset/slope deposits. These deposits progressively fine and thin over 10s of km farther down dip into sand‐starved bottomset/basin floor deposits. Only a few km along strike, the coeval foreset/slope deposits are bypass‐dominated with incisional features interpreted as minor slope conduits/gullies. The margin here is steeper, more channelized, and records a stepped profile with evidence of sand‐filled intraslope topography, a preserved base‐of‐slope transition zone and sand‐rich bottomset/basin‐floor deposits. Unit G is interpreted as part of a composite depositional sequence that records a change in basin margin style from an underlying incised slope with large sand‐rich basin‐floor fans to an overlying accretion‐dominated shelf with limited sand supply to slope and basin‐floor. The change in margin style is accompanied with decreased clinoform height/slope and increased shelf width. This is interpreted to reflect a transition in subsidence style from regional sag, driven by dynamic topography/inherited basement configuration, to early foreland basin flexural loading. Results of this study caution against reconstructing basin margin successions from partial datasets without accounting for temporal and spatial physiographic changes, with potential implications on predictive basin evolution models

The Grassmannian and the Twistor String: Connecting All Trees in N=4 SYM

We present a new, explicit formula for all tree-level amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills. The formula is written as a certain contour integral of the connected prescription of Witten's twistor string, expressed in link variables. A very simple deformation of the integrand gives directly the Grassmannian integrand proposed by Arkani-Hamed et al. together with the explicit contour of integration. The integral is derived by iteratively adding particles to the Grassmannian integral, one particle at a time, and makes manifest both parity and soft limits. The formula is shown to be related to those given by Dolan and Goddard, and generalizes the results of earlier work for NMHV and N^2MHV to all N^(k-2)MHV tree amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills.Comment: 26 page

Parity Symmetry and Soft Limit for the Cachazo-Geyer Gravity Amplitude

In this note, we prove that the recent proposal for the tree-level n-particle N=8 supergravity amplitudes by Cachazo and Geyer satisfies parity symmetry and soft limit behavior expected for graviton scattering amplitudes