551 research outputs found
Low frequency quasi-normal modes of AdS black holes
We calculate analytically low frequency quasi-normal modes of gravitational
perturbations of AdS Schwarzschild black holes in dimensions. We arrive at
analytic expressions which are in agreement with their counterparts from
linearized hydrodynamics in , in accordance with the
AdS/CFT correspondence. Our results are also in good agreement with results of
numerical calculations.Comment: 14 page
Morphological variability of upper paleolithic and mesolithic skulls from Sicily
Scenarios for the dispersal of Homo sapiens in Southern Europe and in the Mediterranean basin have been uncertain, given the scarceness of osteological samples and the simplicity of the proposed archaeologically-based settlement hypotheses. According to available data, the first anatomically modern humans entered Sicily during the Late Pleistocene, coming from the Italian peninsula. A presumably small Late Epigravettian population colonised coastal sites. Later, North-Western archaeological horizons gave hospitality to a significant Mesolithic expansion. In order to verify a hypothesis of continuity in the peopling of the island, we analyzed Sicilian skulls from the Late Epigravettian site of San Teodoro, Eastern Sicily (AMS14C dated at 14,500 BP) and from the Mesolithic period (14C dated from 9,500 to 8,500 BP) coming from various sites (Uzzo, Molara, Grotta d’Oriente) located on the North Western coast of the island. The aims were to test the biological variability through time within the island as well as to evaluate the relationships of Sicilian Pleistocene hunter-gatherers with Old World populations. We also evaluated the Sicilian Mesolithic uniformity especially between the Uzzo and Grotta d’Oriente sites, given their vicinity and accessibility during the Early Holocene. We applied 3D geometric morphometric methods to assess shape variation as well as geographic and diachronic morphological patterns. All analyzed specimens, plus a comparative sample from the Old World dated from the Upper Paleolithic to recent periods, were transformed in digital images and standard craniofacial landmarks were extracted from the 3D models. Our results underline a high variability among the Mesolithic specimens, as well as a large craniometric distance from the presumed founder Paleolithic settler representatives (San Teodoro specimens) that have closer morphological affinities with other European Upper Paleolithic specimens
Energy Loss of Gluons, Baryons and k-Quarks in an N=4 SYM Plasma
We consider different types of external color sources that move through a
strongly-coupled thermal N=4 super-Yang-Mills plasma, and calculate, via the
AdS/CFT correspondence, the dissipative force (or equivalently, the rate of
energy loss) they experience. A bound state of k quarks in the totally
antisymmetric representation is found to feel a force with a nontrivial
k-dependence. Our result for k=1 (or k=N-1) agrees at large N with the one
obtained recently by Herzog et al. and Gubser, but contains in addition an
infinite series of 1/N corrections. The baryon (k=N) is seen to experience no
drag. Finally, a heavy gluon is found to be subject to a force which at large N
is twice as large as the one experienced by a heavy quark, in accordance with
gauge theory expectations.Comment: Latex 2e, 24 pages, 1 eps figure; v2: slightly amplified discussion
on the relation between the drag force and the tension of a spatial Wilson
loop; v3: minor changes, version to appear in JHE
The Energy of a Moving Quark-Antiquark Pair in an N=4 SYM Plasma
We make use of the AdS/CFT correspondence to determine the energy of an
external quark-antiquark pair that moves through strongly-coupled thermal N=4
super-Yang-Mills plasma, both in the rest frame of the plasma and in the rest
frame of the pair. It is found that the pair feels no drag force, has an energy
that reproduces the expected 1/L (or gamma/L) behavior at small quark-antiquark
separations, and becomes unbound beyond a certain screening length whose
velocity-dependence we determine. We discuss the relation between the
high-velocity limit of our results and the lightlike Wilson loop proposed
recently as a definition of the jet-quenching parameter.Comment: LaTeX 2e, 27 pages, 8 eps figures; v2: added computation of the pair
energy in the plasma rest frame, clarified the comparison with
hep-ph/0607062, corrected typos, added reference
Beauty is Attractive: Moduli Trapping at Enhanced Symmetry Points
We study quantum effects on moduli dynamics arising from the production of
particles which are light at special points in moduli space. The resulting
forces trap the moduli at these points, which often exhibit enhanced symmetry.
Moduli trapping occurs in time-dependent quantum field theory, as well as in
systems of moving D-branes, where it leads the branes to combine into stacks.
Trapping also occurs in an expanding universe, though the range over which the
moduli can roll is limited by Hubble friction. We observe that a scalar field
trapped on a steep potential can induce a stage of acceleration of the
universe, which we call trapped inflation. Moduli trapping ameliorates the
cosmological moduli problem and may affect vacuum selection. In particular,
rolling moduli are most powerfully attracted to the points with the largest
number of light particles, which are often the points of greatest symmetry.
Given suitable assumptions about the dynamics of the very early universe, this
effect might help to explain why among the plethora of possible vacuum states
of string theory, we appear to live in one with a large number of light
particles and (spontaneously broken) symmetries. In other words, some of the
surprising properties of our world might arise not through pure chance or
miraculous cancellations, but through a natural selection mechanism during
dynamical evolution.Comment: 50 pages, 4 figures; v2: added references and an appendix describing
a related classical proces
Multi-proxy analysis suggests Late Pleistocene affinities of human skeletal remains attributed to Balzi Rossi
In two publications from 1967 and 1971, M. Masali described human skeletal remains presumed to have been found in the Balzi Rossi caves (Ventimiglia, Italy), based on a signed note dated to 1908. Since then, the remains - dubbed "Conio's Finds" and preserved at the University of Torino - had not been further studied. We performed a multidisciplinary investigation aimed at clarifying the geographical and chronological attribution of these specimens. Collagen extraction for AMS dating was unsuccessful, but we obtained two direct dates on the best- preserved crania via 231Pa/235U direct gamma-ray spectrometry (10,500±2,000 years BP and 12,500±2,500 years BP). We analyzed the metrics and morphology of the crania and femora by comparing them with samples belonging to the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods, and evidenced that the "Conio's Finds" are morphologically more compatible with a Late Pleistocene rather than Holocene attribution. We analyzed the literature regarding the history of excavations at Balzi Rossi, and we propose that - if any credence should be given to the note accompanying the material - the remains may have been found in front of Grotta dei Fanciulli or Grotta del Caviglione, in the redeposited soil dug up during the installation of lime kilns carried out between the late 18th and the early 19th centuries. These hypotheses may be tested in the future by comparing the speleothem deposited on one of the crania and the remaining deposit at the site
Quark-Gluon Plasma - New Frontiers
As implied by organizers, this talk is not a conference summary but rather an
outline of progress/challenges/``frontiers'' of the theory. Some fundamental
questions addressed are:
Why is sQGP such a good liquid? Do we understand (de)confinement and what do
we know about ``magnetic'' objects creating it? Can we understand the AdS/CFT
predictions, from the gauge theory side? Can they be tested experimentally? Can
AdS/CFT duality help us understand rapid equilibration/entropy production? Can
we work out a complete dynamical ``gravity dual'' to heavy ion collisions?Comment: final talk at Quark Matter 2008, Jaipur, India, Feb.200
Gravitational quasinormal modes of AdS black branes in d spacetime dimensions
The AdS/CFT duality has established a mapping between quantities in the bulk
AdS black-hole physics and observables in a boundary finite-temperature field
theory. Such a relationship appears to be valid for an arbitrary number of
spacetime dimensions, extrapolating the original formulations of Maldacena's
correspondence. In the same sense properties like the hydrodynamic behavior of
AdS black-hole fluctuations have been proved to be universal. We investigate in
this work the complete quasinormal spectra of gravitational perturbations of
-dimensional plane-symmetric AdS black holes (black branes). Holographically
the frequencies of the quasinormal modes correspond to the poles of two-point
correlation functions of the field-theory stress-energy tensor. The important
issue of the correct boundary condition to be imposed on the gauge-invariant
perturbation fields at the AdS boundary is studied and elucidated in a fully
-dimensional context. We obtain the dispersion relations of the first few
modes in the low-, intermediate- and high-wavenumber regimes. The sound-wave
(shear-mode) behavior of scalar (vector)-type low-frequency quasinormal mode is
analytically and numerically confirmed. These results are found employing both
a power series method and a direct numerical integration scheme.Comment: added references, typos corrected, minor changes, final version for
JHE
Mach Cones in Quark Gluon Plasma
The experimental azimuthal dihadron distributions at RHIC show a double peak
structure in the away side ( rad.) for intermediate
particles. A variety of models have appeared trying to describe this
modification. We will review most of them, with special emphasis in the Conical
Flow scenario in which the observed shape is a consequence of the emission of
sound by a supersonic high momentum particle propagating in the Quark Gluon
Plasma.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, Invited plenary talk given at the 19th
International Conference on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions:
Quark Matter 2006 (QM 2006), Shanghai, China, 14-20 Nov 200
Intracellular APP Domain Regulates Serine-Palmitoyl-CoA Transferase Expression and Is Affected in Alzheimer's Disease
Lipids play an important role as risk or protective factors in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a disease biochemically characterized by the accumulation of amyloid beta peptides (Aβ), released by proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Changes in sphingolipid metabolism have been associated to the development of AD. The key enzyme in sphingolipid de novo synthesis is serine-palmitoyl-CoA transferase (SPT). In the present study we identified a new physiological function of APP in sphingolipid synthesis. The APP intracellular domain (AICD) was found to decrease the expression of the SPT subunit SPTLC2, the catalytic subunit of the SPT heterodimer, resulting in that decreased SPT activity. AICD function was dependent on Fe65 and SPTLC2 levels are increased in APP knock-in mice missing a functional AICD domain. SPTLC2 levels are also increased in familial and sporadic AD postmortem brains, suggesting that SPT is involved in AD pathology
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