Character Formulae and Partition Functions in Higher Dimensional Conformal Field Theory

A discussion of character formulae for positive energy unitary irreducible representations of the the conformal group is given, employing Verma modules and Weyl group reflections. Product formulae for various conformal group representations are found. These include generalisations of those found by Flato and Fronsdal for SO(3,2). In even dimensions the products for free representations split into two types depending on whether the dimension is divisible by four or not.Comment: 43 pages, uses harvmac,version 2 2 references added, minor typos correcte

The Fefferman-Graham Ambiguity and AdS Black Holes

Asymptotically anti-de Sitter space-times in pure gravity with negative cosmological constant are described, in all space-time dimensions greater than two, by classical degrees of freedom on the conformal boundary at space-like infinity. Their effective boundary action has a conformal anomaly for even dimensions and is conformally invariant for odd ones. These degrees of freedom are encoded in traceless tensor fields in the Fefferman-Graham asymptotic metric for any choice of conformally flat boundary and generate all Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes in anti-de Sitter space-time. We argue that these fields describe components of an energy-momentum tensor of a boundary theory and show explicitly how this is realized in 2+1 dimensions. There, the Fefferman-Graham fields reduce to the generators of the Virasoro algebra and give the mass and the angular momentum of the BTZ black holes. Their local expression is the Liouville field in a general curved background.Comment: Latex, 14 pages; one reference modified, minor misprints correcte

An analysis of the relationships between speech and reading abilities of four hundred and twenty-five first grade children.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Spectroscopy of 19^{19}Ne for the thermonuclear 15^{15}O(α,γ\alpha,\gamma)19^{19}Ne and 18^{18}F(p,αp,\alpha)15^{15}O reaction rates

Uncertainties in the thermonuclear rates of the $^{15}$O($\alpha,\gamma$)$^{19}$Ne and $^{18}$F($p,\alpha$)$^{15}$O reactions affect model predictions of light curves from type I X-ray bursts and the amount of the observable radioisotope $^{18}$F produced in classical novae, respectively. To address these uncertainties, we have studied the nuclear structure of $^{19}$Ne over $E_{x} = 4.0 - 5.1$ MeV and $6.1 - 7.3$ MeV using the $^{19}$F($^{3}$He,t)$^{19}$Ne reaction. We find the $J^{\pi}$ values of the 4.14 and 4.20 MeV levels to be consistent with $9/2^{-}$ and $7/2^{-}$ respectively, in contrast to previous assumptions. We confirm the recently observed triplet of states around 6.4 MeV, and find evidence that the state at 6.29 MeV, just below the proton threshold, is either broad or a doublet. Our data also suggest that predicted but yet unobserved levels may exist near the 6.86 MeV state. Higher resolution experiments are urgently needed to further clarify the structure of $^{19}$Ne around the proton threshold before a reliable $^{18}$F($p,\alpha$)$^{15}$O rate for nova models can be determined.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Phys. Rev. C (in press

Cube law, condition factor and weight-length relationships: history, meta-analysis and recommendations

This study presents a historical review, a meta-analysis, and recommendations for users about weight–length relationships, condition factors and relative weight equations. The historical review traces the developments of the respective concepts. The meta-analysis explores 3929 weight–length relationships of the type W = aLb for 1773 species of fishes. It shows that 82% of the variance in a plot of log a over b can be explained by allometric versus isometric growth patterns and by different body shapes of the respective species. Across species median b = 3.03 is significantly larger than 3.0, thus indicating a tendency towards slightly positive-allometric growth (increase in relative body thickness or plumpness) in most fishes. The expected range of 2.5 < b < 3.5 is confirmed. Mean estimates of b outside this range are often based on only one or two weight–length relationships per species. However, true cases of strong allometric growth do exist and three examples are given. Within species, a plot of log a vs b can be used to detect outliers in weight–length relationships. An equation to calculate mean condition factors from weight–length relationships is given as Kmean = 100aLb−3. Relative weight Wrm = 100W/(amLbm) can be used for comparing the condition of individuals across populations, where am is the geometric mean of a and bm is the mean of b across all available weight–length relationships for a given species. Twelve recommendations for proper use and presentation of weight–length relationships, condition factors and relative weight are given

Irreducible characters of GSp(4, q) and dimensions of spaces of fixed vectors

In this paper, we compute the conjugacy classes and the list of irreducible characters of GSp(4,q), where q is odd. We also determine precisely which irreducible characters are non-cuspidal and which are generic. These characters are then used to compute dimensions of certain subspaces of fixed vectors of smooth admissible non-supercuspidal representations of GSp(4,F), where F is a non-archimedean local field of characteristic zero with residue field of order q.Comment: 48 pages, 21 tables. Corrected an error in Table 16 for type V* representations (theta_11 and theta_12 were switched

Alpha cluster condensation in 12C and 16O

A new $\alpha$-cluster wave function is proposed which is of the $\alpha$-particle condensate type. Applications to $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O show that states of low density close to the 3 resp. 4 $\alpha$-particle threshold in both nuclei are possibly of this kind. It is conjectured that all self-conjugate 4$n$ nuclei may show similar features.Comment: 4 pages, 2 tables, 2 figure

Multiplicity of solutions to GW-type approximations

We show that the equations underlying the $GW$ approximation have a large number of solutions. This raises the question: which is the physical solution? We provide two theorems which explain why the methods currently in use do, in fact, find the correct solution. These theorems are general enough to cover a large class of similar algorithms. An efficient algorithm for including self-consistent vertex corrections well beyond $GW$ is also described and further used in numerical validation of the two theorems

Australian journalism students’ professional views and news consumption: results from a representative study

Journalism education's role in shaping students' professional views has been a topic of interest among scholars for the past decade in particular. Increasing numbers of studies are concerned with examining students' backgrounds and views in order to identify what role exposure to the tertiary environment may play in socialising them into the industry. This study reports on the results of the largest survey of Australian journalism students undertaken to date, with a sample size of 1884 students. The study finds that time spent studying journalism appears to be related to changes in role perceptions and news consumption. Final-year students are significantly more likely to support journalism's watchdog role and to reject consumer-oriented and "loyal" roles. They also consume more news than first-year students. On the other hand, journalism education appears to have little impact on views of controversial practices, with only marginal differences between final- and first-year students