Holographic Gravitational Anomalies

In the AdS/CFT correspondence one encounters theories that are not invariant under diffeomorphisms. In the boundary theory this is a gravitational anomaly, and can arise in 4k+2 dimensions. In the bulk, there can be gravitational Chern-Simons terms which vary by a total derivative. We work out the holographic stress tensor for such theories, and demonstrate agreement between the bulk and boundary. Anomalies lead to novel effects, such as a nonzero angular momentum for global AdS(3). In string theory such Chern-Simons terms are known with exact coefficients. The resulting anomalies, combined with symmetries, imply corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of black holes that agree exactly with the microscopic counting.Comment: 25 page

Stochastic Quantization of the Chern-Simons Theory

We discuss Stochastic Quantization of $d$=3 dimensional non-Abelian Chern-Simons theory. We demonstrate that the introduction of an appropriate regulator in the Langevin equation yields a well-defined equilibrium limit, thus leading to the correct propagator. We also analyze the connection between $d$=3 Chern-Simons and $d$=4 Topological Yang-Mills theories showing the equivalence between the corresponding regularized partition functions. We study the construction of topological invariants and the introduction of a non-trivial kernel as an alternative regularization.Comment: 30 page

Causality and Cosmic Inflation

In the context of inflationary models with a pre-inflationary stage, in which the Einstein equations are obeyed, the weak energy condition is satisfied, and spacetime topology is trivial, we argue that homogeneity on super-Hubble scales must be assumed as an initial condition. Models in which inflation arises from field dynamics in a Friedman-Robertson-Walker background fall into this class but models in which inflation originates at the Planck epoch, {\it eg.} chaotic inflation, may evade this conclusion. Our arguments rest on causality and general relativistic constraints on the structure of spacetime. We discuss modifications to existing scenarios that may avoid the need for initial large-scale homogeneity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX, expanded and sharpened discussion of result, figures improved, references adde

The alpha-prime stretched horizon in the Heterotic string

The linear alpha-prime corrections and the field redefinition ambiguities are studied for half-BPS singular backgrounds representing a wrapped fundamental string. It is showed that there exist schemes in which the inclusion of all the linear alpha-prime corrections converts these singular solutions to black holes with a regular horizon for which the modified Hawking-Bekenstein entropy is in agreement with the statistical entropy.Comment: 22 pages JHEP; new discussions and more details added to section

Vacuum Bubbles Nucleation and Dark Matter Production through Gauge Symmetry Rearrangement

Modern particle physics and cosmology support the idea that a background of invisible material pervades the whole universe, and identify in the cosmic vacuum the ultimate source of matter-energy, both seen and unseen. Within the framework of the theory of fundamental relativistic membranes, we suggest a self-consistent, vacuum energy-driven mechanism for dark matter creation through gauge symmetry rearrangement.Comment: 22pages, RevTeX, no figures; accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.

Organizational Adaptation to Changing Environments

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66531/2/10.1177_000276428502800507.pd

Anisotropic flow of charged hadrons, pions and (anti-)protons measured at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76 TeV

The elliptic, $v_2$, triangular, $v_3$, and quadrangular, $v_4$, azimuthal anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles, pions and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ at different collision centralities and as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, out to $p_{\rm T}=20$ GeV/$c$. The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on transverse momentum for $p_{\rm T}>8$ GeV/$c$. The small $p_{\rm T}$ dependence of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow fluctuations up to $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$ indicating that the particle type dependence persists out to high $p_{\rm T}$.Comment: 16 pages, 5 captioned figures, authors from page 11, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/186

Centrality dependence of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 2.76 TeV

The inclusive transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) distributions of primary charged particles are measured in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ as a function of event centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=2.76$ TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The data are presented in the $p_{\rm T}$ range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<50$ GeV/$c$ for nine centrality intervals from 70-80% to 0-5%. The Pb-Pb spectra are presented in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{AA}}$ using a pp reference spectrum measured at the same collision energy. We observe that the suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles strongly depends on event centrality. In central collisions (0-5%) the yield is most suppressed with $R_{\rm{AA}}\approx0.13$ at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7 GeV/$c$. Above $p_{\rm T}=7$ GeV/$c$, there is a significant rise in the nuclear modification factor, which reaches $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx0.4$ for $p_{\rm T}>30$ GeV/$c$. In peripheral collisions (70-80%), the suppression is weaker with $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx 0.7$ almost independently of $p_{\rm T}$. The measured nuclear modification factors are compared to other measurements and model calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/284

Measurement of charm production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions at s=2.76\sqrt{s} = 2.76 TeV

The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections of the prompt (B feed-down subtracted) charmed mesons D$^0$, D$^+$, and D$^{*+}$ in the rapidity range $|y|<0.5$, and for transverse momentum $1< p_{\rm T} <12$ GeV/$c$, were measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis exploited the hadronic decays D$^0 \rightarrow$K$\pi$, D$^+ \rightarrow$K$\pi\pi$, D$^{*+} \rightarrow$D$^0\pi$, and their charge conjugates, and was performed on a $L_{\rm int} = 1.1$ nb$^{-1}$ event sample collected in 2011 with a minimum-bias trigger. The total charm production cross section at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and at 7 TeV was evaluated by extrapolating to the full phase space the $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and our previous measurements at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The results were compared to existing measurements and to perturbative-QCD calculations. The fraction of cdbar D mesons produced in a vector state was also determined.Comment: 20 pages, 5 captioned figures, 4 tables, authors from page 15, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/307

Particle-yield modification in jet-like azimuthal di-hadron correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

The yield of charged particles associated with high-$p_{\rm T}$ trigger particles ($8 < p_{\rm T} < 15$ GeV/$c$) is measured with the ALICE detector in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV relative to proton-proton collisions at the same energy. The conditional per-trigger yields are extracted from the narrow jet-like correlation peaks in azimuthal di-hadron correlations. In the 5% most central collisions, we observe that the yield of associated charged particles with transverse momenta $p_{\rm T}> 3$ GeV/$c$ on the away-side drops to about 60% of that observed in pp collisions, while on the near-side a moderate enhancement of 20-30% is found.Comment: 15 pages, 2 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 10, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/350