Viscous Asymptotically Flat Reissner-Nordstr\"om Black Branes

We study electrically charged asymptotically flat black brane solutions whose world-volume fields are slowly varying with the coordinates. Using familiar techniques, we compute the transport coefficients of the fluid dynamic derivative expansion to first order. We show how the shear and bulk viscosities are modified in the presence of electric charge and we compute the charge diffusion constant which is not present for the neutral black p-brane. We compute the first order dispersion relations of the effective fluid. For small values of the charge the speed of sound is found to be imaginary and the brane is thus Gregory-Laflamme unstable as expected. For sufficiently large values of the charge, the sound mode becomes stable, however, in this regime the hydrodynamic mode associated with charge diffusion is found to be unstable. The electrically charged brane is thus found to be (classically) unstable for all values of the charge density in agreement with general thermodynamic arguments. Finally, we show that the shear viscosity to entropy bound is saturated, as expected, while the proposed bounds for the bulk viscosity to entropy can be violated in certain regimes of the charge of the brane.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figure. v3: Small changes and a few typos correcte

Electroelasticity of Charged Black Branes

We present the first-order corrected dynamics of fluid branes carrying higher-form charge by obtaining the general form of their equations of motion to pole-dipole order. Assuming linear response theory, we characterize the corresponding effective theory of stationary bent charged (an)isotropic fluid branes in terms of two sets of response coefficients, the Young modulus and the piezoelectric moduli. We subsequently find large classes of examples in gravity of this effective theory, by constructing stationary strained charged black brane solutions to first order in a derivative expansion. Using solution generating techniques and bent neutral black branes as a seed solution, we obtain a class of charged black brane geometries carrying smeared Maxwell charge in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity. In the specific case of ten-dimensional space-time we furthermore use T-duality to generate bent black branes with higher-form charge, including smeared D-branes of type II string theory. By subsequently measuring the bending moment and the electric dipole moment which these geometries acquire due to the strain, we uncover that their form is captured by classical electroelasticity theory. In particular, we find that the Young modulus and the piezoelectric moduli of our strained charged black brane solutions are parameterized by a total of 4 response coefficients, both for the isotropic as well as anisotropic cases.Comment: v2: 40pp; typos fixe

Probing the Hydrodynamic Limit of (Super)gravity

We study the long-wavelength effective description of two general classes of charged dilatonic (asymptotically flat) black p-branes including D/NS/M-branes in ten and eleven dimensional supergravity. In particular, we consider gravitational brane solutions in a hydrodynamic derivative expansion (to first order) for arbitrary dilaton coupling and for general brane and co-dimension and determine their effective electro-fluid-dynamic descriptions by exacting the characterizing transport coefficients. We also investigate the stability properties of the corresponding hydrodynamic systems by analyzing their response to small long-wavelength perturbations. For branes carrying unsmeared charge, we find that in a certain regime of parameter space there exists a branch of stable charged configurations. This is in accordance with the expectation that D/NS/M-branes have stable configurations, except for the D5, D6, and NS5. In contrast, we find that Maxwell charged brane configurations are Gregory-Laflamme unstable independently of the charge and, in particular, verify that smeared configurations of D0-branes are unstable. Finally, we provide a modification to the mapping presented in arxiv:1211.2815 and utilize it to provide a non-trivial cross-check on a certain subset of our transport coefficients with the results of arXiv:1110.2320.Comment: 36 pages, 2 figures. v2: Added reference and corrected typ

Holographic Models for Theories with Hyperscaling Violation

We study in detail a variety of gravitational toy models for hyperscaling-violating Lifshitz (hvLif) space-times. These space-times have been recently explored as holographic dual models for condensed matter systems. We start by considering a model of gravity coupled to a massive vector field and a dilaton with a potential. This model supports the full class of hvLif space-times and special attention is given to the particular values of the scaling exponents appearing in certain non-Fermi liquids. We study linearized perturbations in this model, and consider probe fields whose interactions mimic those of the perturbations. The resulting equations of motion for the probe fields are invariant under the Lifshitz scaling. We derive Breitenlohner-Freedman-type bounds for these new probe fields. For the cases of interest the hvLif space-times have curvature invariants that blow up in the UV. We study the problem of constructing models in which the hvLif space-time can have an AdS or Lifshitz UV completion. We also analyze reductions of Schroedinger space-times and reductions of waves on extremal (intersecting) branes, accompanied by transverse space reductions, that are solutions to supergravity-like theories, exploring the allowed parameter range of the hvLif scaling exponents.Comment: version 3: matches published versio

Black Branes as Piezoelectrics

We find a realization of linear electroelasticity theory in gravitational physics by uncovering a new response coefficient of charged black branes, exhibiting their piezoelectric behavior. Taking charged dilatonic black strings as an example and using the blackfold approach we measure their elastic and piezolectric moduli. We also use our results to draw predictions about the equilibrium condition of charged dilatonic black rings in dimensions higher than six.Comment: v2: 9 pages; important sign corrections in section 3 and other minor corrections; published in PR

Iowa State Students Prepare for Life

CASE HISTORY: Nan and Jim fell in love their junior year of college and wanted to announce their engagement. Nan\u27s mother opposed all suitors of her· daughter, threatening to take Nan out of school if the engagement were announced. Nan and Jim tried to win the approval of Nan\u27s mother in vain. They decided to announce their engagement anyway. Parental approval was given on the condition that the couple would wait a year after graduation to marry. Nan\u27s mother objected again, but Nan and Jim planned the wedding. Realizing she had lost, Nan\u27s mother helped put on a lovely wedding, and is now devoted to the couple, who are happily married and have a son two years old

The roles of mab21l2 in development of the eye

Mutations in MAB21L2 result in severe ocular defects including microphthalmia, anophthalmia, coloboma, microcornea, and cataracts. The molecular and cellular underpinnings of these defects are unknown, as is the normal cellular function of MAB21L2. Zebrafish mab21l2 [superscript au10] mutants possess ocular defects resembling those in humans with MAB21L2 mutations, providing an excellent model to characterize mab21l2 functions during eye development. mab21l2 [superscript -/-] mutants possessed a host of ocular defects including microphthalmia and colobomas as well as small, disorganized lenses and cornea dysgenesis. Decreased proliferation, increased cell death, and defects in marker gene expression were detected in the lens. Cell death in the optic stalk was elevated in mab21l2 [superscript -/-] mutants and the basement membrane between the edges of the choroid fissure failed to break down. Neuronal differentiation in the retina was normal, however. mab21l2 [superscript -/-] mutant corneas were disorganized, possessed an increased number of cells, some of which proliferated ectopically, and failed to differentiate the corneal stroma. Human mutant MAB21L2 [superscript R51C] and MAB21L2 [superscript R51H] mRNAs possessed dominant negative function, inducing colobomas in wild type fish. Yeast-2-hybrid assays provided potential binding partners for the function of mab21l2, including transcription factors and actin/myosin related proteins. mab21l2 function is required for morphogenesis and cell survival in the lens and optic cup, and basement membrane breakdown in the choroid fissure. mab21l2 function also regulates proliferation in the lens and cornea; in its absence, the lens is small and mispatterned, and corneal morphogenesis and patterning are also disrupted. mab21l2 protein function may involve transcriptional regulation or control of cell shape and movement.Cellular and Molecular Biolog