353 research outputs found
The Superparticle and the Lorentz Group
We present a unified group-theoretical framework for superparticle theories.
This explains the origin of the ``twistor-like'' variables that have been used
in trading the superparticle's -symmetry for worldline supersymmetry.
We show that these twistor-like variables naturally parametrise the coset space
, where is the Lorentz group
and is its maximal subgroup. This space is a compact manifold, the
sphere . Our group-theoretical construction gives the proper
covariantisation of a fixed light-cone frame and clarifies the relation between
target-space and worldline supersymmetries.Comment: 33 page
On superembedding approach to type IIB 7-branes
In search for a dynamical description of Q7-branes, which were known as
solutions of supergravity equations and then conjectured to be dynamical
objects of type IIB string theory, we study the superembedding description of
7-branes in curved type IIB supergravity superspace. With quite minimal and
natural assumptions we have found that there is no place for Q7-branes as
dynamical branes in superembedding approach. Our study might give implications
for the old-standing problem of the covariant and supersymmetric description of
multiple Dp-brane systems.Comment: LaTeX, 40 pages, no figures. V2: 44 pages, misprints corrected, minor
cosmetic changes, improvements and extensions of discussion, in particular in
the parts devoted to derivation of D7-brane equations of motion (Sec. 3) and
in Secs. 4.2; appendices E,F added, footnote on page 30 extended, conclusions
remain the same. V3. More misprints correcte
Innovation in Deep Space Habitat Interior Design: Lessons Learned From Small Space Design in Terrestrial Architecture
Increased public awareness of carbon footprints, crowding in urban areas, and rising housing costs have spawned a 'small house movement' in the housing industry. Members of this movement desire small, yet highly functional residences which are both affordable and sensitive to consumer comfort standards. In order to create comfortable, minimum-volume interiors, recent advances have been made in furniture design and approaches to interior layout that improve both space utilization and encourage multi-functional design for small homes, apartments, naval, and recreational vehicles. Design efforts in this evolving niche of terrestrial architecture can provide useful insights leading to innovation and efficiency in the design of space habitats for future human space exploration missions. This paper highlights many of the cross-cutting architectural solutions used in small space design which are applicable to the spacecraft interior design problem. Specific solutions discussed include reconfigurable, multi-purpose spaces; collapsible or transformable furniture; multi-purpose accommodations; efficient, space saving appliances; stowable and mobile workstations; and the miniaturization of electronics and computing hardware. For each of these design features, descriptions of how they save interior volume or mitigate other small space issues such as confinement stress or crowding are discussed. Finally, recommendations are provided to provide guidance for future designs and identify potential collaborations with the small spaces design community
First-order supersymmetric sigma models and target space geometry
We study the conditions under which N=(1,1) generalized sigma models support
an extension to N=(2,2). The enhanced supersymmetry is related to the target
space complex geometry. Concentrating on a simple situation, related to Poisson
sigma models, we develop a language that may help us analyze more complicated
models in the future. In particular, we uncover a geometrical framework which
contains generalized complex geometry as a special case.Comment: 1+19 pages, JHEP style, published versio
A twistor-like D=10 superparticle action with manifest N=8 world-line supersymmetry
We propose a new formulation of the Brink-Schwarz superparticle which
is manifestly invariant under both the target-space super-Poincar\'e group and
the world-line local superconformal group. This twistor-like construction
naturally involves the sphere as a coset space of the Lorentz
group. The action contains only a finite set of auxiliary fields, but they
appear in unusual trilinear combinations. The origin of the on-shell
fermionic symmetry of the standard Brink-Schwarz formulation is
explained. The coupling to a super-Maxwell background requires a new
mechanism, in which the electric charge appears only on shell as an integration
constant.Comment: 22pages, standard LATEX fil
Conformally coupled supermultiplets in four and five dimensions
We obtain by superfield methods the exceptional representations of the
OSp(2N/4,R) and SU(2,2/1) superalgebras which extend to supersingletons of
SU(2,2/2N) and F(4), respectively. These representations describe
superconformally coupled multiplets and appear in three- and four-dimensional
superconformal field theories which are holographic descriptions of certain
anti-de Sitter supergravities
New extended superconformal sigma models and Quaternion Kahler manifolds
Quaternion Kahler manifolds are known to be the target spaces for matter
hypermultiplets coupled to N=2 supergravity. It is also known that there is a
one-to-one correspondence between 4n-dimensional quaternion Kahler manifolds
and those 4(n+1)-dimensional hyperkahler spaces which are the target spaces for
rigid superconformal hypermultiplets (such spaces are called hyperkahler
cones). In this paper we present a projective-superspace construction to
generate a hyperkahler cone M^{4(n+1)}_H of dimension 4(n+1) from a
2n-dimensional real analytic Kahler-Hodge manifold M^{2n}_K. The latter emerges
as a maximal Kahler submanifold of the 4n-dimensional quaternion Kahler space
M^{4n}_Q such that its Swann bundle coincides with M^{4(n+1)}_H. Our approach
should be useful for the explicit construction of new quaternion Kahler
metrics. The results obtained are also of interest, e.g., in the context of
supergravity reduction N=2 --> N=1, or alternatively from the point of view of
embedding N=1 matter-coupled supergravity into an N=2 theory.Comment: 30 page
Semirigid Geometry
We provide an intrinsic description of -super \RS s and -\SR\
surfaces. Semirigid surfaces occur naturally in the description of topological
gravity as well as topological supergravity. We show that such surfaces are
obtained by an integrable reduction of the structure group of a complex
supermanifold. We also discuss the \s moduli spaces of -\SR\ surfaces and
their relation to the moduli spaces of -\s\ \RS s.Comment: 29p
Association of Long-term Child Growth and Developmental Outcomes with Metformin vs Insulin Treatment for Gestational Diabetes
Importance: Metformin is an emerging option for treating gestational diabetes (GDM). However, because metformin crosses the placenta, patients and clinicians are concerned with its long-term effect on child health. Objective: To estimate the association of treating GDM with metformin vs insulin with child growth and development. Design, Setting, and Participants: Population-based cohort study of New Zealand women treated with metformin or insulin for GDM from 2005 to 2012 and their children. This study linked national health care data to create a cohort of mothers and their children, including data from maternity care, pharmaceutical dispensing, hospitalizations, demographic records, and the B4 School Check (B4SC) preschool health assessment. Women treated pharmacologically with metformin or insulin during pregnancy were included. We excluded pregnancies with evidence of diabetes and deliveries prior to 2013. Liveborn infants were linked to their B4SC results. Data were analyzed between January 2017 and May 2018. Exposures: Pharmacologic treatment for GDM with metformin or insulin, measured using pharmaceutical claims data. Main Outcomes and Measures: Child growth (weight and height) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores for behavioral development. All outcomes were derived from the B4SC screening program. Linear and log-binomial regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to estimate the association of child growth and psychosocial outcomes with metformin vs insulin treatment for GDM. Results: In both treatment groups, the mean (SD) maternal age was 32 (5) years. A large proportion of mothers who were treated with insulin identified as New Zealand European (867 [44.9%]) while 576 mothers who were treated with metformin (28.9%) identified as New Zealand European. Approximately one-third of mothers who were treated with metformin (n = 639) identified as Asian. We identified 3928 pregnancies treated with metformin (n = 1996) or insulin (n = 1932). After adjustment, we observed no meaningful difference in weight for height z scores between children exposed to metformin compared with insulin (mean difference, -0.10; 95% CI, -0.20 to 0.01). Risk of being 85th percentile or greater for weight for height was similar between treatment groups (adjusted risk ratio, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.83-1.02). Mean SDQ scores were not meaningfully different between the treatment groups, Children of metformin-treated mothers were not significantly more likely to have parent-reported SDQ scores of 14 or more (adjusted risk ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.88-1.46) than those of insulin-treated mothers. Conclusions and Relevance: Our study compares long-term outcomes among school-aged children following maternal use of metformin vs insulin treatment for GDM. Children of metformin-treated mothers were indistinguishable on growth and developmental assessments from those of insulin-treated mothers. These results will help inform future GDM treatment guidelines
On Five-dimensional Superspaces
Recent one-loop calculations of certain supergravity-mediated quantum
corrections in supersymmetric brane-world models employ either the component
formulation (hep-th/0305184) or the superfield formalism with only half of the
bulk supersymmetry manifestly realized (hep-th/0305169 and hep-th/0411216).
There are reasons to expect, however, that 5D supergraphs provide a more
efficient setup to deal with these and more involved (in particular,
higher-loop) calculations. As a first step toward elaborating such supergraph
techniques, we develop in this letter a manifestly supersymmetric formulation
for 5D globally supersymmetric theories with eight supercharges. Simple rules
are given to reduce 5D superspace actions to a hybrid form which keeps manifest
only the 4D, N=1 Poincare supersymmetry. (Previously, such hybrid actions were
carefully worked out by rewriting the component actions in terms of simple
superfields). To demonstrate the power of this formalism for model building
applications, two families of off-shell supersymmetric nonlinear sigma-models
in five dimensions are presented (including those with cotangent bundles of
Kahler manifolds as target spaces). We elaborate, trying to make our
presentation maximally clear and self-contained, on the techniques of 5D
harmonic and projective superspaces used at some stages in this letter.Comment: 46 pages, 3 figures. V5: version published in JHE
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