157 research outputs found
Optic flow based perception of two-dimensional trajectories and the effects of a single landmark.
It is well established that human observers can detect their heading direction on a very short time scale on the basis of optic flow (500ms; Hooge et al., 2000). Can they also integrate these perceptions over time to reconstruct a 2D trajectory simulated by the optic flow stimulus? We investigated the visual perception and reconstruction of passively travelled two-dimensional trajectories from optic flow with and without a single landmark. Stimuli in which translation and yaw are unyoked can give rise to illusory percepts; using a structured visual environment instead of only dots can improve perception of these stimuli. Does the additional visual and/or extra-retinal information provided by a single landmark have a similar, beneficial effect? Here, seated, stationary subjects wore a head-mounted display showing optic flow stimuli that simulated various manoeuvres: linear or curvilinear 2D trajectories over a horizontal ground plane. The simulated orientation was either fixed in space, fixed relative to the path, or changed relative to both. Afterwards, subjects reproduced the perceived manoeuvre with a model vehicle, of which we recorded position and orientation. Yaw was perceived correctly. Perception of the travelled path was less accurate, but still good when the simulated orientation was fixed in space or relative to the trajectory. When the amount of yaw was not equal to the rotation of the path, or in the opposite direction, subjects still perceived orientation as fixed relative to the trajectory. This caused trajectory misperception because yaw was wrongly attributed to a rotation of the path. A single landmark could improve perception
Optic flow based perception of two-dimensional trajectories and the effects of a single landmark.
It is well established that human observers can detect their heading direction on a very short time scale on the basis of optic flow. Can they also integrate these perceptions over time to reconstruct a 2D trajectory simulated by the optic flow stimulus? We investigated the visual perception and reconstruction of visually travelled two-dimensional trajectories from optic flow with and without a single landmark. Stimuli in which translation and yaw are unyoked can give rise to illusory percepts; using a structured visual environment instead of only dots can improve perception of these stimuli. Does the additional visual and/or extra-retinal information provided by a single landmark have a similar, beneficial effect? Here, seated, stationary subjects wore a head-mounted display showing optic flow stimuli that simulated various manoeuvres: linear or curvilinear 2D trajectories over a horizontal plane. The simulated orientation was either fixed in space, fixed relative to the path, or changed relative to both. Afterwards, subjects reproduced the perceived manoeuvre with a model vehicle, of which we recorded position and orientation. Yaw was perceived correctly. Perception of the travelled path was less accurate, but still good when the simulated orientation was fixed in space or relative to the trajectory. When the amount of yaw was not equal to the rotation of the path, or in the opposite direction, subjects still perceived orientation as fixed relative to the trajectory. This caused trajectory misperception because yaw was wrongly attributed to a rotation of the path. A single landmark could improve perception
Perception and reconstruction of two-dimensional, simulated ego-motion trajectories from optic flow.
A veridical percept of ego-motion is normally derived from a combination of visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive signals. In a previous study,
blindfolded subjects could accurately perceive passively travelled straight or curved trajectories provided that the orientation of the head
remained constant along the trajectory. When they were turned (whole-body, head-fixed) relative to the trajectory, errors occurred. We ask here
whether vision allows for better path perception in similar tasks, to correct or complement vestibular perception. Seated, stationary subjects wore
a head mounted display showing optic flow stimuli which simulated linear or curvilinear 2D trajectories over a horizontal ground plane. The
observer's orientation was either fixed in space, fixed relative to the path, or changed relative to both. After presentation, subjects reproduced the
perceived movement with a model vehicle, of which position and orientation were recorded. They tended to correctly perceive ego-rotation
(yaw), but they perceived orientation as fixed relative to trajectory or (unlike in the vestibular study) to space. This caused trajectory
misperception when body rotation was wrongly attributed to a rotation of the path. Visual perception was very similar to vestibular perception
To imitate or differentiate: Cross-level identity work in an innovation network
Survival in global high-tech industries requires many organizations to participate in specialized innovation networks. However, sustained participation in these networks often proves more challenging than expected for organizations and their representatives, due to complex cross-level identity tensions that are indiscernible when only one level of analysis is considered. The purpose of this study is to analyze cross-level identity tensions at the interface of personal and organizational identities in an innovation network. We identify three key cross-level identity tensions related to intellectual property, communication and market definition, which together contribute to an overall organizational-personal identity tension opposing differentiation and imitation. These tensions are indicative of a complex process of “partial isomorphism” in identity work, which can facilitate collaboration while simultaneously fostering innovation among personal and organizational network members
AdS2xS2 as an exact heterotic string background
An exact heterotic string theory on an AdS2xS2 background supported by an
electromagnetic flux is found as a marginal deformation of an SL(2,R)xSU(2) WZW
model. Based on a talk given at NATO Advanced Study Institute and EC Summer
School on String Theory: from Gauge Interactions to Cosmology, Cargese,
Corsica, France, 7 Jun - 19 Jun 2004.Comment: 5 page
Non-Critical String Duals of N=1 Quiver Theories
We construct N=1 non-critical strings in four dimensions dual to strongly
coupled N=1 quiver gauge theories in the Coulomb phase, generalizing the string
duals of Argyres-Douglas points in N=2 gauge theories. They are the first
examples of superstrings vacua with an exact worldsheet description dual to
chiral N=1 theories. We identify the dual of the non-critical superstring using
a brane setup describing the field theory in the classical limit. We analyze
the spectrum of chiral operators in the strongly coupled regime and show how
worldsheet instanton effects give non-perturbative information about the gauge
theory. We also consider aspects of D-branes relevant for the holographic
duality.Comment: JHEP style; 40 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor corrections, refs added,
version to appear in JHE
D-branes in Lorentzian AdS(3)
We study the exact construction of D-branes in Lorentzian AdS(3). We start by
defining a family of conformal field theories that gives a natural Euclidean
version of the SL(2,R) CFT and does not correspond to H(3)+, the analytic
continuation of AdS(3). We argue that one can recuperate the exact CFT results
of Lorentzian AdS(3), upon an analytic continuation in the moduli space of
these conformal field theories. Then we construct exact boundary states for
various symmetric and symmetry-breaking D-branes in AdS(3).Comment: JHEP style;21 pages, no figures; v2:some corrections, comments and
references adde
Orientifolds in N=2 Liouville Theory and its Mirror
We consider unoriented strings in the supersymmetric SL(2,R)/U(1) coset,
which describes the two-dimensional Euclidean black hole, and its mirror dual
N=2 Liouville theory. We analyze the orientifolds of these theories from
several complementary points of view: the parity symmetries of the worldsheet
actions, descent from known AdS_3 parities, and the modular bootstrap method
(in some cases we can also check our results against known constraints coming
from the conformal bootstrap method). Our analysis extends previous work on
orientifolds in Liouville theory, the AdS_3 and SU(2) WZW models and minimal
models. Compared to these cases, we find that the orientifolds of the two
dimensional Euclidean black hole exhibit new intriguing features. Our results
are relevant for the study of orientifolds in the neighborhood of NS5-branes
and for the engineering of four-dimensional chiral gauge theories and gauge
theories with SO and Sp gauge groups with suitable configurations of D-branes
and orientifolds. As an illustration, we discuss an example related to a
configuration of D4-branes and O4-planes in the presence of two parallel
fivebranes.Comment: 47 pages, 2 figures; v2 typos fixed, refs added, improved discussion
of Hanany-Witten setup
Tree-Level Stability Without Spacetime Fermions: Novel Examples in String Theory
Is perturbative stability intimately tied with the existence of spacetime
fermions in string theory in more than two dimensions? Type 0'B string theory
in ten-dimensional flat space is a rare example of a non-tachyonic,
non-supersymmetric string theory with a purely bosonic closed string spectrum.
However, all known type 0' constructions exhibit massless NSNS tadpoles
signaling the fact that we are not expanding around a true vacuum of the
theory. In this note, we are searching for perturbatively stable examples of
type 0' string theory without massless tadpoles in backgrounds with a spatially
varying dilaton. We present two examples with this property in non-critical
string theories that exhibit four- and six-dimensional Poincare invariance. We
discuss the D-branes that can be embedded in this context and the type of gauge
theories that can be constructed in this manner. We also comment on the
embedding of these non-critical models in critical string theories and their
holographic (Little String Theory) interpretation and propose a general
conjecture for the role of asymptotic supersymmetry in perturbative string
theory.Comment: harvmac, 29 pages; v2 minor changes, version to appear in JHE
Superstrings on NS5 backgrounds, deformed AdS3 and holography
We study a non-standard decoupling limit of the D1/D5-brane system, which
interpolates between the near-horizon geometry of the D1/D5 background and the
near-horizon limit of the pure D5-brane geometry. The S-dual description of
this background is actually an exactly solvable two-dimensional (worldsheet)
conformal field theory: {null-deformed SL(2,R)} x SU(2) x T^4 or K3. This model
is free of strong-coupling singularities. By a careful treatment of the
SL(2,R), based on the better-understood SL(2,R) / U(1) coset, we obtain the
full partition function for superstrings on SL(2,R) x SU(2) x K3. This allows
us to compute the partition functions for the J^3 and J^2 current-current
deformations, as well as the full line of supersymmetric null deformations,
which links the SL(2,R) conformal field theory with linear dilaton theory. The
holographic interpretation of this setup is a renormalization-group flow
between the decoupled NS5-brane world-volume theory in the ultraviolet (Little
String Theory), and the low-energy dynamics of super Yang--Mills string-like
instantons in six dimensions.Comment: JHEP style, 59 pages, 1 figure; v2: minor changes, to appear in JHE
- …