893 research outputs found
Supersymmetric States in Large N Chern-Simons-Matter Theories
In this paper we study the spectrum of BPS operators/states in N=2
superconformal U(N) Chern-Simons-matter theories with adjoint chiral matter
fields, with and without superpotential. The superconformal indices and
conjectures on the full supersymmetric spectrum of the theories in the large N
limit with up to two adjoint matter fields are presented. Our results suggest
that some of these theories may have supergravity duals at strong coupling,
while some others may be dual to higher spin theories of gravity at strong
coupling. For the N=2 theory with no superpotential, we study the
renormalization of R-charge at finite 't Hooft coupling using "Z-minimization".
A particularly intriguing result is found in the case of one adjoint matter.Comment: 53 pages, 18 figures. v2: improved numerics, additional comments
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Soliton pair dynamics in patterned ferromagnetic ellipses
Confinement alters the energy landscape of nanoscale magnets, leading to the
appearance of unusual magnetic states, such as vortices, for example. Many
basic questions concerning dynamical and interaction effects remain unanswered,
and nanomagnets are convenient model systems for studying these fundamental
physical phenomena. A single vortex in restricted geometry, also known as a
non-localized soliton, possesses a characteristic translational excitation mode
that corresponds to spiral-like motion of the vortex core around its
equilibrium position. Here, we investigate, by a microwave reflection
technique, the dynamics of magnetic soliton pairs confined in lithographically
defined, ferromagnetic Permalloy ellipses. Through a comparison with
micromagnetic simulations, the observed strong resonances in the subgigahertz
frequency range can be assigned to the translational modes of vortex pairs with
parallel or antiparallel core polarizations. Vortex polarizations play a
negligible role in the static interaction between two vortices, but their
effect dominates the dynamics.Comment: supplemental movies on
http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v1/n3/suppinfo/nphys173_S1.htm
Exploring Curved Superspace
We systematically analyze Riemannian manifolds M that admit rigid
supersymmetry, focusing on four-dimensional N=1 theories with a U(1)_R
symmetry. We find that M admits a single supercharge, if and only if it is a
Hermitian manifold. The supercharge transforms as a scalar on M. We then
consider the restrictions imposed by the presence of additional supercharges.
Two supercharges of opposite R-charge exist on certain fibrations of a
two-torus over a Riemann surface. Upon dimensional reduction, these give rise
to an interesting class of supersymmetric geometries in three dimensions. We
further show that compact manifolds admitting two supercharges of equal
R-charge must be hyperhermitian. Finally, four supercharges imply that M is
locally isometric to M_3 x R, where M_3 is a maximally symmetric space.Comment: 39 pages; minor change
Success Factors of European Syndromic Surveillance Systems: A Worked Example of Applying Qualitative Comparative Analysis
Introduction: Syndromic surveillance aims at augmenting traditional public health surveillance with timely information. To gain a head start, it mainly analyses existing data such as from web searches or patient records. Despite the setup of many syndromic surveillance systems, there is still much doubt about the benefit of the approach. There are diverse interactions between performance indicators such as timeliness and various system characteristics. This makes the performance assessment of syndromic surveillance systems a complex endeavour. We assessed if the comparison of several syndromic surveillance systems through Qualitative Comparative Analysis helps to evaluate performance and identify key success factors.
Materials and Methods: We compiled case-based, mixed data on performance and characteristics of 19 syndromic surveillance systems in Europe from scientific and grey literature and from site visits. We identified success factors by applying crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. We focused on two main areas of syndromic surveillance application: seasonal influenza surveillance and situational awareness during different types of potentially health threatening events.
Results: We found that syndromic surveillance systems might detect the onset or peak of seasonal influenza earlier if they analyse non-clinical data sources. Timely situational awareness during different types of events is supported by an automated syndromic surveillance system capable of analysing multiple syndromes. To our surprise, the analysis of multiple data sources was no key success factor for situational awareness.
Conclusions: We suggest to consider these key success factors when designing or further developing syndromic surveillance systems. Qualitative Comparative Analysis helped interpreting complex, mixed data on small-N cases and resulted in concrete and practically relevant findings
The Conformal Manifold of Chern-Simons Matter Theories
We determine perturbatively the conformal manifold of N=2 Chern-Simons matter
theories with the aim of checking in the three dimensional case the general
prescription based on global symmetry breaking, recently introduced. We discuss
in details few remarkable cases like the N=6 ABJM theory and its less
supersymmetric generalizations with/without flavors. In all cases we find
perfect agreement with the predictions of global symmetry breaking
prescription.Comment: 1+17 pages, 1 figure, references adde
Astronomical Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is one of the most important tools that an astronomer has for
studying the universe. This chapter begins by discussing the basics, including
the different types of optical spectrographs, with extension to the ultraviolet
and the near-infrared. Emphasis is given to the fundamentals of how
spectrographs are used, and the trade-offs involved in designing an
observational experiment. It then covers observing and reduction techniques,
noting that some of the standard practices of flat-fielding often actually
degrade the quality of the data rather than improve it. Although the focus is
on point sources, spatially resolved spectroscopy of extended sources is also
briefly discussed. Discussion of differential extinction, the impact of
crowding, multi-object techniques, optimal extractions, flat-fielding
considerations, and determining radial velocities and velocity dispersions
provide the spectroscopist with the fundamentals needed to obtain the best
data. Finally the chapter combines the previous material by providing some
examples of real-life observing experiences with several typical instruments.Comment: An abridged version of a chapter to appear in Planets, Stars and
Stellar Systems, to be published in 2011 by Springer. Slightly revise
Effective action of three-dimensional extended supersymmetric matter on gauge superfield background
We study the low-energy effective actions for gauge superfields induced by
quantum N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric matter fields in three-dimensional Minkowski
space. Analyzing the superconformal invariants in the N=2 superspace we propose
a general form of the N=2 gauge invariant and superconformal effective action.
The leading terms in this action are fixed by the symmetry up to the
coefficients while the higher order terms with respect to the Maxwell field
strength are found up to one arbitrary function of quasi-primary N=2
superfields constructed from the superfield strength and its covariant spinor
derivatives. Then we find this function and the coefficients by direct quantum
computations in the N=2 superspace. The effective action of N=4 gauge multiplet
is obtained by generalizing the N=2 effective action.Comment: 1+27 pages; v2: minor corrections, references adde
Altering Host Resistance to Infections through Microbial Transplantation
Host resistance to bacterial infections is thought to be dictated by host genetic factors. Infections by the natural murine enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium (used as a model of human enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli infections) vary between mice strains, from mild self-resolving colonization in NIH Swiss mice to lethality in C3H/HeJ mice. However, no clear genetic component had been shown to be responsible for the differences observed with C. rodentium infections. Because the intestinal microbiota is important in regulating resistance to infection, and microbial composition is dependent on host genotype, it was tested whether variations in microbial composition between mouse strains contributed to differences in “host” susceptibility by transferring the microbiota of resistant mice to lethally susceptible mice prior to infection. Successful transfer of the microbiota from resistant to susceptible mice resulted in delayed pathogen colonization and mortality. Delayed mortality was associated with increased IL-22 mediated innate defense including antimicrobial peptides Reg3γ and Reg3β, and immunono-neutralization of IL-22 abrogated the beneficial effect of microbiota transfer. Conversely, depletion of the native microbiota in resistant mice by antibiotics and transfer of the susceptible mouse microbiota resulted in reduced innate defenses and greater pathology upon infection. This work demonstrates the importance of the microbiota and how it regulates mucosal immunity, providing an important factor in susceptibility to enteric infection. Transfer of resistance through microbial transplantation (bacteriotherapy) provides additional mechanisms to alter “host” resistance, and a novel means to alter enteric infection and to study host-pathogen interactions
Micronutrient synergy—a new tool in effective control of metastasis and other key mechanisms of cancer
Consumption of a plant-based diet has been associated with prevention of the development and progression of cancer. We have developed strategies to inhibit cancer development and its spread by targeting common mechanisms used by all types of cancer cells that decrease stability and integrity of connective tissue. Strengthening of collagen and connective tissue can be achieved naturally through the synergistic effects of selected nutrients, such as lysine, proline, ascorbic acid and green tea extract (NM). This micronutrient mixture has exhibited a potent anticancer activity in vivo and in vitro in a few dozen cancer cell lines. Its anti-cancer effects include inhibition of metastasis, tumor growth, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) secretion, invasion, angiogenesis, and cell growth as well as induction of apoptosis. Many cancers are often diagnosed at later stages, when metastasis has occurred, which standard treatment has been unable to control. Our studies on NM effects on hepatic and pulmonary metastasis demonstrated profound, significant suppression of metastasis in a murine model. Evaluation of effects of NM on xenografts in murine models demonstrated significant reduction in tumor size and tumor burden in all human cancer cell lines tested. In vitro studies demonstrated that NM was very effective in inhibition of cell proliferation (by MTT assay), MMP secretion (by gelatinase zymography), cell invasion (through Matrigel), cell migration (by scratch test), induction of apoptosis (by live green caspase) and induction of pro-apoptotic genes in many diverse cancer cell lines. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro studies of effects of individual micronutrients compared to their specific combination demonstrated synergistic effects resulting in improved anticancer potency
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