T-Branes and Monodromy

We introduce T-branes, or "triangular branes," which are novel non-abelian bound states of branes characterized by the condition that on some loci, their matrix of normal deformations, or Higgs field, is upper triangular. These configurations refine the notion of monodromic branes which have recently played a key role in F-theory phenomenology. We show how localized matter living on complex codimension one subspaces emerge, and explain how to compute their Yukawa couplings, which are localized in complex codimension two. Not only do T-branes clarify what is meant by brane monodromy, they also open up a vast array of new possibilities both for phenomenological constructions and for purely theoretical applications. We show that for a general T-brane, the eigenvalues of the Higgs field can fail to capture the spectrum of localized modes. In particular, this provides a method for evading some constraints on F-theory GUTs which have assumed that the spectral equation for the Higgs field completely determines a local model.Comment: 110 pages, 5 figure

Long-term behavior of energetic inner-belt protons

Long term behavior of energetic inner-belt proton

The Role of Starbursts in the Formation of Galaxies & Active Galactic Nuclei

Starbursts are episodes of intense star-formation in the central regions of galaxies, and are the sites of roughly 25% of the high-mass star-formation in the local universe. In this contribution I review the role starbursts play in the formation and evolution of galaxies, the intergalactic medium, and active galactic nuclei. Four major conclusions are drawn. 1) Starburst galaxies are good analogues (in fact, the only plausible local analogues) to the known population of star-forming galaxies at high-redshift. 2) Integrated over cosmic time, supernova-driven galactic-winds (`superwinds') play an essential role in the evolution of galaxies and the inter-galactic medium. 3) Circumnuclear starbursts are an energetically-significant component of the Seyfert phenomenon. 4) The evolution of the population of the host galaxies of radio-quiet quasars is significantly different than that of powerful radio galaxies, and is at least qualitatively consistent with the standard picture of the hierarchical assembly of massive galaxies at relatively late times.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, Royal Society discussion meeting `The formation of galaxies

The Footprint of F-theory at the LHC

Recent work has shown that compactifications of F-theory provide a potentially attractive phenomenological scenario. The low energy characteristics of F-theory GUTs consist of a deformation away from a minimal gauge mediation scenario with a high messenger scale. The soft scalar masses of the theory are all shifted by a stringy effect which survives to low energies. This effect can range from 0 GeV up to ~ 500 GeV. In this paper we study potential collider signatures of F-theory GUTs, focussing in particular on ways to distinguish this class of models from other theories with an MSSM spectrum. To accomplish this, we have adapted the general footprint method developed recently for distinguishing broad classes of string vacua to the specific case of F-theory GUTs. We show that with only 5 fb^(-1) of simulated LHC data, it is possible to distinguish many mSUGRA models and low messenger scale gauge mediation models from F-theory GUTs. Moreover, we find that at 5 fb^(-1), the stringy deformation away from minimal gauge mediation produces observable consequences which can also be detected to a level of order ~ +/- 80 GeV. In this way, it is possible to distinguish between models with a large and small stringy deformation. At 50 fb^(-1), this improves to ~ +/- 10 GeV.Comment: 85 pages, 37 figure

Spitzer Uncovers Active Galactic Nuclei Missed by Optical Surveys in 7 Late-type Galaxies

We report the discovery using Spitzers high resolution spectrograph of 7 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in a sample of 32 late-type galaxies that show no definitive signatures of AGN in their optical spectra. Our observations suggest that the AGN detection rate in late-type galaxies is possibly 4 times larger than what optical spectroscopic observations alone suggest. We demonstrate using photoionization models with an input AGN and an extreme EUV-bright starburst ionizing radiation field that the observed mid-infrared line ratios cannot be replicated unless an AGN contribution, in some cases as little as 10% of the total galaxy luminosity, is included. These models show that when the fraction of the total luminosity due to the AGN is low, optical diagnostics are insensitive to the presence of the AGN. In this regime of parameter space, the mid-infrared diagnostics offer a powerful tool for uncovering AGN missed by optical spectroscopy. The AGN bolometric luminosities in our sample range from ~3 X 10^41 - ~2 X 10^43 ergs s^-1, which, based on the Eddington limit, corresponds to a lower mass limit for the black hole that ranges from ~3 X 10^3Mdot to as high as ~1.5 X 10^5Mdot. These lower mass limits however do not put a strain on the well-known relationship between the black hole mass and the host galaxy's stellar velocity dispersion established in predominantly early-type galaxies. Our findings add to the growing evidence that black holes do form and grow in low-bulge environments and that they are significantly more common than optical studies indicate.Comment: 8 figures, 17 pages, astro-ph\0801.2766 (Abel & Satyapal 2008; ApJ accepted) and this posting designed to form a two-part investigatio

Matter wave functions and Yukawa couplings in F-theory Grand Unification

We study the local structure of zero mode wave functions of chiral matter fields in F-theory unification. We solve the differential equations for the zero modes derived from local Higgsing in the 8-dimensional parent action of F-theory 7-branes. The solutions are found as expansions both in powers and derivatives of the magnetic fluxes. Yukawa couplings are given by an overlap integral of the three wave functions involved in the interaction and can be calculated analytically. We provide explicit expressions for these Yukawas to second order both in the flux and derivative expansions and discuss the effect of higher order terms. We explicitly describe the dependence of the couplings on the U(1) charges of the relevant fields, appropriately taking into account their normalization. A hierarchical Yukawa structure is naturally obtained. The application of our results to the understanding of the observed hierarchies of quarks and leptons is discussed.Comment: Latex, 51 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected, note adde

Understanding AGN-Host Connection in Partially Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei. Part I: The Nature of AGN+HII Composites

The goal of our serial papers is to examine the evolutionary connection between AGN and star formation in its host galaxy in the partially obscured AGNs (i.e., Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9 galaxies). Taking advantage of these galaxies, the properties of both components can be studied together by direct measurements. In this paper, we focus on the broad-line composite galaxies (composite AGNs) which are located between the theoretical and empirical separation lines in the [NII]/Ha vs. [OIII]/Hb diagram. These galaxies are searched for from the composite galaxies provided by the SDSS DR4 MPA/JHU catalogs. After re-analyze the spectra, we perform a fine classification for the 85 composite AGNs in terms of the BPT diagrams. All the objects located below the three theoretical separation lines are associated with a young stellar population (<1Gyrs), while either a young or old stellar population is identified in the individual multiply-classified object. The multiply-classified objects with a very old stellar population are located in the LINER region in the [OI]/Ha vs. [OIII]/Hb diagram. We then consider the connection between AGN and star formation to derive the key results. The Eddington ratio inferred from the broad Ha emission, the age of the stellar population of AGN's host as assessed by D_n(4000), and the line ratio [OI]/Ha are found to be related with each other. These relations strongly support the evolutionary scenario in which AGNs evolve from high L/L_Edd state with soft spectrum to low L/L_Edd state with hard spectrum as young stellar population ages and fades. The significant correlation between the line ratio [OI]/Ha and D_n(4000) leads us to suggest that the line ratio could be used to trace the age of stellar population in type I AGNs.Comment: 39 pages, 11 figures, 1 table, accepted by Ap

Electroweak Symmetry Breaking in the DSSM

We study the theoretical and phenomenological consequences of modifying the Kahler potential of the MSSM two Higgs doublet sector. Such modifications naturally arise when the Higgs sector mixes with a quasi-hidden conformal sector, as in some F-theory GUT models. In the Delta-deformed Supersymmetric Standard Model (DSSM), the Higgs fields are operators with non-trivial scaling dimension 1 < Delta < 2. The Kahler metric is singular at the origin of field space due to the presence of quasi-hidden sector states which get their mass from the Higgs vevs. The presence of these extra states leads to the fact that even as Delta approaches 1, the DSSM does not reduce to the MSSM. In particular, the Higgs can naturally be heavier than the W- and Z-bosons. Perturbative gauge coupling unification, a large top quark Yukawa, and consistency with precision electroweak can all be maintained for Delta close to unity. Moreover, such values of Delta can naturally be obtained in string-motivated constructions. The quasi-hidden sector generically contains states charged under SU(5)_GUT as well as gauge singlets, leading to a rich, albeit model-dependent, collider phenomenology.Comment: v3: 40 pages, 3 figures, references added, typos correcte

Search for clusters at high redshift - I. Candidate Lya emitters near 1138-262 at z=2.2

Radio, optical and X-ray observations of the powerful radio galaxy PKS 1138-262 at z=2.156 have suggested that this galaxy is a massive galaxy in the center of a forming cluster. We have imaged 1138-262 and the surrounding 38 square arcminute field with the Very Large Telescope in a broad band and a narrow band encompassing the redshifted Lya emission. We detect 50 objects with rest equivalent width larger than 20 A and a luminous, highly extended Lya halo around 1138-262. If the radio galaxy is at the center of a forming cluster, these objects are candidate Lya emitting cluster galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A as Letter, 4 pages, 4 figure

Flipped SU(5) GUTs from E_8 Singularities in F-theory

In this paper we construct supersymmetric flipped SU(5) GUTs from E_8 singularities in F-theory. We start from an SO(10) singularity unfolded from an E_8 singularity by using an SU(4) spectral cover. To obtain realistic models, we consider (3,1) and (2,2) factorizations of the SU(4) cover. After turning on the massless U(1)_X gauge flux, we obtain the SU(5) X U(1)_X gauge group. Based on the well-studied geometric backgrounds in the literature, we demonstrate several models and discuss their phenomenology.Comment: 46 pages, 23 tables, 1 figure, typos corrected, references added, and new examples presente