Elementary Particles and Spin Representations

We emphasize that the group-theoretical considerations leading to SO(10) unification of electro-weak and strong matter field components naturally extend to space-time components, providing a truly unified description of all generation degrees of freedoms in terms of a single chiral spin representation of one of the groups SO(13,1), SO(9,5), SO(7,7) or SO(3,11). The realization of these groups as higher dimensional space-time symmetries produces unification of all fundamental fermions is a single space-time spinor.Comment: 4 page

Learning preferences for large scale multi-label problems

Despite that the majority of machine learning approaches aim to solve binary classification problems, several real-world applications require specialized algorithms able to handle many different classes, as in the case of single-label multi-class and multi-label classification problems. The Label Ranking framework is a generalization of the above mentioned settings, which aims to map instances from the input space to a total order over the set of possible labels. However, generally these algorithms are more complex than binary ones, and their application on large-scale datasets could be untractable. The main contribution of this work is the proposal of a novel general online preference-based label ranking framework. The proposed framework is able to solve binary, multi-class, multi-label and ranking problems. A comparison with other baselines has been performed, showing effectiveness and efficiency in a real-world large-scale multi-label task

Finite-distance singularities in the tearing of thin sheets

We investigate the interaction between two cracks propagating in a thin sheet. Two different experimental geometries allow us to tear sheets by imposing an out-of-plane shear loading. We find that two tears converge along self-similar paths and annihilate each other. These finite-distance singularities display geometry-dependent similarity exponents, which we retrieve using scaling arguments based on a balance between the stretching and the bending of the sheet close to the tips of the cracks.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Are There Oscillations in the Baryon/Meson Ratio?

All available data indicate a surplus of baryon states over meson states for energies greater than about 1.5 GeV. Since hadron-scale string theory suggests that their numbers should become equal with increasing energy, it has recently been proposed that there must exist exotic mesons with masses just above 1.7 GeV in order to fill the deficit. We demonstrate that a string-like picture is actually consistent with the present numbers of baryon and meson states, and in fact predicts regular oscillations in their ratio. This suggests a different role for new hadronic states.Comment: 14 pages (RevTeX), McGill/92-0

Screening of charged singularities of random fields

Many types of point singularity have a topological index, or 'charge', associated with them. For example the phase of a complex field depending on two variables can either increase or decrease on making a clockwise circuit around a simple zero, enabling the zeros to be assigned charges of plus or minus one. In random fields we can define a correlation function for the charge-weighted density of singularities. In many types of random fields, this correlation function satisfies an identity which shows that the singularities 'screen' each other perfectly: a positive singularity is surrounded by an excess of concentration of negatives which exactly cancel its charge, and vice-versa. This paper gives a simple and widely applicable derivation of this result. A counterexample where screening is incomplete is also exhibited.Comment: 12 pages, no figures. Minor revision of manuscript submitted to J. Phys. A, August 200

Community rotorcraft air transportation benefits and opportunities

Information about rotorcraft that will assist community planners in assessing and planning for the use of rotorcraft transportation in their communities is provided. Information useful to helicopter researchers, manufacturers, and operators concerning helicopter opportunities and benefits is also given. Three primary topics are discussed: the current status and future projections of rotorcraft technology, and the comparison of that technology with other transportation vehicles; the community benefits of promising rotorcraft transportation opportunities; and the integration and interfacing considerations between rotorcraft and other transportation vehicles. Helicopter applications in a number of business and public service fields are examined in various geographical settings

Learning from Minimum Entropy Queries in a Large Committee Machine

In supervised learning, the redundancy contained in random examples can be avoided by learning from queries. Using statistical mechanics, we study learning from minimum entropy queries in a large tree-committee machine. The generalization error decreases exponentially with the number of training examples, providing a significant improvement over the algebraic decay for random examples. The connection between entropy and generalization error in multi-layer networks is discussed, and a computationally cheap algorithm for constructing queries is suggested and analysed.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, multicol, epsf, two postscript figures. To appear in Physical Review E (Rapid Communications

Diffractive Vector Meson Photoproduction from Dual String Theory

We study diffractive vector meson photoproduction using string theory via AdS/CFT. The large $s$ behavior of the cross sections for the scattering of the vector meson $V$ on a proton is dominated by the soft Pomeron, $\sigma_V\sim s^{2\epsilon-2\alpha'_P/B}$, where from the string theory model of \cite{nastase2}, $\epsilon$ is approximately 1/7 below 10 GeV, and 1/11 for higher, but still sub-Froissart, energies. This is due to the production of black holes in the dual gravity. In $\phi$-photoproduction the mesonic Regge poles do not contribute, so that we deal with a pure Pomeron contribution. This allows for an experimental test. At the gauge theory "Planck scale" of about 1-2 GeV, the ratios of the soft Pomeron contributions to the photoproduction cross-sections of different vector mesons involve not only the obvious quark model factors, but also the Boltzmann factors $e^{-4 M_V/T_0}$, with $T_0$ the temperature of the dual black hole. The presence of these factors is confirmed in the experimental data for $\rho, \omega, \phi, J/\psi,$ and $\psi(2S)$ photoproduction and is compatible with the meager $\Upsilon$ photoproduction data. Throughout, we use vector meson dominance, and from the data we obtain $T_0$ of about $1.3 GeV$, i.e. the gauge theory "Planck scale," as expected. The ratio of the experimental soft Pomeron onset scale $\hat{E}_R\sim 9$ GeV and of the gauge theory Planck scale, $T_0 \sim 1.3$ GeV conforms to the theoretical prediction of $N_c^2/N_c^{1/4}$.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, late

Nambu-Goldstone Modes in Gravitational Theories with Spontaneous Lorentz Breaking

Spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry has been suggested as a possible mechanism that might occur in the context of a fundamental Planck-scale theory, such as string theory or a quantum theory of gravity. However, if Lorentz symmetry is spontaneously broken, two sets of questions immediately arise: what is the fate of the Nambu-Goldstone modes, and can a Higgs mechanism occur? A brief summary of some recent work looking at these questions is presented here.Comment: 6 pages. Presented at the meeting "From Quantum to Cosmos," Washington, D.C., May 2006; published in Int. J. Mod. Phys. D16:2357-2363, 200