Deformed Symmetry in Snyder Space and Relativistic Particle Dynamics

We describe the deformed Poincare-conformal symmetries implying the covariance of the noncommutative space obeying Snyder's algebra. Relativistic particle models invariant under these deformed symmetries are presented. A gauge (reparametrisation) independent derivation of Snyder's algebra from such models is given. The algebraic transformations relating the deformed symmetries with the usual (undeformed) ones are provided. Finally, an alternative form of an action yielding Snyder's algebra is discussed where the mass of a relativistic particle gets identified with the inverse of the noncommutativity parameter.Comment: 19 pages; Latex; title changed, 3 new references added and minor changes; to appear in JHE

Note on Dirac--K\"ahler massless fields

We obtain the canonical and symmetrical Belinfante energy-momentum tensors of Dirac--K\"{a}hler's fields. It is shown that the traces of the energy-momentum tensors are not equal to zero. We find the canonical and Belinfante dilatation currents which are not conserved, but a new conserved dilatation current is obtained. It is pointed out that the conformal symmetry is broken. The canonical quantization is performed and the propagator of the massless fields in the first-order formalism is found.Comment: 16 pages, minor corrections in the text, published versio

A condensed matter interpretation of SM fermions and gauge fields

We present the bundle Aff(3) x C x /(R^3), with a geometric Dirac equation on it, as a three-dimensional geometric interpretation of the SM fermions. Each C x /(R^3) describes an electroweak doublet. The Dirac equation has a doubler-free staggered spatial discretization on the lattice space Aff(3) x C (Z^3). This space allows a simple physical interpretation as a phase space of a lattice of cells in R^3. We find the SM SU(3)_c x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y action on Aff(3) x C x /(R^3) to be a maximal anomaly-free special gauge action preserving E(3) symmetry and symplectic structure, which can be constructed using two simple types of gauge-like lattice fields: Wilson gauge fields and correction terms for lattice deformations. The lattice fermion fields we propose to quantize as low energy states of a canonical quantum theory with Z_2-degenerated vacuum state. We construct anticommuting fermion operators for the resulting Z_2-valued (spin) field theory. A metric theory of gravity compatible with this model is presented too.Comment: Minimal modifications in comparison with the published versio

Komar energy and Smarr formula for noncommutative Schwarzschild black hole

We calculate the Komar energy $E$ for a noncommutative Schwarzschild black hole. A deformation from the conventional identity $E=2ST_H$ is found in the next to leading order computation in the noncommutative parameter $\theta$ (i.e. $\mathcal{O}(\sqrt{\theta}e^{-M^2/\theta})$) which is also consistent with the fact that the area law now breaks down. This deformation yields a nonvanishing Komar energy at the extremal point $T_{H}=0$ of these black holes. We then work out the Smarr formula, clearly elaborating the differences from the standard result $M=2ST_H$, where the mass ($M$) of the black hole is identified with the asymptotic limit of the Komar energy. Similar conclusions are also shown to hold for a deSitter--Schwarzschild geometry.Comment: 5 pages Late

Small-scale solar magnetic fields

As we resolve ever smaller structures in the solar atmosphere, it has become clear that magnetism is an important component of those small structures. Small-scale magnetism holds the key to many poorly understood facets of solar magnetism on all scales, such as the existence of a local dynamo, chromospheric heating, and flux emergence, to name a few. Here, we review our knowledge of small-scale photospheric fields, with particular emphasis on quiet-sun field, and discuss the implications of several results obtained recently using new instruments, as well as future prospects in this field of research.Comment: 43 pages, 18 figure

Investigating the contribution of white matter hyperintensities and cortical thickness to empathy in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases

Change in empathy is an increasingly recognised symptom of neurodegenerative diseases and contributes to caregiver burden and patient distress. Empathy impairment has been associated with brain atrophy but its relationship to white matter hyperintensities (WMH) is unknown. We aimed to investigate the relationships amongst WMH, brain atrophy, and empathy deficits in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases. Five hundred thirteen participants with Alzheimer’s disease/mild cognitive impairment, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Parkinson’s disease, or cerebrovascular disease (CVD) were included. Empathy was assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. WMH were measured using a semi-automatic segmentation and FreeSurfer was used to measure cortical thickness. A heterogeneous pattern of cortical thinning was found between groups, with FTD showing thinning in frontotemporal regions and CVD in left superior parietal, left insula, and left postcentral. Results from both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that several variables were associated with empathy, particularly cortical thickness in the fronto-insulo-temporal and cingulate regions, sex (female), global cognition, and right parietal and occipital WMH. Our results suggest that cortical atrophy and WMH may be associated with empathy deficits in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases. Future work should consider investigating the longitudinal effects of WMH and atrophy on empathy deficits in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases

How to Overcome Perceptual Aliasing in ASIFT?

International audienceSIFT is one of the most popular algorithms to extract points of interest from images. It is a scale+rotation invariant method. As a consequence, if one compares points of interest between two images subject to a large viewpoint change, then only a few, if any, common points will be retrieved. This may lead subsequent algorithms to failure, especially when considering structure and motion or object recognition problems. Reaching at least affine invariance is crucial for reliable point correspondences. Successful approaches have been recently proposed by several authors to strengthen scale+rotation invariance into affine invariance, using viewpoint simulation (e.g. the ASIFT algorithm). However, almost all resulting algorithms fail in presence of repeated patterns, which are common in man-made environments, because of the so-called perceptual aliasing. Focusing on ASIFT, we show how to overcome the perceptual aliasing problem. To the best of our knowledge, the resulting algorithm performs better than any existing generic point matching procedure

Large potential for crop production adaptation depends on available future varieties

Climate change affects global agricultural production and threatens food security. Faster phenological development of crops due to climate warming is one of the main drivers for potential future yield reductions. To counter the effect of faster maturity, adapted varieties would require more heat units to regain the previous growing period length. In this study, we investigate the effects of variety adaptation on global caloric production under four different future climate change scenarios for maize, rice, soybean, and wheat. Thereby, we empirically identify areas that could require new varieties and areas where variety adaptation could be achieved by shifting existing varieties into new regions. The study uses an ensemble of seven global gridded crop models and five CMIP6 climate models. We found that 39% (SSP5‐8.5) of global cropland could require new crop varieties to avoid yield loss from climate change by the end of the century. At low levels of warming (SSP1‐2.6), 85% of currently cultivated land can draw from existing varieties to shift within an agro‐ecological zone for adaptation. The assumptions on available varieties for adaptation have major impacts on the effectiveness of variety adaptation, which could more than half in SSP5‐8.5. The results highlight that region‐specific breeding efforts are required to allow for a successful adaptation to climate change

Cofactorization on Graphics Processing Units

We show how the cofactorization step, a compute-intensive part of the relation collection phase of the number field sieve (NFS), can be farmed out to a graphics processing unit. Our implementation on a GTX 580 GPU, which is integrated with a state-of-the-art NFS implementation, can serve as a cryptanalytic co-processor for several Intel i7-3770K quad-core CPUs simultaneously. This allows those processors to focus on the memory-intensive sieving and results in more useful NFS-relations found in less time

Topics in Noncommutative Geometry Inspired Physics

In this review article we discuss some of the applications of noncommutative geometry in physics that are of recent interest, such as noncommutative many-body systems, noncommutative extension of Special Theory of Relativity kinematics, twisted gauge theories and noncommutative gravity.Comment: New references added, Published online in Foundations of Physic