819 research outputs found
Moduli of vortices and Grassmann manifolds
We use the framework of Quot schemes to give a novel description of the
moduli spaces of stable n-pairs, also interpreted as gauged vortices on a
closed Riemann surface with target Mat(r x n, C), where n >= r. We then show
that these moduli spaces embed canonically into certain Grassmann manifolds,
and thus obtain natural Kaehler metrics of Fubini-Study type; these spaces are
smooth at least in the local case r=n. For abelian local vortices we prove
that, if a certain "quantization" condition is satisfied, the embedding can be
chosen in such a way that the induced Fubini-Study structure realizes the
Kaehler class of the usual L^2 metric of gauged vortices.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX. Final version: last section removed, typos
corrected, two references added; to appear in Commun. Math. Phy
Design and realization of a miniature capacitive silicon force sensor for loads up to 500 kg
In this paper, a micromachined silicon load cell (force sensor) is presented for measuring loads up to 500 kg. The load cell has been realized and tested. Measurement results show a hysteresis error of ±0.02 % of full-scale. Creep at 500 kg after 30 minutes is within 0.01 %. These measurements show that the performance has improved by a factor of 10 compared to the previous design
NS5-branes on an ellipsis and novel marginal deformations with parafermions
We consider NS5-branes distributed along the circumference of an ellipsis and
explicitly construct the corresponding gravitational background. This provides
a continuous line of deformations between the limiting cases, considered
before, in which the ellipsis degenerates into a circle or into a bar. We show
that a slight deformation of the background corresponding to a circle
distribution into an ellipsoidal one is described by a novel non-factorizable
marginal perturbation of bilinears of dressed parafermions. The latter are
naturally defined for the circle case since, as it was shown in the past, the
background corresponds to an orbifold of the exact conformal field theory coset
model SU(2)/U(1) times SL(2,R)/U(1). We explore the possibility to define
parafermionic objects at generic points of the ellipsoidal families of
backgrounds away from the circle point. We also discuss a new limiting case in
which the ellipsis degenerates into two infinitely stretched parallel bars and
show that the background is related to the Eguchi-Hanson metric, via T-duality.Comment: 24 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
Quantum Mass and Central Charge of Supersymmetric Monopoles - Anomalies, current renormalization, and surface terms
We calculate the one-loop quantum corrections to the mass and central charge
of N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric monopoles in 3+1 dimensions. The corrections to
the N=2 central charge are finite and due to an anomaly in the conformal
central charge current, but they cancel for the N=4 monopole. For the quantum
corrections to the mass we start with the integral over the expectation value
of the Hamiltonian density, which we show to consist of a bulk contribution
which is given by the familiar sum over zero-point energies, as well as surface
terms which contribute nontrivially in the monopole sector. The bulk
contribution is evaluated through index theorems and found to be nonvanishing
only in the N=2 case. The contributions from the surface terms in the
Hamiltonian are cancelled by infinite composite operator counterterms in the
N=4 case, forming a multiplet of improvement terms. These counterterms are also
needed for the renormalization of the central charge. However, in the N=2 case
they cancel, and both the improved and the unimproved current multiplet are
finite.Comment: 1+40 pages, JHEP style. v2: small corrections and additions,
references adde
Assessing the effect of beard hair lengths on face masks used as personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic
Background Globally, a large percentage of men keep a beard at least occasionally. Workplace regulations prohibit beards with N95 respirators, but there is little information on the effect of beards with face masks worn by the public for protection against SARS-CoV-2. Methods and findings We examined the fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of five commonly worn protective face masks as a function of beard length following the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration Quantitative Fit Test: N95 (respirator), KF94 and KN95, surgical/procedure, and cloth masks. A comparison using N95 respirators was carried out in shaven and bearded men. A detailed examination was conducted for beard lengths between 0 and 10 mm (0.5 mm increments). The effect of an exercise band covering the beard on FFE was also tested. Although N95 respirators showed considerable variability among bearded men, they had the highest FFE for beard lengths up to 10 mm. KF94 and KN95 masks lost up to 40% of their FFE. Procedure and cotton masks had poor performance even on bare skin (10–30% FFE) that did not change appreciably with beard length. Marked performance improvements were observed with an exercise band worn over the beard. Conclusions Though variable, N95 respirators offer the best respiratory protection for bearded men. While KF94 and KN95 FFE is compromised considerably by increasing beard length, they proved better options than procedure and cotton face masks. A simple exercise band improves FFE for face masks commonly used by bearded men during the COVID-19 pandemic
D1-D5 on ALE Space
We construct a two-dimensional N=(0,4) quiver gauge theory on D1-brane
probing D5-branes on ALE space, and study its IR behavior. This can be thought
of as a gauged linear sigma model for the NS5-branes on ALE space.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, lanlmac; v2: reference adde
Notes on Non-Critical Superstrings in Various Dimensions
We study non-critical superstrings propagating in dimensional
Minkowski space or equivalently, superstrings propagating on the
two-dimensional Euclidean black hole tensored with d-dimensional Minkowski
space. We point out a subtlety in the construction of supersymmetric theories
in these backgrounds, and explain how this does not allow a consistent
geometric interpretation in terms of fields propagating on a cigar-like
spacetime. We explain the global symmetries of the various theories by using
their description as the near horizon geometry of wrapped NS5-brane
configurations. In the six-dimensional theory, we present a CFT description of
the four-dimensional moduli space and the global O(3) symmetry. The worldsheet
action invariant under this symmetry contains both the N=2 sine-Liouville
interaction and the cigar metric, thereby providing an example where the two
interactions are naturally present in the same worldsheet lagrangian already at
the non-dynamical level.Comment: 33 pages, harvma
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