624 research outputs found
Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz Equations for Minimal Surfaces in AdS_3
We study classical open string solutions with a null polygonal boundary in
AdS_3 in relation to gluon scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills at
strong coupling. We derive in full detail the set of integral equations
governing the decagonal and the dodecagonal solutions and identify them with
the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equations of the homogeneous sine-Gordon models.
By evaluating the free energy in the conformal limit we compute the central
charges, from which we observe general correspondence between the polygonal
solutions in AdS_n and generalized parafermions.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, v2: a figure and references added, minor
corrections, v3: references added, minor corrections, to appear in JHE
Series Solution and Minimal Surfaces in AdS
According to the Alday-Maldacena program the strong coupling limit of Super
Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes is given by minimal area surfaces in AdS
spacetime with a boundary consisting of a momentum space polygon. The string
equations in AdS systematically reduce to coupled Toda type equations whose
Euclidean classical solutions are then of direct relevance. While in the
simplest case of AdS_3 exact solutions were known from earlier studies of the
sinh-Gordon equation, there exist at present no similar exact forms for the
generalized Toda equations related to AdS_d with d>=4. In this paper we develop
a series method for the solution to those equations and evaluate their
contribution to the finite piece of the worldsheet area. For the known
sinh-Gordon case the method is seen to give results in excellent agreement with
the exact answer.Comment: 19 pages, no figures; references added, one note adde
Hearts deficient in both Mfn1 and Mfn2 are protected against acute myocardial infarction
Mitochondria alter their shape by undergoing cycles of fusion and fission. Changes in mitochondrial morphology impact on the cellular response to stress, and their interactions with other organelles such as the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Inhibiting mitochondrial fission can protect the heart against acute ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the role of the mitochondrial fusion proteins, Mfn1 and Mfn2, in the response of the adult heart to acute I/R injury is not clear, and is investigated in this study. To determine the effect of combined Mfn1/Mfn2 ablation on the susceptibility to acute myocardial I/R injury, cardiac-specific ablation of both Mfn1 and Mfn2 (DKO) was initiated in mice aged 4-6 weeks, leading to knockout of both these proteins in 8-10-week-old animals. This resulted in fragmented mitochondria (electron microscopy), decreased mitochondrial respiratory function (respirometry), and impaired myocardial contractile function (echocardiography). In DKO mice subjected to in vivo regional myocardial ischemia (30 min) followed by 24 h reperfusion, myocardial infarct size (IS, expressed as a % of the area-at-risk) was reduced by 46% compared with wild-type (WT) hearts. In addition, mitochondria from DKO animals had decreased MPTP opening susceptibility (assessed by Ca(2+)-induced mitochondrial swelling), compared with WT hearts. Mfn2 is a key mediator of mitochondrial/SR tethering, and accordingly, the loss of Mfn2 in DKO hearts reduced the number of interactions measured between these organelles (quantified by proximal ligation assay), attenuated mitochondrial calcium overload (Rhod2 confocal microscopy), and decreased reactive oxygen species production (DCF confocal microscopy) in response to acute I/R injury. No differences in isolated mitochondrial ROS emissions (Amplex Red) were detected in response to Ca(2+) and Antimycin A, further implicating disruption of mitochondria/SR tethering as the protective mechanism. In summary, despite apparent mitochondrial dysfunction, hearts deficient in both Mfn1 and Mfn2 are protected against acute myocardial infarction due to impaired mitochondria/SR tethering
High efficacy and low toxicity of weekly docetaxel given as first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer
Background: Docetaxel is one of the most effective antitumor agents currently available for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This phase II multicenter study prospectively analyzed the efficacy and toxicity of docetaxel given on a weekly schedule as first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Patients and Methods: All patients received docetaxel, 35 mg/m(2) weekly for 6 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of rest. Subsequent cycles ( 3 weeks of treatment, 2 weeks of rest) were given until a maximum of 5 cycles or disease progression. Premedication consisted of 8 mg dexamethasone intravenously 30 min prior to the infusion of docetaxel. Results: Fifty-four patients at a median age of 58 years with previously untreated MBC were included in the study. A median of 10 doses ( median cumulative dose 339 mg/m(2)) was administered ( range: 2 - 18). The overall response rate was 48.1% ( 95% CI: 34 - 61%, intent-to-treat). Median survival was 15.8 months and median time to progression was 5.9 months ( intent-to-treat). Hematological toxicity was mild with absence of neutropenia-related complications. Grade 3 neutropenia was observed in 3.7% of patients and grade 3 and 4 anemia was observed in 5.6 and 1.9% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: The weekly administration of docetaxel is highly efficient and safe as first-line treatment for MBC and may serve as an important treatment option specifically in elderly patients and patients with a reduced performance status. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel
Refined Cigar and Omega-deformed Conifold
Antoniadis et al proposed a relation between the Omega-deformation and
refined correlation functions of the topological string theory. We investigate
the proposal for the deformed conifold geometry from a non-compact Gepner model
approach. The topological string theory on the deformed conifold has a dual
description in terms of the c=1 non-critical string theory at the self-dual
radius, and the Omega-deformation yields the radius deformation. We show that
the refined correlation functions computed from the twisted SL(2,R)/U(1)
Kazama-Suzuki coset model at level k=1 have direct c=1 non-critical string
theory interpretations. After subtracting the leading singularity to procure
the 1PI effective action, we obtain the agreement with the proposal.Comment: 15 pages, v2: reference added, v3: published versio
Analytic Continuation of Liouville Theory
Correlation functions in Liouville theory are meromorphic functions of the
Liouville momenta, as is shown explicitly by the DOZZ formula for the
three-point function on the sphere. In a certain physical region, where a real
classical solution exists, the semiclassical limit of the DOZZ formula is known
to agree with what one would expect from the action of the classical solution.
In this paper, we ask what happens outside of this physical region. Perhaps
surprisingly we find that, while in some range of the Liouville momenta the
semiclassical limit is associated to complex saddle points, in general
Liouville's equations do not have enough complex-valued solutions to account
for the semiclassical behavior. For a full picture, we either must include
"solutions" of Liouville's equations in which the Liouville field is
multivalued (as well as being complex-valued), or else we can reformulate
Liouville theory as a Chern-Simons theory in three dimensions, in which the
requisite solutions exist in a more conventional sense. We also study the case
of "timelike" Liouville theory, where we show that a proposal of Al. B.
Zamolodchikov for the exact three-point function on the sphere can be computed
by the original Liouville path integral evaluated on a new integration cycle.Comment: 86 pages plus appendices, 9 figures, minor typos fixed, references
added, more discussion of the literature adde
An exact formula for the radiation of a moving quark in N=4 super Yang Mills
We derive an exact formula for the cusp anomalous dimension at small angles.
This is done by relating the latter to the computation of certain 1/8 BPS
Wilson loops which was performed by supersymmetric localization. This function
of the coupling also determines the power emitted by a moving quark in N=4
super Yang Mills, as well as the coefficient of the two point function of the
displacement operator on the Wilson loop. By a similar method we compute the
near BPS expansion of the generalized cusp anomalous dimension.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures. v2: references added, typos correcte
Superconformal symmetry and two-loop amplitudes in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills
Scattering amplitudes in superconformal field theories do not enjoy this
symmetry, because the definition of asymptotic states involve a notion of
infinity. Concentrating on planar Yang-Mills, we consider a
generalization of scattering amplitudes which depends on twice as many
Grassmann variables. We conjecture that it restores at least half of the
superconformal symmetries, and all of the dual superconformal symmetries. The
object arises naturally as the dual of a null polygonal Wilson loop in an
superspace. We support the conjecture by using it to
obtain the total differential of all -point two-loop MHV amplitudes, and
showing that the result passes consistency checks. Potential all-loop
constraints are also discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures and 1 noteboo
An Infinite-Dimensional Family of Black-Hole Microstate Geometries
We construct the first explicit, smooth, horizonless black-hole microstate
geometry whose moduli space is described by an arbitrary function of one
variable and is thus infinite-dimensional. This is achieved by constructing the
scalar Green function on a simple D6 anti-D6 background, and using this Green
function to obtain the fully back-reacted solution for a supertube with varying
charge density in this background. We show that this supertube can store
parametrically more entropy than in flat space, confirming the entropy
enhancement mechanism that was predicted using brane probes. We also show that
all the local properties of the fully back-reacted solution can, in fact, be
obtained using the DBI action of an appropriate brane probe. In particular, the
supergravity and the DBI analysis yield identical functional bubble equations
that govern the relative locations of the centers. This indicates that there is
a non-renormalization theorem that protects these functional equations as one
moves in moduli space. Our construction creates configurations that are beyond
the scope of recent arguments that appear to put strong limits on the entropy
that can be found in smooth supergravity solutions.Comment: 46 pages, 1 figure, LaTe
The generalized cusp in ABJ(M) N = 6 Super Chern-Simons theories
We construct a generalized cusped Wilson loop operator in N = 6 super
Chern-Simons-matter theories which is locally invariant under half of the
supercharges. It depends on two parameters and interpolates smoothly between
the 1/2 BPS line or circle and a pair of antiparallel lines, representing a
natural generalization of the quark-antiquark potential in ABJ(M) theories. For
particular choices of the parameters we obtain 1/6 BPS configurations that,
mapped on S^2 by a conformal transformation, realize a three-dimensional
analogue of the wedge DGRT Wilson loop of N = 4. The cusp couples, in addition
to the gauge and scalar fields of the theory, also to the fermions in the
bifundamental representation of the U(N)xU(M) gauge group and its expectation
value is expressed as the holonomy of a suitable superconnection. We discuss
the definition of these observables in terms of traces and the role of the
boundary conditions of fermions along the loop. We perform a complete two-loop
analysis, obtaining an explicit result for the generalized cusp at the second
non-trivial order, from which we read off the interaction potential between
heavy 1/2 BPS particles in the ABJ(M) model. Our results open the possibility
to explore in the three-dimensional case the connection between localization
properties and integrability, recently advocated in D = 4.Comment: 53 pages, 10 figures, added references, this is the version appeared
on JHE
- …