521 research outputs found
Penrose Limits of Orbifolds and Orientifolds
We study the Penrose limit of various AdS_p X S^q orbifolds. The limiting
spaces are waves with parallel rays and singular wave fronts. In particular, we
consider the orbifolds AdS_3 X S^3/\Gamma, AdS_5 X S^5/\Gamma and AdS_{4,7} X
S^{7,4}/\Gamma where \Gamma acts on the sphere and/or the AdS factor. In the
pp-wave limit, the wave fronts are the orbifolds C^2/\Gamma, C^4/\Gamma and R
XC^4/\Gamma, respectively. When desingularization is possible, we get
asymptotically locally pp-wave backgrounds (ALpp). The Penrose limit of
orientifolds are also discussed. In the AdS_5 X RP^5 case, the limiting
singularity can be resolved by an Eguchi-Hanson gravitational instanton. The
pp-wave limit of D3-branes near singularities in F-theory is also presented.
Finally, we give the embedding of D-dimensional pp-waves in flat M^{2,D} space.Comment: 20 pages, references adde
Strings on conifolds from strong coupling dynamics: quantitative results
Three quantitative features of string theory on AdS_5 x X_5, for any
(quasi)regular Sasaki-Einstein X_5, are recovered exactly from an expansion of
field theory at strong coupling around configurations in the moduli space of
vacua. These configurations can be thought of as a generalized matrix model of
(local) commuting matrices. First, we reproduce the spectrum of scalar
Kaluza-Klein modes on X_5. Secondly, we recover the precise spectrum of BMN
string states, including a nontrivial dependence on the volume of X_5. Finally,
we show how the radial direction in global AdS_5 emerges universally in these
theories by exhibiting states dual to AdS giant gravitons.Comment: 1+28 pages. 1 figur
Dallas with balls: televized sport, soap opera and male and female pleasures
Two of the most popular of television genres, soap opera and sports coverage have been very much differentiated along gender lines in terms of their audiences. Soap opera has been regarded very much as a 'gynocentric' genre with a large female viewing audience while the audiences for television sport have been predominantly male. Gender differentiation between the genres has had implications for the popular image of each. Soap opera has been perceived as inferior; as mere fantasy and escapism for women while television sports has been perceived as a legitimate, even edifying experience for men.
In this article the authors challenge the view that soap opera and television sport are radically different and argue that they are, in fact, very similar in a number of significant ways. They suggest that both genres invoke similar structures of feeling and sensibility in their respective audiences and that television sport is a 'male soap opera'. They consider the ways in which the viewing context of each genre is related to domestic life and leisure, the ways in which the textual structure and conventions of each genre invoke emotional identification, and finally, the ways in which both genres re-affirm gender identities
Exceptional collections and D-branes probing toric singularities
We demonstrate that a strongly exceptional collection on a singular toric
surface can be used to derive the gauge theory on a stack of D3-branes probing
the Calabi-Yau singularity caused by the surface shrinking to zero size. A
strongly exceptional collection, i.e., an ordered set of sheaves satisfying
special mapping properties, gives a convenient basis of D-branes. We find such
collections and analyze the gauge theories for weighted projective spaces, and
many of the Y^{p,q} and L^{p,q,r} spaces. In particular, we prove the strong
exceptionality for all p in the Y^{p,p-1} case, and similarly for the
Y^{p,p-2r} case.Comment: 49 pages, 6 figures; v2 refs added; v3 published versio
From Quality-I to Quality-II: cultivating an error culture to support lean thinking and rework mitigation in infrastructure projects
While lean thinking may help tackle waste, rework remains an ongoing problem during the construction of infrastructure projects. Often too much emphasis is placed on applying lean tools rather than harnessing the human factor and establishing a culture to mitigate rework. Thus, this paper proposes the need for construction organisations to transition from the prevailing error prevention culture (i.e. Quality-I) that pervades practice to one based on error management (i.e. Quality-II) if rework is to be contained and reduced. Accordingly, this paper asks: What type of error culture is required to manage errors that result in rework and to support lean thinking during the construction of infrastructure projects? We draw on the case of a program alliance of 129 water infrastructure projects and make sense of how it enacted, in addition to lean thinking, a change initiative to transition from error prevention to an error management culture to address its rework problem. We observed that leadership, psychological safety and coaching were pivotal for cultivating a culture where there was an acceptance that ‘errors happen’ and effort was directed at mitigating their adverse consequences. The contributions of this paper are twofold as we provide: (1) a new theoretical underpinning to mitigate rework and support the use of lean thinking during the construction of infrastructure projects grounded in Quality-II; and (2) practical suggestions, based on actual experiences, which can be readily employed to monitor and anticipate rework at the coalface of construction
Gauge/Gravity Duality and Warped Resolved Conifold
We study supergravity backgrounds encoded through the gauge/string
correspondence by the SU(N) \times SU(N) theory arising on N D3-branes on the
conifold. As discussed in hep-th/9905104, the dynamics of this theory describes
warped versions of both the singular and the resolved conifolds through
different (symmetry breaking) vacua. We construct these supergravity solutions
explicitly and match them with the gauge theory with different sets of vacuum
expectation values of the bi-fundamental fields A_1, A_2, B_1, B_2. For the
resolved conifold, we find a non-singular SU(2)\times U(1)\times U(1) symmetric
warped solution produced by a stack of D3-branes localized at a point on the
blown-up 2-sphere. It describes a smooth RG flow from AdS_5 \times T^{1,1} in
the UV to AdS_5 \times S^5 in the IR, produced by giving a VEV to just one
field, e.g. B_2. The presence of a condensate of baryonic operator det B_2 is
confirmed using a Euclidean D3-brane wrapping a 4-cycle inside the resolved
conifold. The Green's functions on the singular and resolved conifolds are
central to our calculations and are discussed in some detail.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, v2 added note on wrapped euclidean D3 brane,
other minor correction
C^2/Z_n Fractional branes and Monodromy
We construct geometric representatives for the C^2/Z_n fractional branes in
terms of branes wrapping certain exceptional cycles of the resolution. In the
process we use large radius and conifold-type monodromies, and also check some
of the orbifold quantum symmetries. We find the explicit Seiberg-duality which
connects our fractional branes to the ones given by the McKay correspondence.
We also comment on the Harvey-Moore BPS algebras.Comment: 34 pages, v1 identical to v2, v3: typos fixed, discussion of
Harvey-Moore BPS algebras update
Spacetime singularity resolution by M-theory fivebranes: calibrated geometry, Anti-de Sitter solutions and special holonomy metrics
The supergravity description of various configurations of supersymmetric
M-fivebranes wrapped on calibrated cycles of special holonomy manifolds is
studied. The description is provided by solutions of eleven-dimensional
supergravity which interpolate smoothly between a special holonomy manifold and
an event horizon with Anti-de Sitter geometry. For known examples of Anti-de
Sitter solutions, the associated special holonomy metric is derived. One
explicit Anti-de Sitter solution of M-theory is so treated for fivebranes
wrapping each of the following cycles: K\"{a}hler cycles in Calabi-Yau two-,
three- and four-folds; special lagrangian cycles in three- and four-folds;
associative three- and co-associative four-cycles in manifolds; complex
lagrangian four-cycles in manifolds; and Cayley four-cycles in
manifolds. In each case, the associated special holonomy metric is
singular, and is a hyperbolic analogue of a known metric. The analogous known
metrics are respectively: Eguchi-Hanson, the resolved conifold and the
four-fold resolved conifold; the deformed conifold, and the Stenzel four-fold
metric; the Bryant-Salamon-Gibbons-Page-Pope metrics on an
bundle over , and an bundle over or ;
the Calabi hyper-K\"{a}hler metric on ; and the
Bryant-Salamon-Gibbons-Page-Pope metric on an bundle
over . By the AdS/CFT correspondence, a conformal field theory is
associated to each of the new singular special holonomy metrics, and defines
the quantum gravitational physics of the resolution of their singularities.Comment: 1+52 page
Strings on conifolds from strong coupling dynamics, part I
A method to solve various aspects of the strong coupling expansion of the
superconformal field theory duals of AdS_5 x X geometries from first principles
is proposed. The main idea is that at strong coupling the configurations that
dominate the low energy dynamics of the field theory compactified on a three
sphere are given by certain non-trivial semi-classical configurations in the
moduli space of vacua.
We show that this approach is self-consistent and permits one to express most
of the dynamics in terms of an effective N=4 SYM dynamics. This has the
advantage that some degrees of freedom that move the configurations away from
moduli space can be treated perturbatively, unifying the essential low energy
dynamics of all of these theories. We show that with this formalism one can
compute the energies of strings in the BMN limit in the Klebanov-Witten theory
from field theory considerations, matching the functional form of results found
using AdS geometry. This paper also presents various other technical results
for the semiclassical treatment of superconformal field theories.Comment: 52 pages, JHEP3 styl
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