9,839 research outputs found
Quantum Coherent String States in AdS_3 and SL(2,R) WZWN Model
In this paper we make the connection between semi-classical string
quantization and exact conformal field theory quantization of strings in 2+1
Anti de Sitter spacetime. More precisely, considering the WZWN model
corresponding to SL(2,R) and its covering group, we construct quantum {\it
coherent} string states, which generalize the ordinary coherent states of
quantum mechanics, and show that in the classical limit they correspond to
oscillating circular strings. After quantization, the spectrum is found to
consist of two parts: A continuous spectrum of low mass states (partly
tachyonic) fulfilling the standard spin-level condition necessary for unitarity
|j|< k/2, and a discrete spectrum of high mass states with asymptotic behaviour
m^2\alpha'\propto N^2 (N positive integer). The quantization condition for the
high mass states arises from the condition of finite positive norm of the
coherent string states, and the result agrees with our previous results
obtained using semi-classical quantization. In the k\to\infty limit, all the
usual properties of coherent or {\it quasi-classical} states are recovered. It
should be stressed that we consider the circular strings only for simplicity
and clarity, and that our construction can easily be used for other string
configurations too. We also compare our results with those obtained in the
recent preprint hep-th/0001053 by Maldacena and Ooguri.Comment: Misprints corrected. Final version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Constraining star cluster disruption mechanisms
Star clusters are found in all sorts of environments and their formation and
evolution is inextricably linked to the star formation process. Their eventual
destruction can result from a number of factors at different times, but the
process can be investigated as a whole through the study of the cluster age
distribution. Observations of populous cluster samples reveal a distribution
following a power law of index approximately -1. In this work we use M33 as a
test case to examine the age distribution of an archetypal cluster population
and show that it is in fact the evolving shape of the mass detection limit that
defines this trend. That is to say, any magnitude-limited sample will appear to
follow a dN/dt=1/t, while cutting the sample according to mass gives rise to a
composite structure, perhaps implying a dependence of the cluster disruption
process on mass. In the context of this framework, we examine different models
of cluster disruption from both theoretical and observational standpoints.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 266: "Star Clusters:
Basic Galactic Building Blocks Throughout Time And Space", eds. R. de Grijs
and J. Lepin
Sinuosity and the affect grid: A method for adjusting repeated mood scores
Copyright @ 2012 Ammons Scientific. The article can be accessed from the links below.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Sinuosity is a measure of how much a travelled pathway deviates from a straight line. In this paper, sinuosity is applied to the measurement of mood. The Affect Grid is a mood scale that requires participants to place a mark on a 9 x 9 grid to indicate their current mood. The grid has two dimensions: pleasure-displeasure (horizontal) and arousal-sleepiness (vertical). In studies where repeated measurements are required, some participants may exaggerate their mood shifts due to faulty interpretation of the scale or a feeling of social obligation to the experimenter. A new equation is proposed, based on the sinuosity measure in hydrology, a measure of the meandering of rivers. The equation takes into account an individual's presumed tendency to exaggerate and meander to correct the score and reduce outliers. The usefulness of the equation is demonstrated by applying it to Affect Grid data from another study.This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund
From the WZWN Model to the Liouville Equation: Exact String Dynamics in Conformally Invariant AdS Background
It has been known for some time that the SL(2,R) WZWN model reduces to
Liouville theory. Here we give a direct and physical derivation of this result
based on the classical string equations of motion and the proper string size.
This allows us to extract precisely the physical effects of the metric and
antisymmetric tensor, respectively, on the {\it exact} string dynamics in the
SL(2,R) background. The general solution to the proper string size is also
found. We show that the antisymmetric tensor (corresponding to conformal
invariance) generally gives rise to repulsion, and it precisely cancels the
dominant attractive term arising from the metric.
Both the sinh-Gordon and the cosh-Gordon sectors of the string dynamics in
non-conformally invariant AdS spacetime reduce here to the Liouville equation
(with different signs of the potential), while the original Liouville sector
reduces to the free wave equation. Only the very large classical string size is
affected by the torsion. Medium and small size string behaviours are unchanged.
We also find illustrative classes of string solutions in the SL(2,R)
background: dynamical closed as well as stationary open spiralling strings, for
which the effect of torsion is somewhat like the effect of rotation in the
metric. Similarly, the string solutions in the 2+1 BH-AdS background with
torsion and angular momentum are fully analyzed.Comment: 24 pages including 4 postscript figures. Enlarged version including a
section on string solutions in 2+1 black hole background. To be published in
Phys. Rev. D., December 199
Wave Functions and Energies of Magnetopolarons in Semiconductor Quantum Wells
The classification of magnetopolarons in semiconductor quantum wells (QW) is
represented. Magnetopolarons appear due to the Johnson - Larsen effect. The
wave functions of usual and combined magnetopolarons are obtained by the
diodanalization of the Schrodinger equation.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Planetoid String Solutions in 3 + 1 Axisymmetric Spacetimes
The string propagation equations in axisymmetric spacetimes are exactly
solved by quadratures for a planetoid Ansatz. This is a straight
non-oscillating string, radially disposed, which rotates uniformly around the
symmetry axis of the spacetime. In Schwarzschild black holes, the string stays
outside the horizon pointing towards the origin. In de Sitter spacetime the
planetoid rotates around its center. We quantize semiclassically these
solutions and analyze the spin/(mass) (Regge) relation for the planetoids,
which turns out to be non-linear.Comment: Latex file, 14 pages, two figures in .ps files available from the
author
The Holographic Universe
We present a holographic description of four-dimensional single-scalar
inflationary universes in terms of a three-dimensional quantum field theory.
The holographic description correctly reproduces standard inflationary
predictions in their regime of applicability. In the opposite case, wherein
gravity is strongly coupled at early times, we propose a holographic
description in terms of perturbative QFT and present models capable of
satisfying the current observational constraints while exhibiting a
phenomenology distinct from standard inflation. This provides a qualitatively
new method for generating a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of primordial
cosmological perturbations.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figs; extended version of arXiv:0907.5542 including
background material and detailed derivations. To appear in Proceedings of 1st
Mediterranean Conference on Classical and Quantum Gravit
The Luminosity Function of Star Clusters in Spiral Galaxies
Star clusters in 6 nearby spiral galaxies are examined using archive images
from HST/WFPC2. The galaxies have previously been studied from the ground and
some of them are known to possess rich populations of "young massive clusters"
(YMCs). Comparison with the HST images indicates a success-rate of about 75%
for the ground-based cluster detections, with typical contaminants being blends
or loose groupings of several stars in crowded regions. The luminosity
functions (LFs) of cluster candidates identified on the HST images are analyzed
and compared with existing data for the Milky Way and the LMC. The LFs are well
approximated by power-laws of the form dN(L)/dL ~ L^alpha, with slopes in the
range -2.4<alpha<-2.0. The steeper slopes tend to be found among fits covering
brighter magnitude intervals, although direct hints of a variation in the LF
slope with magnitude are seen only at low significance in two galaxies. The
surface density of star clusters at a reference magnitude of M(V)=-8 scales
with the mean star formation rate per unit area, Sigma(SFR). Assuming that the
LF can be generally expressed as a power-law with normalization proportional to
the galaxy area (A) and Sigma(SFR), the maximum cluster luminosity expected in
a galaxy from random sampling of the LF is estimated as a function of
Sigma(SFR) and A. The predictions agree well with existing observations of
galaxies spanning a wide range of Sigma(SFR) values, suggesting that sampling
statistics play an important role in determining the maximum observed
luminosities of young star clusters in galaxies.Comment: 43 pages, including 6 tables and 14 figures. Accepted for publication
in A
Circular strings, wormholes and minimum size
The quantization of circular strings in an anti-de Sitter background
spacetime is performed, obtaining a discrete spectrum for the string mass. A
comparison with a four-dimensional homogeneous and isotropic spacetime coupled
to a conformal scalar field shows that the string radius and the scale factor
have the same classical solutions and that the quantum theories of these two
models are formally equivalent. However, the physically relevant observables of
these two systems have different spectra, although they are related to each
other by a specific one-to-one transformation. We finally obtain a discrete
spectrum for the spacetime size of both systems, which presents a nonvanishing
lower bound.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX2e, minor change
Quantum String Dynamics in the conformal invariant SL(2,R) WZWN Background: Anti-de Sitter Space with Torsion
We consider classical and quantum strings in the conformally invariant
background corresponding to the SL(2,R) WZWN model. This background is locally
anti-de Sitter spacetime with non-vanishing torsion. Conformal invariance is
expressed as the torsion being parallelized. The precise effect of the
conformal invariance on the dynamics of both circular and generic classical
strings is extracted. In particular, the conformal invariance gives rise to a
repulsive interaction of the string with the background which precisely cancels
the dominant attractive term arising from gravity. We perform both
semi-classical and canonical string-quantization, in order to see the effect of
the conformal invariance of the background on the string mass spectrum. Both
approaches yield that the high-mass states are governed by m sim HN (N,`large
integer'), where m is the string mass and H is the Hubble constant. It follows
that the level spacing grows proportionally to N: d(m^2 alpha')/dN sim N, while
the entropy goes like: S sim sqrt{m}. Moreover, it follows that there is no
Hagedorn temperature,so that the partition function is well defined at any
positive temperature. All results are compared with the analogue results in
Anti- de Sitter spacetime, which is a non conformal invariant background.
Conformal invariance simplifies the mathematics of the problem but the physics
remains mainly unchanged. Differences between conformal and non-conformal
backgrounds only appear in the intermediate region of the string spectrum, but
these differences are minor. For low and high masses, the string mass spectra
in conformal and non-conformal backgrounds are identical. Interestingly enough,
conformal invariance fixes the value of the spacetime curvature to be -69/(26
alpha').Comment: Latex file, 23 pages, no figure
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