448 research outputs found
Holographic Thermalization
Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we probe the scale-dependence of
thermalization in strongly coupled field theories following a quench, via
calculations of two-point functions, Wilson loops and entanglement entropy in
d=2,3,4. In the saddlepoint approximation these probes are computed in AdS
space in terms of invariant geometric objects - geodesics, minimal surfaces and
minimal volumes. Our calculations for two-dimensional field theories are
analytical. In our strongly coupled setting, all probes in all dimensions share
certain universal features in their thermalization: (1) a slight delay in the
onset of thermalization, (2) an apparent non-analyticity at the endpoint of
thermalization, (3) top-down thermalization where the UV thermalizes first. For
homogeneous initial conditions the entanglement entropy thermalizes slowest,
and sets a timescale for equilibration that saturates a causality bound over
the range of scales studied. The growth rate of entanglement entropy density is
nearly volume-independent for small volumes, but slows for larger volumes.Comment: 39 pages, 24 figure
Shaping electron wave functions in a carbon nanotube with a parallel magnetic field
A magnetic field, through its vector potential, usually causes measurable
changes in the electron wave function only in the direction transverse to the
field. Here we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that in carbon
nanotube quantum dots, combining cylindrical topology and bipartite hexagonal
lattice, a magnetic field along the nanotube axis impacts also the longitudinal
profile of the electronic states. With the high (up to 17T) magnetic fields in
our experiment the wave functions can be tuned all the way from "half-wave
resonator" shape, with nodes at both ends, to "quarter-wave resonator" shape,
with an antinode at one end. This in turn causes a distinct dependence of the
conductance on the magnetic field. Our results demonstrate a new strategy for
the control of wave functions using magnetic fields in quantum systems with
nontrivial lattice and topology.Comment: 5 figure
The relationship between the perception of distributed leadership in secondary schools and teachers' and teacher leaders' job satisfaction and organizational commitment
This study investigates the relation between distributed leadership, the cohesion of the leadership team, participative decision-making, context variables, and the organizational commitment and job satisfaction of teachers and teacher leaders. A questionnaire was administered to teachers and teacher leaders (n=1770) from 46 large secondary schools. Multiple regression analyses and path analyses revealed that the study variables explained significant variance in organizational commitment. The degree of explained variance for job satisfaction was considerably lower compared to organizational commitment. Most striking was that the cohesion of the leadership team and the amount of leadership support was strongly related to organizational commitment, and indirectly to job satisfaction. Decentralization of leadership functions was weakly related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction
Ramond-Ramond Cohomology and O(D,D) T-duality
In the name of supersymmetric double field theory, superstring effective
actions can be reformulated into simple forms. They feature a pair of vielbeins
corresponding to the same spacetime metric, and hence enjoy double local
Lorentz symmetries. In a manifestly covariant manner --with regard to O(D,D)
T-duality, diffeomorphism, B-field gauge symmetry and the pair of local Lorentz
symmetries-- we incorporate R-R potentials into double field theory. We take
them as a single object which is in a bi-fundamental spinorial representation
of the double Lorentz groups. We identify cohomological structure relevant to
the field strength. A priori, the R-R sector as well as all the fermions are
O(D,D) singlet. Yet, gauge fixing the two vielbeins equal to each other
modifies the O(D,D) transformation rule to call for a compensating local
Lorentz rotation, such that the R-R potential may turn into an O(D,D) spinor
and T-duality can flip the chirality exchanging type IIA and IIB
supergravities.Comment: 1+37 pages, no figure; Structure reorganized, References added, To
appear in JHEP. cf. Gong Show of Strings 2012
(http://wwwth.mpp.mpg.de/members/strings/strings2012/strings_files/program/Talks/Thursday/Gongshow/Lee.pdf
Variability in ice motion and dynamic discharge from Devon Ice Cap, Nunavut, Canada
© The Author(s) 2017. Feature tracking of approximately annually separated Landsat-7 ETM+ imagery acquired from 1999 to 2010 and speckle tracking of 24-day separated RADARSAT-2 imagery acquired from 2009 to 2015 reveal that motion of the major tidewater glaciers of Devon Ice Cap is more variable than previously described. The flow of almost half (six of 14) of the outlet glaciers slowed over the observation period, while that of the terminus regions of three of 14 of the glaciers sped up in the most recent years of observation. The North Croker Bay Glacier of southern Devon Ice Cap showed the greatest variability in motion, oscillating between multi-year (three or more) periods of slower and faster flow and exhibited a pattern of velocity variability that is different from that of the rest of the ice cap's outlet glaciers. Comparisons between areas of dynamic variability and glacier bed topography indicate that velocity variability is largely restricted to regions where the glacier bed is grounded below sea level. Derived velocities are combined with measurements of ice thickness at the fronts of tidewater glacier to determine a mean annual (2009; 2011-15) dynamic ice discharge of 0.41 ± 0.11 Gt a-1 for Devon Ice Cap. The Belcher Glacier is becoming a larger source of mass loss via ice discharge.NERC (NE/K004999/1
Massive Type II in Double Field Theory
We provide an extension of the recently constructed double field theory
formulation of the low-energy limits of type II strings, in which the RR fields
can depend simultaneously on the 10-dimensional space-time coordinates and
linearly on the dual winding coordinates. For the special case that only the RR
one-form of type IIA carries such a dependence, we obtain the massive
deformation of type IIA supergravity due to Romans. For T-dual configurations
we obtain a `massive' but non-covariant formulation of type IIB, in which the
10-dimensional diffeomorphism symmetry is deformed by the mass parameter.Comment: 21 page
Superconformal Yang-Mills quantum mechanics and Calogero model with OSp(N|2,R) symmetry
In spacetime dimension two, pure Yang-Mills possesses no physical degrees of
freedom, and consequently it admits a supersymmetric extension to couple to an
arbitrary number, N say, of Majorana-Weyl gauginos. This results in (N,0) super
Yang-Mills. Further, its dimensional reduction to mechanics doubles the number
of supersymmetries, from N to N+N, to include conformal supercharges, and leads
to a superconformal Yang-Mills quantum mechanics with symmetry group
OSp(N|2,R). We comment on its connection to AdS_2 \times S^{N-1} and reduction
to a supersymmetric Calogero model.Comment: 1+28 pages, no figure; Refs added. To appear in JHE
The effects of frequent nocturnal home hemodialysis: the Frequent Hemodialysis Network Nocturnal Trial
Prior small studies have shown multiple benefits of frequent nocturnal hemodialysis compared to conventional three times per week treatments. To study this further, we randomized 87 patients to three times per week conventional hemodialysis or to nocturnal hemodialysis six times per week, all with single-use high-flux dialyzers. The 45 patients in the frequent nocturnal arm had a 1.82-fold higher mean weekly stdKt/Vurea, a 1.74-fold higher average number of treatments per week, and a 2.45-fold higher average weekly treatment time than the 42 patients in the conventional arm. We did not find a significant effect of nocturnal hemodialysis for either of the two coprimary outcomes (death or left ventricular mass (measured by MRI) with a hazard ratio of 0.68, or of death or RAND Physical Health Composite with a hazard ratio of 0.91). Possible explanations for the left ventricular mass result include limited sample size and patient characteristics. Secondary outcomes included cognitive performance, self-reported depression, laboratory markers of nutrition, mineral metabolism and anemia, blood pressure and rates of hospitalization, and vascular access interventions. Patients in the nocturnal arm had improved control of hyperphosphatemia and hypertension, but no significant benefit among the other main secondary outcomes. There was a trend for increased vascular access events in the nocturnal arm. Thus, we were unable to demonstrate a definitive benefit of more frequent nocturnal hemodialysis for either coprimary outcome
Autoimmune and autoinflammatory mechanisms in uveitis
The eye, as currently viewed, is neither immunologically ignorant nor sequestered from the systemic environment. The eye utilises distinct immunoregulatory mechanisms to preserve tissue and cellular function in the face of immune-mediated insult; clinically, inflammation following such an insult is termed uveitis. The intra-ocular inflammation in uveitis may be clinically obvious as a result of infection (e.g. toxoplasma, herpes), but in the main infection, if any, remains covert. We now recognise that healthy tissues including the retina have regulatory mechanisms imparted by control of myeloid cells through receptors (e.g. CD200R) and soluble inhibitory factors (e.g. alpha-MSH), regulation of the blood retinal barrier, and active immune surveillance. Once homoeostasis has been disrupted and inflammation ensues, the mechanisms to regulate inflammation, including T cell apoptosis, generation of Treg cells, and myeloid cell suppression in situ, are less successful. Why inflammation becomes persistent remains unknown, but extrapolating from animal models, possibilities include differential trafficking of T cells from the retina, residency of CD8(+) T cells, and alterations of myeloid cell phenotype and function. Translating lessons learned from animal models to humans has been helped by system biology approaches and informatics, which suggest that diseased animals and people share similar changes in T cell phenotypes and monocyte function to date. Together the data infer a possible cryptic infectious drive in uveitis that unlocks and drives persistent autoimmune responses, or promotes further innate immune responses. Thus there may be many mechanisms in common with those observed in autoinflammatory disorders
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