146 research outputs found
Superfield T-duality rules
A geometric treatment of T-duality as an operation which acts on differential
forms in superspace allows us to derive the complete set of T-duality
transformation rules which relate the superfield potentials of D=10 type IIA
supergravity with those of type IIB supergravity including Ramond-Ramond
superfield potentials and fermionic supervielbeins. We show that these rules
are consistent with the superspace supergravity constraints.Comment: 24 pages, latex, no figures. V2 misprints corrected. V3. One
reference ([30]) and a comment on it ('Notice added') on p. 19 adde
A novel determination of the local dark matter density
We present a novel study on the problem of constructing mass models for the
Milky Way, concentrating on features regarding the dark matter halo component.
We have considered a variegated sample of dynamical observables for the Galaxy,
including several results which have appeared recently, and studied a 7- or
8-dimensional parameter space - defining the Galaxy model - by implementing a
Bayesian approach to the parameter estimation based on a Markov Chain Monte
Carlo method. The main result of this analysis is a novel determination of the
local dark matter halo density which, assuming spherical symmetry and either an
Einasto or an NFW density profile is found to be around 0.39 GeV cm with
a 1- error bar of about 7%; more precisely we find a for the Einasto profile and for the NFW. This is in contrast to the
standard assumption that is about 0.3 GeV cm with an
uncertainty of a factor of 2 to 3. A very precise determination of the local
halo density is very important for interpreting direct dark matter detection
experiments. Indeed the results we produced, together with the recent accurate
determination of the local circular velocity, should be very useful to
considerably narrow astrophysical uncertainties on direct dark matter
detection.Comment: 31 pages,11 figures; minor changes in the text; two figures adde
Putting string/string duality to the test
After simultaneous compactification of spacetime and worldvolume on , the
heterotic fivebrane with gauge group behaves like a
heterotic string with gauge group , but with Kac--Moody
levels different from those of the fundamental string. Thus the
string/fivebrane duality conjecture in gets replaced by a string/string
duality conjecture in . Since strings are better understood than
fivebranes, this provides a more reliable laboratory in which to test
the conjecture. According to string/string duality, the Green--Schwarz
factorization of the spacetime anomaly polynomial into means that just as is the -model anomaly polynomial
of the fundamental string worldsheet so should be the
corresponding polynomial of the dual string worldsheet. To test this idea we
perform a classical dual string calculation of and find agreement
with the quantum fundamental string result. This also provides an {\it a
posteriori} justification for assumptions made in a previous paper on
string/fivebrane duality. Finally we speculate on the relevance of
string/string duality to the vacuum degeneracy problem.Comment: Replaced by version to appear in Nucl. Phys.
D-Brane Probes of Special Holonomy Manifolds
Using D2-brane probes, we study various properties of M-theory on singular,
non-compact manifolds of G_2 and Spin(7) holonomy. We derive mirror pairs of
N=1 supersymmetric three-dimensional gauge theories, and apply this technique
to realize exceptional holonomy manifolds as both Coulomb and Higgs branches of
the D2-brane world-volume theory. We derive a ``G_2 quotient construction'' of
non-compact manifolds which admit a metric of G_2 holonomy. We further discuss
the moduli space of such manifolds, including the structure of geometrical
transitions in each case. For completeness, we also include familiar examples
of manifolds with SU(3) and Sp(2) holonomy, where some of the new ideas are
clarified and tested.Comment: 79 pages, Late
Extra Families, Higgs Spectrum and Oblique Corrections
The standard model accommodates, but does not explain, three families of
leptons and quarks, while various extensions suggest extra matter families. The
oblique corrections from extra chiral families with relatively light
(weak-scale) masses, , are analyzed and used to constrain the
number of extra families and their spectrum. The analysis is motivated, in
part, by recent N = 2 supersymmetry constructions, but is performed in a
model-independent way. It is shown that the correlations among the
contributions to the three oblique parameters, rather than the contribution to
a particular one, provide the most significant bound. Nevertheless, a single
extra chiral family with a constrained spectrum is found to be consistent with
precision data without requiring any other new physics source. Models with
three additional families may also be accommodated but only by invoking
additional new physics, most notably, a two-Higgs-doublet extension. The
interplay between the spectra of the extra fermions and the Higgs boson(s) is
analyzed in the case of either one or two Higgs doublets, and its implications
are explored. In particular, the precision bound on the SM-like Higgs boson
mass is shown to be significantly relaxed in the presence of an extra
relatively light chiral family.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, version for PR
New Superembeddings for Type II Superstrings
Possible ways of generalization of the superembedding approach for the
supersurfaces with the number of Grassmann directions being less than the half
of that for the target superspace are considered on example of Type II
superstrings. Focus is on n=(1,1) superworldsheet embedded into D=10 Type II
superspace that is of the interest for establishing a relation with the NSR
string.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX, JHEP.cls and JHEP.bst style files are used; v2:
misprints corrected, comments, acknowledgments, references adde
Membrane duality revisited
Just as string T-duality originates from transforming field equations into Bianchi identities on the string worldsheet, so it has been suggested that M-theory U-dualities originate from transforming field equations into Bianchi identities on the membrane worldvolume. However, this encounters a problem unless the target space has dimension D=p+1. We identify the problem to be the nonintegrability of the U-duality transformation assigned to the pull-back map. Just as a double geometry renders manifest the O(D,D) string T-duality, here we show in the case of the M2-brane in D=3 that a generalised geometry renders manifest the SL(3)
7SL(2) U-duality. In the case of M2-brane in D=4, with and without extra target space coordinates, we show that only the GL(4,R) c9R4 subgroup of the expected SL(5,R) U-duality symmetry is realised
Developing a predictive modelling capacity for a climate change-vulnerable blanket bog habitat: Assessing 1961-1990 baseline relationships
Aim: Understanding the spatial distribution of high priority habitats and
developing predictive models using climate and environmental variables to
replicate these distributions are desirable conservation goals. The aim of this
study was to model and elucidate the contributions of climate and topography to
the distribution of a priority blanket bog habitat in Ireland, and to examine how
this might inform the development of a climate change predictive capacity for
peat-lands in Ireland.
Methods: Ten climatic and two topographic variables were recorded for grid
cells with a spatial resolution of 1010 km, covering 87% of the mainland
land surface of Ireland. Presence-absence data were matched to these variables
and generalised linear models (GLMs) fitted to identify the main climatic and
terrain predictor variables for occurrence of the habitat. Candidate predictor
variables were screened for collinearity, and the accuracy of the final fitted GLM
was evaluated using fourfold cross-validation based on the area under the curve
(AUC) derived from a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plot. The GLM
predicted habitat occurrence probability maps were mapped against the actual
distributions using GIS techniques.
Results: Despite the apparent parsimony of the initial GLM using only climatic
variables, further testing indicated collinearity among temperature and precipitation
variables for example. Subsequent elimination of the collinear variables and
inclusion of elevation data produced an excellent performance based on the AUC
scores of the final GLM. Mean annual temperature and total mean annual
precipitation in combination with elevation range were the most powerful
explanatory variable group among those explored for the presence of blanket
bog habitat.
Main conclusions: The results confirm that this habitat distribution in general
can be modelled well using the non-collinear climatic and terrain variables tested
at the grid resolution used. Mapping the GLM-predicted distribution to the
observed distribution produced useful results in replicating the projected
occurrence of the habitat distribution over an extensive area. The methods
developed will usefully inform future climate change predictive modelling for
Irelan
Global conformal anomaly in N=2 string
We show the existence of a global anomaly in the one-loop graphs of N=2
string theory, defined by sewing tree amplitudes, unless spacetime
supersymmetry is imposed. The anomaly is responsible for the non-vanishing
maximally helicity violating amplitudes. The supersymmetric completion of the
N=2 string spectrum is formulated by extending the previous cohomological
analysis with an external spin factor; the target space-time spin-statistics of
these individual fields in a selfdual background are compatible with previous
cohomological analysis as fields of arbitrary spin may be bosonized into one
another. We further analyze duality relations between the open and closed
string amplitudes and demonstrate this in the supersymmetric extension of the
target space-time theory through the insertion of zero-momentum operators.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX, one figur
Strategies for Controlled Placement of Nanoscale Building Blocks
The capability of placing individual nanoscale building blocks on exact substrate locations in a controlled manner is one of the key requirements to realize future electronic, optical, and magnetic devices and sensors that are composed of such blocks. This article reviews some important advances in the strategies for controlled placement of nanoscale building blocks. In particular, we will overview template assisted placement that utilizes physical, molecular, or electrostatic templates, DNA-programmed assembly, placement using dielectrophoresis, approaches for non-close-packed assembly of spherical particles, and recent development of focused placement schemes including electrostatic funneling, focused placement via molecular gradient patterns, electrodynamic focusing of charged aerosols, and others
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