Mellin Bootstrap for Scalars in Generic Dimension

We use the recently developed framework of the Mellin bootstrap to study perturbatively free scalar CFTs in arbitrary dimensions. This approach uses the crossing-symmetric Mellin space formulation of correlation functions to generate algebraic bootstrap equations by demanding that only physical operators contribute to the OPE. We find that there are no perturbatively interacting CFTs with only fundamental scalars in $d>6$ dimensions (to at least second order in the perturbation). Our results can be seen as a modest step towards understanding the space of interacting CFTs in $d>6$ and are consistent with the intuition that no such CFTs exist.Comment: 11 pages + appendices. v2: references added, few minor revisions; published versio

Survey and analysis of the usefulness of the social studies guide for New Hampshire elementary schools

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Multi-centered D1-D5 solutions at finite B-moduli

We study the fate of two-centered D1-D5 systems on T^4 away from the singular supergravity point in the moduli space. We do this by considering a background D1-D5 black hole with a self-dual B-field moduli turned on and treating the second center in the probe limit in this background. We find that in general marginal bound states at zero moduli become metastable at finite B-moduli, demonstrating a breaking of supersymmetry. However, we also find evidence that when the charges of both centers are comparable, the effects of supersymmetry breaking become negligible. We show that this effect is independent of string coupling and thus it should be possible to reproduce this in the CFT at weak coupling. We comment on the implications for the fuzzball proposal.Comment: 19 pages + appendices, 14 figures; v2: added important remark in example in introduction, rewrote first paragraph in sect 3.2 for clarity, other misc. small edits; as accepted for publication in JHE

Structure of Six-Dimensional Microstate Geometries

We investigate the structure of smooth and horizonless microstate geometries in six dimensions, in the spirit of the five-dimensional analysis of Gibbons and Warner [arXiv:1305.0957]. In six dimensions, which is the natural setting for horizonless geometries with the charges of the D1-D5-P black hole, the natural black objects are strings and there are no Chern-Simons terms for the tensor gauge fields. However, we still find that the same reasoning applies: in absence of horizons, there can be no smooth stationary solutions without non-trivial topology. We use topological arguments to describe the Smarr formula in various examples: the uplift of the five-dimensional minimal supergravity microstates to six dimensions, the two-charge D1-D5 microstates, and the non-extremal JMaRT solution. We also discuss D1-D5-P superstrata and confirm that the Smarr formula gives the same result as for the D1-D5 supertubes which are topologically equivalent.Comment: 29 pages, v2: references added, published versio

From politics to prophecy: environmental quiescence and the ‘peak-oil’ movement

Adherents of the ‘peak-oil’ theory believe that resource depletion will cause an imminent social collapse that will lead to a simpler and more environmentally balanced world. Although American ‘peakists’ are extremely concerned with environmental issues, their awareness of the scale of ecological crises (such as climate change), gloomy evaluation of the state of American environmental politics, and vision of a post-apocalyptic future lead them to retreat from politics. Their beliefs, inaction, and impact on American environmental politics are explored

What Almost Was: The Politics of the Contemporary Alternate History Novel

The alternate history novel, a genre of American popular fiction that has become increasingly popular since the mid-1990s, has flown under the critical radar. In this paper, I contextualize the emergence of the genre, identify its common properties, and closely analyze several texts. I argue that the development of the alternate history can be tied to the end of the cold war and the loosening grip of deterministic ideologies; by comparing the internal worlds of alternate histories with the site of their production, I suggest that the underlying militaristic, anti-“big government” tone of the genre reflects the power of libertarian ideas in the contemporary United States

Holographic Flavored Quark-Gluon Plasmas

Holography provides a novel method to study the physics of Quark Gluon Plasmas, complementary to the ordinary field theory and lattice approaches. In this context, we analyze the informations that can be obtained for strongly coupled Plasmas containing dynamical flavors, also in the presence of a finite baryon chemical potential. In particular, we discuss the jet quenching and the hydrodynamic transport coefficients.Comment: 10 pages. Contribution to the proceedings of the workshop "The many faces of QCD", Ghent (Belgium), November 1-5 201