Nonlocal Conductivity in the Vortex-Liquid Regime of a Two-Dimensional Superconductor

We have simulated the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation with thermal fluctuations, to study the nonlocal dc conductivity of a superconducting film. Having examined points in the phase diagram at a wide range of temperatures and fields below the mean-field upper critical field, we find a portion of the vortex-liquid regime in which the nonlocal ohmic conductivity in real space is negative over a distance several times the spacing between vortices. The effect is suppressed when driven beyond linear response. Earlier work had predicted the existence of such a regime, due to the high viscosity of a strongly-correlated vortex liquid. This behavior is clearly distinguishable from the monotonic spatial fall-off of the conductivity in the higher temperature or field regimes approaching the normal state. The possibilities for experimental study of the nonlocal transport properties are discussed.Comment: 18 pages, revtex, 6 postscript figure

Design Early Considered Harmful: Graduated Exposure to Complexity and Structure Based on Levels of Cognitive Development

We have recognized that the natural tendency to teach according to the structure of one’s own understanding runs contrary to established models of cognitive development. Bloom’s Taxonomy has provided a basis for establishing a more efficacious pedagogy. Emphasizing a hierarchical progression of skill sets and gradual learning through example, our approach advocates teaching software development from the inside/out rather than beginning with either console apps or monolithic designs

Logarithmic Operators Fold D branes into AdS_3

We use logarithmic conformal field theory techniques to describe recoil effects in the scattering of two Dirichlet branes in D dimensions. In the particular case that a D1 brane strikes a D3 brane perpendicularly, thereby folding it, we find that the recoil space-time is maximally symmetric, with AdS_3 x E_{D-3} geometry. We comment on the possible applications of this result to the study of transitions between different background metrics.Comment: 10 pages revtex, one eps figure include

D-Brane Recoil and Supersymmetry Breaking as a Relaxation Process

We propose a new mechanism for the formation of conical singularities on D-branes by means of recoil resulting from scattering of closed string states propagating in the (large) transverse dimensions. By viewing the (spatial part of the) four-dimensional world as a 3-brane with large transverse dimensions the above mechanism can lead to supersymmetry obstruction at the TeV scale. The vacuum remains supersymmetric while the mass spectrum picks up a supersymmetry obstructing mass splitting. The state with ``broken'' supersymmetry is not an equilibrium ground state, but is rather an excited state of the D-brane which relaxes to the supersymmetric ground state asymptotically in (cosmic) time.Comment: 9 pages revtex, uses axodraw style (Arguments clarified, citations added; no change in conclusions.

JKarelRobot: A Case Study in Supporting Levels of Cognitive Development in the Computer Science Curriculum

We introduce a new software tool, JKarelRobot, for supporting an Inside/Out pedagogy in introductory programming courses. Extending the original conception of Karel the Robot , with Bloom\u27s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives as a guiding principle, we have provided a mechanism for designing exercises that are cognitively appropriate to the developmental levels of our students. JKarelRobot is platform independent (written in Java) and language/paradigm independent, supporting Pascal, Java, and Lisp style environments

D-Brane Recoil and Supersymmetry Obstruction

We discuss a model in which our universe is pictured as a recoiling Dirichlet brane: we find that a proper treatment of the recoil leads naturally to supersymmetry obstruction on the four-dimensional world. An essential feature of our approach is the fact that the underlying worldsheet sigma model is non-critical, and the Liouville mode plays the role of the target time. Also, the extra bulk dimensions are viewed as sigma model couplings, and as such have to be averaged by appropriate summation over worldsheet genera. The recoiling brane is in an excited state rather than its ground state, to which it relaxes asymptotically in time, restoring supersymmetry. We also find that the excitation energy, which is considered as the observable effective cosmological `constant' on the brane, is naturally small and can accommodate upper bounds from observations.Comment: 9 pages, no figure

Quantum oscillations in underdoped YBa_2Cu_3O_6.5

Shubnikov-de Haas and de Haas-van Alphen effects have been measured in the underdoped high temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.51}$. Data are in agreement with the standard Lifshitz-Kosevitch theory, which confirms the presence of a coherent Fermi surface in the ground state of underdoped cuprates. A low frequency $F = 530 \pm 10$ T is reported in both measurements, pointing to small Fermi pocket, which corresponds to 2% of the first Brillouin zone area only. This low value is in sharp contrast with that of overdoped Tl$_2$Ba$_2$CuO$_{6+\delta}$, where a high frequency $F = 18$ kT has been recently reported and corresponds to a large hole cylinder in agreement with band structure calculations. These results point to a radical change in the topology of the Fermi surface on opposing sides of the cuprate phase diagram.Comment: proceeding of the ECRYS-200

Dissipative Liouville Cosmology: A Case Study

We consider solutions of the cosmological equations pertaining to a dissipative, dilaton-driven off-equilibrium Liouville Cosmological model, which may describe the effective field theoretic limit of a non-critical string model of the Universe. The non-criticality may be the result of an early-era catastrophic cosmic event, such as a big-bang, brane-world collision etc. The evolution of the various cosmological parameters of the model are obtained, and the effects of the dilaton and off-shell Liouville terms, including briefly those on relic densities, which distinguish the model from conventional cosmologies, are emphasised.Comment: 19 pages latex, 11 eps figures incorporate

Perturbations in electromagnetic dark energy

It has been recently proposed that the presence of a temporal electromagnetic field on cosmological scales could explain the phase of accelerated expansion that the universe is currently undergoing. The field contributes as a cosmological constant and therefore, the homogeneous cosmology produced by such a model is exactly the same as that of $\Lambda$CDM. However, unlike a cosmological constant term, electromagnetic fields can acquire perturbations which in principle could affect CMB anisotropies and structure formation. In this work, we study the evolution of inhomogeneous scalar perturbations in this model. We show that provided the initial electromagnetic fluctuations generated during inflation are small, the model is perfectly compatible with both CMB and large scale structure observations at the same level of accuracy as $\Lambda$CDM.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. Added new comments to match the published versio

Non-Critical Liouville String Escapes Constraints on Generic Models of Quantum Gravity

It has recently been pointed out that generic models of quantum gravity must contend with severe phenomenological constraints imposed by gravitational Cerenkov radiation, neutrino oscillations and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We show how the non-critical Liouville-string model of quantum gravity we have proposed escapes these constraints. It gives energetic particles subluminal velocities, obviating the danger of gravitational Cerenkov radiation. The effect on neutrino propagation is naturally flavour-independent, obviating any impact on oscillation phenomenology. Deviations from the expected black-body spectrum and the effects of time delays and stochastic fluctuations in the propagation of cosmic microwave background photons are negligible, as are their effects on observable spectral lines from high-redshift astrophysical objects.Comment: 15 pages LaTeX, 2 eps figures include