Critical O(d)O(d)-equivariant biharmonic maps

We study $O(d)$-equivariant biharmonic maps in the critical dimension. A major consequence of our study concerns the corresponding heat flow. More precisely, we prove that blowup occurs in the biharmonic map heat flow from $B^4(0, 1)$ into $S^4$. To our knowledge, this was the first example of blowup for the biharmonic map heat flow. Such results have been hard to prove, due to the inapplicability of the maximum principle in the biharmonic case. Furthermore, we classify the possible $O(4)$-equivariant biharmonic maps from $\mathbf{R}^4$ into $S^4$, and we show that there exists, in contrast to the harmonic map analogue, equivariant biharmonic maps from $B^4(0,1)$ into $S^4$ that wind around $S^4$ as many times as we wish. We believe that the ideas developed herein could be useful in the study of other higher-order parabolic equations.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure. Published online in Calculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations, 201

O(d,d)O(d,d)-Covariant String Cosmology

The recently discovered $O(d,d)$ symmetry of the space of slowly varying cosmological string vacua in $d+1$ dimensions is shown to be preserved in the presence of bulk string matter. The existence of $O(d,d)$ conserved currents allows all the equations of string cosmology to be reduced to first-order differential equations. The perfect-fluid approximation is not $O(d,d)$-invariant, implying that stringy fluids possess in general a non-vanishing viscosity.Comment: 13 page

O(d,d)-Duality in String Theory

A new method for obtaining dual string theory backgrounds is presented. Preservation of the Hamiltonian density and the energy momentum tensor induced by O(d,d)-transformations leads to a relation between dual sets of coordinate one-forms accompanied by a redefinition of the background fields and a shift of the dilaton. The necessity of isometric directions arises as integrability condition for this map. The isometry algebra is studied in detail using generalised geometry. In particular, non-abelian dualities and beta-transformations are contained in this approach. The latter are exemplified by the construction of a new approximate non-geometric background.Comment: 19+5 pages; v2: minor corrections and references added; v3: comments and references adde

Ehlers Transformations and String Effective Action

We explicitly obtain the generalization of the Ehlers transformation for stationary axisymmetric Einstein equations to string theory. This is accomplished by finding the twist potential corresponding to the moduli fields in the effective two dimensional theory. Twist potential and symmetric moduli are shown to transform under an $O(d,d)$ which is a manifest symmetry of the equations of motion. The non-trivial action of this $O(d,d)$ is given by the Ehlers transformation and belongs to the set $O(d) \times O(d)\over O(d)$.Comment: 13 pages, minor corrections, version to appear in Physics Letters B35

A worldsheet extension of O(d,d;Z)

We study superconformal interfaces between N=(1,1) supersymmetric sigma models on tori, which preserve a u(1)^{2d} current algebra. Their fusion is non-singular and, using parallel transport on CFT deformation space, it can be reduced to fusion of defect lines in a single torus model. We show that the latter is described by a semi-group extension of O(d,d;Q), and that (on the level of Ramond charges) fusion of interfaces agrees with composition of associated geometric integral transformations. This generalizes the well-known fact that T-duality can be geometrically represented by Fourier-Mukai transformations. Interestingly, we find that the topological interfaces between torus models form the same semi-group upon fusion. We argue that this semi-group of orbifold equivalences can be regarded as the \alpha' deformation of the continuous O(d,d) symmetry of classical supergravity.Comment: 71 pages, 1 figure, minor additions and correction

Higher order effects in the 16O(d,p)17O^{16}O(d,p)^{17}O and 16O(d,n)17F^{16}O(d,n)^{17}F transfer reactions

Full Coupled Channels Calculations were performed for the $^{16}O(d,n)^{17}F$ and $^{16}O(d,p)^{17}O$ transfer reactions at several deuteron incident energies from $E_{lab}=2.29$ MeV up to 3.27 MeV. A strong polarization effect between the entrance channel and the transfer channels $^{16}O(d,n)^{17}F(1/2^{+},0.495)$ and $^{16}O(d,p)^{17}O(1/2^{+},0.87)$ was observed. This polarization effect had to be taken into account in order to obtain realistic spectroscopic factors from these reactions.Comment: 15 papes, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.