Discrete Flux as Quantum Hair

We investigate Yang-Mills theory on a spatial torus at finite temperature in the presence of discrete electric and magnetic fluxes using the AdS/CFT correspondence. We calculate the leading dependence of the partition function on the fluxes using the dual supergravity theory and comment upon the interpretation of these fluxes as discrete quantum hair for black holes in AdS spacetime.Comment: 15 pages, LaTex, no figure

Fuzzy Cosets and their Gravity Duals

Dp-branes placed in a certain external RR (p+4)-form field expand into a transverse fuzzy two-sphere, as shown by Myers. We find that by changing the (p+4)-form background other fuzzy cosets can be obtained. Three new examples, S^2 X S^2, CP^2 and SU(3)/(U(1) X U(1)) are constructed. The first two are four-dimensional while the last is six-dimensional. The dipole and quadrupole moments which result in these configurations are discussed. Finally, the gravity backgrounds dual to these vacua are examined in a leading order approximation. These are multi-centered solutions containing (p+4)- or (p+6)-dimensional brane singularities.Comment: 36 pages, harvmac, no figures, two references adde

Impact of quality and reliability of irrigation on field and farm level water productivity of crops

Water ProductivityCrop productionCerealsFodderIrrigation waterWater qualityIrrigation canalsWellsConjunctive useSoil moisture

The Shear Viscosity in Anisotropic Phases

We construct anisotropic black brane solutions and analyse the behaviour of some of their metric perturbations. These solutions correspond to field theory duals in which rotational symmetry is broken due an externally applied, spatially constant, force. We find, in several examples, that when the anisotropy is sufficiently big compared to the temperature, some components of the viscosity tensor can become very small in units of the entropy density, parametrically violating the KSS bound. We obtain an expression relating these components of the viscosity, in units of the entropy density, to a ratio of metric components at the horizon of the black brane. This relation is generally valid, as long as the forcing function is translationally invariant, and it directly connects the parametric violation of the bound to the anisotropy in the metric at the horizon. Our results suggest the possibility that such small components of the viscosity tensor might also arise in anisotropic strongly coupled fluids found in nature.Comment: 30 pages + 4 page appendix, 3 figures, added reference

Ward Identities for Scale and Special Conformal Transformations in Inflation

We derive the general Ward identities for scale and special conformal transformations in theories of single field inflation. Our analysis is model independent and based on symmetry considerations alone. The identities we obtain are valid to all orders in the slow roll expansion. For special conformal transformations, the Ward identities include a term which is non-linear in the fields that arises due to a compensating spatial reparametrization. Some observational consequences are also discussed.Comment: 42 Pages. v3: Section on checks of the Ward identities added. The JHEP accepted versio

Constraints from Conformal Symmetry on the Three Point Scalar Correlator in Inflation

Using symmetry considerations, we derive Ward identities which relate the three point function of scalar perturbations produced during inflation to the scalar four point function, in a particular limit. The derivation assumes approximate conformal invariance, and the conditions for the slow roll approximation, but is otherwise model independent. The Ward identities allow us to deduce that the three point function must be suppressed in general, being of the same order of magnitude as in the slow roll model. They also fix the three point function in terms of the four point function, upto one constant which we argue is generically suppressed. Our approach is based on analyzing the wave function of the universe, and the Ward identities arise by imposing the requirements of spatial and time reparametrization invariance on it.Comment: 35 pages; Extra references and comments added, The version published in JHE

Chiral Gauge Theories from D-Branes

We construct brane configurations leading to chiral four dimensional N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. The brane realizations consist of intersecting Neveu-Schwarz five-branes and Dirichlet four-branes in non-flat spacetime backgrounds. We discuss in some detail the construction in a C^2/Z_M orbifold background. The infrared theory on the four-brane worldvolume is a four dimensional N=1 SU(N)^M gauge theory with chiral matter representations. We discuss various consistency checks and show that the spectral curves describing the Coulomb phase of the theory can be obtained once the orbifold brane construction is embedded in M-theory. We also discuss the addition of extra vectorlike matter and other interesting generalizations.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 2 Figure