17,759 research outputs found
The Kahler Structure of Supersymmetric Holographic RG Flows
We study the metrics on the families of moduli spaces arising from probing
with a brane the ten and eleven dimensional supergravity solutions
corresponding to renormalisation group flows of supersymmetric large n gauge
theory. In comparing the geometry to the physics of the dual gauge theory, it
is important to identify appropriate coordinates, and starting with the case of
SU(n) gauge theories flowing from N=4 to N=1 via a mass term, we demonstrate
that the metric is Kahler, and solve for the Kahler potential everywhere along
the flow. We show that the asymptotic form of the Kahler potential, and hence
the peculiar conical form of the metric, follows from special properties of the
gauge theory. Furthermore, we find the analogous Kahler structure for the N=4
preserving Coulomb branch flows, and for an N=2 flow. In addition, we establish
similar properties for two eleven dimensional flow geometries recently
presented in the literature, one of which has a deformation of the conifold as
its moduli space. In all of these cases, we notice that the Kahler potential
appears to satisfy a simple universal differential equation. We prove that this
equation arises for all purely Coulomb branch flows dual to both ten and eleven
dimensional geometries, and conjecture that the equation holds much more
generally.Comment: 26 pages. Late
XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert 1 AGN H0557-385
We present XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert 1 AGN H0557-385. We have
conducted a study into the warm absorber present in this source, and using
high-resolution RGS data we find that the absorption can be characterised by
two phases: a phase with log ionisation parameter xi of 0.50 (where xi is in
units of ergs cm/s) and a column of 0.2e21 cm^-2, and a phase with log xi of
1.62 and a column of 1.3e22 cm^-2. An iron K alpha line is detected. Neutral
absorption is also present in the source, and we discuss possible origins for
this. On the assumption that the ionised absorbers originate as an outflow from
the inner edge of the torus, we use a new method for finding the volume filling
factor. Both phases of H0557-385 have small volume filling factors (< 1%). We
also derive the volume filling factors for a sample of 23 AGN using this
assumption and for the absorbers with log xi > 0.7 we find reasonable agreement
with the filling factors obtained through the alternative method of equating
the momentum flow of the absorbers to the momentum loss of the radiation field.
By comparing the filling factors obtained by the two methods, we infer that
some absorbers with log xi < 0.7 occur at significantly larger distances from
the nucleus than the inner edge of the torus.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Relativistic Effects on the Appearance of a Clothed Black Hole
For an accretion disk around a black hole, the strong relativistic effects
affect every aspect of the radiation from the disk, including its spectrum,
light-curve, and image. This work investigates in detail how the images of a
thin disk around a black hole will be distorted, and what the observer will see
from different viewing angles and in different energy bands.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Based on the poster presented at the Sixth
Pacific Rim Conference on Stellar Astrophysics (Xi'an, China, July 11-17,
2002). Color versions of figures are given separatel
Evaluation of zirconia, thoria and zirconium diboride for advanced resistojet use
A literature survey was conducted to collect material properties data on all advanced high temperature materials. Three of these, Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2, ThO2, and ZrB2 with additives of C and SiC were selected for further study. Stabilized ZrO2 and ThO2 were found to have higher temperature oxidation resistance than any metal and great potential for use in advanced biowaste resistojets. ZrO2 has a lower electrical resistivity and sublimation and a higher creep endurance strength. ZrO2 and ThO2 tubular heat exchangers, electrically heated indirectly, were evaluated in short tests to about 1900 K in flowing CO2. ZrO2 was subjected to N2, H2, H2O and vacuum as well. X-ray diffraction and fluorescence analyses were made. The metal-to-ceramic seal technology for ZrO2 and ThO2 was developed using chemical vapor deposition of tantalum for metallizing and 82 Au - 18 Ni filler braze
A new solid-state logarithmic radiometer
Combination of temperature-compensated logarithmic amplifiers and p-i-n photodiodes operating in zero-bias mode provides lightweight radiometer for detecting spectral intensities encompassing more than three decades over a range of at least 300 to 800 nanometers at low power levels
Does Positronium Form in the Universe ?
Positronium (the bound state of electron and positron) has been thought to be
formed after proton decay (yr) through collisional recombination and
then decays by pair annihilation, thereby changing the matter content of the
universe. We revisit the issue of the formation of positronium in the long-term
future of the universe in light of recent indication that the universe is
dominated by dark energy and dark matter. We find that if the equation of state
of dark energy is less than -1/3 (including the cosmological constant
), then the formation of positronium would not be possible, while it is
possible through bound-bound transitions for -1/3\siml w\siml-0.2, or through
collisional recombination for w\simg-0.2. The radiation from \epm pair
annihilation cannot dominate over \epm, while that from proton decay will
dominate over baryon and \epm for a while but not over dark matter.Comment: 13 pages, to appear in JCA
âThe Pandemic is Just Happening on Top of a Pandemic for Usâ. Unpaid Carersâ Experiences of Lockdown in the UK: A Thematic Analysis
Context: With reduced access to medical and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of support provided by unpaid carers over the lockdown period in the UK was higher than ever. However, the experience of unpaid carers during this period is often overlooked.
Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the question âwhat has been the experience of unpaid carers during lockdown?â.
Method: Eighteen unpaid carers, caring for a family member(s) with physical, learning, mental health, or behavioral disabilities, were interviewed about their experience of lockdown in the UK. Thematic analysis was utilized.
Findings: Three overarching themes created: (a) The value of support, (b) Non-stop care, and (c) Risk to health. A central theme of mental health was also created and discussed across the three overarching themes, rather than individually, due to its extensivity. Support for unpaid carers during the lockdown became more important than ever due to the higher risk to physical and mental health (of both the carer and dependent) and the lack of respite available.
Limitations: Due to volunteer sampling, the evidence in this report is largely based on the perspectives of female carersâ, with all but two participants being female.
Implications: Findings raise implications for prioritizing the return of in-person medical appointments post-pandemic and ensuring the continuation of support services for unpaid carers during a pandemic
Compton Heating of the Intergalactic Medium by the Hard X-ray Background
High-resolution hydrodynamics simulations of the Ly-alpha forest in cold dark
matter dominated cosmologies appear to predict line widths that are
substantially narrower than those observed. Here we point out that Compton
heating of the intergalactic gas by the hard X-ray background (XRB), an effect
neglected in all previous investigations, may help to resolve this discrepancy.
The rate of gain in thermal energy by Compton scattering will dominate over the
energy input from hydrogen photoionization if the XRB energy density is
0.2x/ times higher than the energy density of the UV background at a
given epoch, where x is the hydrogen neutral fraction in units of 1e-6 and
is the mean X-ray photon energy in units of m_ec^2. The numerical
integration of the time-dependent rate equations shows that the intergalactic
medium approaches a temperature of about 1.5e4 K at z>3 in popular models for
the redshift evolution of the extragalactic background radiation. The
importance of Compton heating can be tested experimentally by measuring the
Ly-alpha line-width distribution as a function of redshift, thus the
Lyman-alpha forest may provide a useful probe of the evolution of the XRB at
high redshifts.Comment: LaTeX, 10 pages, 2 figures, final version to be published in the Ap
New Einstein-Sasaki Spaces in Five and Higher Dimensions
We obtain infinite classes of new Einstein-Sasaki metrics on complete and
non-singular manifolds. They arise, after Euclideanisation, from BPS limits of
the rotating Kerr-de Sitter black hole metrics. The new Einstein-Sasaki spaces
L^{p,q,r} in five dimensions have cohomogeneity 2, and U(1) x U(1) x U(1)
isometry group. They are topologically S^2 x S^3. Their AdS/CFT duals will
describe quiver theories on the four-dimensional boundary of AdS_5. We also
obtain new Einstein-Sasaki spaces of cohomogeneity n in all odd dimensions
D=2n+1 \ge 5, with U(1)^{n+1} isometry.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, metric regularity conditions are further refine
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