170 research outputs found
Nonsupersymmetric brane vacua in stabilized compactifications
We derive the equations for the nonsupersymmetric vacua of D3-branes in the
presence of nonperturbative moduli stabilization in type IIB flux
compactifications, and solve and analyze them in the case of two particular
7-brane embeddings at the bottom of the warped deformed conifold. In the limit
of large volume and long throat, we obtain vacua by imposing a constraint on
the 7-brane embedding. These vacua fill out continuous spaces of higher
dimension than the corresponding supersymmetric vacua, and have negative
effective cosmological constant. Perturbative stability of these vacua is
possible but not generic. Finally, we argue that anti-D3-branes at the tip of
the conifold share the same vacua as D3-branes.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX. v2: references added, typo fixed. v3:
version appearing in JHE
D-brane potentials in the warped resolved conifold and natural inflation
In this paper we obtain a model of Natural Inflation from string theory with
a Planckian decay constant. We investigate D-brane dynamics in the background
of the warped resolved conifold (WRC) throat approximation of Type IIB string
compactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds. When we glue the throat to a compact
bulk Calabi-Yau, we generate a D-brane potential which is a solution to the
Laplace equation on the resolved conifold. We can exactly solve this equation,
including dependence on the angular coordinates. The solutions are valid down
to the tip of the resolved conifold, which is not the case for the more
commonly used deformed conifold. This allows us to exploit the effect of the
warping, which is strongest at the tip. We inflate near the tip using an
angular coordinate of a D5-brane in the WRC which has a discrete shift
symmetry, and feels a cosine potential, giving us a model of Natural Inflation,
from which it is possible to get a Planckian decay constant whilst maintaining
control over the backreaction. This is because the decay constant for a wrapped
brane contains powers of the warp factor, and so can be made large, while the
wrapping parameter can be kept small enough so that backreaction is under
control.Comment: 41 pages, 3 appendices, 1 figure, PDFLaTex; various clarifications
added along with a new appendix on b-axions and wrapped D5 branes;version
matches the one published in JHE
Oscillations in the bispectrum
There exist several models of inflation that produce primordial bispectra
that contain a large number of oscillations. In this paper we discuss these
models, and aim at finding a method of detecting such bispectra in the data. We
explain how the recently proposed method of mode expansion of bispectra might
be able to reconstruct these spectra from separable basis functions. Extracting
these basis functions from the data might then lead to observational
constraints on these models.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to JOP: Conference Series, PASCOS 201
Spinflation from Geometric Tachyon
We study the assisted inflation scenario from the rolling of BPS D3-brane
into the NS5-branes, on a transverse geometry of , coupled to
four dimensional gravity. We assume that the branes are distributed along
and the probe D3-branes spin along plane. Qualitatively this process is
similar to that of N-tachyon assisted inflation on unstable D-branes. We
further study the spinflation scenario numerically and analyze its effect.Comment: 18pages, 9 figures, added clarifications, to appear in JHE
Brane/flux annihilation transitions and nonperturbative moduli stabilization
By extending the calculation of Kahler moduli stabilization to account for an
embiggened antibrane, we reevaluate brane/flux annihilation in a warped throat
with one stabilized Kahler modulus. We find that depending on the relative size
of various fluxes three things can occur: the decay process proceeds
unhindered, the anti-D3-branes are forbidden to decay classically, or the
entire space decompactifies. Additionally, we show that the Kahler modulus
receives a contribution from the collective 3-brane tension. This allows for a
significant change in compactified volume during the transition and possibly
mitigates some fine tuning otherwise required to achieve large volume.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, LaTeX. v2: references adde
Conduct disorder in girls: neighborhoods, family characteristics, and parenting behaviors
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little is known about the social context of girls with conduct disorder (CD), a question of increasing importance to clinicians and researchers. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between three social context domains (neighborhood, family characteristics, and parenting behaviors) and CD in adolescent girls, additionally testing for race moderation effects. We predicted that disadvantaged neighborhoods, family characteristics such as parental marital status, and parenting behaviors such as negative discipline would characterize girls with CD. We also hypothesized that parenting behaviors would mediate the associations between neighborhood and family characteristics and CD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We recruited 93 15â17 year-old girls from the community and used a structured psychiatric interview to assign participants to a CD group (n = 52) or a demographically matched group with no psychiatric disorder (n = 41). Each girl and parent also filled out questionnaires about neighborhood, family characteristics, and parenting behaviors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Neighborhood quality was not associated with CD in girls. Some family characteristics (parental antisociality) and parenting behaviors (levels of family activities and negative discipline) were characteristic of girls with CD, but notll. There was no moderation by race. Our hypothesis that the association between family characteristics and CD would be mediated by parenting behaviors was not supported.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study expanded upon previous research by investigating multiple social context domains in girls with CD and by selecting a comparison group who were not different in age, social class, or race. When these factors are thus controlled, CD in adolescent girls is not significantly associated with neighborhood, but is associated with some family characteristics and some types of parental behaviors. However, the mechanisms underlying these relationships need to be further investigated. We discuss possible explanations for our findings and suggest directions for future research.</p
Spectral Distortions of the CMB as a Probe of Inflation, Recombination, Structure Formation and Particle Physics
Following the pioneering observations with COBE in the early 1990s, studies
of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) have focused on temperature and
polarization anisotropies. CMB spectral distortions - tiny departures of the
CMB energy spectrum from that of a perfect blackbody - provide a second,
independent probe of fundamental physics, with a reach deep into the primordial
Universe. The theoretical foundation of spectral distortions has seen major
advances in recent years, which highlight the immense potential of this
emerging field. Spectral distortions probe a fundamental property of the
Universe - its thermal history - thereby providing additional insight into
processes within the cosmological standard model (CSM) as well as new physics
beyond. Spectral distortions are an important tool for understanding inflation
and the nature of dark matter. They shed new light on the physics of
recombination and reionization, both prominent stages in the evolution of our
Universe, and furnish critical information on baryonic feedback processes, in
addition to probing primordial correlation functions at scales inaccessible to
other tracers. In principle the range of signals is vast: many orders of
magnitude of discovery space could be explored by detailed observations of the
CMB energy spectrum. Several CSM signals are predicted and provide clear
experimental targets, some of which are already observable with present-day
technology. Confirmation of these signals would extend the reach of the CSM by
orders of magnitude in physical scale as the Universe evolves from the initial
stages to its present form. The absence of these signals would pose a huge
theoretical challenge, immediately pointing to new physics.Comment: Astro2020 Science White Paper, 5 pages text, 13 pages in total, 3
Figures, minor update to reference
Subleading effects and the field range in axion inflation
An attractive candidate for the inflaton is an axion slowly rolling down a
flat potential protected by a perturbative shift symmetry. Realisations of this
idea within large field, natural and monomial inflation have been disfavoured
by observations and are difficult to embed in string theory. We show that
subleading, but significant non-perturbative corrections can superimpose sharp
cliffs and gentle plateaus into the potential, whose overall effect is to
enhance the number of e-folds of inflation. Sufficient e-folds are therefore
achieved for smaller field ranges compared to the potential without such
corrections. Thus, both single-field natural and monomial inflation in UV
complete theories like string theory, can be restored into the favour of
current observations, with distinctive signatures. Tensor modes result
un-observably small, but there is a large negative running of the spectral
index. Remarkably, natural inflation can be achieved with a single field whose
axion decay constant is sub-Planckian.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures; v2 references improve
Accidental Inflation in String Theory
We show that inflation in type IIB string theory driven by the volume modulus
can be realized in the context of the racetrack-based Kallosh-Linde model (KL)
of moduli stabilization. Inflation here arises through the volume modulus
slow-rolling down from a flat hill-top or inflection point of the scalar
potential. This situation can be quite generic in the landscape, where by
uplifting one of the two adjacent minima one can turn the barrier either to a
flat saddle point or to an inflection point supporting eternal inflation. The
resulting spectral index is tunable in the range of 0.93 < n_s < 1, and there
is only negligible production of primordial gravitational waves r < 10^{-6}.
The flatness of the potential in this scenario requires fine-tuning, which may
be justified taking into account the exponential reward by volume factors
preferring the regions of the universe with the maximal amount of slow-roll
inflation. This consideration leads to a tentative prediction of the spectral
index or depending on whether the
potential has a symmetry phi -> - phi or not.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, LaTeX, uses RevTex
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