Matrix Model Maps and Reconstruction of AdS SUGRA Interactions

We consider the question of reconstructing (cubic) SUGRA interactions in AdS/CFT. The method we introduce is based on the matrix model maps (MMP) which were previously successfully employed at the linearized level. The strategy is to start with the map for 1/2 BPS configurations which is exactly known (to all orders) in the hamiltonian framework. We then use the extension of the matrix model map with the corresponding Ward identities to completely specify the interaction. A central point in this construction is the non-vanishing of off-shell interactions (even for highest-weight states).Comment: 28 page

Japanese beetle feeding and survival on apple fruits

Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Japanese beetle, is a polyphagous pest of many crops. In these crops, including apple, it acts primarily as a defoliator, causing economic damages. The objectives were to determine the ability of P. japonica to injury fruits of SweeTango variety apples and the suitability of apple fruits as a food source for this beetle. Popillia japonica was not able to injure the surface of intact fruits, which means that it is not a primary pest for apple fruits. The lifespan of the beetles when fed soybean leaves or apple with exposed endocarp was similar. Observations of the feces of the beetles suggest a potential physiological response due the change of food from soybean leaves to apple fruits. Therefore, we can conclude that the adults should not be considered as primary pests of apple fruits; however, they may act as secondary pests if the endocarp of the fruits is exposed by some other agent

Photometric Properties of the Near-contact Binary GW Geminorum

New multiband CCD photometry is presented for the eclipsing binary GW Gem; the $RI$ light curves are the first ever compiled. Four new minimum timings have been determined. Our analysis of eclipse timings observed during the past 79 years indicates a continuous period increase at a fractional rate of +(1.2$\pm$0.1)$\times10^{-10}$, in excellent agreement with the value $+1.1\times10^{-10}$ calculated from the Wilson-Devinney binary code. The new light curves display an inverse O'Connell effect increasing toward longer wavelengths. Hot and cool spot models are developed to describe these variations but we prefer a cool spot on the secondary star. Our light-curve synthesis reveals that GW Gem is in a semi-detached, but near-contact, configuration. It appears to consist of a near-main-sequence primary star with a spectral type of about A7 and an evolved early K-type secondary star that completely fills its inner Roche lobe. Mass transfer from the secondary to the primary component is responsible for the observed secular period change.Comment: 20 pages, including 5 figures and 6 tables, accepted for publication in PAS

The First Comprehensive Photometric Study of the Algol-type System CL Aurigae

We present the first extensive photometric results of CL Aur from our BVRI CCD photometry made on 22 nights from 2003 November through 2005 February. Fifteen new timings of minimum light were obtained. During the past 104 years, the orbital period has varied due to a periodic oscillation superposed on a continuous period increase. The period and semi-amplitude of the oscillation are about 21.6 yrs and 0.0133 d, respectively. This detail is interpreted as a light-travel-time effect due to a low-luminosity K-type star gravitationally bound to the CL Aur close system. Our photometric study indicates that CL Aur is a relatively short-period Algol-type binary with values of q=0.602 and i=88$^\circ$.2. Mass transfer from the secondary to the primary eclipsing component is at least partly responsible for the observed secular period change with a rate of dP/dt = +1.4$\times10^{-7}$ d yr$^{-1}$. A cool spot model has been calculated but we think that an alternative hot-spot model resulting from a gas stream impact on the hot star is more reasonable despite two difficulties with the explanation. Absolute dimensions of the eclipsing system are deduced and its present state is compared with tracks for single star and conservative close binary evolution. Finally, we examine the possible reconciliation of two different calculations of the luminosity of the hot spot and a re-interpretation of the secular term of the period variability.Comment: 26 pages, including 5 figures and 9 tables, accepted for publication in A

The Period Variation of and a Spot Model for the Eclipsing Binary AR Bootis

New CCD photometric observations of the eclipsing system AR Boo were obtained from February 2006 to April 2008. The star's photometric properties are derived from detailed studies of the period variability and of all available light curves. We find that over about 56 years the orbital period of the system has varied due to a combination of an upward parabola and a sinusoid rather than in a monotonic fashion. Mass transfer from the less massive primary to the more massive secondary component is likely responsible for at least a significant part of the secular period change. The cyclical variation with a period of 7.57 yrs and a semi-amplitude of 0.0015 d can be produced either by a light-travel-time effect due to an unseen companion with a scaled mass of $M_3 \sin i_3$=0.081 $M_\odot$ or by a magnetic period modulation in the secondary star. Historical light curves of AR Boo, as well as our own, display season-to-season light variability, which are best modeled by including both a cool spot and a hot one on the secondary star. We think that the spots express magnetic dynamo-related activity and offer limited support for preferring the magnetic interpretation of the 7.57-year cycle over the third-body understanding. Our solutions confirm that AR Boo belongs to the W-subtype contact binary class, consisting of a hotter, less massive primary star with a spectral type of G9 and a companion of spectral type K1.Comment: 30 pages, including 6 figures and 9 tables, accepted for publication in A

Thermal rho's in the quark-gluon plasma

I discuss different models which predict changes in the mass of the thermal $\rho$ field. I emphasize that while the predictions are strongly model dependent, nevertheless substantial shifts in the thermal $\rho$ mass are expected to occur at the point of phase transition. As long as the thermal $\rho$ peak does not become too broad, this should provide a striking signature of the existence of a phase transition. (Based upon a talk presented at Quark Matter '95, Monterey, CA, Jan., 1995.)Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX

Five Kepler target stars that show multiple transiting exoplanet candidates

We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these five systems open new opportunities for the field of exoplanets and provide new insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. We discuss the methods used to identify multiple transiting objects from the Kepler photometry as well as the false-positive rejection methods that have been applied to these data. One system shows transits from three distinct objects while the remaining four systems show transits from two objects. Three systems have planet candidates that are near mean motion commensurabilities---two near 2:1 and one just outside 5:2. We discuss the implications that multitransiting systems have on the distribution of orbital inclinations in planetary systems, and hence their dynamical histories; as well as their likely masses and chemical compositions. A Monte Carlo study indicates that, with additional data, most of these systems should exhibit detectable transit timing variations (TTV) due to gravitational interactions---though none are apparent in these data. We also discuss new challenges that arise in TTV analyses due to the presence of more than two planets in a system.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Self-gravitating elastic bodies

Extended objects in GR are often modelled using distributional solutions of the Einstein equations with point-like sources, or as the limit of infinitesimally small "test" objects. In this note, I will consider models of finite self-gravitating extended objects, which make it possible to give a rigorous treatment of the initial value problem for (finite) extended objects.Comment: 16 pages. Based on a talk given at the 2013 WE-Heraeus seminar on "Equations of motion in relativistic gravity

China, Great Power Responsibility and Arctic Security

Peer reviewe