62,499 research outputs found
Compactifications of Heterotic Theory on Non-Kahler Complex Manifolds: I
We study new compactifications of the SO(32) heterotic string theory on
compact complex non-Kahler manifolds. These manifolds have many interesting
features like fewer moduli, torsional constraints, vanishing Euler character
and vanishing first Chern class, which make the four-dimensional theory
phenomenologically attractive. We take a particular compact example studied
earlier and determine various geometrical properties of it. In particular we
calculate the warp factor and study the sigma model description of strings
propagating on these backgrounds. The anomaly cancellation condition and
enhanced gauge symmetry are shown to arise naturally in this framework, if one
considers the effect of singularities carefully.
We then give a detailed mathematical analysis of these manifolds and
construct a large class of them. The existence of a holomorphic (3,0) form is
important for the construction. We clarify some of the topological properties
of these manifolds and evaluate the Betti numbers. We also determine the
superpotential and argue that the radial modulus of these manifolds can
actually be stabilized.Comment: 75 pages, Harvmac, no figures; v2: Some new results added, typos
corrected and references updated. Final version to appear in JHE
A Strong X-Ray Burst from the Low Mass X-Ray Binary EXO0748-676
We have observed an unusually strong X-ray burst as a part of our regular
eclipse timing observations of the low mass binary system EXO0748-676. The
burst peak flux was 5.2x10^-8 ergs cm^-2 s^-1, approximately five times the
normal peak X-ray burst flux observed from this source by RXTE. Spectral fits
to the data strongly suggest that photospheric radius expansion occurred during
the burst. In this Letter we examine the properties of this X-ray burst, which
is the first example of a radius expansion burst from EXO0748-676 observed by
RXTE. We find no evidence for coherent burst oscillations. Assuming that the
peak burst luminosity is the Eddington luminosity for a 1.4 solar mass neutron
star we derive a distance to EXO0748-676 of 7.7 kpc for a helium-dominated
burst photosphere and 5.9 kpc for a hydrogen-dominated burst photosphere.Comment: 15 pages including 2 figures and 1 table. Accepted for publication in
the Astrophysical Journa
Comment on "Observation of neutronless fusion reactions in picosecond laser plasmas"
The paper by Belyaev et al. [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 72}, 026406 (2005)] reported
the first experimental observation of alpha particles produced in the
thermonuclear reaction B()Be induced by
laser-irradiation on a B polyethylene (CH) composite target. The
laser used in the experiment is characterized by a picosecond pulse duration
and a peak of intensity of 2 W/cm. We suggest that both the
background-reduction method adopted in their detection system and the choice of
the detection energy region of the reaction products are possibly inadequate.
Consequently the total yield reported underestimates the true yield. Based on
their observation, we give an estimation of the total yield to be higher than
their conclusion, i.e., of the order of 10 per shot.Comment: 3 figures, accepted for publication in the Comment section of
Physical Review
Pristine CNO abundances from Magellanic Cloud B stars II. Fast rotators in the LMC cluster NGC 2004
We present spectroscopic abundance analyses of three main-sequence B stars in
the young Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC 2004. All three targets have
projected rotational velocities around 130 km/s. Techniques are presented that
allow the derivation of stellar parameters and chemical abundances in spite of
these high v sin i values. Together with previous analyses of stars in this
cluster, we find no evidence among the main-sequence stars for effects due to
rotational mixing up to v sin i around 130 km/s. Unless the equatorial
rotational velocities are significantly larger than the v sin i values, this
finding is probably in line with theoretical expectations. NGC 2004/B30, a star
of uncertain evolutionary status located in the Blue Hertzsprung Gap, clearly
shows signs of mixing in its atmosphere. To verify the effects due to
rotational mixing will therefore require homogeneous analysis of statistically
significant samples of low-metallicity main-sequence B stars over a wide range
of rotational velocities.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in ApJ (vol.
633, p. 899
Heterotic Cosmic Strings
We show that all three conditions for the cosmological relevance of heterotic
cosmic strings, the right tension, stability and a production mechanism at the
end of inflation, can be met in the strongly coupled M-theory regime. Whereas
cosmic strings generated from weakly coupled heterotic strings have the well
known problems posed by Witten in 1985, we show that strings arising from
M5-branes wrapped around 4-cycles (divisors) of a Calabi-Yau in heterotic
M-theory compactifications, solve these problems in an elegant fashion.Comment: 25 pages, v2: section and references adde
Cosmic variance of the galaxy cluster weak lensing signal
Intrinsic variations of the projected density profiles of clusters of
galaxies at fixed mass are a source of uncertainty for cluster weak lensing. We
present a semi-analytical model to account for this effect, based on a
combination of variations in halo concentration, ellipticity and orientation,
and the presence of correlated haloes. We calibrate the parameters of our model
at the 10 per cent level to match the empirical cosmic variance of cluster
profiles at M_200m=10^14...10^15 h^-1 M_sol, z=0.25...0.5 in a cosmological
simulation. We show that weak lensing measurements of clusters significantly
underestimate mass uncertainties if intrinsic profile variations are ignored,
and that our model can be used to provide correct mass likelihoods. Effects on
the achievable accuracy of weak lensing cluster mass measurements are
particularly strong for the most massive clusters and deep observations (with
~20 per cent uncertainty from cosmic variance alone at M_200m=10^15 h^-1 M_sol
and z=0.25), but significant also under typical ground-based conditions. We
show that neglecting intrinsic profile variations leads to biases in the
mass-observable relation constrained with weak lensing, both for intrinsic
scatter and overall scale (the latter at the 15 per cent level). These biases
are in excess of the statistical errors of upcoming surveys and can be avoided
if the cosmic variance of cluster profiles is accounted for.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; submitted to MNRA
Structure in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory
We show that requiring sixteen supersymmetries in quantum mechanical gauge
theory implies the existence of a web of constrained interactions. Contrary to
conventional wisdom, these constraints extend to arbitrary orders in the
momentum expansion.Comment: 22 pages, LaTe
Discovery of a Radio-loud/Radio-quiet Binary Quasar
We report the discovery of a small separation quasar pair (z=0.586, O=18.4,
19.2, sep. = 2.3 arcsec) associated with the radio source FIRST
J164311.3+315618 (S_1400 = 120 mJy). The spectrum of the brighter quasar (A)
has a much stronger narrow emission-line spectrum than the other (B), and also
stronger Balmer lines relative to the continuum. The continuum ratio of the
spectra is flat in the blue at about 2.1, but falls to 1.5 at longer
wavelengths. A K' image shows two unresolved sources with a flux ratio of 1.3.
The different colors appear to result from the contribution of the host galaxy
of B, which is evident from Ca II and high-order Balmer absorption lines
indicative of a substantial young stellar population. New 3.6 cm VLA
observations show that the compact radio source is coincident with quasar A (B
is only marginally detected). We rule out the lensing hypothesis because the
optical flux ratio is A/B = 1.2 to 2, while the radio flux ratio is A/B > 40,
and conclude that this system is a binary. Moreover, the radio-loud quasar is a
compact steep spectrum source. FIRST J164311.3+315618A, B is the lowest
redshift and smallest separation binary quasar yet identified.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Astrophysical Journal Letter
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