193 research outputs found
The Shapes of Dirichlet Defects
If the vacuum manifold of a field theory has the appropriate topological
structure, the theory admits topological structures analogous to the D-branes
of string theory, in which defects of one dimension terminate on other defects
of higher dimension. The shapes of such defects are analyzed numerically, with
special attention paid to the intersection regions. Walls (co-dimension 1
branes) terminating on other walls, global strings (co-dimension 2 branes) and
local strings (including gauge fields) terminating on walls are all considered.
Connections to supersymmetric field theories, string theory and condensed
matter systems are pointed out.Comment: 24 pages, RevTeX, 21 eps figure
SO(3) Gauge Symmetry and Neutrino-Lepton Flavor Physics
Based on the SO(3) gauge symmetry for three family leptons and general
see-saw mechanism, we present a simple scheme that allows three nearly
degenerate Majorana neutrino masses needed for hot dark matter. The vacuum
structure of the spontaneous SO(3) symmetry breaking can automatically lead to
a maximal CP-violating phase. Thus the current neutrino data on both the
atmospheric neutrino anomaly and solar neutrino deficit can be accounted for
via maximal mixings without conflict with the current data on the neutrinoless
double beta decay. The model also allows rich interesting phenomena on lepton
flavor violations.Comment: 10 pages, Revtex, no figures, minor changes and references added, the
version to appear in Phys. Rev.
More on the Tensorial Central Charges in N=1 Supersymmetric Gauge Theories (BPS Wall Junctions and Strings)
We study the central extensions of the N=1 superalgebras relevant to the
soliton solutions with the axial geometry - strings, wall junctions, etc. A
general expression valid in any four-dimensional gauge theory is obtained. We
prove that the only gauge theory admitting BPS strings at weak coupling is
supersymmetric electrodynamics with the Fayet-Iliopoulos term. The problem of
ambiguity of the (1/2,1/2) central charge in the generalized Wess-Zumino models
and gauge theories with matter is addressed and solved. A possibility of
existence of the BPS strings at strong coupling in N=2 theories is discussed. A
representation of different strings within the brane picture is presented.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures, 1 reference added, typos corrected, Sec. 9.3
expanded. Final version accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.
Dravet syndrome as epileptic encephalopathy: Evidence from long-term course and neuropathology
Dravet syndrome is an epilepsy syndrome of infantile onset, frequently caused by SCN1A mutations or deletions. Its prevalence, long-term evolution in adults and neuropathology are not well known. We identified a series of 22 adult patients, including three adult post-mortem cases with Dravet syndrome. For all patients, we reviewed the clinical history, seizure types and frequency, antiepileptic drugs, cognitive, social and functional outcome and results of investigations. A systematic neuropathology study was performed, with post-mortem material from three adult cases with Dravet syndrome, in comparison with controls and a range of relevant paediatric tissue. Twenty-two adults with Dravet syndrome, 10 female, were included, median age 39 years (range 20–66). SCN1A structural variation was found in 60% of the adult Dravet patients tested, including one post-mortem case with DNA extracted from brain tissue. Novel mutations were described for 11 adult patients; one patient had three SCN1A mutations. Features of Dravet syndrome in adulthood include multiple seizure types despite polytherapy, and age-dependent evolution in seizure semiology and electroencephalographic pattern. Fever sensitivity persisted through adulthood in 11 cases. Neurological decline occurred in adulthood with cognitive and motor deterioration. Dysphagia may develop in or after the fourth decade of life, leading to significant morbidity, or death. The correct diagnosis at an older age made an impact at several levels. Treatment changes improved seizure control even after years of drug resistance in all three cases with sufficient follow-up after drug changes were instituted; better control led to significant improvement in cognitive performance and quality of life in adulthood in two cases. There was no histopathological hallmark feature of Dravet syndrome in this series. Strikingly, there was remarkable preservation of neurons and interneurons in the neocortex and hippocampi of Dravet adult post-mortem cases. Our study provides evidence that Dravet syndrome is at least in part an epileptic encephalopathy
Magnetic Branes in Gauss-Bonnet Gravity
We present two new classes of magnetic brane solutions in
Einstein-Maxwell-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with a negative cosmological constant.
The first class of solutions yields an -dimensional spacetime with a
longitudinal magnetic field generated by a static magnetic brane. We also
generalize this solution to the case of spinning magnetic branes with one or
more rotation parameters. We find that these solutions have no curvature
singularity and no horizons, but have a conic geometry. In these spacetimes,
when all the rotation parameters are zero, the electric field vanishes, and
therefore the brane has no net electric charge. For the spinning brane, when
one or more rotation parameters are non zero, the brane has a net electric
charge which is proportional to the magnitude of the rotation parameter. The
second class of solutions yields a spacetime with an angular magnetic field.
These solutions have no curvature singularity, no horizon, and no conical
singularity. Again we find that the net electric charge of the branes in these
spacetimes is proportional to the magnitude of the velocity of the brane.
Finally, we use the counterterm method in the Gauss-Bonnet gravity and compute
the conserved quantities of these spacetimes.Comment: 17 pages, No figure, The version to be published in Phys. Rev.
Implications of a Massless Neutralino for Neutrino Physics
We consider the phenomenological implications of a soft SUSY breaking term BN
at the TeV scale (here B is the U(1)_Y gaugino and N is the right-handed
neutrino field). In models with a massless (or nearly massless) neutralino,
such a term will give rise through the see-saw mechanism to new contributions
to the mass matrix of the light neutrinos.
We treat the massless neutralino as an (almost) sterile neutrino and find
that its mass depends on the square of the soft SUSY breaking scale, with
interesting consequences for neutrino physics. We also show that, although it
requires fine-tuning, a massless neutralino in the MSSM or NMSSM is not
experimentally excluded. The implications of this scenario for neutrino physics
are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, latex, no figure
A Note on Inflation with Tachyon Rolling on the Gauss-Bonnet Brane
In this paper we study the tachyonic inflation in brane world cosmology with
Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk. We obtain the exact solution of slow roll
equations in case of exponential potential. We attempt to implement the
proposal of Lidsey and Nunes, astro-ph/0303168, for the tachyon condensate
rolling on the Gauss-Bonnet brane and discuss the difficulties associated with
the proposal.Comment: RevTex4, 5 pages, no figures, Minor clarifications added and
references updated, To appear in PR
Nitrate stable isotopes and major ions in snow and ice samples from four Svalbard sites
Increasing reactive nitrogen (N-r) deposition in the Arctic may adversely impact N-limited ecosystems. To investigate atmospheric transport of N-r to Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic, snow and firn samples were collected from glaciers and analysed to define spatial and temporal variations (1 10 years) in major ion concentrations and the stable isotope composition (delta N-15 and delta O-18) of nitrate (NO3-) across the archipelago. The delta N-15(NO3-) and delta O-18(NO3-) averaged -4 parts per thousand and 67 parts per thousand in seasonal snow (2010-11) and -9 parts per thousand and 74 parts per thousand in firn accumulated over the decade 2001-2011. East-west zonal gradients were observed across the archipelago for some major ions (non-sea salt sulphate and magnesium) and also for delta N-15(NO3-) and delta O-18(NO3-) in snow, which suggests a different origin for air masses arriving in different sectors of Svalbard. We propose that snowfall associated with long-distance air mass transport over the Arctic Ocean inherits relatively low delta N-15(NO3-) due to in-transport N isotope fractionation. In contrast, faster air mass transport from the north-west Atlantic or northern Europe results in snowfall with higher delta N-15(NO3-) because in-transport fractionation of N is then time-limited
Large Extra Dimensions and Decaying KK Recurrences
We suggest the possibility that in ADD type brane-world scenarios, the higher
KK excitations of the graviton may decay to lower ones owing to a breakdown of
the conservation of extra dimensional ``momenta'' and study its implications
for astrophysics and cosmology. We give an explicit realization of this idea
with a bulk scalar field , whose nonzero KK modes acquire vacuum
expectation values. This scenario helps to avoid constraints on large extra
dimensions that come from gamma ray flux bounds in the direction of nearby
supernovae as well as those coming from diffuse cosmological gamma ray
background. It also relaxes the very stringent limits on reheat temperature of
the universe in ADD models.Comment: 16 pages, late
Can R-parity violation explain the LSND data as well?
The recent Super-Kamiokande data now admit only one type of mass hierarchy in
a framework with three active and one sterile neutrinos. We show that neutrino
masses and mixings generated by R-parity-violating couplings, with values
within their experimental upper limits, are capable of reproducing this
hierarchy, explaining all neutrino data particularly after including the LSND
results.Comment: 7 pages, Latex, 3 PS figures; in v2 a few clarifying remarks included
and two references added (to appear in Physical Review D
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