Comment on Ambiguities in the Holographic Weyl Anomaly

We consider possible ambiguities in the holographic Weyl anomaly that are caused by local terms in the flow equation. We point out that such ambiguities actually do not give physically meaningful contributions to the Weyl anomaly.Comment: LaTeX file, 7 pag

Junction Conditions of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Space-Times

We complete a classification of junctions of two Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-times bounded by a spherical thin wall. Our analysis covers super-horizon bubbles and thus complements the previous work of Berezin, Kuzumin and Tkachev. Contrary to sub-horizon bubbles, various topology types for super-horizon bubbles are possible, regardless of the sign of the extrinsic curvature. We also derive a formula for the peculiar velocity of a domain wall for all types of junction.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, figures are not included (available on request by regular mail), WU-AP/31/9

Effect of Applied Orthorhombic Lattice Distortion on the Antiferromagnetic Phase of CeAuSb2_2

We study the response of the antiferromagnetism of CeAuSb$_2$ to orthorhombic lattice distortion applied through in-plane uniaxial pressure. The response to pressure applied along a $\langle 110 \rangle$ lattice direction shows a first-order transition at zero pressure, which shows that the magnetic order lifts the $(110)/(1\bar{1}0)$ symmetry of the unstressed lattice. Sufficient $\langle 100 \rangle$ pressure appears to rotate the principal axes of the order from $\langle 110 \rangle$ to $\langle 100 \rangle$. At low $\langle 100 \rangle$ pressure, the transition at $T_N$ is weakly first-order, however it becomes continuous above a threshold $\langle 100 \rangle$ pressure. We discuss the possibility that this behavior is driven by order parameter fluctuations, with the restoration of a continuous transition a result of reducing the point-group symmetry of the lattice.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

The noncommutative Kubo Formula: Applications to Transport in Disordered Topological Insulators with and without Magnetic Fields

The non-commutative theory of charge transport in mesoscopic aperiodic systems under magnetic fields, developed by Bellissard, Shulz-Baldes and collaborators in the 90's, is complemented with a practical numerical implementation. The scheme, which is developed within a $C^*$-algebraic framework, enable efficient evaluations of the non-commutative Kubo formula, with errors that vanish exponentially fast in the thermodynamic limit. Applications to a model of a 2-dimensional Quantum spin-Hall insulator are given. The conductivity tensor is mapped as function of Fermi level, disorder strength and temperature and the phase diagram in the plane of Fermi level and disorder strength is quantitatively derived from the transport simulations. Simulations at finite magnetic field strength are also presented.Comment: 10 figure

Metamagnetism of antiferromagnetic XXZ quantum spin chains

The magnetization process of the one-dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with the Ising-like anisotropic exchange interaction is studied by the exact diagonalization technique. It results in the evidence of the first-order spin flop transition with a finite magnetization jump in the N\'eel ordered phase for $S\geq 1$. It implies that the S=1/2 chain is an exceptional case where the metamagnetic transition becomes second-order due to large quantum fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, with 6 eps figure

Peculiar Velocities of Nonlinear Structure: Voids in McVittie Spacetime

As a study of peculiar velocities of nonlinear structure, we analyze the model of a relativistic thin-shell void in the expanding universe. (1) Adopting McVittie (MV) spacetime as a background universe, we investigate the dynamics of an uncompensated void with negative MV mass. Although the motion itself is quite different from that of a compensated void, as shown by Haines & Harris (1993), the present peculiar velocities are not affected by MV mass. (2) We discuss how precisely the formula in the linear perturbation theory applies to nonlinear relativistic voids, using the results in (1) as well as the previous results for the homogeneous background (Sakai, Maeda, & Sato 1993). (3) We re-examine the effect of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Contrary to the results of Pim & Lake (1986, 1988), we find that the effect is negligible. We show that their results are due to inappropriate initial conditions. Our results (1)-(3) suggest that the formula in the linear perturbation theory is approximately valid even for nonlinear voids.Comment: 12 pages, aastex, 4 ps figures separate, Fig.2 added, to appear in Ap

String splitting and strong coupling meson decay

We study the decay of high spin mesons using the gauge/string theory correspondence. The rate of the process is calculated by studying the splitting of a macroscopic string intersecting a D-brane. The result is applied to the decay of mesons in N=4 SYM with a small number of flavors and in a gravity dual of large N QCD. In QCD the decay of high spin mesons is found to be heavily suppressed in the regime of validity of the supergravity description.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures. V2: References added. V3: Minor correction

Critical exponent in the magnetization curve of quantum spin chains

The ground state magnetization curve around the critical magnetic field $H_c$ of quantum spin chains with the spin gap is investigated. We propose a size scaling method to estimate the critical exponent $\delta$ defined as $m\sim |H-H_c|^{1/\delta}$ from finite cluster calculation. The applications of the method to the S=1 antiferromagnetic chain and S=1/2 bond alternating chain lead to a common conclusion $\delta =2$. The same result is derived for both edges of the magnetization plateau of the S=3/2 antiferromagnetic chain with the single ion anisotropy.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, with 4 eps figure

Field induced transition of the S=1 antiferromagnetic chain with anisotropy

The ground state magnetization process of the S=1 antiferromagnetic chain with the easy-axis single-ion anisotropy described by negative $D$ is investigated. It is numerically found that a phase transition between two different gapless phases occurs at an intermediate magnetic field between the starting and saturation points of the magnetization for $-1.49<D<-0.35$. The transition is similar to the spin flopping, but it is second-order and not accompanied with any significant anomalous behaviors in the magnetization curve. We also present the phase diagrams in the m-D and H-D planes which reveal a possible re-entrant transition.Comment: 6 pages, Revtex, with 6 eps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B (Sep. 1