Ricci flow of conformally compact metrics

In this paper we prove that given a smoothly conformally compact metric there is a short-time solution to the Ricci flow that remains smoothly conformally compact. We adapt recent results of Schn\"urer, Schulze and Simon to prove a stability result for conformally compact Einstein metrics sufficiently close to the hyperbolic metric.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures. Version 2 includes stronger stability result and fixes several typo

The Final State of Black Strings and p-Branes, and the Gregory-Laflamme Instability

It is shown that the usual entropy argument for the Gregory-Laflamme (GL) instability for $some$ appropriate black strings and $p$-branes gives surprising agreement up to a few percent. This may provide a strong support to the GL's horizon fragmentation, which would produce the array of higher-dimensional Schwarzschild-type's black holes finally. On the other hand, another estimator for the size of the black hole end-state relative to the compact dimension indicates a second order (i.e., smooth) phase transition for some $other$ appropriate compactifications and total dimension of spacetime wherein the entropy argument is not appropriate. In this case, Horowitz-Maeda-type's non-uniform black strings or $p$-branes can be the final state of the GL instability.Comment: More emphasis on a second order phase transition. The computation result is unchange

Weak and cyclic amenability for Fourier algebras of connected Lie groups

Using techniques of non-abelian harmonic analysis, we construct an explicit, non-zero cyclic derivation on the Fourier algebra of the real $ax+b$ group. In particular this provides the first proof that this algebra is not weakly amenable. Using the structure theory of Lie groups, we deduce that the Fourier algebras of connected, semisimple Lie groups also support non-zero, cyclic derivations and are likewise not weakly amenable. Our results complement earlier work of Johnson (JLMS, 1994), Plymen (unpublished note) and Forrest--Samei--Spronk (IUMJ 2009). As an additional illustration of our techniques, we construct an explicit, non-zero cyclic derivation on the Fourier algebra of the reduced Heisenberg group, providing the first example of a connected nilpotent group whose Fourier algebra is not weakly amenable.Comment: v4: AMS-LaTeX, 26 pages. Final version, to appear in JFA. Includes an authors' correction added at proof stag

Engineering Time-Reversal Invariant Topological Insulators With Ultra-Cold Atoms

Topological insulators are a broad class of unconventional materials that are insulating in the interior but conduct along the edges. This edge transport is topologically protected and dissipationless. Until recently, all existing topological insulators, known as quantum Hall states, violated time-reversal symmetry. However, the discovery of the quantum spin Hall effect demonstrated the existence of novel topological states not rooted in time-reversal violations. Here, we lay out an experiment to realize time-reversal topological insulators in ultra-cold atomic gases subjected to synthetic gauge fields in the near-field of an atom-chip. In particular, we introduce a feasible scheme to engineer sharp boundaries where the "edge states" are localized. Besides, this multi-band system has a large parameter space exhibiting a variety of quantum phase transitions between topological and normal insulating phases. Due to their unprecedented controllability, cold-atom systems are ideally suited to realize topological states of matter and drive the development of topological quantum computing.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure