827 research outputs found
A Class of String Backgrounds as a Semiclassical Limit of WZW Models
A class of string backgrounds associated with non semi-simple groups is
obtained as a special large level limit of ordinary WZW models. The models have
an integer Virasoro central charge and they include the background recently
studied by Nappi and Witten.Comment: 9 page
Free-field Representations and Geometry of some Gepner models
The geometry of Gepner model, where is investigated by
free-field representation known as "bc\bet\gm"-system. Using this
representation it is shown directly that internal sector of the model is given
by Landau-Ginzburg -orbifold. Then we consider
the deformation of the orbifold by marginal anti-chiral-chiral operator.
Analyzing the holomorphic sector of the deformed space of states we show that
it has chiral de Rham complex structure of some toric manifold, where toric
dates are given by certain fermionic screening currents. It allows to relate
the Gepner model deformed by the marginal operator to the -model on CY
manifold realized as double cover of with ramification along
certain submanifold.Comment: LaTex, 14 pages, some acknowledgments adde
Toll-managed lanes: A simplified benefit-cost analysis of seven US projects
Toll managed lanes are expressway lanes where tolls are usedâoften in combination with preferred access for high occupancy vehicles and other special traffic management techniquesâto improve the highway's capacity, speed or reliability. Such lanes have become popular with transportation policymakers as a way of maintaining free-flowing traffic on certain sections of the highway while also, in some cases, financing the construction of new lanes in congested urban areas. This study examines whether toll-managed lanes are as beneficial as they are popular. The heart of the analysis is the application of a simplified social benefit-cost analysis (BCA) to seven projects. In brief, our results paint a complicated picture of toll-managed lane efficacy. Only two of the seven projects have benefit-cost (B/C) ratios above 1.0 using our base case assumptions about the value of travel time saved and the discount rate, although three others approach or exceed 1.0 with more optimistic but plausible assumptions. The most successful generate not only a significant savings of around 4â5 min per trip for motorists who switch to the managed lane but also smaller per-trip savings for the large majority of motorists who continue to use the general-purpose lanes. It is important to acknowledge, however, that these calculations depend upon some uncertain assumptions about the value of travel time savings and improved reliability
Toll-managed lane pioneers: Lessons from five US states
Toll-managed lanes have become an increasingly popular technique among transportation policymakers for managing congestion on existing highways and, in some cases, financing the construction of new lanes in congested urban corridors. Although growing in popularity, the adoption of these facilities is concentrated in five states: Texas, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Florida. This paper examines the adoption and utilization of toll-managed lanes in these pioneer states. Using archival, case-based research, our analysis suggests that the adoption of toll-managed lanes was driven by a combination of factors, including rapid population growth, near or above average growth in vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and insufficient gas tax funding for transportation investments. Implementation was also generally similar across states but some of the pioneers delegated the management of their toll-managed lane programs to special regional highway authorities while others used state highway agencies
Remarks on Resonant Scalars in the AdS/CFT Correspondence
The special properties of scalars having a mass such that the two possible
dimensions of the dual scalar respect the unitarity and the
Breitenlohner-Freedman bounds and their ratio is integral (``resonant
scalars'') are studied in the AdS/CFT correspondence. The role of logarithmic
branches in the gravity theory is related to the existence of a trace anomaly
and to a marginal deformation in the Conformal Field Theory. The existence of
asymptotic charges for the conformal group in the gravity theory is interpreted
in terms of the properties of the corresponding CFT.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
A new genus and species of tyrannosauroid from the Late Cretaceous (Middle Campanian) Demopolis Formation of Alabama
General solutions of the Wess-Zumino consistency condition for the Weyl anomalies
The general solutions of the Wess-Zumino consistency condition for the
conformal (or Weyl, or trace) anomalies are derived. The solutions are
obtained, in arbitrary dimensions, by explicitly computing the cohomology of
the corresponding Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin differential in the space of
integrated local functions at ghost number unity. This provides a purely
algebraic, regularization-independent classification of the Weyl anomalies in
arbitrary dimensions. The so-called type-A anomaly is shown to satisfy a
non-trivial descent of equations, similarly to the non-Abelian chiral anomaly
in Yang-Mills theory.Comment: 9 pages. RevTeX fil
On Spectral Flow Symmetry and Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Equation
It is well known that five-point function in Liouville field theory provides
a representation of solutions of the SL(2,R)_k Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation
at the level of four-point function. Here, we make use of such representation
to study some aspects of the spectral flow symmetry of sl(2)_k affine algebra
and its action on the observables of the WZNW theory. To illustrate the
usefulness of this method we rederive the three-point function that violates
the winding number in SL(2,R) in a very succinct way. In addition, we prove
several identities holding between exact solutions of the
Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation.Comment: 10 pages, no figures. v2: Typos corrected, formula and references
added. v3: typo corrected in equation (20
Universal Features of Holographic Anomalies
We study the mechanism by which gravitational actions reproduce the trace
anomalies of the holographically related conformal field theories. Two
universal features emerge: a) the ratios of type B trace anomalies in any even
dimension are independent of the gravitational action, being uniquely
determined by the underlying algebraic structure b) the normalization of the
type A and the overall normalization of the type B anomalies are given by
action dependent expressions with the dimension dependence completely fixed.Comment: 17 pages, harvma
Violation of Energy Bounds in Designer Gravity
We continue our study of the stability of designer gravity theories, where
one considers anti-de Sitter gravity coupled to certain tachyonic scalars with
boundary conditions defined by a smooth function W. It has recently been argued
there is a lower bound on the conserved energy in terms of the global minimum
of W, if the scalar potential arises from a superpotential P and the scalar
reaches an extremum of P at infinity. We show, however, there are
superpotentials for which these bounds do not hold.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, v2: discussion of vacuum decay included, typos
corrected, reference adde
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