7,424 research outputs found
The Scaling of the No Scale Potential and de Sitter Model Building
We propose a variant of the KKLT (A)dS flux vacuum construction which does
not require an antibrane to source the volume modulus. The strategy is to find
nonzero local minima of the no-scale potential in the complex structure and
dilaton directions in moduli space. The corresponding no-scale potential
expanded about this point sources the volume modulus in the same way as does
the antibrane of the KKLT construction. We exhibit explicit examples of such
nonzero local minima of the no-scale potential in a simple toroidal orientifold
model.Comment: 11 pages, harvmac big. v2: trivial typos fixe
Enhancement of the ferromagnetic order of graphite after sulphuric acid treatment
We have studied the changes in the ferromagnetic behavior of graphite powder
and graphite flakes after treatment with diluted sulphuric acid. We show that
this kind of acid treatment enhances substantially the ferromagnetic
magnetization of virgin graphite micrometer size powder as well as in graphite
flakes. The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) amplitude at 300 K measured in
a micrometer size thin graphite flake after acid treatment reaches values
comparable to polycrystalline cobalt.Comment: 3.2 pages, 4 figure
Activated platelets form protected zones of adhesion on fibrinogen and fibronectin-coated surfaces.
Leukocytes form zones of close apposition when they adhere to ligand-coated surfaces. Because plasma proteins are excluded from these contact zones, we have termed them protected zones of adhesion. To determine whether platelets form similar protected zones of adhesion, gel-filtered platelets stimulated with thrombin or ADP were allowed to adhere to fibrinogen- or fibronectin-coated surfaces. The protein-coated surfaces with platelets attached were stained with either fluorochrome-conjugated goat anti-human fibrinogen or anti-human fibronectin antibodies, or with rhodamine-conjugated polyethylene glycol polymers. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that F(ab')2 anti-fibrinogen (100 kD) did not penetrate into the contact zones between stimulated platelets and the underlying fibrinogen-coated surface, while Fab antifibrinogen (50 kD) and 10 kD polyethylene glycol readily penetrated and stained the substrate beneath the platelets. Thrombin- or ADP-stimulated platelets also formed protected zones of adhesion on fibronectin-coated surfaces. F(ab')2 anti-fibronectin and 10 kD polyethylene glycol were excluded from these adhesion zones, indicating that they are much less permeable than those formed by platelets on fibrinogen-coated surfaces. The permeability properties of protected zones of adhesion formed by stimulated platelets on surfaces coated with both fibrinogen and fibronectin were similar to the zones of adhesion formed on fibronectin alone. mAb 7E3, directed against the alpha IIb beta 3 integrin blocked the formation of protected adhesion zones between thrombin-stimulated platelets and fibrinogen or fibronectin coated surfaces. mAb C13 is directed against the alpha 5 beta 1 integrin on platelets. Stimulated platelets treated with this mAb formed protected zones of adhesion on surfaces coated with fibronectin. These protected zones were impermeable to F(ab')2 antifibronectin but were permeable to 10 kD polyethylene glycol. These results show that activated platelets form protected zones of adhesion and that the size of molecules excluded from these zones depends upon the composition of the matrix proteins to which the platelets adhere. They also show that formation of protected zones of adhesion by platelets requires alpha IIb beta 3 integrins while the permeability properties of these zones of adhesion are regulated by both alpha IIb beta 3 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrins
A Phase Transition between Small and Large Field Models of Inflation
We show that models of inflection point inflation exhibit a phase transition
from a region in parameter space where they are of large field type to a region
where they are of small field type. The phase transition is between a universal
behavior, with respect to the initial condition, at the large field region and
non-universal behavior at the small field region. The order parameter is the
number of e-foldings. We find integer critical exponents at the transition
between the two phases.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure
Mudbricks, Construction Methods, and Stratigraphic Analysis : A Case Study at Tell Timai (ancient Thmuis) in the Egyptian Delta
The Graeco-Roman site of Tell Timai (ancient Thmuis) in Lower Egypt is among the largest urban tells in the Nile Delta, boasting substantial amounts of preserved earthen architecture. Although earthen architecture made up the vast majority of public and domestic structures in ancient Egypt, it still does not receive the same analytical attention from archaeologists as other categories of evidence. This paper presents a case study for the archaeological investigation of the earthen architecture at Tell Timai. The goal was to develop a methodology that can be implemented in the field by excavators with little geoarchaeological training and limited laboratory access in order to generate useful data for determining building stratigraphy and studying construction processes. Through the close examination and sampling of three buildings of different periods and scales, we tested a new field methodology combining geoarchaeological techniques and mensiochronology. The results provide information useful for stratigraphy and phasing as well as for identifying specific patterns of mudbrick manufacturing, production, and construction during the Graeco-Roman period at Tell Timai.Peer reviewe
New Sources of Gravitational Waves during Inflation
We point out that detectable inflationary tensor modes can be generated by
particle or string sources produced during inflation, consistently with the
requirements for inflation and constraints from scalar fluctuations. We show
via examples that this effect can dominate over the contribution from quantum
fluctuations of the metric, occurring even when the inflationary potential
energy is too low to produce a comparable signal. Thus a detection of tensor
modes from inflation does not automatically constitute a determination of the
inflationary Hubble scale.Comment: 32 pages, 1 figure. v2: JCAP published version; some overestimates
corrected; main results unchange
Beauty is Attractive: Moduli Trapping at Enhanced Symmetry Points
We study quantum effects on moduli dynamics arising from the production of
particles which are light at special points in moduli space. The resulting
forces trap the moduli at these points, which often exhibit enhanced symmetry.
Moduli trapping occurs in time-dependent quantum field theory, as well as in
systems of moving D-branes, where it leads the branes to combine into stacks.
Trapping also occurs in an expanding universe, though the range over which the
moduli can roll is limited by Hubble friction. We observe that a scalar field
trapped on a steep potential can induce a stage of acceleration of the
universe, which we call trapped inflation. Moduli trapping ameliorates the
cosmological moduli problem and may affect vacuum selection. In particular,
rolling moduli are most powerfully attracted to the points with the largest
number of light particles, which are often the points of greatest symmetry.
Given suitable assumptions about the dynamics of the very early universe, this
effect might help to explain why among the plethora of possible vacuum states
of string theory, we appear to live in one with a large number of light
particles and (spontaneously broken) symmetries. In other words, some of the
surprising properties of our world might arise not through pure chance or
miraculous cancellations, but through a natural selection mechanism during
dynamical evolution.Comment: 50 pages, 4 figures; v2: added references and an appendix describing
a related classical proces
Inaccessible Singularities in Toral Cosmology
The familiar Bang/Crunch singularities of classical cosmology have recently
been augmented by new varieties: rips, sudden singularities, and so on. These
tend to be associated with final states. Here we consider an alternative
possibility for the initial state: a singularity which has the novel property
of being inaccessible to physically well-defined probes. These singularities
arise naturally in cosmologies with toral spatial sections.Comment: 10 pages, version to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit
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