476 research outputs found
Massless Decoupled Doublers: Chiral Yukawa Models and Chiral Gauge Theories
We present a new method for regularizing chiral theories on the lattice. The
arbitrariness in the regularization is used in order to decouple massless
replica fermions. A continuum limit with only one fermion is obtained in
perturbation theory and a Golterman-Petcher like symmetry related to the
decoupling of the replicas in the non-perturbative regime is identified. In the
case of Chiral Gauge Theories gauge invariance is broken at the level of the
regularization, so our approach shares many of the characteristics of the Rome
approach.Comment: 11 page
Index Theorem and Overlap Formalism with Naive and Minimally Doubled Fermions
We present a theoretical foundation for the Index theorem in naive and
minimally doubled lattice fermions by studying the spectral flow of a Hermitean
version of Dirac operators. We utilize the point splitting method to implement
flavored mass terms, which play an important role in constructing proper
Hermitean operators. We show the spectral flow correctly detects the index of
the would-be zero modes which is determined by gauge field topology. Using the
flavored mass terms, we present new types of overlap fermions from the naive
fermion kernels, with a number of flavors that depends on the choice of the
mass terms. We succeed to obtain a single-flavor naive overlap fermion which
maintains hypercubic symmetry.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures; references added, version accepted in JHE
A Wilson-Yukawa model with undoubled chiral fermions in 2D
We consider the fermion spectrum in the strong coupling vortex phase of a
lattice fermion-scalar model with a global , in 2D, in the
context of a recently proposed two-cutoff lattice formulation. The fermion
doublers are made massive by a strong Wilson-Yukawa coupling, but in contrast
with the standard formulation of these models, in which the light fermion
spectrum was found to be massive and vectorlike, we find massless undoubled
fermions with chiral quantum numbers at finite lattice spacing. When the global
symmetry is gauged, this model is expected to give rise to a chiral gauge
theory.Comment: 34 pages, late
Screening of Z(N) monopole pairs in gauge theories
The screening of magnetic Z(N)-monopoles and the associated screening length
in SU(N) gauge theories are analyzed theoretically, and computed numerically in
the 3d SU(2) theory. The nature of the screening excitations as well as their
mass have so far remained inconclusive in the literature. Here we show that the
screening mass is identical to the lowest J^{PC}_R=0^{++}_+ excitation of the
Yang-Mills Hamiltonian with one compact direction with period 1/T, the
subscript R referring to parity in this direction. We extend the continuum
formulation to one on the lattice, and determine the transfer matrix governing
the decay of the spatial monopole correlator at any finite lattice spacing. Our
numerical results for SU(2) for the screening mass in the dimensionally reduced
(high temperature) theory are compatible with the 0^{++} glueball mass in 3d
SU(2).Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures. Typos corrected, published versio
Domain wall fermion zero modes on classical topological backgrounds
The domain wall approach to lattice fermions employs an additional dimension,
in which gauge fields are merely replicated, to separate the chiral components
of a Dirac fermion. It is known that in the limit of infinite separation in
this new dimension, domain wall fermions have exact zero modes, even for gauge
fields which are not smooth. We explore the effects of finite extent in the
fifth dimension on the zero modes for both smooth and non-smooth topological
configurations and find that a fifth dimension of around ten sites is
sufficient to clearly show zero mode effects. This small value for the extent
of the fifth dimension indicates the practical utility of this technique for
numerical simulations of QCD.Comment: Updated fig. 3-7, small changes in sect. 3, added fig. 8, added more
reference
A critical comparison of different definitions of topological charge on the lattice
A detailed comparison is made between the field-theoretic and geometric
definitions of topological charge density on the lattice. Their
renormalizations with respect to continuum are analysed. The definition of the
topological susceptibility, as used in chiral Ward identities, is reviewed.
After performing the subtractions required by it, the different lattice methods
yield results in agreement with each other. The methods based on cooling and on
counting fermionic zero modes are also discussed.Comment: 12 pages (LaTeX file) + 7 (postscript) figures. Revised version.
Submitted to Phys. Rev.
AChBP-targeted α-conotoxin correlates distinct binding orientations with nAChR subtype selectivity
Neuronal nAChRs are a diverse family of pentameric ion channels with wide distribution throughout cells of the nervous and immune systems. However, the role of specific subtypes in normal and pathological states remains poorly understood due to the lack of selective probes. Here, we used a binding assay based on acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP), a homolog of the nicotinic acetylcholine ligand-binding domain, to discover a novel α-conotoxin (α-TxIA) in the venom of Conus textile. α-TxIA bound with high affinity to AChBPs from different species and selectively targeted the α3ÎČ2 nAChR subtype. A co-crystal structure of Ac-AChBP with the enhanced potency analog TxIA(A10L), revealed a 20° backbone tilt compared to other AChBPâconotoxin complexes. This reorientation was coordinated by a key salt bridge formed between Arg5 (TxIA) and Asp195 (Ac-AChBP). Mutagenesis studies, biochemical assays and electrophysiological recordings directly correlated the interactions observed in the co-crystal structure to binding affinity at AChBP and different nAChR subtypes. Together, these results establish a new pharmacophore for the design of novel subtype-selective ligands with therapeutic potential in nAChR-related diseases
Paisia, an Early Cretaceous eudicot angiosperm flower with pantoporate pollen from Portugal
A new fossil angiosperm, Paisia pantoporata, is described from the Early Cretaceous Catefica mesofossil flora, Portugal, based on coalified floral buds, flowers and isolated floral structures. The flowers are actinomorphic and structurally bisexual with a single whorl of five fleshy tepals, a single whorl of five stamens and a single whorl of five carpels. Tepals, stamens and carpels are opposite, arranged on the same radii and tepals are involute at the base clasping the stamens. Stamens have a massive filament that grades without a joint into the anther. The anthers are dithecate and tetrasporangiate with extensive connective tissue between the tiny pollen sacs. Pollen grains are pantoporate and spiny. The carpels are free, apparently plicate, with many ovules borne in two rows along the ventral margins. Paisia pantoporata is the oldest known flower with pantoporate pollen. Similar pantoporate pollen was also recognised in the associated dispersed palynoflora. Paisia is interpreted as a possibly insect pollinated, herbaceous plant with low pollen production and low dispersal potential of the pollen. The systematic position of Paisia is uncertain and Paisia pantoporata most likely belongs to an extinct lineage. Pantoporate pollen occurs scattered among all major groups of angiosperms and a close match to the fossils has not been identified. The pentamerous floral organisation together with structure of stamen, pollen and carpel suggests a phylogenetic position close to the early diverging eudicot lineages, probably in the Ranunculales.Swiss Light Source at the Paul Scherrer Institute (European Union FP6 projects) [20130185, 20141047]; Swedish Research Council [2014-5228]; Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) [UID/MAR/00350/2013]; CretaCarbo project [PTDC/CTE-GIX/113983/2009
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