504 research outputs found
Towards a Complete Twistorization of the Heterotic String
In and 10 space--time dimensions considered is a string model
invariant under transformations of space--time supersymmetry and
local worldsheet supersymmetry with the both Virasoro constraints solved in the
twistor form. The twistor solution survives in a modified form even in the
presence of the heterotic fermions.Comment: 11 pages, latex, report no. Goteborg-ITP-94-1
Worldline Superfield Actions for N=2 Superparticles
We propose doubly supersymmetric actions in terms of n=2(D-2) worldline
superfields for N=2 superparticles in D=3,4 and Type IIA D=6 superspaces. These
actions are obtained by dimensional reduction of superfield actions for N=1
superparticles in D=4,6 and 10, respectively. We show that in all these models
geometrodynamical constraints on target superspace coordinates do not put the
theory on the mass shell, so the actions constructed consistently describe the
dynamics of the corresponding N=2 superparticles. We also find that in contrast
to the IIA D=6 superparticle a chiral IIB D=6 superparticle, which is not
obtainable by dimensional reduction from N=1, D=10, is described by superfield
constraints which produce dynamical equations. This implies that for the IIB
D=6 superparticle the doubly supersymmetric action does not exist in the
conventional form.Comment: Latex, 20 pp. Minor corrections, acknowledgements adde
International Space Station Research for the Next Decade: International Coordination and Research Accomplishments
During 2011, the International Space Station reached an important milestone in the completion of assembly and the shift to the focus on a full and continuous utilization mission in space. The ISS partnership itself has also met a milestone in the coordination and cooperation of utilization activities including research, technology development and education. We plan and track all ISS utilization activities jointly and have structures in place to cooperate on common goals by sharing ISS assets and resources, and extend the impacts and efficiency of utilization activities. The basic utilization areas on the ISS include research, technology development and testing, and education/outreach. Research can be categorized as applied research for future exploration, basic research taking advantage of the microgravity and open space environment, and Industrial R&D / commercial research focused at industrial product development and improvement. Technology development activities range from testing of new spacecraft systems and materials to the use of ISS as an analogue for future exploration missions to destinations beyond Earth orbit. This presentation, made jointly by all ISS international partners, will highlight the ways that international cooperation in all of these areas is achieved, and the overall accomplishments that have come as well as future perspectives from the cooperation. Recently, the partnership has made special efforts to increase the coordination and impact of ISS utilization that has humanitarian benefits. In this context the paper will highlight tentative ISS utilization developments in the areas of Earth remote sensing, medical technology transfer, and education/outreach
Expanded Benefits for Humanity from the International Space Station
In 2012, the International Space Station (ISS) partnership published the updated International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 2nd edition, a compilation of stories about the many benefits being realized in the areas of human health, Earth observations and disaster response, and global education. This compilation has recently been revised to include updated statistics on the impacts of the benefits, and new benefits that have developed since the first publication. Two new sections have also been added to the book, economic development of space and innovative technology. This paper will summarize the updates on behalf of the ISS Program Science Forum, made up of senior science representatives across the international partnership. The new section on "Economic Development of Space" highlights case studies from public-private partnerships that are leading to a new economy in low earth orbit (LEO). Businesses provide both transportation to the ISS as well as some research facilities and services. These relationships promote a paradigm shift of government-funded, contractor-provided goods and services to commercially-provided goods purchased by government agencies. Other examples include commercial firms spending research and development dollars to conduct investigations on ISS and commercial service providers selling services directly to ISS users. This section provides examples of ISS as a test bed for new business relationships, and illustrates successful partnerships. The second new section, Innovative Technology, merges technology demonstration and physical science findings that promise to return Earth benefits through continued research. Robotic refueling concepts for life extensions of costly satellites in geo-synchronous orbit have applications to robotics in industry on Earth. Flame behavior experiments reveal insight into how fuel burns in microgravity leading to the possibility of improving engine efficiency on Earth. Nanostructures and smart fluids are examples of materials improvements that are being developed using data from ISS. The publication also expands the benefits of research results in human health, environmental change and disaster response and in education activities developed to capture student imaginations in support of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education internationally. Applications to human health of the knowledge gained on ISS continues to grow and improve healthcare technologies and our understanding of human physiology. Distinct benefits return to Earth from the only orbiting multi-disciplinary laboratory of its kind. The ISS is a stepping stone for future space exploration by providing findings that develop LEO and improve life on our planet
Impact of the International Space Station Research Results
The International Space Station (ISS) facilitates research that benefits human lives on Earth and serves as the primary testing ground for technology development to sustain life in the extreme environment of space. To date, investigators have published a wide range of ISS science results, from improved theories about the creation of stars to the outcome of data mining omics repositories of previously completed ISS investigations. Because of the unique microgravity environment of the ISS laboratory and the multidisciplinary and international nature of the research, analyzing ISS scientific impacts is an exceptional challenge. As a result, the ISS Program Science Forum (PSF), made up of senior science representatives across the ISS international partnership, uses various methods to describe the impacts of ISS research activities. For the most part, past papers written by PSF members to assess the overall ISS research impact have focused on exhibiting ISS research impact by quantifying ISS research output or its perceived benefits for humanity. This paper proposes a new assessment of ISS impact from the perspective of the end users needs. To that end, the authors use visualizations and metrics of scientific publication data to show the ISS research influence on traditional scientific fields, its global reach and the benefits to people across the globe
Comparative metagenomic analysis of electrogenic microbial communities in differentially inoculated swine wastewater-fed microbial fuel cells
Bioelectrochemical systems such as microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising new technologies for efficient removal of organic compounds from industrial wastewaters, including that generated from swine farming. We inoculated two pairs of laboratory-scale MFCs with sludge granules from a beer wastewater-treating anaerobic digester (IGBS) or from sludge taken from the bottom of a tank receiving swine wastewater (SS). The SS-inoculated MFC outperformed the IGBS-inoculated MFC with regard to COD and VFA removal and electricity production. Using a metagenomic approach, we describe the microbial diversity of the MFC planktonic and anodic communities derived from the different inocula. Proteobacteria (mostly Deltaproteobacteria) became the predominant phylum in both MFC anodic communities with amplification of the electrogenic genus Geobacter being the most pronounced. Eight dominant and three minor species of Geobacter were found in both MFC anodic communities. The anodic communities of the SS-inoculated MFCs had a higher proportion of Clostridium and Bacteroides relative to those of the IGBS-inoculated MFCs, which were enriched with Pelobacter. The archaeal populations of the SS- and IGBS-inoculated MFCs were dominated by Methanosarcina barkeri and Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus, respectively. Our results show a long-term influence of inoculum type on the performance and microbial community composition of swine wastewater-treating MFCs
SUPERSTRINGS AND SUPERMEMBRANES IN THE DOUBLY SUPERSYMMETRIC GEOMETRICAL APPROACH
We perform a generalization of the geometrical approach to describing
extended objects for studying the doubly supersymmetric twistor--like
formulation of super--p--branes. Some basic features of embedding world
supersurface into target superspace specified by a geometrodynamical condition
are considered. It is shown that the main attributes of the geometrical
approach, such as the second fundamental form and extrinsic torsion of the
embedded surface, and the Codazzi, Gauss and Ricci equations, have their doubly
supersymmetric counterparts. At the same time the embedding of supersurface
into target superspace has its particular features. For instance, the embedding
may cause more rigid restrictions on the geometrical properties of the
supersurface. This is demonstrated with the examples of an N=1 twistor--like
supermembrane in D=11 and type II superstrings in D=10, where the
geometrodynamical condition causes the embedded supersurface to be minimal and
puts the theories on the mass shell.Comment: 45 pages, LaTeX, 3 appendicie
Dynamics of Higher Spin Fields and Tensorial Space
The structure and the dynamics of massless higher spin fields in various
dimensions are reviewed with an emphasis on conformally invariant higher spin
fields. We show that in D=3,4,6 and 10 dimensional space-time the conformal
higher spin fields constitute the quantum spectrum of a twistor-like particle
propagating in tensorial spaces of corresponding dimensions. We give a detailed
analysis of the field equations of the model and establish their relation with
known formulations of free higher spin field theory.Comment: JHEP3 style, 40 pages; v2 typos corrected, comments and references
added; v3 published versio
Generalized action principle and extrinsic geometry for N=1 superparticle
It is proposed the generalized action functional for N=1 superparticle in
D=3,4,6 and 10 space-time dimensions. The superfield geometric approach
equations describing superparticle motion in terms of extrinsic geometry of the
worldline superspace are obtained on the base of the generalized action. The
off-shell superdiffeomorphism invariance (in the rheonomic sense) of the
superparticle generalized action is proved. It was demonstrated that the half
of the fermionic and one bosonic (super)fields disappear from the generalized
action in the analytical basis. Superparticle interaction with Abelian gauge
theory is considered in the framework of this formulation. The geometric
approach equations describing superparticle motion in Abelian background are
obtained.Comment: 31 pages. Late
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