992 research outputs found
Discrete Gravity Models and Loop Quantum Gravity: a Short Review
We review the relation between Loop Quantum Gravity on a fixed graph and
discrete models of gravity. We compare Regge and twisted geometries, and
discuss discrete actions based on twisted geometries and on the discretization
of the Plebanski action. We discuss the role of discrete geometries in the spin
foam formalism, with particular attention to the definition of the simplicity
constraints.Comment: v2: many amendments, matches published versio
How well do Car-Parrinello simulations reproduce the Born-Oppenheimer surface ? Theory and Examples
We derive an analytic expression for the average difference between the
forces on the ions in a Car-Parrinello simulation and the forces obtained at
the same ionic positions when the electrons are at their ground state. We show
that for common values of the fictitious electron mass, a systematic bias may
affect the Car-Parrinello forces in systems where the electron-ion coupling is
large. We show that in the limit where the electronic orbitals are rigidly
dragged by the ions the difference between the two dynamics amounts to a
rescaling of the ionic masses, thereby leaving the thermodynamics intact. We
study the examples of crystalline magnesium oxide and crystalline and molten
silicon. We find that for crystalline silicon the errors are very small. For
crystalline MgO the errors are very large but the dynamics can be quite well
corrected within the rigid-ion model. We conclude that it is important to
control the effect of the electron mass parameter on the quantities extracted
from Car-Parrinello simulations.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Chemical Physic
Unification of gravity, gauge fields, and Higgs bosons
We consider a diffeomorphism invariant theory of a gauge field valued in a
Lie algebra that breaks spontaneously to the direct sum of the spacetime
Lorentz algebra, a Yang-Mills algebra, and their complement. Beginning with a
fully gauge invariant action -- an extension of the Plebanski action for
general relativity -- we recover the action for gravity, Yang-Mills, and Higgs
fields. The low-energy coupling constants, obtained after symmetry breaking,
are all functions of the single parameter present in the initial action and the
vacuum expectation value of the Higgs.Comment: 12 pages, no figures. v2 minor correction
Popliteal artery entrapment associated with cannabis arteritis.
OBJECTIVE: To report popliteal artery entrapment in a patient with distal necrosis and cannabis-related arteritis, two rare or exceptional disorders never described in association. To conduct a targeted review and especially to seek information on the clinical presentation with characteristics specific to each disorder so as to hasten the diagnosis and choose appropriate management. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 19-year-old man who presented with plantar claudication associated with necrosis in a toe underwent diagnostic arteriography and surgery for popliteal artery entrapment type III. RESULTS: Surgical clearance resolved the popliteal artery entrapment but left the clinical symptoms unchanged. Closer questioning disclosed a history of cannabis consumption and intravenous vasodilatory therapy was started. After the 21-day course of vasodilator agents the pain disappeared and the toe necrosis regressed. The patient stopped taking cannabis and had no signs of recurrence. CONCLUSION: Whereas a popliteal artery entrapment, albeit a rare event, is well described and responds to standardized treatment, popliteal artery entrapment associated with cannabis-induced arteritis is an exceptional event that could confuse management. Because young people-the age group mainly at risk for popliteal artery entrapment-increasingly use cannabis, cannabis arteritis could become a more frequent event associated with other arterial disorders that may confuse the diagnosis and complicate management. Our experience in a young patient suggests that coexisting popliteal artery entrapment and distal necrosis in a young patient should raise a strong suspicion of an associated vascular disorder possibly related to cannabis consumption. Intravenous vasodilatation treatment is successful provided that cannabis use is discontinued
Early Carotid Endarterectomy after Ischemic Stroke: The Results of a Prospective Multicenter Italian Study
ObjectivesTo evaluate safety of early carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients with acute brain ischemia presenting to the emergency department stroke units (EDSU).MethodsThe neurologists, neuroradiologists and vascular surgeons on duty in emergency departments enrolled 96 patients who underwent very early CEA according to a predefined protocol within two years. The protocol included evaluation of neurological status by National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), neuroimaging assessment, ultrasound of the carotid arteries and Transcranial Doppler. Patients with NIHSS>22 or whose neuroimaging showed brain infarct >2/3 of the middle cerebral artery territory were excluded. All eligible patients underwent CEA as soon as possible. Primary end points of the study were mortality, neurological morbidity by NIHSS and postoperative hemorrhagic conversion on neuroimaging. Statistical analysis was performed by univariate analysis.ResultsThe mean time elapsing between the onset of stroke and endarterectomy was 1.5 days (±2 days). The overall 30-day morbidity mortality rate was 7.3% (7/96). No neurological mortality occurred. On hospital discharge, three patients (3%) experienced worsening of the neurological deficit (NIHSS score 1 to 2, 1 to 3 and 9 to 10 respectively). Postoperative CT demonstrated there were no new cerebral infarcts nor hemorrhagic transformation. At hospital discharge 9/96 patients (9%) had no improvement in NHISS scores, 37 were asymptomatic and 45 showed a median decrease of 4.5 NIHSS points (range 1–18). By univariate analysis none of the considered variables influenced the clinical outcome.ConclusionOur protocol selected patients who can safely undergo very early (<1.5 days) surgery after acute brain ischemia. Large randomized multicenter prospective trials are warranted to compare very early CEA versus best medical therapy
Spinfoams in the holomorphic representation
We study a holomorphic representation for spinfoams. The representation is
obtained via the Ashtekar-Lewandowski-Marolf-Mour\~ao-Thiemann coherent state
transform. We derive the expression of the 4d spinfoam vertex for Euclidean and
for Lorentzian gravity in the holomorphic representation. The advantage of this
representation rests on the fact that the variables used have a clear
interpretation in terms of a classical intrinsic and extrinsic geometry of
space. We show how the peakedness on the extrinsic geometry selects a single
exponential of the Regge action in the semiclassical large-scale asymptotics of
the spinfoam vertex.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, published versio
Spherically symmetric black holes in minimally modified self-dual gravity
We discuss spherically symmetric black holes in the modified self-dual theory
of gravity recently studied by Krasnov, obtained adding a Weyl-curvature
dependent `cosmological term' to the Plebanski lagrangian for general
relativity. This type of modified gravity admits two different types of
singularities: one is a true singularity for the theory where the fundamental
fields of the theory, as well as the (auxiliary) spacetime metric, become
singular, and the other one is a milder "non-metric singularity" where the
metric description of the spacetime breaks down but the fundamental fields
themselves are regular. We first generalise this modified self-dual gravity to
include Maxwell's field and then study basic features of spherically symmetric,
charged black holes, with particular focus on whether these two types of
singularities are hidden or naked. We restrict our attention to minimal forms
of the modification, and find that the theory exhibits `screening' effects of
the electric charge (or `anti-screening', depending upon the sign of the
modification term), in the sense that it leads to the possibility of charging
the black hole more (or less) than it would be possible in general relativity
without exposing a naked singularity. We also find that for any (even
arbitrarily large) value of charge, true singularities of the theory appear to
be either achronal (non-timelike) covered by the hypersurface of a harmless
non-metric singularity, or simply hidden inside at least one Killing horizon.Comment: 42 pages, many colour figures. v2: discussion of the conformal
ambiguity improved, references added. v3: amended to match published versio
Coupling gauge theory to spinfoam 3d quantum gravity
We construct a spinfoam model for Yang-Mills theory coupled to quantum
gravity in three dimensional riemannian spacetime. We define the partition
function of the coupled system as a power series in g_0^2 G that can be
evaluated order by order using grasping rules and the recoupling theory. With
respect to previous attempts in the literature, this model assigns the
dynamical variables of gravity and Yang-Mills theory to the same simplices of
the spinfoam, and it thus provides transition amplitudes for the spin network
states of the canonical theory. For SU(2) Yang-Mills theory we show explicitly
that the partition function has a semiclassical limit given by the Regge
discretization of the classical Yang-Mills action.Comment: 18 page
N=2 supersymmetric spin foams in three dimensions
We construct the spin foam model for N=2 supergravity in three dimensions.
Classically, it is a BF theory with gauge algebra osp(2|2). This algebra has
representations which are not completely reducible. This complicates the
procedure when building a state sum. Fortunately, one can and should excise
these representations. We show that the restricted subset of representations
form a subcategory closed under tensor product. The resulting state-sum is once
again a topological invariant. Furthermore, within this framework one can
identify positively and negatively charged fermions propagating on the spin
foam. These results on osp(2|2) representations and intertwiners apply more
generally to spin network states for N=2 loop quantum supergravity (in 3+1
dimensions) where it allows to define a notion of BPS states.Comment: 12 page
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