46 research outputs found
Ectoplasm & Superspace Integration Measure for 2D Supergravity with Four Spinorial Supercurrents
Building on a previous derivation of the local chiral projector for a two
dimensional superspace with eight real supercharges, we provide the complete
density projection formula required for locally supersymmetrical theories in
this context. The derivation of this result is shown to be very efficient using
techniques based on the Ectoplasmic construction of local measures in
superspace.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX; V2: minor changes, typos corrected, references
added; V3: version to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor., some comments and
references added to address a referee reques
New massive supergravity multiplets
We present new off-shell formulations for the massive superspin-3/2
multiplet. In the massless limit, they reduce respectively to the old minimal
(n=-1/3) and non-minimal () linearized formulations for 4D N=1
supergravity. Duality transformations, which relate the models constructed, are
derived.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX; v2: minor changes, references adde
Ballistic nanofriction
Sliding parts in nanosystems such as Nano ElectroMechanical Systems (NEMS)
and nanomotors, increasingly involve large speeds, and rotations as well as
translations of the moving surfaces; yet, the physics of high speed nanoscale
friction is so far unexplored. Here, by simulating the motion of drifting and
of kicked Au clusters on graphite - a workhorse system of experimental
relevance -- we demonstrate and characterize a novel "ballistic" friction
regime at high speed, separate from drift at low speed. The temperature
dependence of the cluster slip distance and time, measuring friction, is
opposite in these two regimes, consistent with theory. Crucial to both regimes
is the interplay of rotations and translations, shown to be correlated in slow
drift but anticorrelated in fast sliding. Despite these differences, we find
the velocity dependence of ballistic friction to be, like drift, viscous
Off-shell supergravity-matter couplings in three dimensions
We develop the superspace geometry of N-extended conformal supergravity in
three space-time dimensions. General off-shell supergravity-matter couplings
are constructed in the cases N=1,2,3,4.Comment: 73 pages; V5: typos in eqs. (3.4b), (3.17) and (4.24) correcte
On 2D N=(4,4) superspace supergravity
We review some recent results obtained in studying superspace formulations of
2D N=(4,4) matter-coupled supergravity. For a superspace geometry described by
the minimal supergravity multiplet, we first describe how to reduce to
components the chiral integral by using ``ectoplasm'' superform techniques as
in arXiv:0907.5264 and then we review the bi-projective superspace formalism
introduced in arXiv:0911.2546. After that, we elaborate on the curved
bi-projective formalism providing a new result: the solution of the covariant
type-I twisted multiplet constraints in terms of a weight-(-1,-1) bi-projective
superfield.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, Contribution to the proceedings of the International
Workshop "Supersymmetries and Quantum Symmetries" (SQS'09), Dubna, July
29-August 3 200
6D Supersymmetric Nonlinear Sigma-Models in 4D, N=1 Superspace
Using 4D, N=1 superfield techniques, a discussion of the 6D sigma-model
possessing simple supersymmetry is given. Two such approaches are described.
Foremost it is shown that the simplest and most transparent description arises
by use of a doublet of chiral scalar superfields for each 6D hypermultiplet. A
second description that is most directly related to projective superspace is
also presented. The latter necessarily implies the use of one chiral superfield
and one nonminimal scalar superfield for each 6D hypermultiplet. A separate
study of models of this class, outside the context of projective superspace, is
also undertaken.Comment: 35 pages, LaTeX. v3: some comments added, version to appear in JHE
On the nature of surface roughness with application to contact mechanics, sealing, rubber friction and adhesion
Surface roughness has a huge impact on many important phenomena. The most
important property of rough surfaces is the surface roughness power spectrum
C(q). We present surface roughness power spectra of many surfaces of practical
importance, obtained from the surface height profile measured using optical
methods and the Atomic Force Microscope. We show how the power spectrum
determines the contact area between two solids. We also present applications to
sealing, rubber friction and adhesion for rough surfaces, where the power
spectrum enters as an important input.Comment: Topical review; 82 pages, 61 figures; Format: Latex (iopart). Some
figures are in Postscript Level