The Photon Dispersion as an Indicator for New Physics ?

We first comment on the search for a deviation from the linear photon dispersion relation, in particular based on cosmic photons from Gamma Ray Bursts. Then we consider the non-commutative space as a theoretical concept that could lead to such a deviation, which would be a manifestation of Lorentz Invariance Violation. In particular we review a numerical study of pure U(1) gauge theory in a 4d non-commutative space. Starting from a finite lattice, we explore the phase diagram and the extrapolation to the continuum and infinite volume. These simultaneous limits - taken at fixed non-commutativity - lead to a phase of broken Poincare symmetry, where the photon appears to be IR stable, despite a negative IR divergence to one loop.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, talk presented at the VI International Workshop on the Dark Side of the Universe, Leon (Mexico), June 1-6, 2010. References adde

Oncogenic GNAQ mutations are not correlated with disease-free survival in uveal melanoma

BackgroundRecently, oncogenic G protein alpha subunit q (GNAQ) mutations have been described in about 50% of uveal melanomas and in the blue nevi of the skin.MethodsGNAQ exon 5 was amplified from 75 ciliary body and choroidal melanoma DNAs and sequenced directly. GNAQ mutation status was correlated with disease-free survival (DFS), as well as other clinical and histopathological factors, and with chromosomal variations detected by FISH and CGH.ResultsOf the 75 tumour DNA samples analysed, 40 (53.3%) harboured oncogenic mutations in GNAQ codon 209. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that GNAQ mutation status was not significantly correlated with DFS.ConclusionThe GNAQ mutation status is not suitable to predict DFS. However, the high frequency of GNAQ mutations may render it a promising target for therapeutic intervention

Emergent Gravity, Matrix Models and UV/IR Mixing

We verify explicitly that UV/IR mixing for noncommutative gauge theory can be understood in terms of an induced gravity action, as predicted by the identification [1] of gravity within matrix models of NC gauge theory. More precisely, we obtain the Einstein-Hilbert action by integrating out a scalar field in the adjoint. It arises from the well-known UV/IR mixing of NC gauge theory, which is carefully re-analyzed and interpreted in terms of gravity. The matrix model therefore contains gravity as an IR effect, due to UV/IR mixing.Comment: 33 pages, 3 figures. V2: references adde

Nonuniform symmetry breaking in noncommutative λΦ4\lambda \Phi^4 theory

The spontaneous symmetry breaking in noncommutative $\lambda\Phi^4$ theory has been analyzed by using the formalism of the effective action for composite operators in the Hartree-Fock approximation. It turns out that there is no phase transition to a constant vacuum expectation of the field and the broken phase corresponds to a nonuniform background. By considering $=A \cos(\vec Q \cdot \vec x)$ the generated mass gap depends on the angles among the momenta $\vec k$ and $\vec Q$ and the noncommutativity parameter $\vec\theta$. The order of the transition is not easily determinable in our approximation.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, added reference

On the structure of k-Lie algebras

We show that the structure constants of $k$-Lie algebras, $k>3$, with a positive definite metric are the sum of the volume forms of orthogonal $k$-planes. This generalizes the result for $k=3$ in arXiv:0804.2662 and arXiv:0804.3078, and confirms a conjecture in math/0211170.Comment: 4 pages, minor changes and a reference adde

Superconformal M2-branes and generalized Jordan triple systems

Three-dimensional conformal theories with six supersymmetries and SU(4) R-symmetry describing stacks of M2-branes are here proposed to be related to generalized Jordan triple systems. Writing the four-index structure constants in an appropriate form, the Chern-Simons part of the action immediately suggests a connection to such triple systems. In contrast to the previously considered three-algebras, the additional structure of a generalized Jordan triple system is associated to a graded Lie algebra, which corresponds to an extension of the gauge group. In this note we show that the whole theory with six manifest supersymmetries can be naturally expressed in terms of such a graded Lie algebra. Also the BLG theory with eight supersymmetries is included as a special case.Comment: 15 pages, v2 and v3: minor corrections and clarifications, references added, v2: section 4 extended, v3: published versio

On The Interaction Of D0-Brane Bound States And RR Photons

We consider the problem of the interaction between D0-brane bound state and 1-form RR photons by the world-line theory. Based on the fact that in the world-line theory the RR gauge fields depend on the matrix coordinates of D0-branes, the gauge fields also appear as matrices in the formulation. At the classical level, we derive the Lorentz-like equations of motion for D0-branes, and it is observed that the center-of-mass is colourless with respect to the SU(N) sector of the background. Using the path integral method, the perturbation theory for the interaction between the bound state and the RR background is developed. We discuss what kind of field theory may be corresponded to the amplitudes which are calculated by the perturbation expansion in world-line theory. Qualitative considerations show that the possibility of existence of a map between the world-line theory and the non-Abelian gauge theory is very considerable.Comment: LaTeX, 28 pages, 4 eps figures. v2 and v3: eqs. (3.18) and (B.2) are corrected, very small change

Branes from a non-Abelian (2,0) tensor multiplet with 3-algebra

In this paper, we study the equations of motion for non-Abelian N=(2,0) tensor multiplets in six dimensions, which were recently proposed by Lambert and Papageorgakis. Some equations are regarded as constraint equations. We employ a loop extension of the Lorentzian three-algebra (3-algebra) and examine the equations of motion around various solutions of the constraint equations. The resultant equations take forms that allow Lagrangian descriptions. We find various (5+d)-dimensional Lagrangians and investigate the relation between them from the viewpoint of M-theory duality.Comment: 44+1 pages, reference added, typos corrected, and several discussions added; v3, reference added, many typos corrected, the language improved; v4, some typos and references corrected, final version to appear in J. Phys.

Classical Solutions of the TEK Model and Noncommutative Instantons in Two Dimensions

The twisted Eguchi-Kawai (TEK) model provides a non-perturbative definition of noncommutative Yang-Mills theory: the continuum limit is approached at large $N$ by performing suitable double scaling limits, in which non-planar contributions are no longer suppressed. We consider here the two-dimensional case, trying to recover within this framework the exact results recently obtained by means of Morita equivalence. We present a rather explicit construction of classical gauge theories on noncommutative toroidal lattice for general topological charges. After discussing the limiting procedures to recover the theory on the noncommutative torus and on the noncommutative plane, we focus our attention on the classical solutions of the related TEK models. We solve the equations of motion and we find the configurations having finite action in the relevant double scaling limits. They can be explicitly described in terms of twist-eaters and they exactly correspond to the instanton solutions that are seen to dominate the partition function on the noncommutative torus. Fluxons on the noncommutative plane are recovered as well. We also discuss how the highly non-trivial structure of the exact partition function can emerge from a direct matrix model computation. The quantum consistency of the TEK formulation is eventually checked by computing Wilson loops in a particular limit.Comment: 41 pages, JHEP3. Minor corrections, references adde