On N=1 Mirror Symmetry for Open Type II Strings

We study the open string extension of the mirror map for N=1 supersymmetric type II vacua with D-branes on non-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. Its definition is given in terms of a system of differential equations that annihilate certain period and chain integrals. The solutions describe the flat coordinates on the N=1 parameter space, and the exact disc instanton corrected superpotential on the D-brane world-volume. A gauged linear sigma model for the combined open-closed string system is also given. It allows to use methods of toric geometry to describe D-brane phase transitions and the N=1 K\"ahler cone. Applications to a variety of D-brane geometries are described in some detail.Comment: harvmac, 35 pages (b), 2 figures; v2: typos & references correcte

[4 + 2] Cycloadditions of diphenylketene with a highly substituted 1,3-diene

Diphenylketene (2) undergoes [4 + 2] cycloadditions with the s-cis fixed diene (1) to give the dihydropyran (3) and the cyclohexenone (4)

A new kind of McKay correspondence from non-Abelian gauge theories

The boundary chiral ring of a 2d gauged linear sigma model on a K\"ahler manifold $X$ classifies the topological D-brane sectors and the massless open strings between them. While it is determined at small volume by simple group theory, its continuation to generic volume provides highly non-trivial information about the $D$-branes on $X$, related to the derived category $D^\flat(X)$. We use this correspondence to elaborate on an extended notion of McKay correspondence that captures more general than orbifold singularities. As an illustration, we work out this new notion of McKay correspondence for a class of non-compact Calabi-Yau singularities related to Grassmannians.Comment: 29 pages, harvmac(b), 2 fig

K3--Fibrations and Heterotic-Type II String Duality

We analyze the map between heterotic and type II N=2 supersymmetric string theories for certain two and three moduli examples found by Kachru and Vafa. The appearance of elliptic j-functions can be traced back to specializations of the Picard-Fuchs equations to systems for $K_3$ surfaces. For the three-moduli example we write the mirror maps and Yukawa couplings in the weak coupling limit in terms of j-functions; the expressions agree with those obtained in perturbative calculations in the heterotic string in an impressive way. We also discuss symmetries of the world-sheet instanton numbers in the type II theory, and interpret them in terms of S--duality of the non-perturbative heterotic string.Comment: 16p, harvmac with hyperlink

Plastic deformation of metallic glasses: Size of shear transformation zones from molecular dynamics simulations

Plastic deformation in metallic glasses well below their glass transition temperatures Tg occurs spatially heterogeneously within highly localized regions, termed shear transformation zones (STZs). Yet, their size and the number of atoms involved in a local shear event, remains greatly unclear. With the help of classical molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations on plastic deformation of the model glass CuTi during pure shearing, we address this issue by evaluating correlations in atomic-scale plastic displacements, viz. the displacement correlation function. From the correlation length, a universal diameter of about 15 Å, or, equivalently, approximately 120 atoms is derived for a variety of conditions, such as variable strains, strain rates, temperatures, and boundary conditions. Our findings are consistent with a recent model proposed by Johnson and Samwer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 195501 (2005)]

The role of chromosome defects and variants in cattle breeding

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Heterogeneity of RNA transcription activities of immune cells of domestic animals

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