Octonionic Selfduality for SuperMembranes

In this work we study the recently introduced octonionic duality for membranes. Restricting the self - duality equations to seven space dimensions, we provide various forms for them which exhibit the symmetries of the octonionic and quaternionic structure. These forms may turn to be useful for the question of the integrability of this system. Introducing a consistent quadratic Poisson algebra of functions on the membrane we are able to factorize the time dependence of the self - duality equations. We further give the general linear embeddings of the three dimensional system into the seven dimensional one using the invariance of the self-duality equations under the exceptional group G_2.Comment: Latex file, 21 page

Anti-de Sitter Black Holes in Gauged N=8 Supergravity

We present new anti-de Sitter black hole solutions of gauged N=8, SO(8) supergravity, which is the massless sector of the AdS_4\times S^7 vacuum of M-theory. By focusing on the U(1)^4 Cartan subgroup, we find non-extremal 1, 2, 3 and 4 charge solutions. In the extremal limit, they may preserve up to 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/8 of the supersymmetry, respectively. In the limit of vanishing SO(8) coupling constant, the solutions reduce to the familiar black holes of the M_4\times T^7 vacuum, but have very different interpretation since there are no winding states on S^7 and no U-duality. In contrast to the T^7 compactification, moreover, we find no static multi-center solutions. Also in contrast, the S^7 fields appear "already dualized" so that the 4 charges may be all electric or all magnetic rather than 2 electric and 2 magnetic. Curiously, however, the magnetic solutions preserve no supersymmetries. We conjecture that a subset of the extreme electric black holes preserving 1/2 the supersymmetry may be identified with the S^7 Kaluza-Klein spectrum, with the non-abelian SO(8) quantum numbers provided by the fermionic zero modes.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, minor notation improvements and references adde

More CFTs and RG Flows from Deforming M2/M5-Brane Horizon

Near-horizon geometry of coincident M2-branes at a conical singularity is related to M-theory on AdS4 times an appropriate seven-dimensional manifold X7. For X_7=N^{0,1,0}, squashing deformation is known to lead to spontaneous (super) symmetry breaking from N=(3, 0) to N=(0, 1) in gauged AdS4 supergravity. Via AdS/CFT correspondence, it is interpreted as renormalization group flow of strongly coupled three-dimensional field theory with SU(3)*SU(2) global symmetry. The flow interpolates between N=(0,1) fixed point in the UV to N=(3,0)fixed point in the IR. Evidences for the interpretation are found both from critical points of the supergravity scalar potential and from conformal dimension of relevant chiral primary operators at each fixed point. We also analyze cases with X7=SO(5)/SO(3)_{max}, V_{5,2}(R), M^{1,1,1}, Q^{1,1,1} and find that there is no nontrivial renormalization group flows. We extend the analysis to Englert type vacua of M-theory. By analyzing de Wit-Nicolai potential, we find that deformation of S7 gives rise to renormalization group flow from N=8, SO(8) invariant UV fixed point to N=1, G_2 invariant IR fixed point. For AdS_7 supergravity relevant for near-horizon geometry of coincident M5-branes, we also point out a nontrivial renormalization group flow from N=1 superconformal UV fixed point to non-supersymmetric IR fixed point.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, 3 figure

On BPS preons, generalized holonomies and D=11 supergravities

We develop the BPS preon conjecture to analyze the supersymmetric solutions of D=11 supergravity. By relating the notions of Killing spinors and BPS preons, we develop a moving G-frame method (G=GL(32,R), SL(32,R) or Sp(32,R)) to analyze their associated generalized holonomies. As a first application we derive here the equations determining the generalized holonomies of k/32 supersymmetric solutions and, in particular, those solving the necessary conditions for the existence of BPS preonic (31/32) solutions of the standard D=11 supergravity. We also show that there exist elementary preonic solutions, i.e. solutions preserving 31 out of 32 supersymmetries in a Chern--Simons type supergravity. We present as well a family of worldvolume actions describing the motion of pointlike and extended BPS preons in the background of a D'Auria-Fre type OSp(1|32)-related supergravity model. We discuss the possible implications for M-theory.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX Typos corrected, a short note and references adde

Integrable Symplectic Trilinear Interaction Terms for Matrix Membranes

Cubic interactions are considered in 3 and 7 space dimensions, respectively, for bosonic membranes in Poisson Bracket form. Their symmetries and vacuum configurations are discussed. Their associated first order equations are transformed to Nahm's equations, and are hence seen to be integrable, for the 3-dimensional case, by virtue of the explicit Lax pair provided. The constructions introduced also apply to commutator or Moyal Bracket analogues.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

A Moyal Quantization of the Continuous Toda Field

Since the lightcone self dual spherical membrane, moving in flat target backgrounds, has a direct correspondence with the $SU(\infty)$ Nahm equations and the continuous Toda theory, we construct the Moyal deformations of the self dual membrane in terms of the Moyal deformations of the continuous Toda theory. This is performed by using the Weyl-Wigner-Moyal quantization technique of the 3D continuous Toda field equation, and its associated 2D continuous Toda molecule, based on Moyal deformations of rotational Killing symmetry reductions of Plebanski first heavenly equation associated with 4D Self Dual Gravity.Comment: 15 pages, revised Tex fil

All solutions of the localization equations for N=2 quantum black hole entropy

We find the most general bosonic solution to the localization equations describing the contributions to the quantum entropy of supersymmetric black holes in four-dimensional N=2 supergravity coupled to n_v vector multiplets. This requires the analysis of the BPS equations of the corresponding off-shell supergravity (including fluctuations of the auxiliary fields) with AdS2 \times S2 attractor boundary conditions. Our work completes and extends the results of arXiv:1012.0265 that were obtained for the vector multiplet sector, to include the fluctuations of all the fields of the off-shell supergravity. We find that, when the auxiliary SU(2) gauge field strength vanishes, the most general supersymmetric configuration preserving four supercharges is labelled by n_v+1 real parameters corresponding to the excitations of the conformal mode of the graviton and the scalars of the n_v vector multiplets. In the general case, the localization manifold is labelled by an additional SU(2) triplet of one-forms and a scalar function.Comment: 27 page

A cross-sectional survey to assess household sanitation practices associated with uptake of “Clean Team” serviced home toilets in Kumasi, Ghana

“Clean Team” provides serviced, free-standing toilets as a sanitation option in low-income areas of Kumasi, Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was carried out to assess sanitation and hygiene practices in 199 Clean Team households and 201 neighbouring, non-Clean Team households. Adults in non-Clean Team households were no more likely to report unsafe defecation (faeces not contained in a latrine) than their Clean Team neighbours, although their reliance on public toilets may lead to occasional unsafe practices. Children in Clean Team households used the household toilet from a younger age than those in non-Clean Team households, and their faeces were thus more often disposed of safely. Soap and water were more frequently found at the latrine in Clean Team households than in latrine-owning non-Clean Team households. Use of Clean Team toilets is likely to reduce faecal contamination of the environment through safer child defecation and stool disposal practices, and may increase the opportunity for post-defecation handwashing with soap. </jats:p

Intersections of quadrics, moment-angle manifolds, and Hamiltonian-minimal Lagrangian embeddings

We study the topology of Hamiltonian-minimal Lagrangian submanifolds N in C^m constructed from intersections of real quadrics in a work of the first author. This construction is linked via an embedding criterion to the well-known Delzant construction of Hamiltonian toric manifolds. We establish the following topological properties of N: every N embeds as a submanifold in the corresponding moment-angle manifold Z, and every N is the total space of two different fibrations, one over the torus T^{m-n} with fibre a real moment-angle manifold R, and another over a quotient of R by a finite group with fibre a torus. These properties are used to produce new examples of Hamiltonian-minimal Lagrangian submanifolds with quite complicated topology.Comment: 14 pages, published version (minor changes