81 research outputs found
A Relation Between Approaches to Integrability in Superconformal Yang-Mills Theory
We make contact between the infinite-dimensional non-local symmetry of the
typeIIB superstring on AdS5xS5 worldsheet theory and a non-abelian
infinite-dimensional symmetry algebra for the weakly coupled superconformal
gauge theory. We explain why the planar limit of the one-loop dilatation
operator is the Hamiltonian of a spin chain, and show that it commutes with the
g*2 N = 0 limit of the non-abelian charges.Comment: 19 pages, harvma
Scaling in Numerical Simulations of Domain Walls
We study the evolution of domain wall networks appearing after phase
transitions in the early Universe. They exhibit interesting dynamical scaling
behaviour which is not yet well understood, and are also simple models for the
more phenomenologically acceptable string networks. We have run numerical
simulations in two- and three-dimensional lattices of sizes up to 4096^3. The
theoretically predicted scaling solution for the wall area density A ~ 1/t is
supported by the simulation results, while no evidence of a logarithmic
correction reported in previous studies could be found. The energy loss
mechanism appears to be direct radiation, rather than the formation and
collapse of closed loops or spheres. We discuss the implications for the
evolution of string networks.Comment: 7pp RevTeX, 9 eps files (including six 220kB ones
Non-local charges on AdS_5 x S^5 and PP-waves
We show the existence of an infinite set of non-local classically conserved
charges on the Green-Schwarz closed superstring in a pp-wave background. We
find that these charges agree with the Penrose limit of non-local classically
conserved charges recently found for the Green-Schwarz
superstring. The charges constructed in this paper could help to understand the
role played by these on the full background.Comment: 20 pages. JHEP. v2:references adde
In-plane fluxon in layered superconductors with arbitrary number of layers
I derive an approximate analytic solution for the in-plane vortex (fluxon) in
layered superconductors and stacked Josephson junctions (SJJ's) with arbitrary
number of layers. The validity of the solution is verified by numerical
simulation. It is shown that in SJJ's with large number of thin layers,
phase/current and magnetic field of the fluxon are decoupled from each other.
The variation of phase/current is confined within the Josephson penetration
depth, , along the layers, while magnetic field decays at the
effective London penetration depth, . For comparison
with real high- superconducting samples, large scale numerical simulations
with up to 600 SJJ's and with in-plane length up to 4000 %, are
presented. It is shown, that the most striking feature of the fluxon is a
Josephson core, manifesting itself as a sharp peak in magnetic induction at the
fluxon center.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Was presented in part at the First Euroconference
on Vortex Matter in Superconductors (Crete, September 1999
Superconformal operators in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory
We construct, in the framework of the N=4 SYM theory, a supermultiplet of
twist-two conformal operators and study their renormalization properties. The
components of the supermultiplet have the same anomalous dimension and enter as
building blocks into multi-particle quasipartonic operators. The latter are
determined by the condition that their twist equals the number of elementary
constituent fields from which they are built. A unique feature of the N=4 SYM
is that all quasipartonic operators with different SU(4) quantum numbers fall
into a single supermultiplet. Among them there is a subsector of the operators
of maximal helicity, which has been known to be integrable in the multi-color
limit in QCD, independent of the presence of supersymmetry. In the N=4 SYM
theory, this symmetry is extended to the whole supermultiplet of quasipartonic
operators and the one-loop dilatation operator coincides with a Hamiltonian of
integrable SL(2|4) Heisenberg spin chain.Comment: 45 pages, Latex, 4 figure
Higher Spin Symmetry and N=4 SYM
We assemble the spectrum of single-trace operators in free N=4 SU(N) SYM
theory into irreducible representations of the Higher Spin symmetry algebra
hs(2,2|4). Higher Spin representations or YT-pletons are associated to Young
tableaux (YT) corresponding to representations of the symmetric group
compatible with the cyclicity of color traces. After turning on interactions,
YT-pletons decompose into infinite towers of representations of the
superconformal algebra PSU(2,2|4) and anomalous dimensions are generated. We
work out the decompositions of tripletons with respect to the N=4
superconformal algebra PSU(2,2|4) and compute their one anomalous dimensions at
large N. We then focus on operators/states sitting in semishort superconformal
multiplets. By passing them through a semishort-sieve that removes
superdescendants, we derive compact expressions for the partition function of
semishort primaries.Comment: 38 pages, no figures. v2: references adde
Corrections to flat-space particle dynamics arising from space granularity
The construction of effective Hamiltonians describing corrections to flat
space particle dynamics arising from the granularity of space at very short
distances is discussed in the framework of an heuristic approach to the
semiclassical limit of loop quantum gravity. After some general motivation of
the subject, a brief non-specialist introduction to the basic tools employed in
the loop approach is presented. The heuristical semiclassical limit is
subsequently defined and the application to the case of photons and spin 1/2
fermions is described. The resulting modified Maxwell and Dirac Hamiltonians,
leading in particular to Planck scale corrections in the energy-momentum
relations, are presented. Alternative interpretations of the results and their
limitations, together with other approaches are briefly discussed along the
text. Three topics related to the above methods are reviewed: (1) The
determination of bounds to the Lorentz violating parameters in the fermionic
sector, obtained from clock comparison experiments.(2) The calculation of
radiative corrections in preferred frames associated to space granularity in
the framework of a Yukawa model for the interactions and (3) The calculation of
synchrotron radiation in the framework of the Myers-Pospelov effective theories
describing Lorentz invariance violations, as well as a generalized approach to
radiation in Planck scale modified electrodynamics. The above exploratory
results show that quantum gravity phenomenology provides observational guidance
in the construction of quantum gravity theories and opens up the possibility of
probing Planck scale physics.Comment: 49 pages, 6 figures and 4 tables. Extended version of the talk given
at the 339-th WE-Heraeus-Seminar: Special Relativity, will it survive the
next 100 years?, Potsdam, february 200
A systematic review of the effects of exercise interventions on body composition in HIV+ adults
Over the years, physical activity and exercise have been used to positively impact the health and quality of life of persons infected with HIV and, more recently, has been associated with a spectrum of body composition changes. The aim of this review was to examine the effects of various exercise interventions on body composition in HIV positive adults, using a search strategy of randomized, controlled trials (RCTs). A systematic review was performed by five independent reviewers using a predetermined protocol adapted from previous research for assessing the articles for inclusion, the extracted data, and methodological quality. Eight RCTs involving 430 (26% female) HIV positive adults performing exercise a minimum of thrice weekly for at least six weeks were finally selected: Four were progressive resistance training (PRT) studies, three were aerobic training (AT) studies, and one involved yoga. In the PRT studies, there were significant increases in three anthropometric measures, namely, body mass, sum of skinfolds and sum of limb girths. In the AT studies, significant decreases were found in seven anthropometric measures, namely, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, body mass, triceps skinfold, waist circumference and sum of skinfolds. With yoga, the changes were nonsignificant. Exercise contributes to improved body composition and, when applied safely, appears to be beneficial for adults living with HIV/AIDS. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the relatively few RCTs published to date. Future studies would benefit from increased attention to sample size, female participants, participant follow-up, complete statistical analysis and intention-to-treat analysis.Scopu
Schizotypy-related magnetization of cortex in healthy adolescence is colocated with expression of Schizophrenia-related genes
Background: Genetic risk is thought to drive clinical variation on a spectrum of schizophrenia-like traits, but the underlying changes in brain structure that mechanistically link genomic variation to schizotypal experience and behavior are unclear.
Methods: We assessed schizotypy using a self-reported questionnaire and measured magnetization transfer as a putative microstructural magnetic resonance imaging marker of intracortical myelination in 68 brain regions in 248 healthy young people (14–25 years of age). We used normative adult brain gene expression data and partial least squares analysis to find the weighted gene expression pattern that was most colocated with the cortical map of schizotypy-related magnetization.
Results: Magnetization was significantly correlated with schizotypy in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus (and for disorganized schizotypy, also in medial prefrontal cortex; all false discovery rate–corrected ps < .05), which are regions of the default mode network specialized for social and memory functions. The genes most positively weighted on the whole-genome expression map colocated with schizotypy-related magnetization were enriched for genes that were significantly downregulated in two prior case-control histological studies of brain gene expression in schizophrenia. Conversely, the most negatively weighted genes were enriched for genes that were transcriptionally upregulated in schizophrenia. Positively weighted (downregulated) genes were enriched for neuronal, specifically interneuronal, affiliations and coded a network of proteins comprising a few highly interactive “hubs” such as parvalbumin and calmodulin.
Conclusions: Microstructural magnetic resonance imaging maps of intracortical magnetization can be linked to both the behavioral traits of schizotypy and prior histological data on dysregulated gene expression in schizophrenia
Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable and heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental phenotypes diagnosed in more than 1% of children. Common genetic variants contribute substantially to ASD susceptibility, but to date no individual variants have been robustly associated with ASD. With a marked sample-size increase from a unique Danish population resource, we report a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 18,381 individuals with ASD and 27,969 controls that identified five genome-wide-significant loci. Leveraging GWAS results from three phenotypes with significantly overlapping genetic architectures (schizophrenia, major depression, and educational attainment), we identified seven additional loci shared with other traits at equally strict significance levels. Dissecting the polygenic architecture, we found both quantitative and qualitative polygenic heterogeneity across ASD subtypes. These results highlight biological insights, particularly relating to neuronal function and corticogenesis, and establish that GWAS performed at scale will be much more productive in the near term in ASD.Peer reviewe
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