1,731 research outputs found
Distances from Surface Brightness Fluctuations
The practice of measuring galaxy distances from their spatial fluctuations in
surface brightness is now a decade old. While several past articles have
included some review material, this is the first intended as a comprehensive
review of the surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) method. The method is
conceptually quite simple, the basic idea being that nearby (but unresolved)
star clusters and galaxies appear "bumpy", while more distant ones appear
smooth. This is quantified via a measurement of the amplitude of the Poisson
fluctuations in the number of unresolved stars encompassed by a CCD pixel
(usually in an image of an elliptical galaxy). Here, we describe the technical
details and difficulties involved in making SBF measurements, discuss
theoretical and empirical calibrations of the method, and review the numerous
applications of the method from the ground and space, in the optical and
near-infrared. We include discussions of stellar population effects and the
"universality" of the SBF standard candle. A final section considers the future
of the method.Comment: Invited review article to appear in: `Post-Hipparcos Cosmic Candles',
A. Heck & F. Caputo (Eds), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in press. 22
pages, including 3 postscript figures; uses Kluwer's crckapb.sty LaTex macro
file, enclose
Dark Matter, Muon g-2 and Other SUSY Constraints
Recent developments constraining the SUSY parameter space are reviewed within
the framework of SUGRA GUT models. The WMAP data is seen to reduce the error in
the density of cold dark matter by about a factor of four, implying that the
lightest stau is only 5 -10 GeV heavier than the lightest neutralino when m_0,
m_{1/2} < 1 TeV. The CMD-2 re-analysis of their data has reduced the
disagreement between the Standard Model prediction and the Brookhaven
measurement of the muon magnetic moment to 1.9 sigma, while using the tau decay
data plus CVC, the disagreement is 0.7 sigma. (However, the two sets of data
remain inconsistent at the 2.9 sigma level.) The recent Belle and BABAR
measurements of the B -> phi K CP violating parameters and branching ratios are
discussed. They are analyzed theoretically within the BBNS improved
factorization method. The CP parameters are in disagreement with the Standard
Model at the 2.7 sigma level, and the branching ratios are low by a factor of
two or more over most of the parameter space. It is shown that both anomalies
can naturally be accounted for by adding a non-universal cubic soft breaking
term at M_G mixing the second and third generations.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, plenary talk at Beyond The Desert '03, Castle
Ringberg, Germany, June 9, 2003. Typos correcte
Correlation Functions in 2-Dimensional Integrable Quantum Field Theories
In this talk I discuss the form factor approach used to compute correlation
functions of integrable models in two dimensions. The Sinh-Gordon model is our
basic example. Using Watson's and the recursive equations satisfied by matrix
elements of local operators, I present the computation of the form factors of
the elementary field and the stress-energy tensor of
the theory.Comment: 19pp, LATEX version, (talk at Como Conference on ``Integrable Quantum
Field Theories''
The a-theorem and conformal symmetry breaking in holographic RG flows
We study holographic models describing an RG flow between two fixed points
driven by a relevant scalar operator. We show how to introduce a spurion field
to restore Weyl invariance and compute the anomalous contribution to the
generating functional in even dimensional theories. We find that the
coefficient of the anomalous term is proportional to the difference of the
conformal anomalies of the UV and IR fixed points, as expected from anomaly
matching arguments in field theory. For any even dimensions the coefficient is
positive as implied by the holographic a-theorem. For flows corresponding to
spontaneous breaking of conformal invariance, we also compute the two-point
functions of the energy-momentum tensor and the scalar operator and identify
the dilaton mode. Surprisingly we find that in the simplest models with just
one scalar field there is no dilaton pole in the two-point function of the
scalar operator but a stronger singularity. We discuss the possible
implications.Comment: 50 pages. v2: minor changes, added references, extended discussion.
v3: we have clarified some of the calculations and assumptions, results
unchanged. v4: published version in JHE
Holography for chiral scale-invariant models
Deformation of any d-dimensional conformal field theory by a constant null
source for a vector operator of dimension (d + z -1) is exactly marginal with
respect to anisotropic scale invariance, of dynamical exponent z. The
holographic duals to such deformations are AdS plane waves, with z=2 being the
Schrodinger geometry. In this paper we explore holography for such chiral
scale-invariant models. The special case of z=0 can be realized with gravity
coupled to a scalar, and is of particular interest since it is related to a
Lifshitz theory with dynamical exponent two upon dimensional reduction. We show
however that the corresponding reduction of the dual field theory is along a
null circle, and thus the Lifshitz theory arises upon discrete light cone
quantization of an anisotropic scale invariant field theory.Comment: 62 pages; v2, published version, minor improvements and references
adde
Fake supersymmetry versus Hamilton-Jacobi
We explain when the first-order Hamilton-Jacobi equations for black holes
(and domain walls) in (gauged) supergravity, reduce to the usual first-order
equations derived from a fake superpotential. This turns out to be equivalent
to the vanishing of a newly found constant of motion and we illustrate this
with various examples. We show that fake supersymmetry is a necessary condition
for having physically sensible extremal black hole solutions. We furthermore
observe that small black holes become scaling solutions near the horizon. When
combined with fake supersymmetry, this leads to a precise extension of the
attractor mechanism to small black holes: The attractor solution is such that
the scalars move on specific curves, determined by the black hole charges, that
are purely geodesic, although there is a non-zero potential.Comment: 20 pages, v2: Typos corrected, references adde
The Hubble Constant from Observations of the Brightest Red Giant Stars in a Virgo-Cluster Galaxy
The Virgo and Fornax clusters of galaxies play central roles in determining
the Hubble constant H_0. A powerful and direct way of establishing distances
for elliptical galaxies is to use the luminosities of the brightest red-giant
stars (the TRGB luminosity, at M_I = -4.2). Here we report the direct
observation of the TRGB stars in a dwarf elliptical galaxy in the Virgo
cluster. We find its distance to be 15.7 +- 1.5 Megaparsecs, from which we
estimate a Hubble constant of H_0 = 77 +- 8 km/s/Mpc. Under the assumption of a
low-density Universe with the simplest cosmology, the age of the Universe is no
more than 12-13 billion years.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, with 2 postscript figures; in press for Nature, July
199
Q methodology and a Delphi poll: a useful approach to researching a narrative approach to therapy
Q methodology and a Delphi poll combined qualitative and quantitative methods to explore definitions of White and Epston's (1990) narrative approach to therapy among a group of UK practitioners. A Delphi poll was used to generate statements about narrative therapy. The piloting of statements by the Delphi panel identified agreement about theoretical ideas underpinning narrative therapy and certain key practices. A wider group of practitioners ranked the statements in a Q sort and made qualitative comments about their sorting. Quantitative methods (principal components analysis) were used to extract eight accounts of narrative therapy, five of which are qualitatively analysed in this paper. Agreement and differences were identified across a range of issues, including the social construction of narratives, privileging a political stance or narrative techniques and the relationship with other therapies, specifically systemic psychotherapy. Q methodology, combined with the Delphi poll, was a unique and innovative feature of this study
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