Higher derivative terms including the Ramond-Ramond five-form

Superfield methods can be used to determine the precise way the self-dual five-form couples to the metric in the first non-trivial $\alpha'$ corrections to type IIB supergravity. We explicitly compute the exact tensor structure of these terms. This requires extensive use of computing algorithms to reduce the complicated expressions that appear to a surprisingly simple form. Along the way we show a new method of computing Schouten identities. With this result we clarify under which conditions one may neglect the five-form higher derivative terms. We comment on corrections to the thermodynamics of charged black holes.Comment: v2 - Numerical typos fixed, small text changes

JuliBootS: a hands-on guide to the conformal bootstrap

We introduce {\tt JuliBootS}, a package for numerical conformal bootstrap computations coded in {\tt Julia}. The centre-piece of {\tt JuliBootS} is an implementation of Dantzig's simplex method capable of handling arbitrary precision linear programming problems with continuous search spaces. Current supported features include conformal dimension bounds, OPE bounds, and bootstrap with or without global symmetries. The code is trivially parallelizable on one or multiple machines. We exemplify usage extensively with several real-world applications. In passing we give a pedagogical introduction to the numerical bootstrap methods.Comment: 29 page

Futures of work and skills: some foresight exercises in Europe and USA

The Knowledge-based society brought a new way of living and working. The increasing decline of work in primary sector and traditional industries, related with the significant increase of employment in the service sector and in the knowledge work, changed the way companies and individuals establish their relations, the way work and life is organised. These changes are usual and fast and so the feeling of insecurity and unpredictability become more and more sharp. In this context, foresight exercises are necessary tools helping in the identification of the key variables and main trends of evolution. This report will present some foresight studies about work and skills in Europe and USA, in order to contribute to think about possible evolutions and trends.Foresight, Work, Skills, Future

The ABC (in any D) of Logarithmic CFT

Logarithmic conformal field theories have a vast range of applications, from critical percolation to systems with quenched disorder. In this paper we thoroughly examine the structure of these theories based on their symmetry properties. Our analysis is model-independent and holds for any spacetime dimension. Our results include a determination of the general form of correlation functions and conformal block decompositions, clearing the path for future bootstrap applications. Several examples are discussed in detail, including logarithmic generalized free fields, holographic models, self-avoiding random walks and critical percolation.Comment: 55 pages + appendice

Bootstrapping the 3d Ising twist defect

Recent numerical results point to the existence of a conformally invariant twist defect in the critical 3d Ising model. In this note we show that this fact is supported by both epsilon expansion and conformal bootstrap calculations. We find that our results are in good agreement with the numerical data. We also make new predictions for operator dimensions and OPE coefficients from the bootstrap approach. In the process we derive universal bounds on one-dimensional conformal field theories and conformal line defects.Comment: 24+8 pages, 12 figures, references adde