446 research outputs found
Semi-classical geometry of charged black holes
At the classical level, two-dimensional dilaton gravity coupled to an abelian
gauge field has charged black hole solutions, which have much in common with
four-dimensional Reissner-Nordstrom black holes, including multiple asymptotic
regions, timelike curvature singularities, and Cauchy horizons. The black hole
spacetime is, however, significantly modified by quantum effects, which can be
systematically studied in this two-dimensional context. In particular, the
back-reaction on the geometry due to pair-creation of charged fermions
destabilizes the inner horizon and replaces it with a spacelike curvature
singularity. The semi-classical geometry has the same global topology as an
electrically neutral black hole.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, 2 figures; references adde
Comments on the black hole information problem
String theory provides numerous examples of duality between gravitational
theories and unitary gauge theories. To resolve the black hole information
paradox in this setting, it is necessary to better understand how unitarity is
implemented on the gravity side. We argue that unitarity is restored by
nonlocal effects whose initial magnitude is suppressed by the exponential of
the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. Time-slicings for which effective field theory
is valid are obtained by demanding the mutual back-reaction of quanta be small.
The resulting bounds imply that nonlocal effects do not lead to observable
violations of causality or conflict with the equivalence principle for
infalling observers, yet implement information retrieval for observers who stay
outside the black hole.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, revtex, v2 figure added and some improvements to
presentatio
Holographic Superconductors with Lifshitz Scaling
Black holes in asymptotically Lifshitz spacetime provide a window onto finite
temperature effects in strongly coupled Lifshitz models. We add a Maxwell gauge
field and charged matter to a recently proposed gravity dual of 2+1 dimensional
Lifshitz theory. This gives rise to charged black holes with scalar hair, which
correspond to the superconducting phase of holographic superconductors with z >
1 Lifshitz scaling. Along the way we analyze the global geometry of static,
asymptotically Lifshitz black holes at arbitrary critical exponent z > 1. In
all known exact solutions there is a null curvature singularity in the black
hole region, and, by a general argument, the same applies to generic Lifshitz
black holes.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures; v2: added references; v3: matches published
versio
CYP17 promoter polymorphism and breast cancer risk in males and females in relation to BRCA2 status
To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldA T-C polymorphism in the promoter region of the CYP17 gene has been associated with male and female breast cancer risk as well as early-onset familial breast cancer. The potential role of this polymorphism was investigated in relation to breast cancer risk in Icelandic male and female carriers and noncarriers of a BRCA2 mutation. The study population consisted of 39 male and 523 female breast cancer cases and 309 male and 395 female controls. Of the cases, 15 males and 55 females carried a BRCA2 mutation. We did not find a significant association between male breast cancer risk and CYP17 genotypes. Among male breast cancer cases, the frequency of the CC genotype was higher among carriers of the 999del5 mutation (33.3%) than noncarriers (16.7%), although this difference also did not reach a statistical significance. No association was observed with breast cancer risk among females irrespective of menopausal status, stage of the disease or BRCA2 status. Our findings do not indicate a role for the CYP17 T-C polymorphism in female breast cancer, but a role in male carriers of a BRCA2 mutation could not be excluded because of the small sample size
AdS/CFT and the Information Paradox
The information paradox in the quantum evolution of black holes is studied
within the framework of the AdS/CFT correspondence. The unitarity of the CFT
strongly suggests that all information about an initial state that forms a
black hole is returned in the Hawking radiation. The CFT dynamics implies an
information retention time of order the black hole lifetime. This fact
determines many qualitative properties of the non-local effects that must show
up in a semi-classical effective theory in the bulk. We argue that no
violations of causality are apparent to local observers, but the semi-classical
theory in the bulk duplicates degrees of freedom inside and outside the event
horizon. Non-local quantum effects are required to eliminate this redundancy.
This leads to a breakdown of the usual classical-quantum correspondence
principle in Lorentzian black hole spacetimes.Comment: 16 pages, harvmac, reference added, minor correction
A note on the black hole information paradox in de Sitter spacetimes
The possibility of stable or quasi--stable Planck mass black hole remnants as
solution to the black hole information paradox is commonly believed
phenomenologically unacceptable: since we have to expect a black hole remnant
for every possible initial state, the number of remnants should be infinite.
This would lead to remnant pair production in any physical process with a total
available energy roughly exceeding the Planck mass, against trivial evidences.
In this note I point out that the number of remnants in our Universe could be
finite, at least if the value of the cosmological constant is positive, as
present observational data could indicate. Nevertheless, it is not clear if a
huge but finite number of states is phenomenologically allowed.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. v3: refereed versio
The Icelandic founder mutation BRCA2 999del5: analysis of expression
INTRODUCTION: A founder mutation in the BRCA2 gene (BRCA2 999del5) accounts for 7–8% of female breast cancers and for 40% of male breast cancers in Iceland. If expressed, the mutant gene would encode a protein consisting of the first 256 amino acids of the BRCA2 protein. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this mutant protein is produced in heterozygous individuals and, if so, what might be the functional consequences of mutant protein production. METHODS: The presence of BRCA2 999del5 transcripts in fibroblasts from heterozygous individuals was assayed by cDNA synthesis and sequencing. The potential protein-coding portion of BRCA2 999del5 was cloned into the pIND(SP1)/V5-His vector and expressed in COS7 cells. The presence of the mutant protein in cell lysates from heterozygous fibroblasts and from COS7 cells was tested by a number of methods including immunoprecipitation, affinity purification with nickel-coated agarose beads, Western blotting and ELISA, using antibodies to the N-terminal end of BRCA2, antiserum specific for the 16 nonrelevant amino acids at the carboxyl end and antibodies to fusion partners of recombinant proteins. RESULTS: The frequency of the BRCA2 999del5 transcript in heterozygous fibroblasts was about one-fifth of the wild-type transcript; however, no mutant protein could be detected. Overexpression of BRCA2 999del5 mRNA in COS7 cells failed to produce a mutant protein unless degradation by proteasomes was blocked. CONCLUSION: Our results show that the protein product of BRCA2 999del5 is extremely unstable. Therefore, an increase in breast cancer risk in BRCA2 999del5 carriers is due to haploinsufficiency at the BRCA2 locus
Cancer incidence in the Falkland Islands
Cancer incidence in the Falkland Islands, 1989–2000, was compared with rates in England and Wales, from which most Islanders originate. Colon and rectum cancer incidence was significantly raised 1989–93 but greatly reduced after 1994, when colonoscopic screening in high-risk families and sigmoidoscopic screening in the general population were introduced. http://www.bjcancer.com © 2001 Cancer Research Campaig
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