A Note On ADE String Compactifications

We address the question whether so-called m-invariants of the N=2 super Virasoro algebra can be used for the construction of reasonable four-dimensional string models. It turns out that an infinite subset of those are pathological in the sense that - although N=2 supersymmetric - the Ramond sector is not isomorphic to the Neveu-Schwarz sector. Consequently, these two properties are independent and only requiring both guarantees an N=1 space-time supersymmetric string spectrum. However, the remaining 529 consistent spectra - 210 of them are mirrors of Gepner models and 76 real orbifolds - show exact mirror symmetry and are contained in a recent classification of orbifolds of Gepner models.Comment: 11 pages, plain TeX, no postscript figure

Twisted N=2 Supergravity as Topological Gravity in Four Dimensions

We show that the BRST quantum version of pure D=4 N=2 supergravity can be topologically twisted, to yield a formulation of topological gravity in four dimensions. The topological BRST complex is just a rearrangement of the old BRST complex, that partly modifies the role of physical and ghost fields: indeed, the new ghost number turns out to be the sum of the old ghost number plus the internal U(1) charge. Furthermore, the action of N=2 supergravity is retrieved from topological gravity by choosing a gauge fixing that reduces the space of physical states to the space of gravitational instanton configurations, namely to self-dual spin connections. The descent equations relating the topological observables are explicitly exhibited and discussed. Ours is a first step in a programme that aims at finding the topological sector of matter coupled N=2 supergravity, viewed as the effective Lagrangian of type II superstrings and, as such, already related to 2D topological field-theories. As it stands the theory we discuss may prove useful in describing gravitational instantons moduli-spaces.Comment: 38 page

A Large Majorana-Mass From Calabi-Yau Superstring Models

In Calabi-Yau superstring models it is found that two large intermediate energy scales of symmetry breaking can be induced for special types of the nonrenormalizable interactions. In the models one set of $SO(10)$-singlet, right-handed neutrino and their mirror chiral superfields is needed. Through the study of the minimization of the scalarpotential, the conditions for the presence of two large intermediate scales are obtained. In this scheme a Majorana-mass possibly amounts to O(10^{9 \sim 10}\gev). This large Majorana-mass solves the solar neutrino problem and also is compatible with the cosmological bound for stable light neutrinos.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, DPNU-93-41, AUE-06-9

Topological First-Order Systems with Landau-Ginzburg Interactions

We consider the realization of N=2 superconformal models in terms of free first-order $(b,c,\beta,\gamma)$-systems, and show that an arbitrary Landau-Ginzburg interaction with quasi-homogeneous potential can be introduced without spoiling the (2,2)-superconformal invariance. We discuss the topological twisting and the renormalization group properties of these theories, and compare them to the conventional topological Landau-Ginzburg models. We show that in our formulation the parameters multiplying deformation terms in the potential are flat coordinates. After properly bosonizing the first-order systems, we are able to make explicit calculations of topological correlation functions as power series in these flat coordinates by using standard Coulomb gas techniques. We retrieve known results for the minimal models and for the torus.Comment: 37 page

From toothpick legs to dropping vaginas: Gender and sexuality in Joan Rivers' stand-up comedy performance

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2011 Intellect.This article employs sociocultural analysis to examine Joan Rivers’ stand-up comedy performances in order to reveal how she successfully operates in a sphere of artistic expression that has been, and continues to be, male-dominated. The analysis uncovers how Rivers’ stand-up comedy performance involves a complex combination of elements and how it fuses features that are regarded as ‘traditionally masculine’, such as aggression, with features frequently used by other female stand-up comedians, such as self-deprecating comedy and confessional comedy. Furthermore, the analysis exposes the complex ways in which constructions of gender and sexuality are negotiated and re-negotiated in Rivers’ stand-up comedy performance, and illustrates how dominant ideological identity constructions can be simultaneously reinforced and subverted within the same comic moment

F.J. Turner’s ‘frontier thesis’: the ruse of American ‘character'

American society was transformed by the expansion of capital Westward and the explosion in opportunities that ensued for land grabbing and agricultural and industrial investment. In Turner’s (1961) frontier thesis this was portrayed as resulting in the emergence of ‘the new man’ i.e. the fulfilment of American character. The frontier thesis is a neo-Darwinian contribution. It posits exceptionalism and transcendence as the keys to American character. The gene pool of the Americans, thriving in a new geographical and social environment, is depicted as achieving a higher level of development than the stratified societies of Old Europe. What the thesis ignores is the importance of orthodox Eurocentric strategies of colonization and land appropriation. Turner portrays pioneer/settler society as a heroic departure, but in many ways, it is a continuation of European precedents. Analogously, the proposition that the push West crystallized American character obscures the role of personality, especially in urban-industrial settings, in establishing the parameters of American life. Turner conceived of character as emerging from a struggle with the spatial frontier. But the struggles of personality with the social frontier of repression and establishment values is no less significant. The paper examines the tensions between character and personality by using some ideas developed by Carl Schmitt on the significance of ‘the opportunity’ in competitive advantage. The importance of the opportunity and personality in developing the American way of life are examined by the vaudeville and celebrity traditions. The exploitation of contingency for personal advantage, the use of melodrama to engineer social impact, the social validation of forthright behaviour are examined in the context of the careers of the film actress Mae West and the comedian Bob Hope