On gauge fields - strings duality as an integrable system

It was suggested in hep-th/0002106, that semiclassically, a partition function of a string theory in the 5 dimensional constant negative curvature space with a boundary condition at the absolute satisfy the loop equation with respect to varying the boundary condition, and thus the partition function of the string gives the expectation value of a Wilson loop in the 4 dimensional QCD. In the paper, we present the geometrical framework, which reveals that the equations of motion of such string theory are integrable, in the sense that they can be written via a Lax pair with a spectral parameter. We also show, that the issue of the loop equation rests solely on the properly posing the boundary condition

A note on the glueball mass spectrum

A conjectured duality between supergravity and $N=\infty$ gauge theories gives predictions for the glueball masses as eigenvalues for a supergravity wave equations in a black hole geometry, and describes a physics, most relevant to a high-temeperature expansion of a lattice QCD. We present an analytical solution for eigenvalues and eigenfunctions, with eigenvalues given by zeroes of a certain well-computable function $r(p)$, which signify that the two solutions with desired behaviour at two singular points become linearly dependent. Our computation shows corrections to the WKB formula $m^2= 6n(n+1)$ for eigenvalues corresponding to glueball masses QCD-3, and gives the first states with masses $m^2=$ 11.58766; 34.52698; 68.974962; 114.91044; 172.33171; 241.236607; 321.626549, ... . In $QCD_4$, our computation gives squares of masses 37.169908; 81.354363; 138.473573; 208.859215; 292.583628; 389.671368; 500.132850; 623.97315 ... for $O++$. In both cases, we have a powerful method which allows to compute eigenvalues with an arbitrary precision, if needed so, which may provide quantative tests for the duality conjecture. Our results matches with the numerical computation of [5] well withing precision reported there in both $QCD_3$ and $QCD_4$ cases. As an additional curiosity, we report that for eigenvalues of about 7000, the power series, although convergent, has coefficients of orders ${10}^{34}$; tricks we used to get reliably the function $r(p)$, as also the final answer gets small, of order ${10}^{-6}$ in $QCD_4$. In principle we can go to infinitely high eigenavalues, but such computations maybe impractical due to corrections.Comment: References, acknowledgments added; some presentation improvement

Tangent unit-vector fields: nonabelian homotopy invariants and the Dirichlet energy

Let O be a closed geodesic polygon in S 2 . Maps from O into S 2 are said to satisfy tangent boundary conditions if the edges of O are mapped into the geodesics which contain them. Taking O to be an octant of S 2 , we compute the infimum Dirichlet energy, E(H), for continuous maps satisfying tangent boundary conditions of arbitrary homotopy type H. The expression for E(H) involves a topological invariant – the spelling length – associated with the (nonabelian) fundamental group of the n-times punctured two-sphere, π1 (S 2 − {s1 , . . . , sn }, ∗). The lower bound for E(H) is obtained from combinatorial group theory arguments, while the upper bound is obtained by constructing explicit representatives which, on all but an arbitrarily small subset of O, are alternatively locally conformal or anticonformal. For conformal and anticonformal classes (classes containing wholly conformal and anticonformal representatives respectively), the expression for E(H) reduces to a previous result involving the degrees of a set of regular values s1 , . . . , sn in the target S 2 space. These degrees may be viewed as invariants associated with the abelianization of π1 (S 2 − {s1 , . . . , sn }, ∗). For nonconformal classes, however, E(H) may be strictly greater than the abelian bound. This stems from the fact that, for nonconformal maps, the number of preimages of certain regular values may necessarily be strictly greater than the absolute value of their degrees.\ud \ud This work is motivated by the theoretical modelling of nematic liquid crystals in confined polyhedral geometries. The results imply new lower and upper bounds for the Dirichlet energy (one-constant Oseen-Frank energy) of reflection-symmetric tangent unit-vector fields in a rectangular prism

Simulation of the Elastic Properties of Reinforced Kevlar-Graphene Composites

The compressive strength of unidirectional fiber composites in the form of Kevlar yarn with a thin outer layer of graphene was investigated and modeled. Such fiber structure may be fabricated by using a strong chemical bond between Kevlar yarn and graphene sheets. Chemical functionalization of graphene and Kevlar may achieved by modification of appropriate surface-bound functional (e.g., carboxylic acid) groups on their surfaces. In this report we studied elastic response to unidirectional in-plane applied load with load peaks along the diameter. The 2D linear elasticity model predicts that significant strengthening occurs when graphene outer layer radius is about 4 % of kevlar yarn radius. The polymer chains of Kevlar are linked into locally planar structure by hydrogen bonds across the chains, with transversal strength considerably weaker than longitudinal one. This suggests that introducing outer enveloping layer of graphene, linked to polymer chains by strong chemical bonds may significantly strengthen Kevlar fiber with respect to transversal deformations