1,247 research outputs found
M Theory from World-Sheet Defects in Liouville String
We have argued previously that black holes may be represented in a D-brane
approach by monopole and vortex defects in a sine-Gordon field theory model of
Liouville dynamics on the world sheet. Supersymmetrizing this sine-Gordon
system, we find critical behaviour in 11 dimensions, due to defect condensation
that is the world-sheet analogue of D-brane condensation around an extra
space-time dimension in M theory. This supersymmetric description of Liouville
dynamics has a natural embedding within a 12-dimensional framework suggestive
of F theory.Comment: 17 pages LATEX, 1 epsf figure include
N=1 SUSY Conformal Block Recursive Relations
We present explicit recursive relations for the four-point superconformal
block functions that are essentially particular contributions of the given
conformal class to the four-point correlation function. The approach is based
on the analytic properties of the superconformal blocks as functions of the
conformal dimensions and the central charge of the superconformal algebra. The
results are compared with the explicit analytic expressions obtained for
special parameter values corresponding to the truncated operator product
expansion. These recursive relations are an efficient tool for numerically
studying the four-point correlation function in Super Conformal Field Theory in
the framework of the bootstrap approach, similar to that in the case of the
purely conformal symmetry.Comment: 12 pages, typos corrected, reference adde
Bulk correlation functions in 2D quantum gravity
We compute bulk 3- and 4-point tachyon correlators in the 2d Liouville
gravity with non-rational matter central charge c<1, following and comparing
two approaches. The continuous CFT approach exploits the action on the tachyons
of the ground ring generators deformed by Liouville and matter ``screening
charges''. A by-product general formula for the matter 3-point OPE structure
constants is derived. We also consider a ``diagonal'' CFT of 2D quantum
gravity, in which the degenerate fields are restricted to the diagonal of the
semi-infinite Kac table. The discrete formulation of the theory is a
generalization of the ADE string theories, in which the target space is the
semi-infinite chain of points.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure
High efficacy and low toxicity of weekly docetaxel given as first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer
Background: Docetaxel is one of the most effective antitumor agents currently available for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This phase II multicenter study prospectively analyzed the efficacy and toxicity of docetaxel given on a weekly schedule as first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Patients and Methods: All patients received docetaxel, 35 mg/m(2) weekly for 6 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of rest. Subsequent cycles ( 3 weeks of treatment, 2 weeks of rest) were given until a maximum of 5 cycles or disease progression. Premedication consisted of 8 mg dexamethasone intravenously 30 min prior to the infusion of docetaxel. Results: Fifty-four patients at a median age of 58 years with previously untreated MBC were included in the study. A median of 10 doses ( median cumulative dose 339 mg/m(2)) was administered ( range: 2 - 18). The overall response rate was 48.1% ( 95% CI: 34 - 61%, intent-to-treat). Median survival was 15.8 months and median time to progression was 5.9 months ( intent-to-treat). Hematological toxicity was mild with absence of neutropenia-related complications. Grade 3 neutropenia was observed in 3.7% of patients and grade 3 and 4 anemia was observed in 5.6 and 1.9% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: The weekly administration of docetaxel is highly efficient and safe as first-line treatment for MBC and may serve as an important treatment option specifically in elderly patients and patients with a reduced performance status. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel
Timelike Boundary Liouville Theory
The timelike boundary Liouville (TBL) conformal field theory consisting of a
negative norm boson with an exponential boundary interaction is considered. TBL
and its close cousin, a positive norm boson with a non-hermitian boundary
interaction, arise in the description of the accumulation point of
minimal models, as the worldsheet description of open string tachyon
condensation in string theory and in scaling limits of superconductors with
line defects. Bulk correlators are shown to be exactly soluble. In contrast,
due to OPE singularities near the boundary interaction, the computation of
boundary correlators is a challenging problem which we address but do not fully
solve. Analytic continuation from the known correlators of spatial boundary
Liouville to TBL encounters an infinite accumulation of poles and zeros. A
particular contour prescription is proposed which cancels the poles against the
zeros in the boundary correlator d(\o) of two operators of weight \o^2 and
yields a finite result. A general relation is proposed between two-point CFT
correlators and stringy Bogolubov coefficients, according to which the
magnitude of d(\o) determines the rate of open string pair creation during
tachyon condensation. The rate so obtained agrees at large \o with a
minisuperspace analysis of previous work. It is suggested that the mathematical
ambiguity arising in the prescription for analytic continuation of the
correlators corresponds to the physical ambiguity in the choice of open string
modes and vacua in a time dependent background.Comment: 28 pages, 1 figure, v2 reference and acknowledgement adde
Quantum-Gravitational Diffusion and Stochastic Fluctuations in the Velocity of Light
We argue that quantum-gravitational fluctuations in the space-time background
give the vacuum non-trivial optical properties that include diffusion and
consequent uncertainties in the arrival times of photons, causing stochastic
fluctuations in the velocity of light ``in vacuo''. Our proposal is motivated
within a Liouville string formulation of quantum gravity that also suggests a
frequency-dependent refractive index of the particle vacuum. We construct an
explicit realization by treating photon propagation through quantum excitations
of -brane fluctuations in the space-time foam. These are described by
higher-genus string effects, that lead to stochastic fluctuations in couplings,
and hence in the velocity of light. We discuss the possibilities of
constraining or measuring photon diffusion ``in vacuo'' via -ray
observations of distant astrophysical sources.Comment: 17 pages LATEX, uses axodraw style fil
Multi giant graviton systems, SUSY breaking and CFT
In this article, we describe giant gravitons in AdS_5 x S^5 moving along
generic trajectories in AdS_5. The giant graviton dynamics is solved by proving
that the D3-brane effective action reduces to that of a massive point particle
in AdS_5 and therefore the solutions are in one to one correspondence with
timelike geodesics of AdS_5. All these configurations are related via
isometries of the background, which induce target space symmetries in the world
volume theory of the D-brane. Hence, all these configurations preserve the same
amount of supersymmetry as the original giant graviton, i.e. half of the
maximal supersymmetry. Multiparticle configurations of two or more giant
gravitons are also considered. In particular, a binary system preserving one
quarter of the supersymmetries is found, providing a non trivial time-dependent
supersymmetric solution. A short study on the dual CFT description of all the
above states is given, including a derivation of the exact induced isometry map
in the CFT side of the correspondence.Comment: latex, 27+1 pages. v2: comment on mixing of states in section 4.3
added, reference added, typos corrected, final versio
Higher Equations of Motion in Boundary Liouville Field Theory
In addition to the ordinary bulk higher equations of motion in the boundary
version of the Liouville conformal field theory, an infinite set of relations
containing the boundary operators is found. These equations are in one-to-one
correspondence with the singular representations of the Virasoro algebra. We
comment on the possible applications in the context of minimal boundary
Liouville gravity.Comment: 18 page
Angular momentum of focused beams: beyond the paraxial approximation
We investigate in detail the focusing of a circularly polarized
Laguerre-Gaussian laser beam ( orbital angular momentum per photon;
for left/right-handed polarization) by a high numerical aperture
objective. The diffraction-limited focused beam has unexpected properties,
resulting from a strong interplay between the angular spatial structure and the
local polarization in the non-paraxial regime. In the region near the beam
axis, and provided that and and have opposite
signs, the energy locally counter-propagates and the projection of the electric
field onto the focal plane counter-rotates with respect to the circular
polarization of the incident beam. We explicitly show that the total angular
momentum flux per unit power is conserved after focusing, as expected by
rotational symmetry, but the spin and orbital separate contributions change.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Non-Perturbative Effects in Matrix Models and D-branes
The large order growth of string perturbation theory in conformal
field theory coupled to world sheet gravity implies the presence of
non-perturbative effects, whose leading behavior can be
calculated in the matrix model approach. Recently it was proposed that the same
effects should be reproduced by studying certain localized D-branes in
Liouville Field Theory, which were constructed by A. and Al. Zamolodchikov. We
discuss this correspondence in a number of different cases: unitary minimal
models coupled to Liouville, where we compare the continuum analysis to the
matrix model results of Eynard and Zinn-Justin, and compact c=1 CFT coupled to
Liouville in the presence of a condensate of winding modes, where we derive the
matrix model prediction and compare it to Liouville theory. In both cases we
find agreement between the two approaches. The c=1 analysis also leads to
predictions about properties of D-branes localized in the vicinity of the tip
of the cigar in SL(2)/U(1) CFT with c=26.Comment: 27 pages, lanlmac; minor change
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