272 research outputs found
Quantum Cosmology for the General Bianchi Type II, VI(Class A) and VII(Class A) vacuum geometries
The canonical quantization of the most general minisuperspace actions --i.e.
with all six scale factor as well as the lapse function and the shift vector
present-- describing the vacuum type II, VI and VII geometries, is considered.
The reduction to the corresponding physical degrees of freedom is achieved
through the usage of the linear constraints as well as the quantum version of
the entire set of classical integrals of motion.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX2e, No figure
A Tale of Two Tilings
What do you get when you cross a crystal with a quasicrystal? The surprising
answer stretches from Fibonacci to Kepler, who nearly 400 years ago showed how
the ancient tiles of Archimedes form periodic patterns.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figur
A note on wavemap-tensor cosmologies
We examine theories of gravity which include finitely many coupled scalar
fields with arbitrary couplings to the curvature (wavemaps). We show that the
most general scalar-tensor -model action is conformally equivalent to
general relativity with a minimally coupled wavemap with a particular target
metric. Inflation on the source manifold is then shown to occur in a novel way
due to the combined effect of arbitrary curvature couplings and wavemap
self-interactions. A new interpretation of the conformal equivalence theorem
proved for such `wavemap-tensor' theories through brane-bulk dynamics is also
discussed.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, to appear in the Proceedings of the 2nd Hellenic
Cosmology Workshop, National Observatory of Athens, April 21-22, 2001,
(Kluwer 2001
The Vacuum in Light-Cone Field Theory
This is an overview of the problem of the vacuum in light-cone field theory,
stressing its close connection to other puzzles regarding light-cone
quantization. I explain the sense in which the light-cone vacuum is
``trivial,'' and describe a way of setting up a quantum field theory on null
planes so that it is equivalent to the usual equal-time formulation. This
construction is quite helpful in resolving the puzzling aspects of the
light-cone formalism. It furthermore allows the extraction of effective
Hamiltonians that incorporate vacuum physics, but that act in a Hilbert space
in which the vacuum state is simple. The discussion is fairly informal, and
focuses mainly on the conceptual issues. [Talk presented at {\sc Orbis
Scientiae 1996}, Miami Beach, FL, January 25--28, 1996. To appear in the
proceedings.]Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX, 4 Postscript figures. Minor typos correcte
Cavity Modes Study in Hyperuniform Disordered Photonic Bandgap Materials
We introduce novel architecture for cavity design in an isotropic disordered photonic band gap material. We demonstrate that point-like defects can support localized modes with different symmetries and multiple resonant frequencies, useful for various applications
Dirac quantization of membrane in time dependent orbifold
We present quantum theory of a membrane propagating in the vicinity of a time
dependent orbifold singularity. The dynamics of a membrane, with the parameters
space topology of a torus, winding uniformly around compact dimension of the
embedding spacetime is mathematically equivalent to the dynamics of a closed
string in a flat FRW spacetime. The construction of the physical Hilbert space
of a membrane makes use of the kernel space of self-adjoint constraint
operators. It is a subspace of the representation space of the constraints
algebra. There exist non-trivial quantum states of a membrane evolving across
the singularity.Comment: 16 pages, no figures, version accepted for publication in Journal of
High Energy Physic
Lectin-Based Food Poisoning: A New Mechanism of Protein Toxicity
BACKGROUND: Ingestion of the lectins present in certain improperly cooked vegetables can result in acute GI tract distress, but the mechanism of toxicity is unknown. In vivo, gut epithelial cells are constantly exposed to mechanical and other stresses and consequently individual cells frequently experience plasma membrane disruptions. Repair of these cell surface disruptions allows the wounded cell to survive: failure results in necrotic cell death. Plasma membrane repair is mediated, in part, by an exocytotic event that adds a patch of internal membrane to the defect site. Lectins are known to inhibit exocytosis. We therefore tested the novel hypothesis that lectin toxicity is due to an inhibitory effect on plasma membrane repair. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Repair of plasma membrane disruptions and exocytosis of mucus was assessed after treatment of cultured cell models and excised segments of the GI tract with lectins. Plasma membrane disruptions were produced by focal irradiation of individual cells, using a microscope-based laser, or by mechanical abrasion of multiple cells, using a syringe needle. Repair was then assessed by monitoring the cytosolic penetration of dyes incapable of crossing the intact plasma membrane. We found that cell surface-bound lectins potently inhibited plasma membrane repair, and the exocytosis of mucus that normally accompanies the repair response. CONCLUSIONS: Lectins potently inhibit plasma membrane repair, and hence are toxic to wounded cells. This represents a novel form of protein-based toxicity, one that, we propose, is the basis of plant lectin food poisoning
A quantum fluid of metallic hydrogen suggested by first-principles calculations
It is generally assumed that solid hydrogen will transform into a metallic
alkali-like crystal at sufficiently high pressure. However, some theoretical
models have also suggested that compressed hydrogen may form an unusual
two-component (protons and electrons) metallic fluid at low temperature, or
possibly even a zero-temperature liquid ground state. The existence of these
new states of matter is conditional on the presence of a maximum in the melting
temperature versus pressure curve (the 'melt line'). Previous measurements of
the hydrogen melt line up to pressures of 44 GPa have led to controversial
conclusions regarding the existence of this maximum. Here we report ab initio
calculations that establish the melt line up to 200 GPa. We predict that subtle
changes in the intermolecular interactions lead to a decline of the melt line
above 90 GPa. The implication is that as solid molecular hydrogen is
compressed, it transforms into a low-temperature quantum fluid before becoming
a monatomic crystal. The emerging low-temperature phase diagram of hydrogen and
its isotopes bears analogies with the familiar phases of 3He and 4He, the only
known zero-temperature liquids, but the long-range Coulombic interactions and
the large component mass ratio present in hydrogen would ensure dramatically
different propertiesComment: See related paper: cond-mat/041040
Quintessence-the Dark Energy in the Universe?
Quintessence - the energy density of a slowly evolving scalar field - may
constitute a dynamical form of the homogeneous dark energy in the universe. We
review the basic idea and indicate observational tests which may distinguish
quintessence from a cosmological constant.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, LaTe
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