Quasi-rational fusion products

Fusion is defined for arbitrary lowest weight representations of $W$-algebras, without assuming rationality. Explicit algorithms are given. A category of quasirational representations is defined and shown to be stable under fusion. Conjecturally, it may coincide with the category of representations of finite quantum dimensions.Comment: 10 pages (plain TeX

Impact of NASA-sponsored research on aircraft turbine engine bearing specifications

The advancement of the state-of-the-art in aircraft bearing materials technology is reviewed. Current specifications and design practices resulting from NASA-sponsored programs are included

A Hiker's Guide to K3 - Aspects of N=(4,4) Superconformal Field Theory with central charge c=6

We study the moduli space ${\cal M}$ of N=(4,4) superconformal field theories with central charge c=6. After a slight emendation of its global description we find the locations of various known models in the component of ${\cal M}$ associated to K3 surfaces. Among them are the Z_2 and Z_4 orbifold theories obtained from the torus component of ${\cal M}$. Here, SO(4,4) triality is found to play a dominant role. We obtain the B-field values in direction of the exceptional divisors which arise from orbifolding. We prove T-duality for the Z_2 orbifolds and use it to derive the form of ${\cal M}$ purely within conformal field theory. For the Gepner model (2)^4 and some of its orbifolds we find the locations in ${\cal M}$ and prove isomorphisms to nonlinear sigma models. In particular we prove that the Gepner model (2)^4 has a geometric interpretation with Fermat quartic target space.Comment: 58 pages, version submitted to Comm. Math. Phys; references added and minor mistakes correcte

The associative algebras of conformal field theory

Modulo the ideal generated by the derivative fields, the normal ordered product of holomorphic fields in two-dimensional conformal field theory yields a commutative and associative algebra. The zero mode algebra can be regarded as a deformation of the latter. Alternatively, it can be described as an associative quotient of the algebra given by a modified normal ordered product. We clarify the relation of these structures to Zhu's product and Zhu's algebra of the mathematical literature.Comment: LaTeX (BibTeX), 6 pages, no figure

Primetime War on Drugs & Terror

At the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, we've produced research demonstrating the profound impact that televised entertainment can have on audiences. Whether we like it or not, people are moved by entertainment content and, if the depictions seem realistic, there is a good chance they will apply what they see on the screen to their lives.This is one reason that we decided to develop a research project with the American Civil Liberties Union that would help us understand what Americans (and the rest of the world) might be learning about the War on Terror and the War on Drugs from the most popular shows on U.S. television (which are watched by billions of people around the world). With the assistance of Princeton Survey Research Associates International, we conducted a very detailed analysis of 49 recent episodes of popular primetime dramas (Fig. 2).We selected episodes that addressed the War on Terror or the War on Drugs from ten highly-rated one hour network dramas: 24, CSI, CSI: Miami, The Good Wife, House, Law & Order, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Law & Order: SVU, NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. All of the episodes aired during 2010, except for eight shows which aired in late 2009 as part of the network 2009-10 season. The aim was to analyze how terror or drugrelated plots were portrayed rather than to assess how frequently these plots appeared. We subjected each episode to a codebook with 145 variables and over 800 sub-variables (see the Methodology section on page 27 for more details). In an effort to contextualize this research and how it might come into dialogue with other conversations about the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, we include recent public opinion survey data about these wars as well as data about how the government and the justice system, in particular, are conducting them. We think viewing these three types of data together -- that is, depictions on television, public opinion and statistics about real world practices -- is the best way to begin an informed conversation about how these wars are being carried out and understood in America