24,857 research outputs found
Variational Methods in AdS/CFT
We prove that the AdS/CFT calculation of 1-point functions can be drastically
simplified by using variational arguments. We give a simple universal proof,
valid for any theory that can be derived from a Lagrangian, that the large
radius divergencies in 1-point functions can always be renormalized away (at
least in the semiclassical approximation). The renormalized 1-point functions
then follow by a simple variational problem involving only finite quantities.
Several examples, a massive scalar, gravity, and renormalization flows, are
discussed. Our results are general and can thus be used for dualities beyond
AdS/CFT.Comment: 14 pages, no figures, LaTeX, minor change in footnot
Variational Methods for Biomolecular Modeling
Structure, function and dynamics of many biomolecular systems can be
characterized by the energetic variational principle and the corresponding
systems of partial differential equations (PDEs). This principle allows us to
focus on the identification of essential energetic components, the optimal
parametrization of energies, and the efficient computational implementation of
energy variation or minimization. Given the fact that complex biomolecular
systems are structurally non-uniform and their interactions occur through
contact interfaces, their free energies are associated with various interfaces
as well, such as solute-solvent interface, molecular binding interface, lipid
domain interface, and membrane surfaces. This fact motivates the inclusion of
interface geometry, particular its curvatures, to the parametrization of free
energies. Applications of such interface geometry based energetic variational
principles are illustrated through three concrete topics: the multiscale
modeling of biomolecular electrostatics and solvation that includes the
curvature energy of the molecular surface, the formation of microdomains on
lipid membrane due to the geometric and molecular mechanics at the lipid
interface, and the mean curvature driven protein localization on membrane
surfaces. By further implicitly representing the interface using a phase field
function over the entire domain, one can simulate the dynamics of the interface
and the corresponding energy variation by evolving the phase field function,
achieving significant reduction of the number of degrees of freedom and
computational complexity. Strategies for improving the efficiency of
computational implementations and for extending applications to coarse-graining
or multiscale molecular simulations are outlined.Comment: 36 page
Variational Methods in Loop Quantum Cosmology
An action functional for the loop quantum cosmology difference equation is
presented. It is shown that by guessing the general form of the solution and
optimizing the action functional with respect to the parameters in the guessed
solution one can obtain approximate solutions which are reasonably good.Comment: To appear in EuroPhysics Letter
Variational Methods and Planar Elliptic Growth
A nested family of growing or shrinking planar domains is called a Laplacian
growth process if the normal velocity of each domain's boundary is proportional
to the gradient of the domain's Green function with a fixed singularity on the
interior. In this paper we review the Laplacian growth model and its key
underlying assumptions, so that we may consider a generalization to so-called
elliptic growth, wherein the Green function is replaced with that of a more
general elliptic operator--this models, for example, inhomogeneities in the
underlying plane. In this paper we continue the development of the underlying
mathematics for elliptic growth, considering perturbations of the Green
function due to those of the driving operator, deriving characterizations and
examples of growth, developing a weak formulation of growth via balayage, and
discussing of a couple of inverse problems in the spirit of Calder\'on. We
conclude with a derivation of a more delicate, reregularized model for
Hele-Shaw flow
Variational methods in relativistic quantum mechanics
This review is devoted to the study of stationary solutions of linear and
nonlinear equations from relativistic quantum mechanics, involving the Dirac
operator. The solutions are found as critical points of an energy functional.
Contrary to the Laplacian appearing in the equations of nonrelativistic quantum
mechanics, the Dirac operator has a negative continuous spectrum which is not
bounded from below. This has two main consequences. First, the energy
functional is strongly indefinite. Second, the Euler-Lagrange equations are
linear or nonlinear eigenvalue problems with eigenvalues lying in a spectral
gap (between the negative and positive continuous spectra). Moreover, since we
work in the space domain R^3, the Palais-Smale condition is not satisfied. For
these reasons, the problems discussed in this review pose a challenge in the
Calculus of Variations. The existence proofs involve sophisticated tools from
nonlinear analysis and have required new variational methods which are now
applied to other problems
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