7546995
Supersymmetry Changing Bubbles in String Theory
We give examples of string compactifications to 4d Minkowski space with different amounts of supersymmetry that can be connected by spherical domain walls. The tension of these domain walls is tunably lower than the 4d Planck scale. The ``stringy'' description of these walls is known in terms of certain configurations of wrapped Dirichlet and NS branes. This construction allows us to connect a variety of vacua with 4d = 4,3,2,1 supersymmetry.
18223996
Beauty is attractive: Moduli trapping at enhanced symmetry points
We study quantum effects on moduli dynamics arising from the production of particles which are light at points of enhanced symmetry in moduli space. The resulting forces trap the moduli at these points. Moduli trapping occurs in time-dependent quantum field theory, as well as in systems of moving D-branes, where it leads the branes to combine into stacks. Trapping also occurs in the presence of gravity, though the range over which the moduli can roll is limited by Hubble friction. We observe that a scalar field trapped on a steep potential can induce a stage of acceleration of the universe, which we call trapped inflation. Moduli trapping ameliorates the cosmological moduli problem and may affect vacuum selection. In particular, rolling moduli are most powerfully attracted to the points of greatest symmetry. Given suitable assumptions about the dynamics of the very early universe, this effect might help to explain why among the plethora of possible vacuum states of string theory, we appear to live in one with a large number of (spontaneously broken) symmetries.
1748432
Dynamical dimension change in supercritical string theory
We study tree-level solutions to heterotic string theory in which the number of spacetime dimensions 10+n changes dynamically due to closed string tachyon condensation. Taking the large-n limit, we compute the amount by which the dilaton gradient changes during the condensation process. At leading order in n we find that the change in the invariant magnitude of the dilaton gradient compensates the change in spacelike central charge on the worldsheet, so that the total worldsheet central charges are equal at early and late times. This result supports our interpretation of the worldsheet theory as a CFT of critical central charge which describes a dynamical reduction in the total number of spacetime dimensions.
118103986
Aspects of the string theory landscape: Compactification and evolution
14339384
Heterotic moduli stabilization with fractional Chern-Simons invariants
We show that fractional flux from Wilson lines can stabilize the moduli of heterotic string compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds. We observe that the Wilson lines used in GUT symmetry breaking naturally induce a fractional flux. When combined with a hidden-sector gaugino condensate, this generates a potential for the complex structure moduli, Kahler moduli, and dilaton. This potential has a supersymmetric AdS minimum at moderately weak coupling and large volume. Notably, the necessary ingredients for this construction are often present in realistic models. We explore the type IIA dual phenomenon, which involves Wilson lines in D6-branes wrapping a three-cycle in a Calabi-Yau threefold, and comment on the nature of the fractional instantons that change the Chern-Simons invariant.
14174042
Gravity duals of Lifshitz-like fixed points
We find candidate macroscopic gravity duals for scale-invariant but non-Lorentz invariant fixed points, which do not have particle number as a conserved quantity. We compute two-point correlation functions which exhibit novel behavior relative to their AdS counterparts, and find holographic renormalization group flows to conformal field theories. Our theories are characterized by a dynamical critical exponent z, which governs the anisotropy between spatial and temporal scaling t {yields} {lambda}{sup z}t, x {yields} {lambda}x; we focus on the case with z = 2. Such theories describe multicritical points in certain magnetic materials and liquid crystals, and have been shown to arise at quantum critical points in toy models of the cuprate superconductors. This work can be considered a small step towards making useful dual descriptions of such critical points.
117904233
The second Chern class in Spinning System
Topological property in a spinning system should be directly associated with its wavefunction. A complete decomposition formula of SU(2) gauge potential in terms of spinning wavefunction is established rigorously. Based on the $\phi $-mapping theory and this formula, one proves that the second Chern class is inherent in the spinning system. It is showed that this topological invariant is only determined by the Hopf index and Brouwer degree of the spinning wavefunction.
119289992
Is radio jet power linearly proportional to the product of central black hole mass and Eddington ratio in AGN?
A model for the relation between radio jet power and the product of central black hole (BH) mass and Eddington ratio of AGN is proposed, and the model is examined with data from the literature. We find that radio jet power positively correlates but not linearly with the product of BH mass (m in solar mass) and Eddington ratio (λ), and the power law indices (μ) are significantly less than unity for relatively low accretion (λ<0.1) AGN, Pj∝(λm)μ, in the radio galaxies and the Seyfert galaxies. This leads to a negative correlation between radio loudness and λm for the low luminosity AGN, i.e. R∝(λm)ρ with ρ=(7/6)μ−1<0, which may be attributed to a contribution of BH spin to total jet power assuming that the spin induced jet is gradually suppressed as the accretion rate increases. Whereas, for the high-z quasars which often show the slope μ≥1, a positive correlation between the radio loudness and disc luminosity is predicted. We discuss that the jet powers of the high-z FRII quasars are likely dominated by the accretion disc rather than by the BH spin.
119230799
The site conditions of the Guo Shou Jing Telescope
The weather at the Xing long Observing Station, where the Guo Shou Jing Telescope (GSJT) is located, is strongly affected by the monsoon climate in north-east China. The LAMOST survey strategy is constrained by these weather patterns. We present statistics on observing hours from 2004 to 2007, and the sky brightness, seeing, and sky transparency from 1995 to 2011 at the site. We investigate effects of the site conditions on the survey plan. Operable hours each month show a strong correlation with season: on average there are eight operable hours per night available in December, but only one two hours in July and August. The seeing and the sky transparency also vary with season. Although the seeing is worse in windy winters, and the atmospheric extinction is worse in the spring and summer, the site is adequate for the proposed scientific program of the LAMOST survey. With a Monte Carlo simulation using historical data on the site condition, we find that the available observation hours constrain the survey footprint from 22(h) to 16(h) in right ascension; the sky brightness allows LAMOST to obtain a limiting magnitude of V = 19.5 mag with S/N= 10.
119119786
Radio observations of the first three-months of Fermi AGN at 4.8 GHz
Using the Urumqi 25 m radio telescope, sources from the first t hree months of the Fermi-large area telescope detected active galactic nuclei (AGN) catalog with a declination of > 0 ◦ were observed in 2009 at 4.8 GHz. The radio flux density ap- peared to correlate with the -ray intensity. Intra-day variability (IDV) observations were performed in March, April and May 2009 for 42 selected -ray bright blazars, and ∼60% of them showed evidence of flux variability at 4.8 GHz duri ng the IDV observations. The IDV detection rate was higher than that in previous flat-spectrum AGN samples. IDV appeared more often in the very long baseline interferometry-core dominant blazars, and the non-IDV blazars showed relatively "steeper" spectral in- dices than the IDV blazars. Pronounced inter-month variability was also found in two BL Lac objects: J0112+2244 and J0238+1636.
11727133
An algorithm for preferential selection of spectroscopic targets in LEGUE
We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a balance between a smoothly-varying, well-understood selection function and the desire to preferentially select certain types of targets. Some target-selection examples are shown that illustrate different possibilities of emphasis functions. Although it is generally applicable, the algorithm was developed specifically for the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey that will be carried out using the Chinese Guo Shou Jing Telescope. In particular, this algorithm was designed for the portion of LEGUE targeting the Galactic halo, in which we attempt to balance a variety of science goals that require stars at fainter magnitudes than can be completely sampled by LAMOST. This algorithm has been implemented for the halo portion of the LAMOST pilot survey, which began in October 2011.