18779895
Falling d0-branes in 2-D superstring theory
In N=1, 2D superstring theory in the linear dilaton background, there exists falling D0-branes that are described by time-dependent boundary states. These falling D0-brane boundary states can be obtained by adapting the FZZT boundary states of N=2 Super Liouville Field Theory (SLFT) to the case of the N=1, 2D superstring. In particular, we find that there are four stable, falling D0-branes (two branes and two anti-branes) in the Type 0A projection and two unstable ones in the Type 0B projection, leaving us with a puzzle for the matrix model dual of the theory.
16051323
Comment on `Cosmological Topological Massive Gravitons and Photons'
In a recent paper (arXiv: 0801.4566) it was shown that all global energy eigenstates of asymptotically $AdS_3$ chiral gravity have non-negative energy at the linearized level. This result was questioned (arXiv: 0803.3998) by Carlip, Deser, Waldron and Wise (CDWW), who work on the Poincare patch. They exhibit a linearized solution of chiral gravity and claim that it has negative energy and is smooth at the boundary. We show that the solution of CDWW is smooth only on that part of the boundary of $AdS_3$ included in the Poincare patch. Extended to global $AdS_3$, it is divergent at the boundary point not included in the Poincare patch. Hence it is consistent with the results of (arXiv: 0801.4566).
6352305
ABJM with Flavors and FQHE
We add fundamental matters to the = 6 Chern-Simons theory (ABJM theory), and show that D6-branes wrapped over AdS4 × S3/2 in type IIA superstring theory on AdS4 × 3 give its dual description with = 3 supersymmetry. We confirm this by the arguments based on R-symmetry, supersymmetry, and brane configuration of ABJM theory. We also analyze the fluctuations of the D6-brane and compute the conformal dimensions of dual operators. In the presence of fractional branes, the ABJM theory can model the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), with RR-fields regarded as the external electric-magnetic field. We show that an addition of the flavor D6-brane describes a class of fractional quantum Hall plateau transitions.
119529056
Supersymmetric Probes in a Rotating 5D Attractor
Abstract Supersymmetric zero-brane and one-brane probes in the squashed AdS 2 × S 3 near-horizon geometry of the BMPV black hole are studied. Supersymmetric zero-brane probes stabilized by orbital angular momentum on the S 3 are found and shown to saturate a BPS bound. We also find supersymmetric one-brane probes which have momentum and winding around a U ( 1 ) L × U ( 1 ) R torus in the S 3 and in some cases are static.
119484634
R2 corrections for 5D black holes and rings
We study higher-order corrections to two BPS solutions of 5D supergravity, namely the supersymmetric black ring and the spinning black hole. Due to our current relatively limited understanding of F-type terms in 5D supergravity, the nature of these corrections is less clear than that of their 4D cousins. Effects of certain R2 terms found in Calabi-Yau compactification of M-theory are specifically considered. For the case of the black ring, for which the microscopic origin of the entropy is generally known, the corresponding higher order macroscopic correction to the entropy is found to match a microscopic correction, while for the spinning black hole the corrections are partially matched to those of a 4D D0−D2−D6 black hole.
53121461
Quantum decoherence with holography
A bstractQuantum decoherence is the loss of a system’s purity due to its interaction with the surrounding environment. Via the AdS/CFT correspondence, we study how a system decoheres when its environment is a strongly-coupled theory. In the FeynmanVernon formalism, we compute the influence functional holographically by relating it to the generating function of Schwinger-Keldysh propagators and thereby obtain the dynamics of the system’s density matrix.We present two exactly solvable examples: (1) a straight string in a BTZ black hole and (2) a scalar probe in AdS5. We prepare an initial state that mimics Schrödinger’s cat and identify different stages of its decoherence process using the time-scaling behaviors of Rényi entropy. We also relate decoherence to local quantum quenches, and by comparing the time evolution behaviors of the Wigner function and Rényi entropy we demonstrate that the relaxation of local quantum excitations leads to the collapse of its wave-function.
118672243
Topology and criticality in the resonating Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki loop spin liquid states
We exploit a natural Projected Entangled-Pair State (PEPS) representation for the resonating Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki loop (RAL) state. By taking advantage of PEPS-based analytical and numerical methods, we characterize the RAL states on various two-dimensional lattices. On square and honeycomb lattices, these states are critical since the dimer-dimer correlations decay as a power law. On kagome lattice, the RAL state has exponentially decaying correlation functions, supporting the scenario of a gapped spin liquid. We provide further evidence that the RAL state on the kagome lattice is a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ spin liquid, by identifying the four topological sectors and computing the topological entropy. Furthermore, we construct a one-parameter family of PEPS states interpolating between the RAL state and a short-range Resonating Valence Bond state and find a critical point, consistent with the fact that the two states belong to two different phases. We also perform a variational study of the spin-1 kagome Heisenberg model using this one-parameter PEPS.
119247082
The Carnegie Supernova Project: First Photometry Data Release of Low-Redshift Type Ia Supernovae
The Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) was a five-year observational survey conducted at Las Campanas Observatory that obtained, among other things, high-quality light curves of ~100 low-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Presented here is the second data release of nearby SN Ia photometry consisting of 50 objects, with a subset of 45 having near-infrared follow-up observations. Thirty-three objects have optical pre-maximum coverage with a subset of 15 beginning at least 5 days before maximum light. In the near-infrared, 27 objects have coverage beginning before the epoch of B-band maximum, with a subset of 13 beginning at least 5 days before maximum. In addition, we present results of a photometric calibration program to measure the CSP optical (uBgVri)bandpasses with an accuracy of ~1%. Finally, we report the discovery of a second SN Ia, SN 2006ot, similar in its characteristics to the peculiar SN 2006bt.
25008570
No-go theorems for unitary and interacting partially massless spin-two fields.
We examine the generic theory of a paratially massless (PM) spin-two field interacting with gravity in four dimensions from a bottom-up perspective. By analyzing the most general form of the Lagrangian, we first show that if such a theory exists, its de Sitter background must admit either so(1,5) or so(2,4) global symmetry depending on the relative sign of the kinetic terms: the former for a positive sign the latter for a negative sign. Further analysis reveals that the coupling constant of the PM cubic self-interaction must be fixed with a purely imaginary number in the case of a positive sign. We conclude that there cannot exist a unitary theory of a PM spin-two field coupled to Einstein gravity with a perturbatively local Lagrangian. In the case of a negative sign we recover conformal gravity. As a special case of our analysis, it is shown that the PM limit of massive gravity also lacks the PM gauge symmetry.
2509291
The Early Light Curve of the Optical Afterglow of GRB 021211
The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) at Lick Observatory observed gamma-ray burst GRB 021211 starting 105 s after the burst, among the earliest observations of an optical afterglow to date. Our well-sampled light curve, consisting of 18 points in the first 10 minutes and a total of 28 useful observations in the first 2.5 hr after the GRB, directly shows for the first time a break at t ≈ 10 minutes. The light curve can be represented as a sum of two components with power-law decay indices of -1.82 ± 0.02 and -0.82 ± 0.11. We hypothesize that the data before the break were dominated by emission from the reverse shock, as was previously suggested for GRB 990123. Our data suggest that either GRB 021211 underwent a dramatic color change at early times or there are small-scale variations superposed on the power-law decay of the reverse-shock emission. The faintness of GRB 021211, coupled with the fast decline typical of optical afterglows, suggests that some of the "dark bursts" were not detected because optical observations commenced too late after the GRB.
118377935
Similarity renormalization group with novel generators
The choice of generator in the Similarity Renormalization Group (SRG) flow equation determines the evolution pattern of the Hamiltonian. The kinetic energy has been used in the generator for most prior applications to nuclear interactions, and other options have been largely unexplored. Here we show how variations of this standard choice can allow the evolution to proceed more efficiently without losing its advantages.