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At least 487 records · Page 27

Orbit averaging coherent states: holographic three-point functions of AdS giant gravitons

We study correlation functions of two AdS giant gravitons in AdS 5 × S 5 and a BPS supergravity mode using holography. In the gauge theory these are described by BPS correlators of Schur polynomials of fully-symmetric representations and a single trace operator. We find full agreement between the semiclassical gravity and gauge theory computations at large N, for both diagonal and off-diagonal structure constants. Our analysis in $\mathcal{N}$ = 4 SYM provides a simpler derivation to the results in the literature, and it can be readily generalized to operators describing bound states of AdS giant gravitons as well as bubbling geometries.

1/N Expansion↗

The S-matrix of 2D type 0B string theory. Part I. Perturbation theory revisited

We study the perturbative S-matrix of closed strings in the two-dimensional type 0B string theory from the worldsheet perspective, by directly integrating correlation functions of N = 1 Liouville theory. The latter is computed numerically using recurrence relations for super-Virasoro conformal blocks. We show that the tree level 3- and 4-point amplitudes are in agreement with the proposed dual matrix quantum mechanics. The non-perturbative aspects of the duality will be analyzed in a companion paper.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The S-matrix of 2D type 0B string theory. Part II. D-instanton effects

We study the effect of D-instantons on closed string scattering amplitudes in the two-dimensional type 0B string theory from the worldsheet perspective. We find that the contribution from a pair of D-instanton and anti-D-instanton to the closed string reflection amplitude, with a suitable contour prescription for the integration over the D-instanton moduli space, agrees with the corresponding leading non-perturbative corrections in the proposed dual matrix quantum mechanics. This analysis is further extended to thermal observables defined at finite temperature. The infrared divergence in charged processes is understood through the measure factor for charged D-instantons, and can be treated with spacetime dimensional regularization.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

High-temperature asymptotics of supersymmetric partition functions

We study the supersymmetric partition function of 4d supersymmetric gauge theories with a U(1) R-symmetry on Euclidean S 3 × S β 1 , with S 3 the unit-radius squashed three-sphere, and β the circumference of the circle. For superconformal theories, this partition function coincides (up to a Casimir energy factor) with the 4d superconformal index. The partition function can be computed exactly using the supersymmetric localization of the gauge theory path-integral. It takes the form of an elliptic hypergeometric integral, which may be viewed as a matrix-integral over the moduli space of the holonomies of the gauge fields around S β 1 . At high temperatures (β → 0, corresponding to the hyperbolic limit of the elliptic hypergeometric integral) we obtain from the matrix-integral a quantum effective potential for the holonomies. The effective potential is proportional to the temperature. Therefore the high-temperature limit further localizes the matrix-integral to the locus of the minima of the potential. If the effective potential is positive semi-definite, the leading high-temperature asymptotics of the partition function is given by the formula of Di Pietro and Komargodski, and the subleading asymptotics is connected to the Coulomb branch dynamics on R 3 × S 1 . In theories where the effective potential is not positive semi-definite, the Di Pietro-Komargodski formula needs to be modified. In particular, this modification occurs in the SU(2) theory of Intriligator-Seiberg-Shenker, and the SO(N) theory of Brodie-Cho-Intriligator, both believed to exhibit “misleading” anomaly matchings, and both believed to yield interacting superconformal field theories with c < a. Lastly, two new simple tests for dualities between 4d supersymmetric gauge theories emerge as byproducts of our analysis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Subleading corrections in $ \mathcal{N} $ = 3 Gaiotto-Tomasiello theory

We study subleading corrections to the genus-zero free energy of the N = 3 Gaiotto-Tomasiello theory. In general, we obtain the endpoints and free energy as a set of parametric equations via contour integrals of the planar resolvent, up to exponentially suppressed corrections. In the particular case that the two gauge groups in the quiver are of equal rank, we find an explicit (perturbative) expansion for the free energy. If, additionally, both groups have equal levels, then we find the full expression for the genus-zero free energy, modulo exponentially suppressed corrections. We also verify our results numerically.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

$\mathrm{BPS}$ coherent states and localization

We introduce coherent states averaged over a gauge group action to study correlators of half BPS states in $\mathcal{N}$= 4 SYM theory. The overlaps of these averaged coherent states are a generating function of correlators and can be written in terms of the Harish-Chandra-Itzykzon-Zuber (HCIZ) integral. We show that this formula immediately leads to a computation of the normalization of two point functions in terms of characters obtained originally in the work of Corley, Jevicki and Ramgoolam. We also find various generalizations for A n–1 quivers that follow directly from other solvable integrals over unitary groups. All of these can be computed using localization methods. When we promote the parameters of the generating function to collective coordinates, there is a dominant saddle that controls the effective action of these coherent states in the regime where they describe single AdS giant gravitons. We also discuss how to add open strings to this formulation. These will produce calculations that rely on correlators of matrix components of unitaries in the ensemble that is determined by the HCIZ integral to determine anomalous dimensions. We also discuss how sphere giants arise from Grassman integrals, how one gets a dominant saddle and how open strings are added in that case. The fact that there is a dominant saddle helps to understand how a 1/N expansion arises for open strings. We generalize the coherent state idea to study 1/4 and 1/8 BPS states as more general integrals over unitary groups.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Giant gravitons, Harish-Chandra integrals, and BPS states in symplectic and orthogonal $\mathcal{N}$ = 4 SYM

We find generating functions for half BPS correlators in $\mathcal{N}$ = 4 SYM theories with gauge groups Sp(2N), SO(2N + 1), and SO(2N) by computing the norms of a class of BPS coherent states. These coherent states are built from operators involving Harish-Chandra integrals. Such operators have an interpretation as localized giant gravitons in the bulk of anti-de-Sitter space. This extends the analysis of [1] to Sp(2N), SO(2N + 1), and SO(2N) gauge theories. We show that we may use ordinary Schur functions as a basis for the sector of states with no cross-caps in these theories. This is consistent with the construction of these theories as orientifold projections of an SU(2N) theory. We make note of some relations between the symmetric functions that appear in the expansion of these coherent states and symplectic Schur functions. We also comment on some connections to Schubert calculus and Gromov-Witten invariants, which suggest that the Harish-Chandra integral may be extended to such problems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Chaos, complexity, and random matrices

Chaos and complexity entail an entropic and computational obstruction to describing a system, and thus are intrinsically difficult to characterize. In this paper, we consider time evolution by Gaussian Unitary Ensemble (GUE) Hamiltonians and analytically compute out-of-time-ordered correlation functions (OTOCs) and frame potentials to quantify scrambling, Haar-randomness, and circuit complexity. While our random matrix analysis gives a qualitatively correct prediction of the late-time behavior of chaotic systems, we find unphysical behavior at early times including an O(1) scrambling time and the apparent breakdown of spatial and temporal locality. The salient feature of GUE Hamiltonians which gives us computational traction is the Haar-invariance of the ensemble, meaning that the ensemble-averaged dynamics look the same in any basis. Motivated by this property of the GUE, we introduce k-invariance as a precise definition of what it means for the dynamics of a quantum system to be described by random matrix theory. Here,we envision that the dynamical onset of approximate k-invariance will be a useful tool for capturing the transition from early-time chaos, as seen by OTOCs, to late-time chaos, as seen by random matrix theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Superposition induced topology changes in quantum gravity

We show that superpositions of classical states in quantum gravity with fixed topology can lead to new classical states with a different topology. We study this phenomenon in a particular limit of the LLM geometries. In this limit, the UV complete minisuperspace of allowed quantum states is exactly given by the Hilbert space of a free chiral boson in two dimensions. We construct this chiral boson purely in terms of combinatorial objects associated with the permutation group. As a byproduct of this analysis, we rederive the Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for characters of the permutation group. We are able to express this rule in terms of operator relations for raising and lowering operators on the Hilbert space of states in a free fermion basis. Our construction provides a preferred notion of bulk locality by studying an appropriate notion of D-brane state generating functions. We describe how multi-droplet LLM geometries with different topologies give new classical limits of the free chiral boson, even though they can be written as superpositions of coherent states with trivial topology. As a consequence, topology cannot be accessed by a single operator measurement in this quantum system. In conclusion, we study other non-linear measurements in the quantum wave-function, based on uncertainty and entanglement between modes of the chiral boson, that can be used as order parameters to measure the topology of such states.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Strings in bubbling geometries and dual Wilson loop correlators

We consider a fundamental string in a bubbling geometry of arbitrary genus dual to a half-supersymmetric Wilson loop in a general large representation R of the SU(N) gauge group in N = 4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills. We demonstrate, under some mild conditions, that the minimum value of the string classical action for a bubbling geometry of arbitrary genus precisely matches the correlator of a Wilson loop in the fundamental representation and one in a general large representation. We work out the case in which the large representation is given by a rectangular Young tableau, corresponding to a genus one bubbling geometry, explicitly. Lastly, we also present explicit results in the field theory for a correlator of two Wilson loops: a large one in an arbitrary representation and a “small” one in the fundamental, totally symmetric or totally antisymmetric representation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The large- N partition function for non-parity-invariant Chern-Simons-matter theories

We extend the Fermi gas approach to a class of ABJM-like necklace quiver theories without parity invariance. The resulting partition function on S 3 retains the form of an Airy function, but now includes a phase that scales as Nk in the large- N limit where k is an overall Chern-Simons level. We demonstrate the presence of this phase both analytically and numerically in the case of a three node quiver.

Supersymmetric Gauge Theory↗

Accounting for connectivity alters the apparent roles of spatial and environmental processes on metacommunity assembly

Understanding the relative contributions of spatial and environmental processes on community assembly is a central question in ecology. Despite this long-standing interest, our understanding of how landscape structure may drive spatial processes of community assembly remains poorly understood in part because of the challenge of tracking community assembly across landscapes and quantifying key aspects of landscapes that may impact assembly processes. Here, we examined the roles of spatial and environmental processes on structuring assemblies of ants in 72 cleared patches embedded within a forested landscape.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Aerosol sources in subway environments

Highlights: • PM{sub 2.5} concentrations varied widely among subway platforms (26–86 µg m{sup −3}). • Main PM{sub 2.5} component in metro microenvironment is iron oxide. • Subway sources contribution account for up to 91% of ambient subway PM{sub 2.5}. • From the five subway-specific sources identified, brakes contributed the most. • Elements related with health issues are apportioned mostly by subway sources (> 60%). Millions of people use rail subway public transport around the world, despite the relatively high particulate matter (PM) concentrations in these underground environments, requiring the identification and quantification of the aerosol source contributions to improve the air quality. An extensive aerosol monitoring campaign was carried out in eleven subway stations in the Barcelona metro system, belonging to seven subway lines. PM{sub 2.5} samples were collected during the metro operating hours and chemically analysed to determine major and trace elements, inorganic ions, and total carbon. The chemical compositions of subway components such as brake pads, rail tracks and pantographs were also determined. The mean PM{sub 2.5} concentrations varied widely among stations, ranging from 26 µg m{sup −3} to 86 µg m{sup −3}. Subway PM{sub 2.5} was mainly constituted by Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} (30–66%), followed by carbonaceous matter (18–37%) for the old stations, while for new stations equipped with Platform Screen Doors (PSD) these percentages go down to 21–44% and 15–30%, respectively. Both the absolute concentrations and the relative abundance of key species differed for each subway station, although with common patterns within a given subway line. This is a result of the different emission chemical profiles in different subway lines (using diverse types of brakes and/or pantographs). The co-emission of different sources poses a problem for their separation by receptor models. Nevertheless, receptor modelling (Positive Matrix Factorization) was applied resulting in ten sources, five of them subway-specific: RailWheel, RailWheel+Brake, Brake{sub A}, Brake{sub B}, Pb. The sum of their contributions accounted for 43–91% of bulk PM{sub 2.5} for the old stations and 21–52% for the stations with PSD. The decrease of the activity during the weekends resulted in a decrease (up to 56%) in the subway-specific sources contribution to the –already lower– bulk PM{sub 2.5} concentrations compared to weekdays. The health-related elements are mainly apportioned (> 60%) by subway sources.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

GaAs Thermophotovoltaic Patterned Dielectric Back Contact Devices with Improved Sub-Bandgap Reflectance

We demonstrate GaAs thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices with a patterned dielectric back contact (PDBC) architecture, featuring a dielectric spacer between the semiconductor and back metal contact over most of the back surface for high reflectance, and metal point contacts over a smaller area for electrical conduction. In the TPV application, high sub-bandgap reflectance is needed to reflect unused sub-bandgap photons to the thermal emitter to minimize energy losses in this portion of the thermal spectrum. We explore different PDBC fabrication processes with SU-8 and SiO2 dielectric spacer layers to maximize sub-bandgap reflectance while minimizing series resistance to increase TPV conversion efficiency. We successfully demonstrate GaAs SU-8 PDBC TPV devices with 2200 degrees C blackbody-weighted sub-bandgap reflectance of 94.9% and 96.5% with and without a front metal grid, respectively. This is 0.7% and 2.3% (absolute) higher than the mean sub-bandgap reflectance of 94.2% for GaAs baseline TPV devices with 100% Au back contact with front metal grid. Lower sub-bandgap reflectance in TPV devices with front grids indicates the front grid induces light scattering leading to additional parasitic absorption in the TPV device. We also show that for higher contact coverage fractions, the PDBC reflectance cannot in general be treated by a linear interpolation using simple 1D transfer matrix method modeling and should be treated instead as a diffraction grating by solving Maxwell's equations in 3D.

energy storage↗

Elimination of CO 2 /N 2 Langmuir Sorption and Promotion of “N 2 -Phobicity” within High- T g Glassy Membranes

In this work, we demonstrate that the CO 2 /N 2 gas separation performance of alkoxysilyl-substituted vinyl-added polynorbornenes (VAPNBs) may be significantly enhanced via incorporation of the monomer 5-tris(2-methoxyethoxy)-silyl-2-norbornene. As the molar ratio of this monomer is increased, substantial increases in CO 2 /N 2 selectivity are realized with minimal decrease in CO 2 permeability. This trend ignores the traditional permeability/selectivity “tradeoff” relationship and yields an optimal membrane whose performance reaches the 2008 upper bound for CO 2 /N 2 separations. Though the inclusion of 5-tris(2-methoxyethoxy)-silyl-2-norbornene units was initially hypothesized to maximize CO 2 solubility, detailed gas sorption studies reveal that these highly glassy materials essentially lack any Langmuir sorption component and indicate that their improved CO 2 /N 2 selectivity is due to decreased N 2 solubility within the matrix. Computational modeling suggests that the source of this apparent “N 2 -phobicity” is likely explained through comparative analyses of polymer–polymer and polymer–gas interactions. Lastly, mixed-gas permeation tests are performed to provide a more realistic look at real-world gas separation performance.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Direct evidence for the role of microbial community composition in the formation of soil organic matter composition and persistence

The largest terrestrial carbon sink on earth is soil carbon stocks. As the climate changes, the rate at which the Earth’s climate warms depends in part on the persistence of soil organic carbon. Microbial turnover forms the backbone of soil organic matter (SOM) formation and it has been recently proposed that SOM molecular complexity is a key driver of stability. Despite this, the links between microbial diversity, chemical complexity and biogeochemical nature of SOM remain missing. Here we tested the hypotheses that distinct microbial communities shape the composition of SOM, and microbial-derived SOM has distinct decomposition potential depending on its community of origin. We inoculated microbial communities of varying diversities into a model soil matrix amended with simple carbon (cellobiose) and measured the thermal stability of the resultant SOM. Using a Rock-Eval ® ramped thermal analysis, we found that microbial community composition drives the chemical fingerprint of soil carbon. While diversity was not a driver of SOM composition, bacteria-only communities lead to more thermally labile soil C pools than communities with bacteria and fungi. Our results provide direct evidence for a link between microbial community structure, SOM composition, and thermal stability. This evidence demonstrates the relevance of soil microorganisms in building persistent SOM stocks.

Domeignoz-Horta, Luiz A. (ORCID:0000000346186253)↗

Extraordinary optical transmission in nanopatterned ultrathin metal films without holes

In this study, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that a continuous gold film on a periodically textured substrate exhibits extraordinary optical transmission, even though no holes were etched in the film. Our film synthesis started by nanoimprinting a periodic array of nanocups with a period of ~750 nm on a polystyrene film over a glass substrate. A thin non-conformal gold film was sputter-deposited on the polystyrene by angle-directed deposition. The gold film was continuous with spatial thickness variation, the film being thinnest at the bottom of the nanocup. Measurements revealed an extraordinary transmission peak at a wavelength just smaller than the period, with an enhancement of ~2.5 compared to the classically expected value. Scattering matrix simulations model well the transmission and reflectance measurements when an ultrathin gold layer (~5 nm), smaller than the skin depth is retained at the bottom of the nanocups. Electric field intensities are enhanced by >100 within the nanocup, and ~40 in the ultrathin gold layer causing transmission through it. We show a wavelength red-shift of ~30 nm in the extraordinary transmission peak when the nanocups are coated with a thin film of a few nanometers, which can be utilized for biosensing. The continuous corrugated metal films are far simpler structures to observe extraordinary transmission, circumventing the difficult process of etching the metal film. Such continuous metal films with ultrathin regions are simple platforms for non-linear optics, plasmonics, and biological and chemical sensing.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Low-dimensional representations of the three component loop braid group

Motivated by physical and topological applications, we study representations of the group LB 3 of motions of 3 unlinked oriented circles in R 3 . Our point of view is to regard the three strand braid group B 3 as a subgroup of LB 3 and study the problem of extending B 3 representations. We introduce the notion of a standard extension and characterize B 3 representations admitting such an extension. In particular we show, using a classification result of Tuba and Wenzl [Pacific J. Math. 197, 491–510 (2001)], that every irreducible B 3 representation of dimension at most 5 has a (standard) extension. We show that this result is sharp by exhibiting an irreducible 6-dimensional B 3 representation that has no extensions (standard or otherwise). Here, we obtain complete classifications of (1) irreducible 2-dimensional LB 3 representations, (2) extensions of irreducible 3-dimensional B 3 representations, and (3) irreducible LB 3 representations whose restriction to B 3 has abelian image.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗