SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Eoin O Colgain

Publications and source records attributed to Eoin O Colgain.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Quasar standardization: Overcoming Selection Biases and Redshift Evolution

Quasars (QSOs) are extremely luminous active galatic nuclei currently observed up to redshift $z=7.642$. As such, they have the potential to be the next rung of the cosmic distance ladder beyond SNe Ia, if they can reliably be used as cosmological probes. The main issue in adopting QSOs as standard candles (similarly to Gamma-Ray Bursts) is the large intrinsic scatter in the relations between their observed properties. This could be overcome by finding correlations among their observables that are intrinsic to the physics of QSOs and not artifacts of selection biases and/or redshift evolution. The reliability of these correlations should be verified through well-established statistical tests. The correlation between the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray fluxes developed by Risaliti \& Lusso is one of the most promising relations. We apply a statistical method to correct this relation for redshift evolution and selection biases. \textbf{Remarkably, we recover the the same parameters of the slope and the normalization as Risaliti \& Lusso. Our results establish the reliability of this relation, which is intrinsic to the QSO properties and not merely an effect of selection biases or redshift evolution. Hence,} the possibility to standardize QSOs as cosmological candles, thereby extending the Hubble diagram up to $z=7.54$.

astro-ph.HE

Hints of 5d Fixed Point Theories from Non-Abelian T-duality

In this paper we investigate the properties of the putative 5d fixed point theory that should be dual, through the holographic correspondence, to the new supersymmetric AdS(6) solution constructed in Lozano et al. This solution is the result of a non-Abelian T-duality transformation on the known supersymmetric AdS(6) solution of massive Type IIA. The analysis of the charge quantization conditions seems to put constraints on the global properties of the background, which, combined with the information extracted from considering probe branes, suggests a 2-node quiver candidate for the dual CFT.

hep-th

3D Supergravity from wrapped D3-branes

AdS_3 solutions dual to N = (0,2) SCFTs arise when D3-branes wrap Kahler two-cycles in manifolds with SU(4) holonomy. Here we review known AdS_3 solutions and identify the corresponding three-dimensional gauged supergravities, solutions of which uplift to type IIB supergravity. In particular, we discuss gauged supergravities dual to twisted compactifications on Riemann surfaces of both N=4 SYM and N =1 SCFTs with Sasaki-Einstein duals. We check in each case that c-extremization gives the exact central charge and R symmetry. For completeness, we also study AdS_3 solutions from intersecting D3-branes, generalise recent KK reductions of Detournay & Guica and identify the underlying gauged supergravities. Finally, we discuss examples of null-warped AdS_3 solutions to three-dimensional gauged supergravity, all of which embed in string theory.

hep-th

Supersymmetric AdS_6 via T-duality

We present a new supersymmetric AdS_6 solution of type IIB supergravity with SU(2) isometry. Through the AdS/CFT correspondence, this has potentially very interesting implications for 5d fixed point theories. This solution is the result of a non-Abelian T-duality on the known supersymmetric AdS_6 solution of massive IIA. The SU(2) R-symmetry is untouched, leading to sixteen supercharges and preserved supersymmetry.

hep-th

Schrodinger invariant solutions of M-theory with Enhanced Supersymmetry

We find the most general solution of 11-dimensional supergravity compatible with N=2 super-Schrodinger symmetry with six supercharges and SU(2) x SU(2) x U(1) x Z_2 global symmetry. It can be viewed as a one-parameter extension of a recently constructed solution by Ooguri and Park. Our original motivation was to find the gravity dual of the non-relativistic ABJM theory. But, our analysis shows that no such solution exists within the reach of our assumptions. We discuss possible reasons for the non-existence of the desired solution. We also uplift a super-Schrodinger solution in IIB supergravity of Donos and Gauntlett to 11-dimension and comment on its properties.

hep-th

Self-Duality Equations on S^6 from R^7 monopole

In this note we identify a correspondence between a seven-dimensional monopole configuration of the Yang-Mills-Higgs system and the generalized self-dual configuration of the Yang-Mills system on a six-dimensional sphere. In particular, the topological charge of the self-duality configurations belongs to the sixth homotopy group of the coset G/H associated with the symmetry breaking G -> H induced by a non-trivial Higgs configuration in seven-dimensions.

hep-th

Global geometry of the supersymmetric AdS_3/CFT_2 correspondence in M-theory

We study the global geometry of a general class of spacetimes of relevance to the supersymmetric $AdS_3/CFT_2$ correspondence in eleven-dimensional supergravity. Specifically, we study spacetimes admitting a globally-defined $\mathbb{R}^{1,1}$ frame, a globally-defined frame bundle with structure group contained in Spin(7), and an $AdS_3$ event horizon or conformal boundary. We show how the global frame bundle may be canonically realised by globally-defined null sections of the spin bundle, which we use to truncate eleven-dimensional supergravity to a gravitational theory of a frame with structure group Spin(7), SU(4) or Sp(2). By imposing an $AdS_3$ boundary condition on the truncated supergravity equations, we define the geometry of all $AdS_3$ horizons or boundaries which can be obtained from solutions of these truncations. In the most generic case we study, we reproduce the most general conditions for an $AdS_3$ manifold in M-theory to admit a Killing spinor. As a consistency check on our definitions of $AdS$ geometries we verify that they are satisfied by known gauged supergravity $AdS_3$ solutions. We discuss future applications of our results.

hep-th

Supersymmetric wrapped membranes, AdS(2) spaces, and bubbling geometries

We perform a systematic study, in eleven dimensional supergravity, of the geometry of wrapped brane configurations admitting $AdS_2$ limits. Membranes wrapping holomorphic curves in Calabi-Yau manifolds are found to exhibit some novel features; in particular, for fourfolds or threefolds, the gravitational effect of the branes on the overall transverse space is only weakly restricted by the kinematics of the Killing spinor equation. We also study the $AdS_2$ limits of the wrapped brane supergravity descriptions. For membranes wrapped in a two-fold, we derive a set of $AdS_2$ supersymmetry conditions which upon analytic continuation coincide precisely with those for the half-BPS bubbling geometries of LLM. From membranes wrapped in a three-fold, we obtain a set of $AdS_2$ supersymmetry conditions which upon analytic continuation describe a class of spacetimes which we identify as quarter-BPS bubbling geometries in M-theory, with $SO(4)\times SO(3)\times U(1)$ isometry in Riemannian signature. We also study fivebranes wrapping a special lagrangian five-cycle in a fivefold, in the presence of membranes wrapping holomorphic curves, and employ the wrapped brane supersymmetry conditions to derive a classification of the general minimally supersymmetric $AdS_2$ geometry in M-theory.

hep-th

Properties of some conformal field theories with M-theory duals

By studying classes of supersymmetric solutions of D=11 supergravity with AdS_5 factors, we determine some properties of the dual four-dimensional N=1 superconformal field theories. For some explicit solutions we calculate the central charges and also the conformal dimensions of certain chiral primary operators arising from wrapped membranes. For the most general class of solutions we show that there is a consistent Kaluza-Klein truncation to minimal D=5 gauged supergravity. This latter result allows us to study some aspects of the dual strongly coupled thermal plasma with a non-zero R-charge chemical potential and, in particular, we show that the ratio of the shear viscosity to the entropy density has the universal value of 1/4 pi.

hep-th