An effective theory for holographic RG flows
A bstractWe study the dilaton action induced by RG flows between holographic CFT fixed points. For this purpose we introduce a general bulk effective theory for the goldstone boson of the broken spacetime symmetry, providing an AdS analog of the EFT of Inflation. In two dimensions, we use the effective theory to compute the dilaton action, as well as the UV and IR conformal anomalies, without further assumptions. In higher dimensions we take a ‘slow-flow’ limit analogous to the assumption of slow-roll in Inflation, and in this context we obtain the dilaton action, focusing on terms proportional to the difference of the A-type anomalies. We include Gauss-Bonnet terms in the gravitational action in order to verify that our method correctly differentiates between A-type and other anomalies.

title: No-go theorems for generalized chameleon field theories.
abstract: The chameleon, or generalizations thereof, is a light scalar that couples to matter with gravitational strength, but whose manifestation depends on the ambient matter density. A key feature is that the screening mechanism suppressing its effects in high-density environments is determined by the local scalar field value. Under very general conditions, we prove two theorems limiting its cosmological impact: (i) the Compton wavelength of such a scalar can be at most ~/= 1 MPc at the present cosmic density, which restricts its impact to nonlinear scales; and (ii) the conformal factor relating Einstein- and Jordan-frame scale factors is essentially constant over the last Hubble time, which precludes the possibility of self-acceleration. These results imply that chameleonlike scalar fields have a negligible effect on the linear-scale growth history; theories that invoke a chameleonlike scalar to explain cosmic acceleration rely on a form of dark energy rather than a genuine modified gravity effect. Our analysis applies to a broad class of chameleon, symmetron, and dilaton theories.

title: Construction of the Conserved Non-linear Zeta via the Effective Action for Perfect Fluids
abstract: We consider the problem of how to construct the curvature perturbation $\zeta$ to nonlinear levels, which is expected to evolve time independently on super-horizon scales; in particular we concentrate on the situation where the universe is dominated by a perfect fluid. We have used a low energy/long wavelength effective action to model the fluid sector. Different from previous work, our approach assumes neither the absence of vector and tensor perturbations nor ``local homogeneity and isotropy''. As a corollary, we also show that the nonlinearly defined graviton field $\gamma_{ij}$ is conserved outside the horizon in the same manner as $\zeta$ is.

title: Classical stability of the Galileon
abstract: A bstractWe consider the classical equations of motion for a single Galileon field with generic parameters in the presence of non-relativistic sources. We introduce the concept of absolute stability of a theory: if one can show that a field at a single point — like infinity for instance — in spacetime is stable, then stability of the field over the rest of spacetime is guaranteed for any positive energy source configuration. The Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model is stable in this manner, and previous studies of spherically symmetric solutions suggest that certain classes of the single field Galileon (of which the DGP model is a subclass) may have this property as well. We find, however, that when general solutions are considered this is not the case. In fact, when considering generic solutions there are no choices of free parameters in the Galileon theory that will lead to absolute stability except the DGP choice. Our analysis indicates that the DGP model is an exceptional choice among the large class of possible single field Galileon theories. This implies that if general solutions (non-spherically symmetric) exist they may be unstable. Given astrophysical motivation for the Galileon, further investigation into these unstable solutions may prove fruitful.

title: Dissipation in the effective field theory for hydrodynamics: First order effects
abstract: We introduce dissipative effects in the effective field theory of hydrodynamics. We do this in a model-independent fashion by coupling the long-distance degrees of freedom explicitly kept in the effective field theory to a generic sector that "lives in the fluid", which corresponds physically to the microscopic constituents of the fluid. At linear order in perturbations, the symmetries, the derivative expansion, and the assumption that this microscopic sector is thermalized, allow us to characterize the leading dissipative effects at low frequencies via three parameters only, which correspond to bulk viscosity, shear viscosity, and--in the presence of a conserved charge--heat conduction. Using our methods we re-derive the Kubo relations for these transport coefficients.

title: Solid Inflation
abstract: We develop a cosmological model where primordial inflation is driven by a ‘solid’, defined as a system of three derivatively coupled scalar fields obeying certain symmetries and spontaneously breaking a certain subgroup of these. The symmetry breaking pattern differs drastically from that of standard inflationary models: time translations are unbroken. This prevents our model from fitting into the standard effective field theory description of adiabatic perturbations, with crucial consequences for the dynamics of cosmological perturbations. Most notably, non-gaussianities in the curvature perturbations are unusually large, with fNL ∼ 1/( cs), and have a novel shape: peaked in the squeezed limit, with anisotropic dependence on how the limit is approached. Other unusual features include the absence of adiabatic fluctuation modes during inflation— which does not impair their presence and near scale-invariance after inflation—and a slightly blue tilt for the tensor modes.

title: Search for top squarks in R-parity-violating supersymmetry using three or more leptons and b-tagged jets.
abstract: A search for anomalous production of events with three or more isolated leptons and bottom-quark jets produced in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV is presented. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2012. No excess above the standard model expectations is observed. The results are interpreted in the context of supersymmetric models with signatures that have low missing transverse energy arising from light top-squark pair production with R-parity-violating decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle. In two models with different R-parity-violating couplings, top squarks are excluded below masses of 1020 GeV and 820 GeV when the lightest supersymmetric particle has a mass of 200 GeV.

title: Gauge invariant effective Lagrangian for Kaluza-Klein modes
abstract: We construct a manifestly gauge invariant Lagrangian in $3+1$ dimensions for N Kaluza-Klein modes of an $\mathrm{SU}(m)$ gauge theory in the bulk. For example, if the bulk is $4+1,$ the effective theory is ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{i=1}^{N+1}{\mathrm{SU}(m)}_{i}$ with N chiral $(\overline{m},m)$ fields connecting the groups sequentially. This can be viewed as a Wilson action for a transverse lattice in ${x}^{5},$ and is shown explicitly to match the continuum $4+1$ compactified Lagrangian truncated in momentum space. Scale dependence of the gauge couplings is described by the standard renormalization group technique with threshold matching, leading to effective power law running. We also discuss the unitarity constraints, and chiral fermions.

title: Automatic computations at next-to-leading order in QCD for top-quark flavor-changing neutral processes
abstract: Computations at next-to-leading order in the Standard Model offer new technical challenges in presence of higher dimensional operators. We introduce a framework that, starting from the top-quark effective field theory at dimension six, allows to make predictions for cross sections as well as distributions in a fully automatic way. As an application, we present the first complete results at NLO in QCD for flavor changing neutral interactions including parton shower effects, for $tZ$, $th$, $t\gamma$ associated production at the LHC.

title: RELATIVISTIC OUTFLOWS IN TWO QUASARS IN THE CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH
abstract: In this paper we provide new 1 Ms Chandra ACIS spectra of two quasars in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S) which had strong and extremely blueshifted X-ray emission/absorption line features in previous 1 Ms spectra, with outflowing bulk velocity v ~ 0.65-0.84c. In the new 1 Ms spectra, the relativistic blueshifted line feature is solidly confirmed in CXO CDFS J033225.3–274219 (CDFS 46, z = 1.617), and marginally visible in CXO CDFS J033260.0–274748 (CDFS 11, z = 2.579), probably due to the increased Chandra ACIS background in the new 1 Ms exposure. The new data rule out the possibility (although very tiny already based on the old 1Ms data) that the two sources were selected to be unusual due to noise spikes in the spectra. The only likely interpretation is extremely blueshifted iron absorption/emission lines or an absorption edge due to relativistic outflow. We find that the rest-frame emission line center in CDFS 46 marginally decreased from 16.2 to 15.2 keV after 7 years. The line shift could be due to either a decreasing outflowing velocity or a lower ionization level. Including the two quasars reported in this paper, we collect a total of 7 quasars from the literature showing blueshifted emission or absorption line features with v ≥ 0.4c in X-ray spectra, and discuss their connection to jet and/or BAL (broad absorption line) outflows.

title: STAR FORMATION IN SELF-GRAVITATING DISKS IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI. I. METALLICITY GRADIENTS IN BROAD-LINE REGIONS
abstract: It has been suggested that the high metallicity generally observed in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars originates from ongoing star formation in the self-gravitating part of accretion disks around supermassive black holes (SMBHs). We designate this region as the star-forming (SF) disk, in which metals are produced from supernova explosions (SNexp) while at the same time inflows are driven by SNexp-excited turbulent viscosity to accrete onto the SMBHs. In this paper, an equation of metallicity governed by SNexp and radial advection is established to describe the metal distribution and evolution in the SF disk. We find that the metal abundance is enriched at different rates at different positions in the disk, and that a metallicity gradient is set up that evolves for steady-state AGNs. Metallicity as an integrated physical parameter can be used as a probe of the SF disk age during one episode of SMBH activity. In the SF disk, evaporation of molecular clouds heated by SNexp blast waves unavoidably forms hot gas. This heating is eventually balanced by the cooling of the hot gas, but we show that the hot gas will escape from the SF disk before being cooled, and diffuse into the broad-line regions (BLRs) forming with a typical rate of ~1 M ☉ yr–1. The diffusion of hot gas from an SF disk depends on ongoing star formation, leading to the metallicity gradients in BLR observed in AGNs. We discuss this and other observable consequences of this scenario.