<p>String theory has proved to be a valuable theoretical laboratory for probing gravity and gauge theory in a unified framework. In this thesis some of the exciting spin-offs of string theory such as branes and higher spin are studied. After a review of the basics of string theory the four papers of the thesis are discussed. In the first paper we support the equivalence between two descriptions of non-commutative open strings by calculating scattering amplitudes in both approaches. The second paper gives a physical interpretation of the fact that Ramond-Ramond charge in string theory on SU(2) is only defined modulo an integer. In the third paper we calculate contributions to the stress-energy tensor of higher-spin theory in four dimensional AdS space, and in the last paper of the thesis we compare the free energy of the two dimesional type 0A extremal blackhole and find agreement with the corresponding quantity in a deformed matrix model.</p>

String theory has proved to be a valuable theoretical laboratory for probing gravity and gauge theory in a unified framework. In this thesis some of the exciting spin-offs of string theory such as branes and higher spin are studied. After a review of the basics of string theory the four papers of the thesis are discussed. In the first paper we support the equivalence between two descriptions of non-commutative open strings by calculating scattering amplitudes in both approaches. The second paper gives a physical interpretation of the fact that Ramond-Ramond charge in string theory on SU(2) is only defined modulo an integer. In the third paper we calculate contributions to the stress-energy tensor of higher-spin theory in four dimensional AdS space, and in the last paper of the thesis we compare the free energy of the two dimesional type 0A extremal blackhole and find agreement with the corresponding quantity in a deformed matrix model.

This thesis is about the demography of the tunicate Styela clava, a species of some notoriety because of its invasiveness and impacts in many parts of the world. Species assemblages have continuously changed throughout evolutionary history, but the rate of today’s anthropogenically facilitated dispersal is unparalleled in history. Non-indigenous species (NIS) are now considered one of the most important risks to native biodiversity. NIS become invasive by becoming both widespread and locally dominant. This requires that a species becomes established, spreads locally, and increases in abundance. In the early stages of invasion, its demography and life history characteristics are of crucial importance. In New Zealand, Styela has established populations in several places, but none of these populations has yet reached the high densities found in other countries. In Lyttelton Port, where this study was located, Styela was first noticed in 2005. It therefore presented an ideal situation to study an invasive species in its early stages of establishment and provided a potentially good model for understanding how invasive species get local traction and spread from initial infestation points. Therefore, I set out to determine demographic features of Styela to understand the numbers game of population dynamics. This study used empirical data on growth rates, size-frequencies through time, and size and age to maturity to test several models, including von Bertalanffy, Logistic dose-response, Ricker and power models of individual growth. The most useful proved to be the von Bertalanffy model. Styela individuals shrink frequently, so average growth rates were often quite low, even though some individuals reached 160 mm or more in total length. Mortality was greatest in summer, presumably after reproduction, and lowest in winter. Fewer than 5% of individuals survived 12 months, and most or all of these died soon afterwards. Populations were, therefore, essentially annual. Recruitment was difficult to determine because of the cryptic nature of small juveniles. However, size-frequency, abundance and mortality data indicated that recruitment most likely occurred in early spring (late-October), and then again in late summer, with growth to maturity (at c. 50 mm total length) within < 5 months. Several manipulative experiments showed that Styela did not readily capitalise on provision of free space but the other non-native ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, rapidly recruited. Transplants of Styela were greatly affected by C. intestinalis, which overgrew them, similar to a localised replacement of Styela by Ciona seen overseas. Lefkovitch modelling was used to test whether Styela had an “Achilles heel” in its life history, whereby managed removal could impact future populations. This showed that under several scenarios intervention would most likely be ineffectual. Overall, this study showed that the original populations in Lyttelton Port are either static or in decline, somewhat contrary to original expectations. Nevertheless, it appears that these small populations may be acting as stepping stones for spread of this species outside of the port.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:32:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4244.pdf: 1071959 bytes, checksum: 6ba82849d82a8316bf2d47e4273770cb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-02 / Euterpe edulis is a very important palm tree from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest due to its ecological and economic role. However, due to the indiscriminate overexploitation its populations has been reducing greatly. This study aimed to characterize the conservation status of a E. edulis population in a fragment of Atlantic Forest at Southern Bahia. We monitored this population along 5 running years in a 0.8 hectare. Environmental variables were also collected to test which factors could affect plant development and projection matrices analysis were performed to estimate the population growth rate and sensibility. The results showed that population s density is lower if compared with others studies. We verified a decrease in the seedling s recruitment over years, which were attributed to fragmentation side-effects, such as microclimate changes and / or reproductive isolation or inbreeding depression. We also observed that the low rate of transition from stages 1 to 2, represents a bottleneck for the population growth. These results emphasize the urgency of more long-term studies on the population ecology and genetic of E. edulis and also management strategies to promote the sustainability of such natural populations. / Euterpe edulis é uma das espécies de maior importância ecológica e econômica na Mata Atlântica brasileira. Apesar de a espécie possuir características que favorecem o manejo sustentável, a exploração predatória gerou um cenário de populações naturais severamente reduzidas. Este estudo procurou caracterizar o atual estado de conservação de uma população no sul da Bahia. Para tanto foi definido um bloco amostral 0,8 hectare, onde foi monitorada uma população de E. edulis, dividida em seis estágios de desenvolvimento. Foram geradas matrizes de projeção para verificar a tendência atual de conservação da população e variáveis ambientais foram analisadas para inferir sobre como tais fatores podem afetar o desenvolvimento da espécie. Os resultados mostraram que a densidade da população encontrada nesse estudo é menor que a relatada em outros estudos já realizados com a espécie. Verificou-se também a diminuição abrupta no recrutamento de plântulas a cada ano, o que foi atribuído a algum efeito colateral da fragmentação florestal, tal como alterações microclimáticas, e/ou efeitos do isolamento reprodutivo, como a depressão endogâmica. A lenta transição do estágio jovens 1 para jovens 2 se mostrou como principal gargalo ao crescimento populacional, o que sugere a necessidade de estudos sobre a redução na fecundidade. Ambientes com maior homogeneidade de dossel propiciaram maior crescimentos em jovens 2. Propõe-se que a produção e manutenção de mudas em viveiros até a idade de um ano, seguida de plantio em áreas próximas às bordas de clareiras, possa diminuir a mortalidade dos estágios iniciais e garantir maior êxito na perpetuação das populações de Euterpe edulis no sul da Bahia.

Orientador: Flavio Antonio Maës dos Santos / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T22:02:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Correa_ChristianeErondina_D.pdf: 5936327 bytes, checksum: 06835275c2d435b9e58c2c5894d02a54 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Os habitats variam entre si quanta às características abióticas como luminosidade e topografia. A variação altitudinal pode conter essas diferenças e influenciar variações em escala individual e populacional das espécies. 0 objetivo geral desse trabalho foi descrever as características da espécie em escala do indivíduo, o padrão espacial e a dinâmica populacional do arbusto Psychotria nuda (Rubiaceae). Adicionalmente, verifica se há variação dessas características populacionais entre altitudes e dentro de cada altitude, considerando variações da topografia e luminosidade. 0 estudo foi realizado em Floresta Ombrófila Densa, no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar em diferentes altitudes (Floresta de Restinga, Terras Baixas, Sub-Montana e Montana). Foram identificadas duas formas de crescimento, ereta e prostrada. lndivíduos prostrados podem apresentar crescimento clonal, encontrado em mais de 70% dos casas. 0 comprimento, o diâmetro, a área de copa e o módulo de elasticidade dos indivíduos eretos foram maiores comparados aos prostrados. Mais de 80% dos indivíduos amostrados ocorreram nas parcelas Terras Baixas. 0 comprimento foi semelhante entre altitudes, mas o diâmetro e a área da copa foram maiores nos indivíduos da Sub-Montana. A variação dos indivíduos localizados na Sub-Montana foi menor comparado aos indivíduos nas Terras Baixas. 0 padrão espacial diferiu entre as altitudes. Na Sub-Montana e na Restinga a distribuição foi agregada à pequenas distâncias e na Terras Baixas foi aleatória. Para todas as altitudes não houve variação temporal do padrão espacial. Mesmo avaliando a distribuição dos indivíduos por tamanho ou forma de crescimento, as variações influenciadas pela altitude foram preponderantes. A distribuição da densidade dos indivíduos não esteve relacionada a variações da topografia e luminosidade. 0 crescimento individual variou pouco ao Iongo do tempo e entre altitudes. Não houve variação da taxa de crescimento decamétrico com as classes de diâmetro dos indivíduos. As taxas de crescimento decamétrico não estavam relacionadas as variáveis abióticas. A taxa de crescimento populacional foi positiva, próxima a 1, nas duas altitudes. As taxas de mortalidade e de recrutamento foram muito semelhantes entre altitudes e não variaram temporal ou espacialmente. Indivíduos menores são mais freqüentes nas populações estudadas e a probabilidade de reprodução esteve associada ao tamanho do indivíduo. A maior proporção indivíduos reprodutivos na população foi encontrada na Sub-Montana. A maioria dos indivíduos permaneceu na classe de diâmetro inicial. Houve casos de regressão em até duas classes de diâmetro que podem significar a diminuição de tamanho ou fragmentação de rametas. O ingresso por reprodução sexuada foi pequeno sendo a maior parte dos recrutas originados por propagação vegetativa (91,6%). As duas altitudes diferiram quanto as contribuições para as diferenças encontradas no ?a, indicando que diferentes transições são importantes em cada hábitat. Algumas características populacionais estudadas variaram mais fortemente com a altitude em comparação a outros. As diferenças destacam que as populações das duas altitudes mantiveram estabilidade, entretanto a partir de estratégias diferentes. Na altitude maior os indivíduos foram maiores e apenas indivíduos grandes foram reprodutivos. Na altitude menor os indivíduos iniciam a reprodução com tamanho menor e ocorre maior entrada de indivíduos por propagação vegetativa / Abstract: The habitats may differ among themselves by abiotic traits like light and slope. The altitudinal variation may include these differences and influence changes in species on both individual and populational scales. The goals of this work were to describe individual traits, spatial pattern and population dynamic of shrub Psychotria nuda. Besides verify if there were variations of these population traits between altitudes and in each altitude considering slope and canopy openness variations. We developed this work in Dense-Ombrophylous Forest of Serra do Mar State Park in distinct altitudes. Two growth forms were recognized, erect and prostrate. The prostrate growth form includes the plants derived from clonal growth which is present in more than 70% of recorded individuals. The length, diameter, crown area and elastic modulus of erect growth form were higher than the prostrate one. More than 80% of the individuals occurred in the Lowland Secondary-Dense-Ombrophylous Forest. The length was similar between altitudes, but the diameter and crown area were higher in SM. Plants variations were smaller in Submontane Secondary-Dense-Ombrophylous Forest plots than in Lowland Secondary-Dense-Ombrophylous Forest. In Submontane Secondary­ Dense-Ombrophylous Forest and Coastal Plain Forest the distribution were aggregate to small distances and in Lowland Secondary-Dense-Ombrophylous Forest was random. There was no variation for all altitudes over time. Even evaluated the individuals distribution by size or growth form, the variations was mainly influenced by altitude. Individuals' density distribution was not related with slope and canopy openness variations. The individual growth of Psychotria nuda varies little over time and between altitudes. The diameter growth rate did not vary with individual's diameter class and with abiotic traits. Growth rate was positive and equals to one in both altitudes. Mortality and recruitment were similar between altitudes and did not vary in time and space. The smaller diameter classes were the most frequent ones and the reproduction probability was related with plant size. The proportion of reproductive plants was higher in Submontane Secondary-Dense-Ombrophylous Forest. Most plants remained in the original diameter class. There were some cases with regression of up to two diameter classes that may mean size reduction or ramets fragmentation. There was a little input of recruits from sexual reproduction. Almost all recruits came from vegetative propagation (91,6%). The contributions to variability in ? were different between altitudes due to distinct important transitions in each altitude. Some population traits varied more strongly with altitude than others. The differences highlight that two altitudes populations maintained stability, but from different strategies. At higher altitude, plants were larger than those on lower altitude and just the bigger ones were reproductive. At lower altitude plants start reproduction earlier than in higher altitude and had more input of recruits from vegetative propagation. / Doutorado / Ecologia / Doutor em Ecologia

A wide majority of orchid populations are decreasing due to habitat fragmentation and to changes in land management. Population size, density and habitat quality are factors that are expected to be positively related to the viability and future growth of a population. We evaluated if population size, density and soil organic matter were good predictors of growth, survival, flowering, recruitment, and growth rate in 18 populations of the long-lived orchid Gymnadenia conopsea. We followed the populations for four years. Recruitment in 2020 increased with population size, and survival in 2018 was higher in denser populations. However, flowering probability and number of flowers both decreased with population size in 2018. Soil organic matter did not significantly influence any vital rate. In total, the studied population factors could explain very little of the variation in demography. The matrix modelling showed that 14 of the 18 populations had a positive stochastic growth rate, even with an increased probability of summer drought (scenario with 50% of the years equal to the dry summer of 2018). In the populations with negative growth rate, the probability of quasi-extinction in the next 50 years varied from 90 to 100%. Declining populations were characterized by low survival following the dry year. In sum, population size, density and soil organic matter did not convincingly explain variation in growth rate of G. conopsea, suggesting that other environmental factors are responsible of governing variation in vitals rates and population dynamics.

O objetivo desta dissertação é revisar os operadores laços de Wilson no contexto da correspondência AdS/CFT. Estes operadores, presentes em qualquer teoria de calibre, são importantes por nos fornecer um parâmetro de ordem para a transição de fase confinante/desconfinante. Além disso, eles são particularmente importantes no estudo da correspondência AdS/ CFT pois: i) Eles nos dão, em alguns casos, resultados exatos graças ao fato de poderem ser localizados em um modelo de matrizes, desta forma nos permitindo fazer testes altamente não triviais da correspondência; ii) Eles são os objetos da teoria de calibre que são duais as cordas propagando no interior do espaço, nos dando um rico dicionário entre quantidades no interior (AdS) e na borda do espaço (CFT). Depois de revisarmos os laços de Wilson em teorias de calibre e a correspondência Ads/CFT, introduziremos a definição dos laços de Wilson supersimétricos 1/2 BPS. Calcularemos eles para o caso de um acoplamento fraco e para qualquer outro valor da constante de acoplamento usando técnicas de modelos de matrizes. Finalmente, compararemos nossos resultados com computações de superfícies minimais no interior do espaço, encontrando uma concordância perfeita. / The aim of this thesis is to review Wilson loop operators in the contexto f the AdS/CFT correspondence. These operators, wich are present in any gauge theory, are important because they furnish an order parameter for confinement/deconfinement phase transitions. Besides this, they are particularly relevant in the study of the AdS/CFT correspondence because: i) they allow, in some cases, for exact results thanks to localization to matrix models and make it possible to perform highly non-trivial tests of the correspondence; ii) they are the gauge theory objects dual to strings propagating in the bulk of the space and give a rich dictionary between bulk (AdS) and boundary (CFT) quantities. After reviews of Wilson loops in gauge theories and of the Ads/CFT correspondence, we will introduce the definition of 1/2 BPS supersymmetric Wilson loops, we will compute them at weak coupling and then at any order in the coupling constant via matrix model techniques, and finally we will compare our results with minimal surface computations in the bulk, finding perfect agreement.

<p>String theory is a unified framework for general relativity and quantum mechanics, thus being a theory of quantum gravity. In this thesis we discuss various aspects of quantum gravity for particular systems, having in common the existence of horizons. The main motivation is that one major challenge in theoretical physics today is in trying to understanding how time dependent backgrounds, with its resulting horizons and space-like singularities, should be described in a controlled way. One such system of particular importance is our own universe.</p><p>We begin by discussing the information puzzle in de Sitter space and consequences thereof. A typical time-scale is encountered, which we interpreted as setting the thermalization time for the system. Then the question of closed time-like curves is discussed in the combined setting where we have a rotating black hole in a Gödel-like universe. This gives a unified picture of what previously was considered as independent systems. The last three projects concerns $c=1$ matrix models and their applications. First in relation to the RR-charged two dimensional type 0A black hole. We calculate the ground state energy on both sides of the duality and find a perfect agreement. Finally, we relate the 0A model at self-dual radius to the topological string on the conifold. We find that an intriguing factorization of the theory previously observed for the topological string is also present in the 0A matrix model.</p>

String theory is a unified framework for general relativity and quantum mechanics, thus being a theory of quantum gravity. In this thesis we discuss various aspects of quantum gravity for particular systems, having in common the existence of horizons. The main motivation is that one major challenge in theoretical physics today is in trying to understanding how time dependent backgrounds, with its resulting horizons and space-like singularities, should be described in a controlled way. One such system of particular importance is our own universe. We begin by discussing the information puzzle in de Sitter space and consequences thereof. A typical time-scale is encountered, which we interpreted as setting the thermalization time for the system. Then the question of closed time-like curves is discussed in the combined setting where we have a rotating black hole in a Gödel-like universe. This gives a unified picture of what previously was considered as independent systems. The last three projects concerns $c=1$ matrix models and their applications. First in relation to the RR-charged two dimensional type 0A black hole. We calculate the ground state energy on both sides of the duality and find a perfect agreement. Finally, we relate the 0A model at self-dual radius to the topological string on the conifold. We find that an intriguing factorization of the theory previously observed for the topological string is also present in the 0A matrix model.

The work of this Ph.D. thesis in mathematics concerns the problem of determining existence, uniqueness, and structure of zero-energy states in supersymmetric matrix models, which arise from a quantum mechanical description of the physics of relativistic membranes, reduced Yang-Mills gauge theory, and of nonperturbative features of string theory, respectively M-theory. Several new approaches to this problem are introduced and considered in the course of seven scientific papers, including: construction by recursive methods (Papers A and D), deformations and alternative models (Papers B and C), averaging with respect to symmetries (Paper E), and weighted supersymmetry and index theory (Papers F and G). The mathematical tools used and developed for these approaches include Clifford algebras and associated representation theory, structure of supersymmetric quantum mechanics, as well as spectral theory of (matrix-) Schrödinger operators. / QC20100629