We prove that if a curve of a non-isotrivial family of abelian varieties over a curve contains infinitely many isogeny orbits of a finitely generated subgroup of a simple abelian variety then it is special. This result fits into the context of Zilber-Pink conjecture and partially generalizes a result of Faltings. Moreover by using the polyhedral reduction theory we give a new proof of a result of Bertrand.

The operators with large scaling dimensions can be labeled by Young diagrams. Among other bases, the operators using restricted Schur polynomials have been known to have a large N but nonplanar limit under which they map to states of a system of harmonic oscillators. We analyze the oscillator algebra acting on pairs of long rows or long columns in the Young diagrams of the operators. The oscillator algebra can be reached by a Inonu– Wigner contraction of the u(2) algebra inside of the u(p) algebra of p giant gravitons. We present evidences that integrability in this case can persist at higher loops due to the presence of the oscillator algebra which is expected to be robust under loop corrections in the nonplanar large N limit.

The operators with large scaling dimensions can be labeled by Young diagrams. Among other bases, the operators using restricted Schur polynomials have been known to have a large N but nonplanar limit under which they map to states of a system of harmonic oscillators. We analyze the oscillator algebra acting on pairs of long rows or long columns in the Young diagrams of the operators. The oscillator algebra can be reached by a Inonu– Wigner contraction of the u(2) algebra inside of the u(p) algebra of p giant gravitons. We present evidences that integrability in this case can persist at higher loops due to the presence of the oscillator algebra which is expected to be robust under loop corrections in the nonplanar large N limit.

We propose a construction of K¨ahler and non-K¨ahler Calabi-Yau manifolds by branched double covers of twistor spaces. In this construction we use the twistor spaces of four-manifolds with self-dual conformal structures, with the examples of connected sum of n Ps. We also construct K3-fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds from the branched double covers of the blow-ups of the twistor spaces. These manifolds can be used in heterotic string compactifications to four dimensions. We also construct stable and polystable vector bundles. Some classes of these vector bundles can give rise to supersymmetric grand unified models with three generations of quarks and leptons in four dimensions.

In this note we propose a generalization of heterotic/F-theory duality. We introduce a set of non-compact building blocks which we glue together to reach compact examples of generalized duality pairs. The F-theory building blocks consist of non-compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds which also admit a K3 fibration. The compact elliptic model obtained by gluing need not have a globally defined K3 fibration. By replacing the K3 fiber of each F-theory building block with a T2, we reach building blocks in a heterotic dual vacuum which includes a position dependent dilaton and three-form flux. These building blocks are glued together to reach a heterotic flux background. We argue that in these vacua, the gauge fields of the heterotic string become localized, and remain dynamical even when gravity decouples. This enables a heterotic dual for the hyperflux GUT breaking mechanism which has recently figured prominently in F-theory GUT models. We illustrate our general proposal with some explicit examples.

We study certain six dimensional theories arising on (p, q) brane webs living on R × S. These brane webs are dual to toric elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds. The compactification of the space on which the brane web lives leads to a deformation of the partition functions equivalent to the elliptic deformation of the Ding-Iohara algebra. We compute the elliptic version Dotsenko-Fateev integrals and show that they reproduce the instanton counting of the six dimensional theory.

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In this paper, we study the relation between topological orders and their gapped boundaries. We propose that the bulk for a given gapped boundary theory is unique. It is actually a consequence of a microscopic definition of a local topological order, which is a (potentially anomalous) topological order defined on an open disk. Using this uniqueness, we show that the notion of “bulk” is equivalent to the notion of center in mathematics. We achieve this by first introducing the notion of a morphism between two local topological orders of the same dimension, then proving that the bulk satisfying the same universal property as that of the center in mathematics. We propose a classification (formulated as a macroscopic definition of n+1D local topological orders by unitary multi-fusion n-categories, and explain that the notion of a morphism between two local topological orders is compatible with that of a unitary monoidal n-functor in a few low dimensional cases. We also explain in some low dimensional cases that this classification is compatible with the result of “bulk = center”. In the end, we explain that above boundary-bulk relation is only the first layer of a hierarchical structure which can be summarized by the functoriality of the bulk (or center). This functoriality also provides the physical meanings of some well-known mathematical results on fusion 1-categories. This work can also be viewed as the first step towards a systematic study of the category of local topological orders, and the boundary-bulk relation actually provides a useful tool for this study.

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New, “big data” sources allow measurement of city characteristics and outcomevariables at higher collection frequencies and more granular geographic scales thanever before. However, big data will not solve large urban social science questionson its own. Big urban data has the most value for the study of cities when it allowsmeasurement of the previously opaque, or when it can be coupled with exogenous shocksto people or place. We describe a number of new urban data sources and illustrate howthey can be used to improve the study and function of cities. We rst show how GoogleStreet View images can be used to predict income in New York City, suggesting thatsimilar imagery data can be used to map wealth and poverty in previously unmeasuredareas of the developing world. We then discuss how survey techniques can be improved tobetter measure willingness to pay for urban amenities. Finally, we explain how Internetdata is being used to improve the quality of city services.