Effects of meaning and symmetry on judgments of size

Research has shown that people judge words as having bigger font size than non-words. This finding has been interpreted in terms of processing fluency, with higher fluency leading to judgments of bigger size. If so, symmetric numbers (e.g., 44) which can be processed more fluently are predicted to be judged as larger than asymmetric numbers (e.g., 43). However, recent research found that symmetric numbers were judged to be smaller than asymmetric numbers. This finding suggests that the mechanisms underlying size judgments may differ in meaningful and meaningless materials. Supporting this notion, we showed in Experiment 1 that meaning increased judged size, whereas symmetry decreased judged size. In the next two experiments, we excluded several alternative explanations for the differences in size judgments between meaningful and meaningless materials in earlier studies. This finding contradicts the notion that the mechanism underlying judgments of size is processing fluency.

Holes localized on a Skyrmion in a doped antiferromagnet on the honeycomb lattice: Symmetry analysis

Using the low-energy effective field theory for hole-doped antiferromagnets on the honeycomb lattice, we study the localization of holes on Skyrmions, as a potential mechanism for the preformation of Cooper pairs. In contrast to the square lattice case, for the standard radial profile of the Skyrmion on the honeycomb lattice, only holes residing in one of the two hole pockets can get localized. This differs qualitatively from hole pairs bound by magnon exchange, which is most attractive between holes residing in different momentum space pockets. On the honeycomb lattice, magnon exchange unambiguously leads to f-wave pairing, which is also observed experimentally. Using the collective-mode quantization of the Skyrmion, we determine the quantum numbers of the localized hole pairs. Again, f-wave symmetry is possible, but other competing pairing symmetries cannot be ruled out.

Gauged R-symmetry and its anomalies in 4D N=1 supergravity and phenomenological implications

We consider a class of models with gauged U(1) R symmetry in 4D N=1 super-gravity that have, at the classical level, a metastable ground state, an infinitesimally small (tunable) positive cosmological constant and a TeV gravitino mass. We analyse if these properties are maintained under the addition of visible sector (MSSM-like) and hidden sector state(s), where the latter may be needed for quantum consistency. We then discuss the anomaly cancellation conditions in supergravity as derived by Freedman, Elvang and Körs and apply their results to the special case of a U(1) R symmetry, in the presence of the Fayet-Iliopoulos term (ξ) and Green-Schwarz mechanism(s). We investigate the relation of these anomaly cancellation conditions to the “naive” field theory approach in global SUSY, in which case U(1) R cannot even be gauged. We show the two approaches give similar conditions. Their induced constraints at the phenomenological level, on the above models, remain strong even if one lifted the GUT-like conditions for the MSSM gauge couplings. In an anomaly-free model, a tunable, TeV-scale gravitino mass may remain possible provided that the U(1) R charges of additional hidden sector fermions (constrained by the cubic anomaly alone) do not conflict with the related values of U(1) R charges of their scalar superpartners, constrained by existence of a stable ground state. This issue may be bypassed by tuning instead the coefficients of the Kahler connection anomalies (b K , b CK ).

MSSM soft terms from supergravity with gauged R-symmetry in de Sitter vacuum

We work out the phenomenology of a model of supersymmetry breaking in the presence of a tiny (tunable) positive cosmological constant, proposed by the authors in arXiv:1403.1534. It utilizes a single chiral multiplet with a gauged shift symmetry that can be identified with the string dilaton (or an appropriate compactification modulus). The model is coupled to the MSSM, leading to calculable soft supersymmetry breaking masses and a distinct low energy phenomenology that allows to differentiate it from other models of supersymmetry breaking and mediation mechanisms.

Nasolabial symmetry and esthetics in cleft lip and palate: analysis of 3D facial images

OBJECTIVES To determine the relationship between nasolabial symmetry and esthetics in subjects with orofacial clefts. MATERIAL AND METHODS Eighty-four subjects (mean age 10 years, standard deviation 1.5) with various types of nonsyndromic clefts were included: 11 had unilateral cleft lip (UCL); 30 had unilateral cleft lip and alveolus (UCLA); and 43 had unilateral cleft lip, alveolus, and palate (UCLAP). A 3D stereophotogrammetric image of the face was taken for each subject. Symmetry and esthetics were evaluated on cropped 3D facial images. The degree of asymmetry of the nasolabial area was calculated based on all 3D data points using a surface registration algorithm. Esthetic ratings of various elements of nasal morphology were performed by eight lay raters on a 100 mm visual analog scale. Statistical analysis included ANOVA tests and regression models. RESULTS Nasolabial asymmetry increased with growing severity of the cleft (p = 0.029). Overall, nasolabial appearance was affected by nasolabial asymmetry; subjects with more nasolabial asymmetry were judged as having a less esthetically pleasing nasolabial area (p < 0.001). However, the relationship between nasolabial symmetry and esthetics was relatively weak in subjects with UCLAP, in whom only vermilion border esthetics was associated with asymmetry. CONCLUSIONS Nasolabial symmetry assessed with 3D facial imaging can be used as an objective measure of treatment outcome in subjects with less severe cleft deformity. In subjects with more severe cleft types, other factors may play a decisive role. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Assessment of nasolabial symmetry is a useful measure of treatment success in less severe cleft types.

Heisenberg symmetry and hypermultiplet manifolds

We study the emergence of Heisenberg (Bianchi II) algebra in hyper-Kähler and quaternionic spaces. This is motivated by the rôle these spaces with this symmetry play in N = 2 hypermultiplet scalar manifolds. We show how to construct related pairs of hyper-Kähler and quaternionic spaces under general symmetry assumptions, the former being a zooming-in limit of the latter at vanishing scalar curvature. We further apply this method for the two hyper-Kähler spaces with Heisenberg algebra, which is reduced to U (1) × U (1) at the quaternionic level. We also show that no quaternionic spaces exist with a strict Heisenberg symmetry – as opposed to Heisenberg U (1). We finally discuss the realization of the latter by gauging appropriate Sp(2, 4) generators in N = 2 conformal supergravity.

The Effects of Density, Spatial Pattern, and Competitive Symmetry on Size Variation in Simulated Plant Populations

Patterns of size inequality in crowded plant populations are often taken to be indicative of the degree of size asymmetry of competition, but recent research suggests that some of the patterns attributed to size‐asymmetric competition could be due to spatial structure. To investigate the theoretical relationships between plant density, spatial pattern, and competitive size asymmetry in determining size variation in crowded plant populations, we developed a spatially explicit, individual‐based plant competition model based on overlapping zones of influence. The zone of influence of each plant is modeled as a circle, growing in two dimensions, and is allometrically related to plant biomass. The area of the circle represents resources potentially available to the plant, and plants compete for resources in areas in which they overlap. The size asymmetry of competition is reflected in the rules for dividing up the overlapping areas. Theoretical plant populations were grown in random and in perfectly uniform spatial patterns at four densities under size‐asymmetric and size‐symmetric competition. Both spatial pattern and size asymmetry contributed to size variation, but their relative importance varied greatly over density and over time. Early in stand development, spatial pattern was more important than the symmetry of competition in determining the degree of size variation within the population, but after plants grew and competition intensified, the size asymmetry of competition became a much more important source of size variation. Size variability was slightly higher at higher densities when competition was symmetric and plants were distributed nonuniformly in space. In a uniform spatial pattern, size variation increased with density only when competition was size asymmetric. Our results suggest that when competition is size asymmetric and intense, it will be more important in generating size variation than is local variation in density. Our results and the available data are consistent with the hypothesis that high levels of size inequality commonly observed within crowded plant populations are largely due to size‐asymmetric competition, not to variation in local density.