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We argue that the effective theory describing the long-wavelength dynamics of black branes is the same effective theory that describes the dynamics of biophysical membranes. We improve the phase structure of higher-dimensional black rings by considering finite thickness corrections in this effective theory, showing a striking agreement between our analytical results and recent numerical constructions while simultaneously drawing a parallel between gravity and the effective theory of biophysical membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Blandford-Znajek monopole is a conjectured solution of force-free electrodynamics in the vicinity of a slowly rotating Kerr black hole, supposedly defined as a perturbation in small angular momentum. It is used to argue for the extraction of energy from rotating black holes by the Blandford-Znajek process. We set up a careful analysis of the perturbative definition of the Blandford-Znajek monopole, showing in particular that the regime in which it is defined allows us to use the technique of matched asymptotic expansions. Our conclusion is that the Blandford-Znajek monopole, as it is defined, is not consistent with demanding physically reasonable boundary conditions far away from the event horizon. This puts into question the existence of the Blandford-Znajek monopole, at least in the limit of slow rotation of a Kerr black hole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use the effective blackfold description of branes to extend the study of the thermal BIon, a D-brane, and parallel anti-D-brane connected by a wormhole with F-string charge in hot flat space, by introducing a radial boost along the brane. The boosted system behaves qualitatively differently from both the extremal and the thermal BIon considered previously. Interestingly, we are able to formulate a first law of thermodynamics for the system as a whole, despite the fact that it is not a stationary blackfold. In particular, the global temperature is given by the rest frame temperature times the gamma factor of special relativity which is the inverse transformation compared to the case of stationary blackfolds. In addition we define two new kinds of thermodynamic conjugate variables, the energy flux W and the integrated velocity on the brane. We find that a phase transition occurs by varying the energy flux W. Below a critical value of W the brane separation Δ changes only slightly with W. Instead above the critical value Δ grows exponentially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using target space null reduction of the Polyakov action, we find a novel covariant action for strings moving in a torsional Newton-Cartan geometry. Sending the string tension to zero while rescaling the Newton-Cartan clock 1-form, so as to keep the string action finite, we obtain a nonrelativistic string moving in a new type of non-Lorentzian geometry that we call U(1)-Galilean geometry. We apply this to strings on AdS5 × S5 for which we show that the zero tension limit is realized by the spin matrix theory limits of the AdS/CFT correspondence. This is closely related to limits of spin chains studied in connection to integrability in AdS/CFT. The simplest example gives a covariant version of the Landau-Lifshitz sigma-model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the correspondence between four-dimensional Born-Infeld theory and five-dimensional classical gravity. The Born-Infeld theory side corresponds to the low-energy effective theory for open strings ending on coincident D3-branes in a (slowly varying) background Kalb-Ramond field, including all higher-derivative corrections. On the gravity side one has the gravitational (closed-string) description of D3-branes in the same background Kalb-Ramond field and the correspondence is thus a consequence of the open/closed-string duality. According to the correspondence the gravity side provides a description of the strong coupling limit of Born-Infeld theory. This is a correspondence between effective theories in a similar sense as in the fluid/gravity correspondence. We match the Born-Infeld and gravity sides up to, and including, two-derivative corrections. To this end, we find a new gravity solution for D3-branes with flat embedding in the background of an arbitrary constant background Kalb-Ramond field and show that there are no two-derivative corrections to this for a slowly varying Kalb-Ramond field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the non-Abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld action we find an effective matrix model that describes the dynamics of weakly interacting giant gravitons wrapped on three-spheres in the anti-de Sitter (AdS) part of AdS5 ? S5 at high energies with two angular momenta on the S5. In parallel we consider the limit of N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory near a certain unitarity bound where it reduces to the quantum mechanical theory called SU(2) spin matrix theory. We show that the exact same matrix model that describes the giant gravitons on the string theory side also provides the effective description in the strong coupling and large energy limit of the spin matrix theory. Thus, we are able to match nonsupersymmetric dynamics of D-branes on AdS5 ? S5 to a finite-N regime in N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory near a unitarity bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We generalize the domain structure for stationary black hole space-times to include asymptotically de Sitter and anti-de Sitter space-times. Given a set of commuting Killing vector fields of a space-time the domain structure lives on the submanifold of the orbit space on which at least one of the Killing vector fields has zero norm. In general the domain structure provides topological and geometrical invariants of black hole space-times that in specific cases have proven to be a crucial part of a full characterization leading to uniqueness theorems. In four and five dimensions the domain structure generalizes the rod structure. We examine in detail the domain structure for four-, five-, six- and seven-dimensional black hole space-times including a very general class of spherically symmetric and static black hole space-times as well as the exact solutions for Kerr-(anti)-de Sitter black holes. While for asymptotically anti-de Sitter space-times the domain structures resemble that of asymptotically flat space-times, the domain structures of asymptotically de Sitter space-times are shown to be compact. Finally, we find under certain assumptions that the horizon topologies for four- and five-dimensional black holes are restricted by our domain structure analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]