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Conferences 1.1 The Time Machine Factory, Turin, Italy 1.2 17th Itzykson Meeting - Heart of Darkness: Dark Energy and Modified Gravity, Saclay, France 1.3 Relativity and Gravitation – 100 Years after Einstein in Prague (3rd circ.) 1.4 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Hanover, Germany 1.5 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Maryland, USA 1.6 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Rome, Italy 1.7 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Cambridge, MA 1.8 Advanced School in General Relativity in Sao Paolo: Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology 1.9 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics (2nd circ.) 1.10 2nd LOFT Science Meeting in Toulouse, France 1.11 Gravitational-Wave Advanced Detector Workshop in Hawaii 1.12 International Conference on Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Physics and Mathematics, Uzhgorod, Ukraine 1.13 Einstein Toolkit New Users Workshop in Atlanta 2. Jobs 3. News 3.1 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications" 3.2 The "Jürgen Ehlers thesis prize" and the "Bergmann-Wheeler thesis prize" of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation 2013 ================================================================= 1. Conferences ================================================================= 1.1 The Time Machine Factory, Turin, Italy ------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/29/the-time-machine-factory/ Starting Sun, Oct 14, 2012 to Fri, Oct 19, 2012 Location: Turin, Italy Additional Information: http://timemachine.polito.it We are pleased to announce that the conference ``The Time Machine Factory'' will be held in Torino (Italy), from October 14 to 19, 2012. The conference is being organized by INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico of Torino, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica and Politecnico di Torino. On behalf of the SOC, SOC Chairs, Mariateresa Crosta Marco Gramegna Matteo Luca Ruggiero SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE The conference focuses on causality and nonlocality in physics, with emphasis on its implications with time machines. In particular these issues will be dealt with from the viewpoints of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. The topological nature of spacetime in the framework of Quantum Mechanics suggests that both causality and locality need to be analyzed at a fundamental level, also by allowing the existence of entities that are more elementary than the spatial dimensions of everyday's life. The interplay of these entities influences the very nature of time, and their dynamics could lead to understand the emergence of the arrow of time. Focusing on these issues would help to understand the ultimate nature of time, its role in fundamental physics and in the formation of the Universe, thus allowing for a better comprehension of its large scale structure, with apparent implications on the astronomical reference systems. INFORMATION All information about the conference, such as scientific program, venue, travel, accommodation, events and social activities, important deadlines and so on, are available at the web page http://timemachine.polito.it Limited funds will be available for covering expenses for young researchers: please contact timemachine[AT]polito.it upon registration. SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Mariateresa Crosta (chair, INAF,OATo); Marco Gramegna (co-chair, INRIM); Matteo Luca Ruggiero (co-chair, Politecnico di Torino, INFN); Orfeu Bertolami (Dep. Physics and Astronomy - Univ. Porto); Donato Bini (Ist. M. Picone - CNR, ICRA, INFN); Salvatore Capozziello (Dep. Phys. Sciences - Univ. Napoli, INFN); Sandro Coriasco (Dep. Mathematics - Univ. Torino); Fernando de Felice (Dep. Physics - Univ. Padova); Marco Genovese (INRIM); Robert T. Janzen (Villanova University, ICRA); Christophe Leponcin-Lafitte (SYRTE, Obs. de Paris); Oldrich Semerak (Inst. Th. Physics - Charles University, Prague), Angelo Tartaglia (DISAT - Politecnico di Torino, INFN). LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Monica Capone (Dep. Mathematics - Univ. Torino, INFN); Tullia Carriero (INAF,OATo); Sandro Coriasco (Dep. Mathematics - Univ. Torino); Mariateresa Crosta (INAF,OATo); Marco Gramegna (INRIM); Matteo Luca Ruggiero (DISAT - Politecnico di Torino, INFN); Willy Merz (Fondazione Merz); Enzo Obiso (PHOS). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.2 17th Itzykson Meeting - Heart of Darkness: Dark Energy and Modified Gravity, Saclay, France ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/29/17th-itzykson-meeting-heart-of-darkn... Starting Mon, Jun 18, 2012 to Wed, Jun 20, 2012 Location: IPhT (CEA/Saclay), France Additional Information: http://indico.in2p3.fr/conferenceDisplay.py?ovw=True&confId=6388 The Itzykson Meeting is held every year in the Institut de Physique Théorique of CEA-Saclay, to honour the memory of Claude Itzykson. The 17th edition of this meeting, to take place on June 18−20 2012, is devoted to dark energy and modified gravity. This meeting will bring together researchers involved in the study of Dark Energy and Modified Gravity, with the aim of reviewing and discussing theory and observations. The main topics will be: - observational tests of the acceleration of the universe - dark energy - modified gravity - tests of gravity - effects of dark energy and modified gravity on structure formation - N-body simulations +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.3 Relativity and Gravitation – 100 Years after Einstein in Prague (3rd circ.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/27/relativity-and-gravitation-%e2%80%93... Starting Mon, Jun 25, 2012 to Fri, Jun 29, 2012 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Additional Information: http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/ The conference is organized at the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s stay in Prague, with the aim of providing an overview of the development and progress achieved in general relativity and its applications since then. The main topics of the conference include: - Mathematical relativity - Numerical relativity - Relativistic astrophysics - Relativistic cosmology - Quantum gravity - Gravitation and experiment - Conceptual and historical issues The meeting is organized under the auspices of the Rector of Charles University. The lectures will take place in the historical complex of the University in the heart of Prague’s Old Town. Scientific Program The schedule of the conference will include plenary lectures and up to three parallel sessions in the afternoon. Posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference. The scientific program will be based primarily on invited lectures, the list of which is now essentially completed. Confirmed speakers include: Marek Abramowicz (Physics Department, Göteborg University, Göteborg) Innermost part of accretion disks around black holes Lars Andersson (Albert-Einstein-Institut Golm, Potsdam) Cosmological models and stability Abhay Ashtekar (Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, Penn State University, University Park ) T.B.A. Leor Barack (School of Mathematics, University of Southampton, Southampton) Gravitational self-force: orbital mechanics beyond the geodesic approximation Julian Barbour (Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford) Prague and the conception of general relativity: Kepler, Mach and Einstein Jiří Bičák (Institute of Theoretical Physics, Charles University, Prague) Einstein and Prague Donato Bini (Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo "M. Picone", CNR, Rome) T.B.A. Piotr Bizoń (Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Krakow) Instability of anti de-Sitter spacetime Bernd Brügmann (Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena) Numerical Relativity and Black Holes Chris Clarkson (Centre for Cosmology, Astrophysics and Gravity, and Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch) Dark energy and inhomogeneity Thibault Damour (Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, Paris) T.B.A. Karsten Danzmann (Albert-Einstein-Institut Hannover and Leibniz University, Hannover) T.B.A. John Friedman (Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee) Stability of relativistic stars Helmut Friedrich (Albert-Einstein-Institute Golm, Potsdam) The large scale Einstein evolution problem Valeri Frolov (Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton) Black holes, hidden symmetry and complete integrability Gary Gibbons (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge) Links between General Relativity and other parts of physics Gabriela González (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge) T.B.A. Michael Kramer (Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn and Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester) Einstein's gravity as seen by a cosmic lighthouse keeper Karel Kuchař (Department of Physics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City ) Canonical quantum gravity: Einstein's posthumous anathema Jerzy Lewandowski (Department of Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw) Loop quantum gravity: the status report Marc Mars (Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca) T.B.A. Ramesh Narayan (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Harvard University Department of Astronomy, Cambridge (USA)) Energy Extraction from Spinning Black Holes: Relativistic Jets Gernot Neugebauer (Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena) Stationary two-black-hole configurations: A non-existence proof for disconnected horizons Hermann Nicolai (Albert-Einstein-Institut Golm, Potsdam) Quantum gravity: the view from particle physics Harvey Reall (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge) Higher dimensional black holes Luciano Rezzolla (Albert-Einstein-Institute Golm, Potsdam) Using numerical relativity to explore fundamental physics and astrophysics Misao Sasaki (Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto) Inflation and birth of cosmological perturbations Gerhard Schäfer (Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena) Hamiltonian formalism of spinning black holes in general relativity Peter Schneider (Argelander-Institute for Astronomy, Bonn) T.B.A. Bernard Schutz (Albert-Einstein-Institute Golm, Potsdam) Gravity talks: observing the Universe with gravitational waves Alexei Starobinsky (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Moscow) f(R) gravity--the most straightforward generalization of the Einstein gravity Robert Wald (Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago) T.B.A. Clifford Will (Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis) Testing General Relativity: Centenary Highlights and Future Prospects Space will be reserved also for contributed oral and poster presentations. We have already obtained a number of interesting contributions. Please see below for abstract submission information. Accommodation Prague offers a broad range of hotels, hostels, and other lodging options. For more information on accommodation, visit our web page http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/accommodation where you will find three choices: prearranged accommodation, book accommodation yourself, and budget accommodation. Registration Standard registration fee: EUR 350 before April 15, 2012. Late registration fee: EUR 450 after April 15, 2012. In addition to conference participation, the registration fee includes: abstract book and conference materials; coffee breaks; welcome cocktail on Sunday, June 24; classical music concert (by Škampa string quartet) in the Gothic Aula Magna of Charles University on Tuesday, June 26; guided tour through Einstein’s Prague followed by banquet on Thursday, June 28 (accompanying persons need a separate banquet ticket). Due to spacetime constraints, the number of participants is limited to around 150 of which more than 100 have already been taken. It is thus possible that registration may close before April 15. By now we have finished processing applications for the reduced conference fee (EUR 200) and informed the applicants. Abstract Submission Participants are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations by April 15, 2012. Contributed presentations will be selected by the organizers. Please note that especially the number of oral contributions is limited. The abstract submission form is available at http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/registration, the registration section of the conference website. Important Dates April 15, 2012: Standard registration closes; abstract submission deadline. June 24, 2012: See you in Prague! Scientific Organizing Committee Marek Abramowicz, Lars Andersson, Abhay Ashtekar, Julian Barbour, Jiří Bičák, Roger Blandford, Bernd Brügmann, Piotr Chruściel, Thibault Damour, Karsten Danzmann, Fernando de Felice, George Ellis, John Friedman, Helmut Friedrich, Valeri Frolov, Gary Gibbons, Gary Horowitz, Joseph Katz, Karel Kuchař, Jerzy Lewandowski, Gernot Neugebauer, Hermann Nicolai, Igor Novikov, Martin Rees, Oscar Reula, Luciano Rezzolla, Misao Sasaki, Gerhard Schäfer, Bernd Schmidt, Alexei Starobinsky, Paul Tod, Robert Wald, Clifford Will. For more detailed information, please visit http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/. Jiří Bičák (on behalf of SOC and LOC) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.4 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Hanover, Germany -------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in-... Starting Mon, Sep 23, 2013 to Fri, Sep 27, 2013 Location: Hanover, Germany Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org 23-09-2013 27-09-2013 Hanover, Germany Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members only. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.5 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Maryland, USA ----------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in-... Starting Mon, Mar 18, 2013 to Fri, Mar 22, 2013 Location: University of Maryland, USA Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org 18-03-2013 22-03-2013 University of Maryland, USA Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.6 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Rome, Italy --------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in-... Starting Mon, Sep 10, 2012 to Fri, Sep 14, 2012 Location: Rome, Italy Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org 10-09-2012 14-09-2012 Rome, Italy Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.7 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Cambridge, MA ----------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in-... Starting Mon, Mar 19, 2012 to Fri, Mar 23, 2012 Location: Cambridge, MA, USA Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org 19-03-2012 23-03-2012 Cambridge, MA, USA Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.8 Advanced School in General Relativity in Sao Paolo: Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/22/advanced-school-in-general-relativit... Starting Mon, Jul 16, 2012 to Fri, Jul 27, 2012 Location: São Paulo, Brazil Additional Information: http://www.ictp-saifr.org/?page_id=1076 16 - 27 July, 2012 Instituto de Fisica Teorica - UNESP - Sao Paulo, Brazil Modern technology is improving our observations of neutron stars, pulsars, black holes, and other compact objects, which only can be understood in the context of general relativity. Moreover, the direct observation of gravitational waves, expected in the next years, should dramatically increase our comprehension of various astrophysical phenomena. At the same time, only a deep understanding of general relativity will enable physicists to grasp the very meaning of precise measurements of some cosmological observations. The aim of the School is to discuss some of the most important modern topics of astrophysics and cosmology in the context of general relativity. Students are expected to have had some previous contact with general relativity. There is no registration fee. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.9 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics (2nd circ.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/21/14th-canadian-conference-on-general-... Starting Mon, Jul 09, 2012 to Thu, Jul 12, 2012 Location: St. John's, NF, Canada Additional Information: http://www.ccgrra14.ca This is the second announcement for the the 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics which will take place July 9-12, 2012 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. CCGRRA14 is the latest in a biennial series of meetings that bring together Canadian and international relativists for scientific discussion and exchange. These meetings are broadly based, covering the wide range of research done in Canada including mathematical and numerical relativity, quantum gravity, string-theoretic approaches to gravity, relativistic astrophysics and cosmology. Invited lectures will be given by: Patrick Brady (U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Robert Brandenberger (McGill U.), Sergio Dain (U. Nacional de Cordoba), Andrew Frey (U. of Winnipeg), Valeri Frolov (U. of Alberta), Veronika Hubeny (Durham U.), Hari Kunduri (Memorial U.), Robert Mann (U of Waterloo), Harald Pfeiffer (U. of Toronto), Eric Poisson (U. of Guelph) and Sanjeev Seahra (U. New Brunswick, Fredericton). In addition to these plenary lectures, time will be allotted in the afternoons for contributed talks from members of the national and international community. Post-docs and grad students are especially encouraged to contribute talks. The meeting will begin with an opening reception on Monday, July 9th. Talks will happen from Tuesday morning (the 10th) until Thursday evening (the 12th), including a public lecture on Tuesday night. On Wednesday afternoon there will be an organized whale-watching trip to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve followed by a banquet on the beach. For more information please see the website http://www.ccgrra14.ca or contact ccgrra14[AT]gmail.com. Registration is now open. It will close on June 1. Organizing Committee: Ivan Booth (ibooth[AT]mun.ca), Hari Kunduri (hkkunduri[AT]mun.ca), Ben Tippett (bktippett[AT]mun.ca). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.10 2nd LOFT Science Meeting in Toulouse, France ------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/13/2nd-loft-science-meeting-in-toulouse... Starting Mon, Sep 24, 2012 to Thu, Sep 27, 2012 Location: Toulouse, France Additional Information: http://www.isdc.unige.ch/loft/index.php/meetings/second-loft-science-meeting Toulouse, France 24-27 September LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of the four ESA Cosmic vision mission candidates competing for a launch opportunity at the start of 2020s. LOFT will answer fundamental questions about the motion of matter orbiting close to the event horizon of a black hole, and the state of matter in neutron stars. Following the successful first science meeting, the LOFT Consortium is pleased to invite the Astrophysics community at large to discover the progress achieved in the instruments' design and provide an essential contribution to finalizing of the LOFT Yellow Book. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.11 Gravitational-Wave Advanced Detector Workshop in Hawaii ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/10/gravitational-wave-advanced-detector... Starting Sun, May 13, 2012 to Sat, May 19, 2012 Location: Hawaii, USA Additional Information: http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/gwadw2012/ Gravitational-Wave Advanced Detector Workshop May 13-19, 2012 Waikoloa Marriott Resort, Hawaii Gravitational Wave Detectors for 2015, 2020, and 2025 The last decade has produced pioneering demonstrations of the technologies to observe astrophysical gravitational waves across the frequency band from kilohertz to nanohertz. Advanced interferometric detectors (Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, KAGRA, and GEO-HF) are now under construction, and within a few years may yield their first observations. The LISA Pathfinder mission is nearing launch and will provide momentum for a full-scale gravitational wave observation mission. The international pulsar timing effort is steadily marching toward its targets. With these foundations in place, it is time to push the developments that will take the field of gravitational waves astrophysics into the current and next decades. This workshop will address techniques that can be implemented to enhance the detectors currently under construction, as well as new detectors that may be proposed. New ideas to reduce noise, improve robustness, and extend the frequency spectrum of observation will be discussed along with progress on long-term ongoing developments. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.12 International Conference on Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Physics and Mathematics, Uzhgorod, Ukraine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/10/non-euclidean-geometry-in-modern-phy... Starting Tue, May 22, 2012 to Fri, May 25, 2012 Location: Uzhgorod (Ungvár), Ukraine Additional Information: http://bgl.iep.org.ua 8-th Bolyai-Gauss-Lobachevsky Conference Uzhgorod, UKRAINE 22- 25 May 2012 BGL, after the names (alphabetically!) of the founders of the Non-Euclidean geometry, is a series of biannual international conferences, held in various places of Central and Eastern Europe (for history see, e.g.: http://bgl.iep.org.ua/). The subject of the Conferences includes mathematics, physics and history of science. The conferences are bringing together scientists from East and West. The conferences have also certain Mitteleuropaeisch flavor, dominated by Bolyai's and Lobachevski's co-patriots. Co-patriots of Karl Friedrich Gauss are welcome in Uzhgorod at BGL-8. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.13 Einstein Toolkit New Users Workshop in Atlanta --------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/06/einstein-toolkit-new-users-workshop/ Starting Tue, Apr 03, 2012 to Fri, Apr 06, 2012 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA Additional Information: https://docs.einsteintoolkit.org/et-docs/ET_Workshop_Spring_2012 The Einstein Toolkit (http://einsteintoolkit.org) will host its spring workshop 2012 following the April APS meeting in Atlanta, GA, from Tuesday, April 3rd, 4pm to Friday April 6th, noon at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This workshop is targeted at new and potential new users of the relativity infrastructure. It will provide a general introductions into numerical relativity (although some previous knowledge would be beneficial) and in code development within large collaborations. Hands-on sessions will help to familiarize attendees with the Einstein Toolkit. Participants are asked to bring their own laptops. We would like to invite especially students from physics and computer science to participate. The number of attendees is limited, and while registration is free, it is required. We anticipate to be able to support a small number of participants financially, by covering parts/all of their travel, hotel and meal cost. Preference will be given to students. In order register, write an email to workshop[AT]einsteintoolkit.org and specify: * your name, affiliation and title * your estimated arrival and departure time/date * whether you apply for support (and if so, state if you are undergraduate / graduate student / postdoc * your special needs Detailed workshop information can be found at https://docs.einsteintoolkit.org/et-docs/ET_Workshop_Spring_2012. The Einstein Toolkit Consortium. ================================================================= 2. Jobs ================================================================= ================================================================= 3. News ================================================================= 3.1 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/27/living-reviews-in-relativity-brane-e... Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-3 Living Reviews in Relativity has published a new review article on "Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications" by Joan Simón on 27 February 2012. Please find the abstract and further details below. ------------------ PUB.NO. lrr-2012-3 Simón, Joan "Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications" ACCEPTED: 2012-01-09 PUBLISHED: 2012-02-27 FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-3 ABSTRACT: This is a review on brane effective actions, their symmetries and some of its applications. Its first part uncovers the Green-Schwarz formulation of single M- and D-brane effective actions focusing on kinematical aspects: the identification of their degrees of freedom, the importance of world volume diffeomorphisms and kappa symmetry, to achieve manifest spacetime covariance and supersymmetry, and the explicit construction of such actions in arbitrary on-shell supergravity backgrounds. Its second part deals with applications. First, the use of kappa symmetry to determine supersymmetric world volume solitons. This includes their explicit construction in flat and curved backgrounds, their interpretation as BPS states carrying (topological) charges in the supersymmetry algebra and the connection between supersymmetry and Hamiltonian BPS bounds. When available, I emphasise the use of these solitons as constituents in microscopic models of black holes. Second, the use of probe approximations to infer about non-trivial dynamics of strongly coupled gauge theories using the AdS/CFT correspondence. This includes expectation values of Wilson loop operators, spectrum information and the general use of D-brane probes to approximate the dynamics of systems with small number of degrees of freedom interacting with larger systems allowing a dual gravitational description. Its final part briefly discusses effective actions for N D-branes and M2-branes. This includes both SYM theories, their higher order corrections and partial results in covariantising these couplings to curved backgrounds, and the more recent supersymmetric Chern–Simons matter theories describing M2-branes using field theory, brane constructions and 3-algebra considerations. UPCOMING ARTICLES AT: http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.2 The "Jürgen Ehlers thesis prize" and the "Bergmann-Wheeler thesis prize" of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation 2013 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/06/the-juergen-ehlers-thesis-prize-and-... The International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation awards two Ph.D. thesis prizes, one in classical gravity and one in quantum gravity. One prize in each category is awarded at each triennial GRG conference. The monetary value of each award is US $1,500. These prizes complement the Gravitational Wave thesis prize awarded by GWIC, for which the Society is the trustee of the funds. The Jürgen Ehlers thesis prize is sponsored by Springer, publishers of the Society's journal "General Relativity and Gravitation", and will cover the areas of mathematical and numerical general relativity and gravitation in a broad sense. The Bergmann-Wheeler thesis prize is sponsored by the UK Institute of Physics, publishers of "Classical and Quantum Gravity", and will encompass all approaches to quantum gravity. The Society seeks nominations for both prizes for award in 2013. The deadline for receipt of the nomination packet is September 30th, 2012. The nominator must be a member of the Society. Nominators can make at most one nomination in each category. The nominee need not be a member of the Society but the official defense must have taken place between October 1, 2009 and September 30th, 2012. The nomination package will consist of: i) A nomination letter summarizing the main results and their importance and elaborating the student's role in case of joint work. ii) A PDF file of the thesis, and of any supporting papers which formed an integral part of the thesis submission. (For any such paper, reference to a readily available public source is acceptable instead.) iii) A CV and the publication list of the nominee. iv) An official University document showing the date of the successful Ph.D. defense. (This can be sent later, if not available by September 30th, 2012.) v) One or two optional letters in support from experts. At least one of these is required if the nominator is a supervisor of the Ph.D. thesis. The primary criteria for selection will be the high quality of scientific results, creativity and originality, and the significance of results for the broad area of the prize. The winner for each prize will be chosen by a committee of leading international experts in the field approximately six months before the GR20 conference which will be held in Warsaw on 8-12 July 2013. This will provide the winners ample time to plan travel to the conference. The prize is conditional to the winner attending the conference (the Executive committee of the GRG Society may allow the prize to be given in absentia in exceptional cases.) Nominations for the Bergman-Wheeler prize should be submitted electronically, possibly packaged in a single email, to the address gravity[AT]cpt.univ-mrs.fr.  If it is not possible to send a nomination in electronic form, please send 4 hard copies to Carlo Rovelli, CPT-CNRS, Case 907, av. de Luminy, F-13288, Marseille Cedex 9, France. Nominations for the Ehlers prize should be submitted electronically to Bernd Brügmann, c/o Renate Wagner Renate.Wagner[AT]uni-jena.de.  If it is not possible to send a nomination in electronic form, please send 4 hard copies to Renate Wagner, Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, Germany