Self-consistent quantum effects in the quark meson coupling model

We derive the equation of state of nuclear matter for the quark-meson coupling model taking into account quantum fluctuations of the σ meson as well as vacuum polarization effects for the nucleons. This model incorporates explicitly quark degrees of freedom with quarks coupled to the scalar and vector mesons. Quantum fluctuations lead to a softer equation of state for nuclear matter giving a lower value of incompressibility than would be reached without quantum effects. The in-medium nucleon and σ-meson masses are also calculated in a self-consistent manner. The spectral function of the σ meson is calculated and the σ mass has the value increased with respect to the purely classical approximation at high densities.

Postural control in children: Coupling to dynamic somatosensory information

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the coupling between dynamic somatosensory information and body sway is similar in children and adults. Thirty children (4-, 6-, and 8-year-olds) and 10 adults stood upright, with feet parallel, and lightly contacting the fingertip to a rigid metal plate that moved rhythmically at 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 Hz. Light touch to the moving contact surface induced postural sway in all participants. The somatosensory stimulus produced a broadband frequency response in children, while the adult response was primarily at the driving frequency. Gain, as a function of frequency, was qualitatively the same in children and adults. Phase decreased less in 4-year-olds than other age groups, suggesting a weaker coupling to position information in the sensory stimulus. Postural sway variability was larger in children than adults. These findings suggest that, even as young as age 6, children show well-developed coupling to the sensory stimulus. However, unlike adults, this coupling is not well focused at the frequency specified by the somatosensory signal. Children may be unable to uncouple from sensory information that is less relevant to the task, resulting in a broadband response in their frequency spectrum. Moreover, higher sway variability may not result from the sensory feedback process, but rather from the children's underdeveloped ability to estimate an internal model of body orientation.

Warm asymmetric matter in the quark-meson coupling model

In this work we study the warm equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter in the quark-meson coupling model which incorporates explicitly quark degrees of freedom, with quarks coupled to scalar, vector, and isovector mesons. Mechanical and chemical instabilities are discussed as a function of density and isospin asymmetry. The binodal section, essential in the study of the liquid-gas phase transition is also constructed and discussed. The main results for the equation of state are compared with two common parametrizations used in the nonlinear Walecka model and the differences are outlined.

Yang-Mills action from open superstring field theory

We calculate the effective action for nonabelian gauge bosons up to quartic order using WZW-like open superstring field theory. After including level zero and level one contributions, we obtain with 75% accuracy the Yang-Mills quartic term. We then prove that the complete effective action reproduces the exact Yang-Mills quartic term by analytically performing a summation over the intermediate massive states. © SISSA/ISAS 2003.

Phenomenological tests for the freezing of the QCD running coupling constant

We discuss phenomenological tests for the frozen infrared behavior of the running coupling constant and gluon propagators found in some solutions of Schwinger-Dyson equations of the gluonic sector of QCD. We verify that several observables can be used in order to select the different expressions of αs found in the literature. We test the effect of the nonperturbative coupling in the τ-lepton decay rate into nonstrange hadrons, in the ρ vector meson helicity density matrix that are produced in the χc2 → ρρ decay, in the photon to pion transition form factor, and compute the cross-sections for elastic proton-proton scattering and exclusive ρ production in deep inelastic scattering. These quantities depend on the infrared behavior of the coupling constant at different levels, we discuss the reasons for this dependence and argue that the existent and future data can be used to test the approximations performed to solve the Schwinger-Dyson equations and they already seem to select one specific infrared behavior of the coupling.

Conformal supergravity in twistor-string theory

Conformal supergravity arises in presently known formulations of twistor-string theory either via closed strings or via gauge-singlet open strings. We explore this sector of twistor-string theory, relating the relevant string modes to the particles and fields of conformal supergravity. We use the twistor-string theory to compute some tree level scattering amplitudes with supergravitons. Since the supergravitons interact with the same coupling constant as the Yang-Mills fields, conformal supergravity states will contribute to loop amplitudes of Yang-Mills gluons in these theories. Those loop amplitudes will therefore not coincide with the loop amplitudes of pure super Yang-Mills theory. © SISSA/ISAS 2004.

A dynamical gluon mass solution in a coupled system of the Schwinger-Dyson equations

We study numerically the Schwinger-Dyson equations for the coupled system of gluon and ghost propagators in the Landau gauge and in the case of pure gauge QCD. We show that a dynamical mass for the gluon propagator arises as a solution while the ghost propagator develops an enhanced behavior in the infrared regime of QCD. Simple analytical expressions are proposed for the propagators, and the mass dependency on the ΛQCD scale and its perturbative scaling are studied. We discuss the implications of our results for the infrared behavior of the coupling constant, which, according to fits for the propagators infrared behavior, seems to indicate that α s(q2) → 0 as q2 → 0. © SISSA/ISAS 2004.

Surveillance on the light-front gauge-fixing Lagrangians

In this work we propose two Lagrange multipliers with distinct coefficients for the light-front gauge that leads to the complete (non-reduced) propagator. This is accomplished via (n · A)2 + (∂ · A) 2 terms in the Lagrangian density. These lead to a well-defined and exact though Lorentz non invariant light-front propagator.

Quantum topology change and large-N gauge theories

We study a model for dynamical localization of topology using ideas from non-commutative geometry and topology in quantum mechanics. We consider a collection X of N one-dimensional manifolds and the corresponding set of boundary conditions (self-adjoint extensions) of the Dirac operator D. The set of boundary conditions encodes the topology and is parameterized by unitary matrices g. A particular geometry is described by a spectral triple x(g) = (A X, script H sign X, D(g)). We define a partition function for the sum over all g. In this model topology fluctuates but the dimension is kept fixed. We use the spectral principle to obtain an action for the set of boundary conditions. Together with invariance principles the procedure fixes the partition function for fluctuating topologies. The model has one free-parameter β and it is equivalent to a one plaquette gauge theory. We argue that topology becomes localized at β = ∞ for any value of N. Moreover, the system undergoes a third-order phase transition at β = 1 for large-N. We give a topological interpretation of the phase transition by looking how it affects the topology. © SISSA/ISAS 2004.

Quantum gauge boson propagators in the light front

Gauge fields in the light front are traditionally addressed via, the employment of an algebraic condition n·A = 0 in the Lagrangian density, where Aμ is the gauge field (Abelian or non-Abelian) and nμ is the external, light-like, constant vector which defines the gauge proper. However, this condition though necessary is not sufficient to fix the gauge completely; there still remains a residual gauge freedom that must be addressed appropriately. To do this, we need to define the condition (n·A) (∂·A) = 0 with n·A = 0 = ∂·A. The implementation of this condition in the theory gives rise to a gauge boson propagator (in momentum space) leading to conspicuous nonlocal singularities of the type (k·n)-α where α = 1, 2. These singularities must be conveniently treated, and by convenient we mean not only mathemathically well-defined but physically sound and meaningful as well. In calculating such a propagator for one and two noncovariant gauge bosons those singularities demand from the outset the use of a prescription such as the Mandelstam-Leibbrandt (ML) one. We show that the implementation of the ML prescription does not remove certain pathologies associated with zero modes. However we present a causal, singularity-softening prescription and show how to keep causality from being broken without the zero mode nuisance and letting only the propagation of physical degrees of freedom.

Perception-action coupling in infants with down syndrome: Effects of experience and practice

This study examined the effects of experience and practice on the coupling between visual information and trunk sway in infants with Down syndrome (DS). Five experienced and five novice sitters were exposed to a moving room, which was oscillated at 0.2 and 0.5 Hz. Infants remained in a sitting position and data were collected on the first, fourth, and seventh days. On the first day, experienced sitters were more influenced by room oscillation than were novices. On the following days, however, the influence of room oscillation decreased for experienced but increased for novice sitters. These results suggest that the relationship between sensory information and motor action in infants with DS can be changed with experience and practice.

Spinodal decomposition in pure-gauge QCD

Spinodal decomposition in a model of pure-gauge SU(2) theory that incorporates a deconfinement phase transition is investigated by means of real-time lattice simulations of the fully nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau equation. Results are compared with a Glauber dynamical evolution using Monte Carlo simulations of pure-gauge lattice QCD. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Connection space approach to ambiguities of gauge theories

Two distinct gauge potentials can have the same field strength, in which case they are said to be copies of each other. The consequences of this ambiguity for the general affine space A of gauge potentials are examined. Any two potentials are connected by a straight line in A, but a straight line going through two copies either contains no other copy or is entirely formed by copies. Copyright © 2005 Hindawi Publishing Corporation.

Schwinger's principle and gauge fixing in the free electromagnetic field

A manifestly covariant treatment of the free quantum eletromagnetic field, in a linear covariant gauge, is implemented employing Schwinger's variational principle and the B-field formalism. It is also discussed the Abelian Proca model as an example of a system without constraints. © Società Italiana di Fisica.

Analyzing dynamical gluon mass generation

We study the necessary conditions for obtaining infrared finite solutions from the Schwinger-Dyson equation governing the dynamics of the gluon propagator. The equation in question is set up in the Feynman gauge of the background field method, thus capturing a number of desirable features. Most notably, and in contradistinction to the standard formulation, the gluon self-energy is transverse order-by-order in the dressed loop expansion, and separately for gluonic and ghost contributions. Various subtle field-theoretic issues, such as renormalization group invariance and regularization of quadratic divergences, are briefly addressed. The infrared and ultraviolet properties of the obtained solutions are examined in detail, and the allowed range for the effective gluon mass is presented.