Recent Progress in Quantum Hadrodynamics

Quantum hadrodynamics (QHD) is a framework for describing the nuclear many-body problem as a relativistic system of baryons and mesons. Motivation is given for the utility of such an approach and for the importance of basing it on a local, Lorentz-invariant lagrangian density. Calculations of nuclear matter and finite nuclei in both renormalizable and nonrenormalizable, effective QHD models are discussed. Connections are made between the effective and renormalizable models, as well as between relativistic mean-field theory and more sophisticated treatments. Recent work in QHD involving nuclear structure, electroweak interactions in nuclei, relativistic transport theory, nuclear matter under extreme conditions, and the evaluation of loop diagrams is reviewed.Comment: 115 pages, REVTeX 3.0 with epsf.sty, ijmpe1.sty, srev.sty, symbols.sty, plus 10 figure

Recent Progress in Spin Glasses

We review recent findings on spin glass models. Both the equilibrium properties and the dynamic properties are covered. We focus on progress in theoretical, in particular numerical, studies, while its relationship to real magnetic materials is also mentioned.Comment: Chapter 6 in ``Frustrated Spin Systems'' edited by H.T.Die

Recent Progress in AdS/CFT

The study of AdS/CFT (or gauge/gravity) duality has been one of the most active and illuminating areas of research in string theory over the past decade. The scope of its relevance and the insights it is providing seem to be ever expanding. In this talk I briefly describe some of the attempts to explore how the duality works for maximally supersymmetric systems.Comment: 11 page

Recent progress on color confinement

The status is reviewed of the dual superconductivity of QCD vacuum as a mechanism of color confinement.Comment: 8 pages. Invited talk at the conference QCD@Work 2007, Martina Franca (Italy) June 16-20 200

Loop Quantum Cosmology: Recent Progress

Aspects of the full theory of loop quantum gravity can be studied in a simpler context by reducing to symmetric models like cosmological ones. This leads to several applications where loop effects play a significant role when one is sensitive to the quantum regime. As a consequence, the structure of and the approach to classical singularities are very different from general relativity: The quantum theory is free of singularities, and there are new phenomenological scenarios for the evolution of the very early universe including inflation. We give an overview of the main effects, focussing on recent results obtained by several different groups.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, Plenary talk at ICGC 04, Cochin, Indi

Recent Progress in Lattice QCD

I give a brief overview of the status of lattice QCD, concentrating on topics relevant to phenomenology. I discuss the calculation of the light quark spectrum, the lattice prediction of \alpha_\MS(M_Z), and the calculation of $f_B$.Comment: (summary talk at DPF '92, Fermilab, 11/92), 17 pages latex, 3 postscript figures (included), uses psfig.tex, UW/PT-92-2

Recent progress in anisotropic hydrodynamics

The quark-gluon plasma created in a relativistic heavy-ion collisions possesses a sizable pressure anisotropy in the local rest frame at very early times after the initial nuclear impact and this anisotropy only slowly relaxes as the system evolves. In a kinetic theory picture, this translates into the existence of sizable momentum-space anisotropies in the underlying partonic distribution functions, . In such cases, it is better to reorganize the hydrodynamical expansion by taking into account momentum-space anisotropies at leading-order in the expansion instead of as a perturbative correction to an isotropic distribution. The resulting anisotropic hydrodynamics framework has been shown to more accurately describe the dynamics of rapidly expanding systems such as the quark-gluon plasma. In this proceedings contribution, I review the basic ideas of anisotropic hydrodynamics, recent progress, and present a few preliminary phenomenological predictions for identified particle spectra and elliptic flow.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; Proceedings contribution for "12th Conference on Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum