Neutral color-spin locking phase in neutron stars

We present results for the spin-1 color-spin locking phase (CSL) using a NJL-type model in two flavor quark matter for compact stars applications. The CSL condensate is flavor symmetric and therefore charge and color neutrality can easily be satisfied. We find small energy gaps ~1 MeV, which make the CSL matter composition and the EoS not very different from the normal quark matter phase. We keep finite quark masses in our calculations and obtain no gapless modes that could have strong consequences in the late cooling of neutron stars. Finally, we show that the region of the phase diagram relevant for neutron star cores, when asymmetric flavor pairing is suppressed, could be covered by the CSL phase.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, contribution talk to the IVth International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics(QNP06), Madrid, Spain, 5-10 Jun 200

Counterfactual reasoning for regretted situations involving controllable versus uncontrollable events: The modulating role of contingent self-esteem

We report a study that examined the modulating impact of contingent self-esteem on regret intensity for regretted outcomes associated with controllable versus uncontrollable events. The Contingent Self-Esteem Scale (e.g., Kernis & Goldman, 2006) was used to assess the extent to which a person’s sense of self-worth is based on self and others’ expectations. We found that there was an influence of self-esteem contingency for controllable but not for uncontrollable regret types. For controllable regret types individuals with a high contingent (i.e., unstable) self-esteem reported greater regret intensity than those with a low contingent (i.e., stable) self-esteem. We interpret this finding as reflecting a functional and adaptive role of high contingent self-esteem in terms of mobilizing the application of counterfactual reasoning and planning mechanisms that can enable personal expectations to be achieved in the future

Illuminating Dense Quark Matter

We imagine shining light on a lump of cold dense quark matter, in the CFL phase and therefore a transparent insulator. We calculate the angles of reflection and refraction, and the intensity of the reflected and refracted light. Although the only potentially observable context for this phenomenon (reflection of light from and refraction of light through an illuminated quark star) is unlikely to be realized, our calculation casts new light on the old idea that confinement makes the QCD vacuum behave as if filled with a condensate of color-magnetic monopoles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Controlled Ecological Life Support System: Use of Higher Plants

Results of two workshops concerning the use of higher plants in Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) are summarized. Criteria for plant selection were identified from these categories: food production, nutrition, oxygen production and carbon dioxide utilization, water recycling, waste recycling, and other morphological and physiological considerations. Types of plant species suitable for use in CELSS, growing procedures, and research priorities were recommended. Also included are productivity values for selected plant species

Quark matter in compact stars?

Ozel, in a recent reanalysis of EXO 0748-676 observational data (astro-ph/0605106), concluded that quark matter probably does not exist in the center of compact stars. We show that the data is actually consistent with the presence of quark matter in compact stars.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX; New title and overall rewrite to reflect version published in Nature. Conclusions unchange

Spin-one color superconductivity in compact stars?- an analysis within NJL-type models

We present results of a microscopic calculation using NJL-type model of possible spin-one pairings in two flavor quark matter for applications in compact star phenomenology. We focus on the color-spin locking phase (CSL) in which all quarks pair in a symmetric way, in which color and spin states are locked. The CSL condensate is particularly interesting for compact star applications since it is flavor symmetric and could easily satisfy charge neutrality. Moreover, the fact that in this phase all quarks are gapped might help to suppress the direct Urca process, consistent with cooling models. The order of magnitude of these small gaps (~1 MeV) will not influence the EoS, but their also small critical temperatures (T_c ~800 keV) could be relevant in the late stages neutron star evolution, when the temperature falls below this value and a CSL quark core could form.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, revised version, accepted for the Conference Proceedings of "Isolated Neutron Stars: from the Interior to the Surface", London, 24-28. April 200

Self-consistent parametrization of the two-flavor isotropic color-superconducting ground state

Lack of Lorentz invariance of QCD at finite quark chemical potential in general implies the need of Lorentz non-invariant condensates for the self-consistent description of the color-superconducting ground state. Moreover, the spontaneous breakdown of color SU(3) in this state naturally leads to the existence of SU(3) non-invariant non-superconducting expectation values. We illustrate these observations by analyzing the properties of an effective 2-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio type Lagrangian and discuss the possibility of color-superconducting states with effectively gapless fermionic excitations. It turns out that the effect of condensates so far neglected can yield new interesting phenomena.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Mass Terms in Effective Theories of High Density Quark Matter

We study the structure of mass terms in the effective theory for quasi-particles in QCD at high baryon density. To next-to-leading order in the $1/p_F$ expansion we find two types of mass terms, chirality conserving two-fermion operators and chirality violating four-fermion operators. In the effective chiral theory for Goldstone modes in the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase the former terms correspond to effective chemical potentials, while the latter lead to Lorentz invariant mass terms. We compute the masses of Goldstone bosons in the CFL phase, confirming earlier results by Son and Stephanov as well as Bedaque and Sch\"afer. We show that to leading order in the coupling constant $g$ there is no anti-particle gap contribution to the mass of Goldstone modes, and that our results are independent of the choice of gauge.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure

Foreign civil aviation competition: 1976 summary and implications

A summary assessment is made of foreign civil aviation as it relates to the posture of the United States civil aviation industry. Major findings include: (1) Main competitors - European Economic Community (EEC) and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). (2) Largest commercial market - Transport aircraft. (3) Current market status and projections - U.S. currently dominates the civil aviation market but foreign markets show greater growth trends. (4) Competitive comparisons - Status comparisons are made in technology (aerodynamics, structures and materials, propulsion, avionics, systems, design coordination, and manufacturing); production runs; marketing; and postsales support. The U.S. generally leads except in aerodynamics and propulsion. (5) Multinational ventures - Joint U.S. industry/foreign government development of advanced technology engines is well developed; airframe industry discussions are now underway. (6) Implications - Although the U.S., is currently preeminent in most areas, this may be only a temporary condition. Past U.S. success in aviation has provided many benefits to the nation. These benefits may be lost

The Stability of Strange Star Crusts and Strangelets

We construct strangelets, taking into account electrostatic effects, including Debye screening, and arbitrary surface tension sigma of the interface between vacuum and quark matter. We find that there is a critical surface tension sigma_crit below which large strangelets are unstable to fragmentation and below which quark star surfaces will fragment into a crystalline crust made of charged strangelets immersed in an electron gas. We derive a model-independent relationship between sigma_crit and two parameters that characterize any quark matter equation of state. For reasonable model equations of state, we find sigma_crit typically of order a few MeV/fm^2. If sigma <= sigma_crit, the size-distribution of strangelets in cosmic rays could feature a peak corresponding to the stable strangelets that we construct.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe