A quark action for very coarse lattices

We investigate a tree-level O(a^3)-accurate action, D234c, on coarse lattices. For the improvement terms we use tadpole-improved coefficients, with the tadpole contribution measured by the mean link in Landau gauge. We measure the hadron spectrum for quark masses near that of the strange quark. We find that D234c shows much better rotational invariance than the Sheikholeslami-Wohlert action, and that mean-link tadpole improvement leads to smaller finite-lattice-spacing errors than plaquette tadpole improvement. We obtain accurate ratios of lattice spacings using a convenient ``Galilean quarkonium'' method. We explore the effects of possible O(alpha_s) changes to the improvement coefficients, and find that the two leading coefficients can be independently tuned: hadron masses are most sensitive to the clover coefficient, while hadron dispersion relations are most sensitive to the third derivative coefficient C_3. Preliminary non-perturbative tuning of these coefficients yields values that are consistent with the expected size of perturbative corrections.Comment: 22 pages, LaTe

Gapless Color Superconductivity

We present the dispersion relations for quasiparticle excitations about the color-flavor locked ground state of QCD at high baryon density. In the presence of condensates which pair light and strange quarks there need not be an energy gap in the quasiparticle spectrum. This raises the possibility of gapless color superconductivity, with a Meissner effect but no minimum excitation energy. Analysis within a toy model suggests that gapless color superconductivity may occur only as a metastable phase.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, eps figures include

Participatory Water Resource Management: Advancing Engagement in Disadvantaged Communities across the Santa Ana River Watershed

Santa Ana River Watershed, California, Proposition 1 Integrated Regional Water Management, Disadvantaged Community Involvement Program The Santa Ana River (SAR) Watershed is the largest, most populated and fastest urbanizing watershed in Southern California, draining an estimated 2,700 square miles of diverse landscape and hydrological features. Headwater streams of the SAR Watershed are located in the San Bernardino National Forest near Big Bear Lake, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the San Jacinto Mountains. These streams traverse the coastal sage habitat through numerous water infrastructure features in the Inland Empire before terminating into the Pacific Ocean at the City of Huntington Beach. Groundwater resources, seasonal rains, and snowmelt provide a small fraction of the water resources needed to sustain the estimated 5.9 million residents living in the watershed. To augment limited local water supply, the SAR Watershed imports water into the region from Northern California and the Colorado River. With recent drought conditions and a growing population, community stakeholders and the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA), a leading regional water agency, are exploring innovative ways to manage water resources that support both human and ecological activities

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

Mass-Induced Crystalline Color Superconductivity

We demonstrate that crystalline color superconductivity may arise as a result of pairing between massless quarks and quarks with nonzero mass m_s. Previous analyses of this phase of cold dense quark matter have all utilized a chemical potential difference \delta\mu to favor crystalline color superconductivity over ordinary BCS pairing. In any context in which crystalline color superconductivity occurs in nature, however, it will be m_s-induced. The effect of m_s is qualitatively different from that of \delta\mu in one crucial respect: m_s depresses the value of the BCS gap \Delta_0 whereas \delta\mu leaves \Delta_0 unchanged. This effect in the BCS phase must be taken into account before m_s-induced and \delta\mu-induced crystalline color superconductivity can sensibly be compared.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. v2: very small change onl

Numerical solution of the color superconductivity gap in a weak coupling constant

We present the numerical solution of the full gap equation in a weak coupling constant $g$. It is found that the standard approximations to derive the gap equation to the leading order of coupling constant are essential for a secure numerical evaluation of the logarithmic singularity with a small coupling constant. The approximate integral gap equation with a very small $g$ should be inverted to a soft integral equation to smooth the logarithmic singularity near the Fermi surface. The full gap equation is solved for a rather large coupling constant $g\ge 2.0$. The approximate and soft integral gap equations are solved for small $g$ values. When their solutions are extrapolated to larger $g$ values, they coincide the full gap equation solution near the Fermi surface. Furthermore, the analytical solution matches the numerical one up to the order one O(1). Our results confirm the previous estimates that the gap energy is of the order tens to 100 MeV for the chemical potential $\mu\le 1000$ MeV. They also support the validity of leading approximations applied to the full gap equation to derive the soft integral gap equation and its analytical solution near the Fermi surface.Comment: 7 pages+ 6 figs, Stanford, Frankfurt and Bethlehe

Dense quark matter in compact stars

The densest predicted state of matter is colour-superconducting quark matter, in which quarks near the Fermi surface form a condensate of Cooper pairs. This form of matter may well exist in the core of compact stars, and the search for signatures of its presence is an ongoing enterprise. Using a bag model of quark matter, I discuss the effects of colour superconductivity on the mass-radius relationship of compact stars, showing that colour superconducting quark matter can occur in compact stars at values of the bag constant where ordinary quark matter would not be allowed. The resultant ``hybrid'' stars with colour superconducting quark matter interior and nuclear matter surface have masses in the range 1.3-1.6 Msolar and radii 8-11 km. Once perturbative corrections are included, quark matter can show a mass-radius relationship very similar to that of nuclear matter, and the mass of a hybrid star can reach 1.8 \Msolar.Comment: 11 pages, for proceedings of SQM 2003 conference; references added, abstract reworde

LANDSAT-4 multispectral scanner (MSS) subsystem radiometric characterization

The multispectral band scanner (mass) and its spectral characteristics are described and methods are given for relating video digital levels on computer compatible tapes to radiance into the sensor. Topics covered include prelaunch calibration procedures and postlaunch radiometric processng. Examples of current data resident on the MSS image processing system are included. The MSS on LANDSAT 4 is compared with the scanners on earlier LANDSAT satellites

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

SU(3) Latent Heat and Surface Tension from Tree Level and Tadpole Improved Actions

We analyze the latent heat and surface tension at the SU(3) deconfinement phase transition with tree level and tadpole improved Symanzik actions on lattices with temporal extent $N_\tau = 3$ and 4 and spatial extent $N_\sigma/ N_\tau = 4$, 6 and 8. In comparison to the standard Wilson action we do find a drastic reduction of cut-off effects already with tree level improved actions. On lattices with temporal extent $N_\tau=4$ results for the surface tension and latent heat obtained with a tree level improved action agree well with those obtained with a tadpole improved action. A comparison with $N_\tau=3$ calculations, however, shows that results obtained with tadpole action remain unaffected by cut-off effects even on this coarse lattice, while the tree level action becomes sensitive to the cut-off. For the surface tension and latent heat we find $\sigma_I/ T_c^3 = 0.0155~(16)$ and $\Delta\epsilon/T_c^4 = 1.40~(9)$, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX2e File, 3 Postscript figure