On the nucleation of hadronic domains in the quark-hadron transition

We present numerical results on bubble profiles, nucleation rates and time evolution for a weakly first-order quark-hadron phase transition in different expansion scenarios. We confirm the standard picture of a cosmological first-order phase transition, in which the phase transition is entirely dominated by nucleation. We also show that, even for expansion rates much lower than those expected in heavy-ion collisions nucleation is very unlikely, indicating that the main phase conversion mechanism is spinodal decomposition.Comment: 4 pages, 2 images. To be published in the proceedings of SEWM 200

The importance of the mixed phase in hybrid stars built with the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model

We investigate the structure of hybrid stars based on two different constructions: one is based on the Gibbs condition for phase coexistence and considers the existence of a mixed phase (MP), and the other is based on the Maxwell construction and no mixed phase is obtained. The hadron phase is described by the non-linear Walecka model (NLW) and the quark phase by the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model (NJL). We conclude that the masses and radii obtained are model dependent but not significantly different for both constructions.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

Gluttony, excess, and the fall of the planter class in the British Caribbean

Food and rituals around eating are a fundamental part of human existence. They can also be heavily politicized and socially significant. In the British Caribbean, white slaveholders were renowned for their hospitality towards one another and towards white visitors. This was no simple quirk of local character. Hospitality and sociability played a crucial role in binding the white minority together. This solidarity helped a small number of whites to dominate and control the enslaved majority. By the end of the eighteenth century, British metropolitan observers had an entrenched opinion of Caribbean whites as gluttons. Travelers reported on the sumptuous meals and excessive drinking of the planter class. Abolitionists associated these features of local society with the corrupting influences of slavery. Excessive consumption and lack of self-control were seen as symptoms of white creole failure. This article explores how local cuisine and white creole eating rituals developed as part of slave societies and examines the ways in which ideas about hospitality and gluttony fed into the debates over slavery that led to the dismantling of slavery and the fall of the planter class