Measurement of charged particles from the hadronic final state of electron-proton deep inelastic scattering at a centre of mass energy of 296 GeV

Charged particles from the hadronic final state of electron-proton deep inelastic scattering at HERA are measured by the Central Tracking Detector (CTD), a component of the ZEUS detector. The operation of the CTD is described. Using the incomplete tracking data from 1992 and the first data, taken during 1993, for which the CTD was fully instrumented, some systematic effects on the measurement of charged particles are investigated, and where possible, corrected. Factors affecting assignment of tracks to the main event vertex are discussed. The angular and momentum ranges which are reliable for physics analysis are identified. Momentum flow of charged hadrons, in pseudorapidity and in azimuth, is measured in the HERA laboratory frame with respect to the nominal direction of the struck quark, which is obtained from the reconstructed event kinematics. Comparisons are made with the predictions of three Monte Carlo models. Monte Carlo techniques are used to correct the data for detector effects. The reconstructed momentum four-vectors of the charged hadrons are transformed to the Breit frame, where the momentum flow versus pseudorapidity is measured. Scaled momentum spectra of final state hadrons associated, in the Breit frame, with the fragmentation region of the struck quark [current region), are measured. The evolution of multiplicity and scaled momentum distributions with increasing virtuality Q of the mediating photon are shown and compared with data from e+e- annihilation experiments. The increased effect at low x-Q2 of initial-state QCD radiation in DIS is evident both in the momentum flow distributions and in the Breit-frame evolution of current region multiplicity with Q, but appears not to significantly affect the scaled momentum evolution which is found to be consistent with e+e- results

Smooth Random Surfaces from Tight Immersions?

We investigate actions for dynamically triangulated random surfaces that consist of a gaussian or area term plus the {\it modulus} of the gaussian curvature and compare their behavior with both gaussian plus extrinsic curvature and ``Steiner'' actions.Comment: 7 page

Introduced birds in urban remnant vegetation : does remnant size really matter?

Introduced birds are a pervasive and dominant element of urban ecosystems. We examined the richness and relative abundance of introduced bird species in small (1&ndash;5 ha) medium (6&ndash;15 ha) and large (&gt;15 ha) remnants of native vegetation within an urban matrix. Transects were surveyed during breeding and non-breeding seasons. There was a significant relationship between introduced species richness and remnant size with larger remnants supporting more introduced species. There was no significant difference in relative abundance of introduced species in remnants of different sizes. Introduced species, as a proportion of the relative abundance of the total avifauna (native and introduced species), did not vary significantly between remnants of differing sizes. There were significant differences in the composition of introduced bird species between the different remnant sizes, with large remnants supporting significantly different assemblages than medium and small remnants. Other variables also have substantial effects on the abundance of introduced bird species. The lack of significant differences in abundance between remnant sizes suggests they were all equally susceptible to invasion. No patches in the urban matrix are likely to be unaffected by introduced species. The effective long-term control of introduced bird species is difficult and resources may be better spent managing habitat in a way which renders it less suitable for introduced species (e.g. reducing areas of disturbed ground and weed dominated areas).<br /

Quantum chromodynamics with advanced computing

We survey results in lattice quantum chromodynamics from groups in the USQCD Collaboration. The main focus is on physics, but many aspects of the discussion are aimed at an audience of computational physicists.Comment: 17 pp. Featured presentation at Scientific Discovery with Advanced Computing, July 13-17, Seattl

An Effective Model for Crumpling in Two Dimensions?

We investigate the crumpling transition for a dynamically triangulated random surface embedded in two dimensions using an effective model in which the disordering effect of the $X$ variables on the correlations of the normals is replaced by a long-range ``antiferromagnetic'' term. We compare the results from a Monte Carlo simulation with those obtained for the standard action which retains the $X$'s and discuss the nature of the phase transition.Comment: 5 page

Ising Model Coupled to Three-Dimensional Quantum Gravity

We have performed Monte Carlo simulations of the Ising model coupled to three-dimensional quantum gravity based on a summation over dynamical triangulations. These were done both in the microcanonical ensemble, with the number of points in the triangulation and the number of Ising spins fixed, and in the grand canoncal ensemble. We have investigated the two possible cases of the spins living on the vertices of the triangulation (``diect'' case) and the spins living in the middle of the tetrahedra (``dual'' case). We observed phase transitions which are probably second order, and found that the dual implementation more effectively couples the spins to the quantum gravity.Comment: 11 page

The Block Spin Renormalization Group Approach and Two-Dimensional Quantum Gravity

A block spin renormalization group approach is proposed for the dynamical triangulation formulation of two-dimensional quantum gravity. The idea is to update link flips on the block lattice in response to link flips on the original lattice. Just as the connectivity of the original lattice is meant to be a lattice representation of the metric, the block links are determined in such a way that the connectivity of the block lattice represents a block metric. As an illustration, this approach is applied to the Ising model coupled to two-dimensional quantum gravity. The correct critical coupling is reproduced, but the critical exponent is obscured by unusually large finite size effects.Comment: 10 page

Large N and Bosonization in Three Dimensions

Bosonization is normally thought of as a purely two-dimensional phenomenon, and generic field theories with fermions in D>2 are not expected be describable by local bosonic actions, except in some special cases. We point out that 3D SU(N) gauge theories on R^{1,1} x S^{1}_{L} with adjoint fermions can be bosonized in the large N limit. The key feature of such theories is that they enjoy large N volume independence for arbitrary circle size L. A consequence of this is a large N equivalence between these 3D gauge theories and certain 2D gauge theories, which matches a set of correlation functions in the 3D theories to corresponding observables in the 2D theories. As an example, we focus on a 3D SU(N) gauge theory with one flavor of adjoint Majorana fermions and derive the large-N equivalent 2D gauge theory. The extra dimension is encoded in the color degrees of freedom of the 2D theory. We then apply the technique of non-Abelian bosonization to the 2D theory to obtain an equivalent local theory written purely in terms of bosonic variables. Hence the bosonized version of the large N three-dimensional theory turns out to live in two dimensions.Comment: 30 pages, 2 tables. v2 minor revisions, references adde

Exploring the long-term associations between adolescents’ music training and academic achievement

There is a positive relationship between learning music and academic achievement, although doubts remain regarding the mechanisms underlying this association. This research analyses the academic performance of music and non-music students from seventh to ninth grade. The study controls for socioeconomic status, intelligence, motivation and prior academic achievement. Data were collected from 110 adolescents at two time points, once when the students were between 11 and 14 years old in the seventh grade, and again 3 years later. Our results show that music students perform better academically than non-music students in the seventh grade (Cohen’s d = 0.88) and in the ninth grade (Cohen’s d = 1.05). This difference is particularly evident in their scores in Portuguese language and natural science; the difference is somewhat weaker in history and geography scores, and is least pronounced in mathematics and English scores (η2p from .09 to .21). A longitudinal analysis also revealed better academic performance by music students after controlling for prior academic achievement (η2p = .07). Furthermore, controlling for intelligence, socioeconomic status and motivation did not eliminate the positive association between music learning from the seventh to the ninth grade and students’ academic achievement (η2p = .06). During the period, music students maintained better and more consistent academic standing. We conclude that, after controlling for intelligence, socioeconomic status and motivation, music training is positively associated with academic achievement.This research was funded by the Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia)

A new perspective on matter coupling in 2d quantum gravity

We provide compelling evidence that a previously introduced model of non-perturbative 2d Lorentzian quantum gravity exhibits (two-dimensional) flat-space behaviour when coupled to Ising spins. The evidence comes from both a high-temperature expansion and from Monte Carlo simulations of the combined gravity-matter system. This weak-coupling behaviour lends further support to the conclusion that the Lorentzian model is a genuine alternative to Liouville quantum gravity in two dimensions, with a different, and much `smoother' critical behaviour.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures (postscript