Aspects of Confinement and Chiral Dynamics in 2-d QED at Finite Temperature

We evaluate the Polyakov loop and string tension at zero and finite temperature in $QED_2.$ Using bozonization the problem is reduced to solving the Schr\"odinger equation with a particular potential determined by the ground state. In the presence of two sources of opposite charges the vacuum angle parameter $\theta$ changes by $2\pi (q/e)$, independent of the number of flavors. This, in turn, alters the chiral condensate. Particularly, in the one flavor case through a simple computer algorithm, we explore the chiral dynamics of a heavy fermion.Comment: 4 pages, 2 ps files, uses sprocl.sty. To appear in Proceedings of DPF96 (August, Minnesota

Representations of the SU(N)SU(N) TT-algebra and the loop representation in 1+11+1-dimensions

We consider the phase-space of Yang-Mills on a cylindrical space-time ($S^1 \times {\bf R}$) and the associated algebra of gauge-invariant functions, the $T$-variables. We solve the Mandelstam identities both classically and quantum-mechanically by considering the $T$-variables as functions of the eigenvalues of the holonomy and their associated momenta. It is shown that there are two inequivalent representations of the quantum $T$-algebra. Then we compare this reduced phase space approach to Dirac quantization and find it to give essentially equivalent results. We proceed to define a loop representation in each of these two cases. One of these loop representations (for $N=2$) is more or less equivalent to the usual loop representation.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX, 1 postscript figure included, uses epsf.sty, G\"oteborg ITP 93-3

Confinement and Chiral Dynamics in the Multi-flavor Schwinger Model

Two-dimensional QED with $N$ flavor fermions is solved at zero and finite temperature with arbitrary fermion masses to explore QCD physics such as chiral condensate and string tension. The problem is reduced to solving a Schr\"odinger equation for $N$ degrees of freedom with a specific potential determined by the ground state of the Schr\"odinger problem itself.Comment: 9 pages. 3 ps files and sprocl.sty attached. To appear in the Proceedings of the QCD 96 workshop (March, Minnesota

The Gauge Hierarchy Problem and Higher Dimensional Gauge Theories

We report on an attempt to solve the gauge hierarchy problem in the framework of higher dimensional gauge theories. Both classical Higgs mass and quadratically divergent quantum correction to the mass are argued to vanish. Hence the hierarchy problem in its original sense is solved. The remaining finite mass correction is shown to depend crucially on the choice of boundary condition for matter fields, and a way to fix it dynamically is presented. We also point out that on the simply-connected space $S^2$ even the finite mass correction vanishes.Comment: LaTeX2e. 12 pages, 3 Postscript figures; Added references, some comment

Quantum Hamiltonian Reduction of the Schwinger Model

We reexamine a unitary-transformation method of extracting a physical Hamiltonian from a gauge field theory after quantizing all degrees of freedom including redundant variables. We show that this {\it quantum Hamiltonian reduction} method suffers from crucial modifications arising from regularization of composite operators. We assess the effects of regularization in the simplest gauge field theory, the Schwinger model. Without regularization, the quantum reduction yields the identical Hamiltonian with the classically reduced one. On the other hand, with regularization incorporated, the resulting Hamiltonian of the quantum reduction disagrees with that of the classical reduction. However, we find that the discrepancy is resolved by redefinitions of fermion currents and that the results are again consistent with those of the classical reduction.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX file, UT-Komaba 94-

Instantons and the Ground State of the Massive Schwinger Model

We study the massive Schwinger model, quantum electrodynamics of massive, Dirac fermions, in 1+1 dimensions; with space compactified to a circle. In the limit that transitions to fermion--anti-fermion pairs can be neglected, we study the full ground state. We focus on the effect of instantons which mediate tunnelling transitions in the induced potential for the dynamical degree of freedom in the gauge field.Comment: 17 pages, plain te

Chiral Symmetry Breaking on the Lattice: a Study of the Strongly Coupled Lattice Schwinger Model

We revisit the strong coupling limit of the Schwinger model on the lattice using staggered fermions and the hamiltonian approach to lattice gauge theories. Although staggered fermions have no continuous chiral symmetry, they posses a discrete axial invari ance which forbids fermion mass and which must be broken in order for the lattice Schwinger model to exhibit the features of the spectrum of the continuum theory. We show that this discrete symmetry is indeed broken spontaneously in the strong coupling li mit. Expanding around a gauge invariant ground state and carefully considering the normal ordering of the charge operator, we derive an improved strong coupling expansion and compute the masses of the low lying bosonic excitations as well as the chiral co ndensate of the model. We find very good agreement between our lattice calculations and known continuum values for these quantities already in the fourth order of strong coupling perturbation theory. We also find the exact ground state of the antiferromag netic Ising spin chain with long range Coulomb interaction, which determines the nature of the ground state in the strong coupling limit.Comment: 24 pages, Latex, no figure

QCD thermodynamics with nonzero chemical potential at Nt=6N_t=6 and effects from heavy quarks

We extend our work on QCD thermodynamics with 2+1 quark flavors at nonzero chemical potential to finer lattices with $N_t=6$. We study the equation of state and other thermodynamic quantities, such as quark number densities and susceptibilities, and compare them with our previous results at $N_t=4$. We also calculate the effects of the addition of the charm and bottom quarks on the equation of state at zero and nonzero chemical potential. These effects are important for cosmological studies of the early Universe.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures. Some small text and figure change

Land use/cover classification in the Brazilian Amazon using satellite images.

Land use/cover classification is one of the most important applications in remote sensing. However, mapping accurate land use/cover spatial distribution is a challenge, particularly in moist tropical regions, due to the complex biophysical environment and limitations of remote sensing data per se. This paper reviews experiments related to land use/cover classification in the Brazilian Amazon for a decade. Through comprehensive analysis of the classification results, it is concluded that spatial information inherent in remote sensing data plays an essential role in improving land use/cover classification. Incorporation of suitable textural images into multispectral bands and use of segmentation?based method are valuable ways to improve land use/cover classification, especially for high spatial resolution images. Data fusion of multi?resolution images within optical sensor data is vital for visual interpretation, but may not improve classification performance. In contrast, integration of optical and radar data did improve classification performance when the proper data fusion method was used. Of the classification algorithms available, the maximum likelihood classifier is still an important method for providing reasonably good accuracy, but nonparametric algorithms, such as classification tree analysis, has the potential to provide better results. However, they often require more time to achieve parametric optimization. Proper use of hierarchical?based methods is fundamental for developing accurate land use/cover classification, mainly from historical remotely sensed data