Monopole percolation in scalar QED

Monopole Percolation was first introduced in the study of the non-compact lattice QED in both, the pure case and coupled to Higgs fields. Monopole percolation has been also observed coupled to the monopole condensation in the study of the pure gauge compact QED. We present here the results coming from the analysis of the role of the monopole percolation in the coupled gauge-higgs compact QED.Comment: 3 pages, 5 Postscript figures included using uufiles, uses epsf.tex. Poster presented in Lattice'97 conferenc

Numerical simulation of random paths with a curvature dependent action

We study an ensemble of closed random paths, embedded in R^3, with a curvature dependent action. Previous analytical results indicate that there is no crumpling transition for any finite value of the curvature coupling. Nevertheless, in a high statistics numerical simulation, we observe two different regimes for the specific heat separated by a rather smooth structure. The analysis of this fact warns us about the difficulties in the interpretation of numerical results obtained in cases where theoretical results are absent and a high statistics simulation is unreachable. This may be the case of random surfaces.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, 4 eps figures. Final version to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett.

Random paths with curvature

We present some results coming from a Monte Carlo simulation of a set of random paths with a curvature dependent action. This model can be considered as a toy model of the theory of random surfaces. The transition from free to rigid random paths has been analyzed and the similitude with the crumpling transition have been pointed out.Comment: 4 pages, 5 Postscript figures, epsf.tex A postscript version is available at ftp://ftp.ifae.es/preprint/ft/uabft396.ps Poster presented in Lattice'96 conferenc

Finite Size Analysis of the U(1) Phase Transition using the World-sheet Formulation

We present a high statistics analysis of the pure gauge compact U(1) lattice theory using the the world-sheet or Lagrangian loop representation. We have applied a simulation method that deals directly with (gauge invariant) integer variables on plaquettes. As a result we get a significant amelioration of the simulation that allows to work with large lattices avoiding the metaestability problems that appear using the standard Wilson formulation.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. REVTEX and eps

Monopole Percolation in the Compact Abelian Higgs Model

We have studied the monopole-percolation phenomenon in the four dimensional Abelian theory that contains compact U(1) gauge fields coupled to unitary norm Higgs fields. We have determined the location of the percolation transition line in the plane $(\beta_g, \beta_H)$. This line overlaps the confined-Coulomb and the confined-Higgs phase transition lines, originated by a monopole-condensation mechanism, but continues away from the end-point where this phase transition line stops. In addition, we have determined the critical exponents of the monopole percolation transition away from the phase transition lines. We have performed the finite size scaling in terms of the monopole density instead of the coupling, because the density seems to be the natural parameter when dealing with percolation phenomena.Comment: 13 pages. REVTeX. 16 figs. included using eps

Anti-austerity between militant materialism and real democracy: exploring pragmatic prefigurativism

The anti-austerity movement that emerged in the wake of the 2008 global economic crisis and 2010 Eurozone crisis, and which forms part of the ‘age of austerity’ that came after those crises, was underpinned by a set of ideas and practices that we refer to here as ‘pragmatic prefigurativism’. Whilst the anti-austerity movements typically rejected formal ideologies such as Marxism and anarchism, nevertheless pragmatic prefigurativism can be understood as a ‘left convergence’ of sorts. The paper explores the features of this pragmatic prefigurativism, comparing the anti-austerity movements in the UK and Spain. In particular, we note the role of unresponsive institutions of democracy in prompting the move towards pragmatic prefigurativism, the adoption of techniques of direct democracy and direct action as the means through which to express a voice and to refuse austerity, and the pragmatic nature of the subsequent (re)turn to political institutions when this became a possibility