Scaling treatment of the random field Ising model

Analytic phenomenological scaling is carried out for the random field Ising model in general dimensions using a bar geometry. Domain wall configurations and their decorated profiles and associated wandering and other exponents $(\zeta,\gamma,\delta,\mu)$ are obtained by free energy minimization. Scaling between different bar widths provides the renormalization group (RG) transformation. Its consequences are (1) criticality at $h=T=0$ in $d \leq 2$ with correlation length $\xi(h,T)$ diverging like $\xi(h,0) \propto h^{-2/(2-d)}$ for $d<2$ and $\xi(h,0) \propto \exp[1/(c_1\gamma h^{\gamma})]$ for $d=2$, where $c_1$ is a decoration constant; (2) criticality in $d = 2+\epsilon$ dimensions at $T=0$, $h^{\ast}= (\epsilon/2c_1)^{1/\gamma}$, where $\xi \propto [(s-s^{\ast})/s]^{-2\epsilon/\gamma}$, $s \equiv h^{\gamma}$. Finite temperature generalizations are outlined. Numerical transfer matrix calculations and results from a ground state algorithm adapted for strips in $d=2$ confirm the ingredients which provide the RG description.Comment: RevTex v3.0, 5 pages, plus 4 figures uuencode

Sterile neutrino dark matter, CDMS-II and a light Higgs boson

We add a singlet right handed neutrino plus a charged and a neutral singlet scalars to the standard model. This extension includes a discrete symmetry such that we obtain a heavy sterile neutrino which couples only to the electron and the new scalars. In this sense the singlet neutrino does not mix with ordinary ones and thus has no effect on Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. However, such sterile neutrino can be in equilibrium with electroweak particles in the early Universe due to its couplings to electrons and also because the Higgs boson mixes with the singlet scalars. We obtain that the sterile neutrino constitutes a dark matter candidate and analyze its direct detection in the light of current experiments. Our results show that if such a sterile neutrino is realized in nature, and CDMS-II experiment confirms its positive signal, dark matter demands a rather light Higgs boson with new Physics at some 500 GeV scale.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, uses axodraw.st

Surface crossover exponent for branched polymers in two dimensions

Transfer-matrix methods on finite-width strips with free boundary conditions are applied to lattice site animals, which provide a model for randomly branched polymers in a good solvent. By assigning a distinct fugacity to sites along the strip edges, critical properties at the special (adsorption) and ordinary transitions are assessed. The crossover exponent at the adsorption point is estimated as $\phi = 0.505 \pm 0.015$, consistent with recent predictions that $\phi = 1/2$ exactly for all space dimensionalities.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX with Institute of Physics macros, to appear in Journal of Physics

Genomic islands of divergence in the Yellow Tang and the Brushtail Tang Surgeonfishes.

The current ease of obtaining thousands of molecular markers challenges the notion that full phylogenetic concordance, as proposed by phylogenetic species concepts, is a requirement for defining species delimitations. Indeed, the presence of genomic islands of divergence, which may be the cause, or in some cases the consequence, of speciation, precludes concordance. Here, we explore this issue using thousands of RAD markers on two sister species of surgeonfishes (Teleostei: Acanthuridae), Zebrasoma flavescens and Z.&nbsp;scopas, and several populations within each species. Species are readily distinguished based on their colors (solid yellow and solid brown, respectively), yet populations and species are neither distinguishable using mitochondrial markers (cytochrome c oxidase 1), nor using 5193 SNPs (pairwise Φst&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.034). In contrast, when using outlier loci, some of them presumably under selection, species delimitations, and strong population structure follow recognized taxonomic positions (pairwise Φst&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.326). Species and population delimitation differences based on neutral and selected markers are likely due to local adaptation, thus being consistent with the idea that these genomic islands of divergence arose as a consequence of isolation. These findings, which are not unique, raise the question of a potentially important pathway of divergence based on local adaptation that is only evident when looking at thousands of loci

Levantamento preliminar de plantas apícolas no Herbário IAN.

Com o objetivo de apresentar uma lista das plantas apícolas no estado do Pará, realizou-se no período de abril a junho de 2013 o levantamento de plantas apícolas pertencentes ao acervo do Herbário IAN. De forma preliminar, foram selecionados os registros tombados das espécies consideradas como plantas apícolas pela bibliografia utilizada ou que continham a observação de que foram visitadas por abelhas. Essas exsicatas foram separadas para compor a seção de plantas apícolas do herbário. Posteriormente, esse estudo incluirá plantas coletadas em que forem visualizadas abelhas, indicadas pelos produtores locais como plantas apícolas ou aquelas identificadas por meio de análise palinológica. Foram encontradas 303 espécies de plantas consideradas apícolas, que estão distribuídas em 80 famílias, dentre as quais Leguminosae, Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae e Convolvulaceae foram as que apresentaram maior riqueza de espécies