Phase diagram of four-dimensional dynamical triangulations with a boundary

We report on simulations of DT simplicial gravity for manifolds with the topology of the 4-disk. We find evidence for four phases in a two-dimensional parameter space. In two of these the boundary plays no dynamical role and the geometries are equivalent to those observed earlier for the sphere $S^4$. In another phase the boundary is maximal and the quantum geometry degenerates to a one dimensional branched polymer. In contrast we provide evidence that the fourth phase is effectively three-dimensional. We find discontinuous phase transitions at all the phase boundaries.Comment: 13 pages, late

Slow Strategies for Student (and staff) engagement.

The past two years have seen an explosion of interest in the Slow Movement as a response to stress and overwork in universities. Many staff are working less and giving themselves appropriate breaks from academic life. Yet the theoretical and practical tactics and ideas for slowing down have not been shared with students, even as students suffer from overwork and employability concerns. At the same time, many universities have sought to engage students through new research-led approaches to teaching. We suggest that student engagement can be defined as the extent to which a student feels they belong to a department and that a department cares about them. We offer two methods of increasing this type of engagement. First, introduce students to the slow movement and second, take seriously the issue of staff engagement. We evaluate our own efforts to foster slow student and staff engagement through a Shut Up and Write sessions adopted by the Geography Department at UCL

Anisotropic Membranes

We describe the statistical behavior of anisotropic crystalline membranes. In particular we give the phase diagram and critical exponents for phantom membranes and discuss the generalization to self-avoiding membranes.Comment: LATTICE98(surfaces) 5 pages, 4 Postscript figure

Phase diagram of three-dimensional dynamical triangulations with a boundary

We use Monte Carlo simulation to study the phase diagram of three-dimensional dynamical triangulations with a boundary. Three phases are indentified and characterized. One of these phases is a new, boundary dominated phase; a simple argument is presented to explain its existence. First-order transitions are shown to occur along the critical lines separating phases.Comment: 9 pages, 5 EPS figures. v2 corrects typos in table

On the magnetic accretor GK Persei in outburst

RXTE made 5 X-ray observations of the magnetic accretor GK Per during its 1996 outburst, recording a count rate of ten times the quiescent level. The 351-s spin pulse shows a deep, nearly sinusoidal modulation, in contrast to the weaker, double-humped profile of quiescence. The spectrum shows absorption increased by two orders of magnitude over quiescence. We explain these differences in terms of the changing accretion geometry as the outbursting disc forces the magnetosphere inwards, and discuss the 5000-s X-ray QPOs seen during GK Per's outbursts.Comment: To appear in MNRAS; 5 page

The Banality of Degradation : Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground and the trash aesthetic

The American 1960s has become closely associated with moral crusades that strove for Civil Rights for the black community and protested against the conflict in Vietnam, with the peace and love gestures of the hippies to the fore, particularly in the latter part of the decade. This essay argues, however, that the seeds of a more subversive underground movement would be sown during the period and a new approach to art creation, centred on an emerging trash aesthetic, would not only challenge the psychedelic utopianism of the organised counterculture but actually leave a longer-lasting mark on left-field creative activity in the final quarter of the century. As Andy Warhol’s art and film projects were re-shaped as multi-media experiences, the importance of the Velvet Underground, the rising house band at the artist’s Factory headquarters, was magnified. The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, a performance work inspired in part by early-decade Happenings, would be unveiled in 1966, combining Warhol’s underground cinema projections, light shows, dancers and the cacophonous sound of the Velvets. This radical piece of stage art was filmed by the director Ronald Nameth and his account remains a key document of the live venture. The article proposes that while Warhol and the band built on traditions from Dada to the Beats to build a form of anti-art, it was during this key time that the ideas of trash – from the Pop Art celebrations of mass cultural forms to the darker delvings of his movies, and his adopted rock group, into the decadent realms of drugs and sexual perversity – took crucial shape. This anti-aesthetic would have an enduring impact beyond the subterranean avant garde of New York City in the years that followed as music and cinema, art and literature were all shaped by this brand of expression and examples of its legacy are suggested.Les sixties américaines sont associées aux luttes pour les Droits Civiques de la communauté noire, aux protestations contre la guerre au Vietnam et aux gestes de paix et d’amour des hippies, notamment à la fin de la décennie. Cet article affirme néanmoins que des graines d’un mouvement underground plus subversif furent semées à l’époque, et une nouvelle approche de la création artistique, centrée sur l’esthétique trash qui commençait à émerger, allait non seulement défier l’utopisme psychédélique de la contre-culture, mais aussi, au final, laisser une emprunte bien plus durable sur l’activité créative des mouvements de gauche, dans le dernier quart du XXe siècle. Au moment où le travail artistique et cinématographique d’Andy Warhol prenait le chemin d’expériences multimédiatiques, l’importance du Velvet Underground, le groupe en résidence à la Factory de Warhol, fut d’autant plus mise en lumière. Exploding Plastic Inevitable, une performance inspirée par les happenings du début de la décennie, fut présentée en 1966. Elle combinait les projections video underground de Warhol, des spectacles son et lumière, la participation de danseurs et le son cacophonique des Velvets. Cette œuvre radicale fut filmée par le réalisateur Ronald Nameth, et sa captation constitue une source considérable sur l’événement. Cet article soutient que, alors que Warhol et le groupe puisèrent dans toute une tradition allant de Dada aux Beats, afin d’élaborer une forme d’anti-art, c’est précisément à ce moment que mûrirent et prirent forme les idées du trash : des célébrations Pop Art de biens de consommation de masse aux expériences plus sombres de ses films et de son groupe de rock adoptif, et jusqu’à la décadence dans la drogue et la perversion sexuelle. Cette anti-esthétique allait avoir un impact durable dans les années suivantes, au-delà de la culture marginale et souterraine de l’avant-garde new-yorkais : la musique et le cinéma, l’art et la littérature furent tous informés par cette nouvelle expression

La Banalité de la dégradation : Andy Warhol, le Velvet Underground et l’esthétique trash

Les années 1960 américaines, et tout particulièrement leur deuxième moitié, sont aujourd’hui étroitement associées aux luttes pour les droits civiques de la communauté noire, aux protestations contre le conflit Vietnamien ainsi qu’à l’approche peace and love des hippies. Cet article pose cependant que les germes d’un mouvement underground plus subversif furent semées durant cette période alors qu’une nouvelle approche de la création artistique, centrée autour d’une esthétique trash émergente, allait s’opposer à l’utopie psychédélique de la contre-culture officielle et laisser une empreinte plus profonde et durable sur la création indépendante du dernier quart de siècle. La reformulation par Warhol à l’époque de ses projets plastiques et filmiques en expériences multimédias ne fit qu’augmenter l’importance du Velvet Underground, groupe maison de la Factory, quartier général de l’artiste. The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, performance en partie inspirée des happenings du début des années 1960, faisant se rencontrer light shows, danseurs et sons cacophoniques du Velvet Underground, fut présentée au public en 1966. Cette œuvre scénique radicale fut filmée par le réalisateur Ronald Nameth dont le film est un document clé de cette expérimentation. Si Warhol et le groupe se basaient sur une tradition issue des beats et de Dada pour créer une forme d’anti-art, c’est à cette période clé que l’idée de trash — depuis la célébration de la culture de masse du pop art aux recherches plus sombres du groupe et de l’artiste dans les méandres de la drogue et de la perversité — prit son importance actuelle. Cette anti-esthétique allait avoir dans les années suivantes un impact dépassant les avant-gardes de New York pour influencer et modeler la musique, le cinéma, l’art et la littérature.The American 1960s has become closely associated with moral crusades that strove for Civil Rights for the black community and protested against the conflict in Vietnam, with the peace and love gestures of the hippies to the fore, particularly in the latter part of the decade. This essay argues, however, that the seeds of a more subversive underground movement would be sown during the period and a new approach to art creation, centred on an emerging trash aesthetic, would not only challenge the psychedelic utopianism of the organised counterculture but actually leave a longer-lasting mark on left-field creative activity in the final quarter of the century. As Andy Warhol’s art and film projects were re-shaped as multi-media experiences, the importance of the Velvet Underground, the rising house band at the artist’s Factory headquarters, was magnified. The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, a performance work inspired in part by early-decade Happenings, would be unveiled in 1966, combining Warhol’s underground cinema projections, light shows, dancers and the cacophonous sound of the Velvets. This radical piece of stage art was filmed by the director Ronald Nameth and his account remains a key document of the live venture. The article proposes that while Warhol and the band built on traditions from Dada to the Beats to build a form of anti-art, it was during this key time that the ideas of trash, from the Pop Art celebrations of mass cultural forms to the darker delvings of his movies, and his adopted rock group, into the decadent realms of drugs and sexual perversity – took crucial shape. This anti-aesthetic would have an enduring impact beyond the subterranean avant garde of New York City in the years that followed as music and cinema, art and literature were all shaped by this brand of expression and examples of its legacy are suggested