Symmetry Breaking, Duality and Fine-Tuning in Hierarchical Spin Models

We discuss three questions related to the critical behavior of hierarchical spin models: 1) the hyperscaling relations in the broken symmetry phase; 2) the combined use of dual expansions to calculate the non-universal quantities; 3) the fine-tuning issue in approximately supersymmetric models.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, Lattice99 (spin

Elite male Flat jockeys display lower bone density and lower resting metabolic rate than their female counterparts: implications for athlete welfare

To test the hypothesis that daily weight-making is more problematic to health in male compared with female jockeys, we compared the bone-density and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in weight-matched male and female Flat-jockeys. RMR (kcal.kg-1 lean mass) was lower in males compared with females as well as lower bone-density Z-scores at the hip and lumbar spine. Data suggest the lifestyle of male jockeys’ compromise health more severely than females, possibly due to making-weight more frequently

High-Accuracy Calculations of the Critical Exponents of Dyson's Hierarchical Model

We calculate the critical exponent gamma of Dyson's hierarchical model by direct fits of the zero momentum two-point function, calculated with an Ising and a Landau-Ginzburg measure, and by linearization about the Koch-Wittwer fixed point. We find gamma= 1.299140730159 plus or minus 10^(-12). We extract three types of subleading corrections (in other words, a parametrization of the way the two-point function depends on the cutoff) from the fits and check the value of the first subleading exponent from the linearized procedure. We suggest that all the non-universal quantities entering the subleading corrections can be calculated systematically from the non-linear contributions about the fixed point and that this procedure would provide an alternative way to introduce the bare parameters in a field theory model.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, uses revte

Universality, Scaling and Triviality in a Hierarchical Field Theory

Using polynomial truncations of the Fourier transform of the RG transformation of Dyson's hierarchical model, we show that it is possible to calculate very accurately the renormalized quantities in the symmetric phase. Numerical results regarding the corrections to the scaling laws, (i.e finite cut-off dependence) triviality, hyperscaling, universality and high-accuracy determinations of the critical exponents are discussed.Comment: LATTICE98(spin

A Check of a D=4 Field-Theoretical Calculation Using the High-Temperature Expansion for Dyson's Hierarchical Model

We calculate the high-temperature expansion of the 2-point function up to order 800 in beta. We show that estimations of the critical exponent gamma based on asymptotic analysis are not very accurate in presence of confluent logarithmic singularities. Using a direct comparison between the actual series and the series obtained from a parametrization of the form (beta_c -beta)^(-gamma) (Ln(beta_c -beta))^p +r), we show that the errors are minimized for gamma =0.9997 and p=0.3351, in very good agreement with field-theoretical calculations. We briefly discuss the related questions of triviality and hyperscalingComment: Uses Revtex, 27 pages including 13 figure

Direct measurement of swimming and diving kinematics of giant Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Tunas possess a range of physiological and mechanical adaptations geared towards high-performance swimming that are of considerable interest to physiologists, ecologists and engineers. Advances in biologging have provided significant improvements in understanding tuna migrations and vertical movement patterns, yet our understanding of the locomotion and swimming mechanics of these fish under natural conditions is limited. We equipped Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) with motion-sensitive tags and video cameras to quantify the gaits and kinematics used by wild fish. Our data reveal significant variety in the locomotory kinematics of Atlantic bluefin tuna, ranging from continuous locomotion to two types of intermittent locomotion. The tuna sustained swimming speeds in excess of 1.5 m s−1 (0.6 body lengths s−1), while beating their tail at a frequency of approximately 1 Hz. While diving, some descents were entirely composed of passive glides, with slower descent rates featuring more gliding, while ascents were primarily composed of active swimming. The observed swimming behaviour of Atlantic bluefin tuna is consistent with theoretical models predicting such intermittent locomotion to result in mechanical and physiological advantages. Our results confirm that Atlantic bluefin tuna possess behavioural specializations to increase their locomotory performance, which together with their unique physiology improve their capacity to use pelagic and mesopelagic habitats