Improvements of L\"uscher's local bosonic fermion algorithm

We discuss the application of hybrid over-relaxation, even-odd preconditioning and a modified local updating procedure to the local bosonic fermion algorithm. Studies on autocorrelation times and the tuning of the parameters of the algorithm are done on various lattice sizes simulating SU(2)-LGT with 2 flavours of Wilson quarks. A substantial decrease of the computational cost could be achieved.Comment: 20 pages, uuencoded compressed postscrip

Performance Tests of the Kramers Equation and Boson Algorithms for Simulations of QCD

We present a performance comparison of the Kramers equation and the boson algorithms for simulations of QCD with two flavors of dynamical Wilson fermions and gauge group $SU(2)$. Results are obtained on $6^312$, $8^312$ and $16^4$ lattices. In both algorithms a number of optimizations are installed.Comment: uuencoded postscript file, no figures, 10 page

Critical Behavior at the Chiral Phase Transition

Quantum chromodynamics with two zero mass flavors is expected to exhibit a phase transition with O(4) critical behavior. Fixing the universality class is important for phenomenology and for facilitating the extrapolation of simulation data to physical quark mass values. At Lattice '96 the Tsukuba and Bielefeld groups reported results from new simulations with dynamical staggered quarks at $N_t = 4$, which suggested a departure from the expected critical behavior. We report observations of similar deviations and discuss efforts in progress to understand this phenomenon.Comment: 3 pp, LaTeX with 6 encapsulated Postscript figures. Lattice '97 proceeding

Neutrino Oscillations and the Supernova 1987A Signal

We study the impact of neutrino oscillations on the interpretation of the supernova (SN) 1987A neutrino signal by means of a maximum-likelihood analysis. We focus on oscillations between $\overline\nu_e$ with $\overline\nu_\mu$ or $\overline\nu_\tau$ with those mixing parameters that would solve the solar neutrino problem. For the small-angle MSW solution ($\Delta m^2\approx10^{-5}\,\rm eV^2$, $\sin^22\Theta_0\approx0.007$), there are no significant oscillation effects on the Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling signal; we confirm previous best-fit values for the neutron-star binding energy and average spectral $\overline\nu_e$ temperature. There is only marginal overlap between the upper end of the 95.4\% CL inferred range of $\langle E_{\overline\nu_e}\rangle$ and the lower end of the range of theoretical predictions. Any admixture of the stiffer $\overline\nu_\mu$ spectrum by oscillations aggravates the conflict between experimentally inferred and theoretically predicted spectral properties. For mixing parameters in the neighborhood of the large-angle MSW solution ($\Delta m^2\approx10^{-5}\,\rm eV^2$, $\sin^22\Theta_0\approx0.7$) the oscillations in the SN are adiabatic, but one needs to include the regeneration effect in the Earth which causes the Kamiokande and IMB detectors to observe different $\overline\nu_e$ spectra. For the solar vacuum solution ($\Delta m^2\approx10^{-10}\,\rm eV^2$, $\sin^22\Theta_0\approx1$) the oscillations in the SN are nonadiabatic; vacuum oscillations take place between the SN and the detector. If either of the large-angle solutions were borne out by the upcoming round of solar neutrino experiments, one would have to conclude that the SN~1987A $\overline\nu_\mu$ and/or $\overline\nu_e$ spectra had been much softer than predicted by currentComment: Final version with very minor wording changes, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Performance tests of the Kramers equation and boson algorithms for simulations of QCD

We present a performance comparison of the Kramers equation and the boson algorithms for simulations of QCD with two flavors of dynamical Wilson fermions and gauge group SU(2). Results are obtained on 6312, 8312 and 164 lattices. In both algorithms a number of optimizations are installed