Critical Behavior of CP^1 at theta = pi, Haldane's Conjecture and the Universality Class

Using an approach to analyze the theta dependence of systems with a theta-term we recently proposed, the critical behavior of CP^1 at theta=pi is studied. We find a region outside the strong coupling regime where Haldane's conjecture is verified. The critical line however does not belong to the universality class of the Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten model at topological coupling k=1 since it shows continuously varying critical exponents.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Scalable Layer-2/Layer-3 Multistage Switching Architectures for Software Routers

Software routers are becoming an important alternative to proprietary and expensive network devices, because they exploit the economy of scale of the PC market and open-source software. When considering maximum performance in terms of throughput, PC-based routers suffer from limitations stemming from the single PC architecture, e.g., limited bus bandwidth, and high memory access latency. To overcome these limitations, in this paper we present a multistage architecture that combines a layer-2 load-balancer front-end and a layer-3 routing back-end, interconnected by standard Ethernet switches. Both the front-end and the back-end are implemented using standard PCs and open- source software. After describing the architecture, evaluation is performed on a lab test-bed, to show its scalability. While the proposed solution allows to increase performance of PC- based routers, it also allows to distribute packet manipulation functionalities, and to automatically recover from component failures

Diquark condensation in two colour QCD

Unquenched lattice SU(2) is studied at nonzero chemical potential in the strong coupling limit. The topic of diquark condensation is addressed analyzing the probability distribution function of the diquark condensate. We present results at zero external source without using any potentially dangerous extrapolation procedure. We find strong evidences for a (high density) second order phase transition where a diquark condensate appears, and show quantitative agreement of lattice calculations with low-energy effective Lagrangian calculations.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to be published in the proceedings of the ``International Workshop on Non-Perturbative Methods and Lattice QCD'', Guangzhou, China, 15-21 May 200

Effects of Gamma Ray Bursts in Earth Biosphere

We continue former work on the modeling of potential effects of Gamma Ray Bursts on Phanerozoic Earth. We focus on global biospheric effects of ozone depletion and show a first modeling of the spectral reduction of light by NO2 formed in the stratosphere. We also illustrate the current complexities involved in the prediction of how terrestrial ecosystems would respond to this kind of burst. We conclude that more biological field and laboratory data are needed to reach even moderate accuracy in this modelingComment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Time Driven Priority Router Implementation and First Experiments

This paper reports on the implementation of Time-Driven Priority (TDP) scheduling on a FreeBSD platform. This work is part of a TDP prototyping and demonstration project aimed at showing the implications of TDP deployment in packet-switched networks, especially benefits for real-time applications. This paper focuses on practical aspects related to the implementation of the technology on a Personal Computer (PC)-based router and presents the experimental results obtained on a testbed network. The basic building blocks of a TDP router are described and implementation choices are discussed. The relevant results achieved and here presented can be categorized into two types: qualitative results, including the successful integration of all needed blocks and the insight obtained on the complexity related to the implementation of a TDP router, and quantitative ones, including measures of achievable network utilization and of jitter experienced on a fully-loaded TDP network. The outcome demonstrates the effectiveness of the presented implementation while confirming TDP points of strengt

Strongly Coupled QCD at Finite Baryon Density

The analytical results obtained in the infinite mass and strong coupling limits of QCD are difficult to reconcile with the predictions of the Monomer Dimer Polymer algorithm. We have reconsidered in detail the results obtained with this simulation scheme and evidences of severe convergence problems are presented for the SU(3) and SU(2) gauge group.Comment: LATTICE99(Finite Temperature and Density), 3 pages, 3 postscript figure

Finite Density QCD in the Chiral Limit

We present the first results of an exact simulation of full QCD at finite density in the chiral limit. We have used a MFA (Microcanonical Fermionic Average) inspired approach for the reconstruction of the Grand Canonical Partition Function of the theory; using the fugacity expansion of the fermionic determinant we are able to move continuously in the ($\beta -\mu$) plane with $m=0$.Comment: 3 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures, uses espcrc2.sty, psfig. Talk presented by A. Galante at Lattice 97. Correction of some reference