Dyson-Schwinger Equations and Coulomb Gauge Yang-Mills Theory

Coulomb gauge Yang-Mills theory is considered within the first order formalism. It is shown that the action is invariant under both the standard BRS transform and an additional component. The Ward-Takahashi identity arising from this non-standard transform is shown to be automatically satisfied by the equations of motion.Comment: 3 pages, talk given at Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum VII (2-7 Sep, 2006), Ponta Delgada, Azore

The ghost propagator in Coulomb gauge

We present results for a numerical study of the ghost propagator in Coulomb gauge whereby lattice results for the spatial gluon propagator are used as input to solving the ghost Dyson-Schwinger equation. We show that in order to solve completely, the ghost equation must be supplemented by a boundary condition (the value of the inverse ghost propagator dressing function at zero momentum) which determines if the solution is critical (zero value for the boundary condition) or subcritical (finite value). The various solutions exhibit a characteristic behavior where all curves follow the same (critical) solution when going from high to low momenta until `forced' to freeze out in the infrared to the value of the boundary condition. The boundary condition can be interpreted in terms of the Gribov gauge-fixing ambiguity; we also demonstrate that this is not connected to the renormalization. Further, the connection to the temporal gluon propagator and the infrared slavery picture of confinement is discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, talk presented at "Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum IX", Madrid, August 30-September 3, 2010, to appear in the proceeding

Thermosensitivity of the lobster, Homarus americanus, as determined by cardiac assay

It is generally accepted that crustaceans detect, and respond to, changes in water temperature, yet few studies have directly addressed their thermosensitivity. In this investigation a cardiac assay was used as an indicator that lobsters (Homarus americanus) sensed a change in temperature. The typical cardiac response of lobsters to a 1-min application of a thermal stimulus, either warmer (n = 19) or colder (n = 17) than the holding temperature of 15 degrees C, consisted of a short bradycardia (39.5 +/- 8.0 s) followed by a prolonged tachycardia (188.2 +/- 10.7 s). Lobsters exposed to a range of rates of temperature change (0.7, 1.4, 2.6, 5.0 degrees C/min) responded in a dose-dependent manner, with fewer lobsters responding at slower rates of temperature change. The location of temperature receptors could not be determined, but lesioning of the cardioregulatory nerves eliminated the cardiac response. Although the absolute detection threshold is not known, it is conservatively estimated that lobsters can detect temperature changes of greater than 1 degree C, and probably as small as 0.15 degrees C. A comparison of winter and summer lobsters, both held at 15 degrees C for more than 4 weeks, revealed that although their responses to temperature changes were similar, winter lobsters (n = 18) had a significantly lower baseline heart rate (34.8 +/- 4.4 bpm) and a shorter duration cardiac response (174 s) than summer lobsters (n = 18; 49.9 +/- 5.0 bpm, and 320 s respectively). This suggests that some temperature-independent seasonal modulation of cardiac activity may be occurring

Coulomb gauge confinement in the heavy quark limit

The relationship between the nonperturbative Green's functions of Yang-Mills theory and the confinement potential is investigated. By rewriting the generating functional of quantum chromodynamics in terms of a heavy quark mass expansion in Coulomb gauge, restricting to leading order in this expansion and considering only the two-point functions of the Yang-Mills sector, the rainbow-ladder approximation to the gap and Bethe-Salpeter equations is shown to be exact in this case and an analytic, nonperturbative solution is presented. It is found that there is a direct connection between the string tension and the temporal gluon propagator. Further, it is shown that for the 4-point quark correlation functions, only confined bound states of color-singlet quark-antiquark (meson) and quark-quark (baryon) pairs exist.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Central pattern generator for swimming in Melibe

The nudibranch mollusc Melibe leonina swims by bending from side to side. We have identified a network of neurons that appears to constitute the central pattern generator (CPG) for this locomotor behavior, one of only a few such networks to be described in cellular detail. The network consists of two pairs of interneurons, termed `swim interneuron 1\u27 (sint1) and `swim interneuron 2\u27 (sint2), arranged around a plane of bilateral symmetry. Interneurons on one side of the brain, which includes the paired cerebral, pleural and pedal ganglia, coordinate bending movements toward the same side and communicate via non-rectifying electrical synapses. Interneurons on opposite sides of the brain coordinate antagonistic movements and communicate over mutually inhibitory synaptic pathways. Several criteria were used to identify members of the swim CPG, the most important being the ability to shift the phase of swimming behavior in a quantitative fashion by briefly altering the firing pattern of an individual neuron. Strong depolarization of any of the interneurons produces an ipsilateral swimming movement during which the several components of the motor act occur in sequence. Strong hyperpolarization causes swimming to stop and leaves the animal contracted to the opposite side for the duration of the hyperpolarization. The four swim interneurons make appropriate synaptic connections with motoneurons, exciting synergists and inhibiting antagonists. Finally, these are the only neurons that were found to have this set of properties in spite of concerted efforts to sample widely in the Melibe CNS. This led us to conclude that these four cells constitute the CPG for swimming. While sint1 and sint2 work together during swimming, they play different roles in the generation of other behaviors. Sint1 is normally silent when the animal is crawling on a surface but it depolarizes and begins to fire in strong bursts once the foot is dislodged and the animal begins to swim. Sint2 also fires in bursts during swimming, but it is not silent in non-swimming animals. Instead activity in sint2 is correlated with turning movements as the animal crawls on a surface. This suggests that the Melibe motor system is organized in a hierarchy and that the alternating movements characteristic of swimming emerge when activity in sint1 and sint2 is bound together

An Investigation of Philadelphia's Youth Aid Panel: A Community-Based Diversion Program for First-Time Youthful Offenders

The formal justice system currently does not have the resources to effectively deal with nonviolent first-time offending youth, oftentimes leaving them with little punishment aside from a criminal record. This report offers a close examination of Philadelphia's Youth Aid Panels (YAP), which seeks to provide alternative sentencing for this high-risk population through the collaboration of volunteer community members, victims, parent(s)/guardian and a law enforcement official. YAP offers victims a better sense of restitution while also providing the youth with the real opportunity to reintegrate into society without a record. Our initial exploratory evaluation shows promising results, and we offer a several recommendations to strengthen YAP programs

The Ability of Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) To Detect Changes in Temperature

Previous studies have suggested that horseshoe crabs prefer warm water, suggesting that they may be able to detect changes in water temperature. The overall goal of this study was to test this hypothesis. Our specific objectives were to: 1) find out if horseshoe crabs can detect temperature changes; 2) determine the magnitude of temperature change they can detect, and; 3) determine whether their temperature receptors are located internally or externally. Animals were placed in a light-tight chamber that received a constant flow of cooled seawater. Their heart rates were continuously recorded and a change in heart rate following the addition of warmer water was used as an indicator that they sensed the change in temperature. The results showed that 50% of horseshoe crabs responded to a temperature change of 1°C, while 100% responded to a temperature change of 2.6°C. Over half of the horseshoe crabs also responded to a rate of temperature change of less than 1.5°C. Both of these results indicate that horseshoe crabs can, indeed, sense temperature changes. Also, the horseshoe crabs typically showed a response before their internal temperature changed, indicating that their temperature receptors are most likely located externally

A Bethe--Salpeter Description of Light Mesons

We present a covariant approach to describe the low--lying scalar, pseudoscalar, vector and axialvector mesons as quark--antiquark bound states.This approach is based on an effective interaction modeling of the non--perturbative structure of the gluon propagator that enters the quark Schwinger--Dyson and meson Bethe--Salpeter equations. We extract the meson masses and compute the pion and kaon decay constants. We obtain a quantitatively correct description for pions, kaons and vector mesons while the calculated spectra of scalar and axialvector mesons suggest that their structure is more complex than being quark--antiquark bound states.Comment: Talk presented by HW at the international Scalar Meson Workshop, Utica, NY, May 2003; 12 pages, uses aip style file

Modulation of swimming in the gastropod Melibe leonina by nitric oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous intercellular messenger produced by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase. It has been implicated as a neuromodulator in several groups of animals, including gastropods, crustaceans and mammals. In this study, we investigated the effects of NO on the swim motor program produced by isolated brains and by semi-intact preparations of the nudibranch Melibe leonina. The NO donors sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1 mmol l–1) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP, 1 mmol l–1) both had a marked effect on the swim motor program expressed in isolated brains, causing an increase in the period of the swim cycle and a more erratic swim rhythm. In semi-intact preparations, the effect of NO donors was manifested as a significant decrease in the rate of actual swimming. An NO scavenger, reduced oxyhemoglobin, eliminated the effects of NO donors on isolated brains, supporting the assumption that the changes in swimming induced by donors were actually due to NO. The cGMP analogue 8-bromoguanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (1 mmol l–1) produced effects that mimicked those of NO donors, suggesting that NO is working via a cGMP-dependent mechanism. These results, in combination with previous histological studies indicating the endogenous presence of nitric oxide synthase, suggest that NO is used in the central nervous system of Melibe leonina to modulate swimming