A study of the Gribov copies in linear covariant gauges in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories

The Gribov copies and their consequences on the infrared behavior of the gluon propagator are investigated in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories quantized in linear covariant gauges. Considering small values of the gauge parameter, it turns out that the transverse component of the gluon propagator is suppressed, while its longitudinal part is left unchanged. A Green function, G_{tr}, which displays infrared enhancement and which reduces to the ghost propagator in the Landau gauge is identified. The inclusion of the dimension two gluon condensate is also considered. In this case, the transverse component of the gluon propagator and the Green function G_{tr} remain suppressed and enhanced, respectively. Moreover, the longitudinal part of the gluon propagator becomes suppressed. A comparison with the results obtained from the studies of the Schwinger-Dyson equations and from lattice simulations is provided.Comment: 20 page

Nonperturbative ghost dynamics in the maximal Abelian gauge

We construct the effective potential for the ghost condensate in the maximal Abelian gauge. This condensate is an order parameter for a global continuous symmetry, which is spontaneously broken since a nonvanishing value of lowers the vacuum energy. The associated Goldstone mode turns out to be unphysical.Comment: 16 pages. v2: version accepted for publication in JHE

Predicting university performance in psychology: the role of previous performance and discipline-specific knowledge

Recent initiatives to enhance retention and widen participation ensure it is crucial to understand the factors that predict students' performance during their undergraduate degree. The present research used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test three separate models that examined the extent to which British Psychology students' A-level entry qualifications predicted: (1) their performance in years 1-3 of their Psychology degree, and (2) their overall degree performance. Students' overall A-level entry qualifications positively predicted performance during their first year and overall degree performance, but negatively predicted their performance during their third year. Additionally, and more specifically, students' A-level entry qualifications in Psychology positively predicted performance in the first year only. Such findings have implications for admissions tutors, as well as for students who have not studied Psychology before but who are considering applying to do so at university

One loop MSbar gluon pole mass from the LCO formalism

We compute the one loop corrections to the pole mass of the gluon in the MSbar scheme in the Landau gauge in both the Curci-Ferrari model and the local composite operator formalism with Nf flavours of massless quarks. For the latter we determine an estimate for the gluon mass using the effective potential of a local dimension two composite operator and find, for example, m_{gluon} = 2.10 Lambda_MSbar in Yang-Mills theory.Comment: 7 latex page

A determination of <A^2> and the non-perturbative vacuum energy of Yang-Mills theory in the Landau gauge

We discuss the 2-point-particle-irreducible (2PPI) expansion, which sums bubble graphs to all orders, in the context of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in the Landau gauge. Using the method we investigate the possible existence of a gluon condensate of mass dimension two, , and the corresponding non-zero vacuum energy. This condensate gives rise to a dynamically generated mass for the gluon.Comment: 12 pages, 3 eps figures; v2 : wrong use of "enhancement" instead of "suppression" corrected; v3: version accepted for publication in Phys.Lett.

Cow- and herd-level risk factors for lameness in partly housed pasture-based dairy cows

Lameness in dairy cows is a major animal welfare concern and has substantial economic impact through reduced production and fertility. Previous risk factor analyses have focused on housed systems, rather than those where cows were grazed for the majority of the year and housed only for the winter period. Therefore, the aim of this observational study was to identify a robust set of cow-level and herd-level risk factors for lameness in a pasture-based system, based on predictors from the housing and grazing periods. Ninety-nine farms were visited during the grazing period (April 2019–September 2019), and 85 farms were revisited during the housing period (October 2019–February 2020). At each visit, all lactating cows were scored for lameness (0 = good mobility, 1 = imperfect mobility, 2 = impaired mobility, 3 = severely impaired mobility), and potential herd-level risk factors were recorded through questionnaires and infrastructure measurements. Routine cow-level management data were also collected. Important risk factors for lameness were derived though triangulation of results from elastic net regression, and from logistic regression model selection using modified Bayesian information criterion. Both selection methods were implemented using bootstrapping. This novel approach has not previously been used in a cow-level or herd-level risk factor analysis in dairy cows, to the authors' knowledge. The binary outcome variable was lameness status, whereby cows with a lameness score of 0 or 1 were classed as non-lame and cows with a score of 2 or 3 were classed as lame. Cow-level risk factors for increased lameness prevalence were age and genetic predicted transmitting ability for lameness. Herd-level risk factors included farm and herd size, stones in paddock gateways, slats on cow tracks near the collecting yard, a sharper turn at the parlor exit, presence of digital dermatitis on the farm, and the farmers' perception of whether lameness was a problem on the farm. This large-scale study identified the most important associations between risk factors and lameness, based on the entire year (grazing and housing periods), providing a focus for future randomized clinical trials

Dynamical gluon mass generation from <A^2> in linear covariant gauges

We construct the multiplicatively renormalizable effective potential for the mass dimension two local composite operator A^2 in linear covariant gauges. We show that the formation of is energetically favoured and that the gluons acquire a dynamical mass due to this gluon condensate. We also discuss the gauge parameter independence of the resultant vacuum energy.Comment: 21 pages. 14 .eps figures. v2: minor modifications. v3: version accepted for publication in JHE

Three loop MSbar renormalization of QCD in the maximal abelian gauge

We determine the three loop anomalous dimensions of the quark, centre and off-diagonal gluons, centre and off-diagonal ghosts and the gauge fixing parameters in the maximal abelian gauge for an arbitrary colour group in the MSbar renormalization scheme at three loops. We show that the three loop MSbar beta-function emerges from the renormalization of the centre gluon and also deduce the anomalous dimension of the BRST invariant dimension two mass operator. Moreover, we demonstrate that in the limit that the dimension of the centre of the group tends to zero, the anomalous dimensions of the quarks, off-diagonal gluons and off-diagonal ghosts tend to those of the quarks, gluons and ghosts of the Curci-Ferrari gauge respectively.Comment: 25 latex page

The Gribov-Zwanziger action in the presence of the gauge invariant, nonlocal mass operator Tr∫d4xFμν(D2)−1FμνTr \int d^4x F_{\mu\nu} (D^2)^{-1} F_{\mu\nu} in the Landau gauge

We prove that the nonlocal gauge invariant mass dimension two operator $F_{\mu\nu} (D^2)^{-1} F_{\mu\nu}$ can be consistently added to the Gribov-Zwanziger action, which implements the restriction of the path integral's domain of integration to the first Gribov region when the Landau gauge is considered. We identify a local polynomial action and prove the renormalizability to all orders of perturbation theory by employing the algebraic renormalization formalism. Furthermore, we also pay attention to the breaking of the BRST invariance, and to the consequences that this has for the Slavnov-Taylor identity.Comment: 30 page

Remote detection of past habitability at Mars-analogue hydrothermal alteration terrains using an ExoMars Panoramic Camera emulator

JKH is funded by a Birkbeck University of London Graduate Teaching Assistantship. CRC is funded by a Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship co-funded by Marie Curie Actions. The Aberystwyth research leading to these results has been funded by the UK Space Agency, ExoMars Panoramic Camera (PanCam) Grant Nos. ST/G003114/1, ST/I002758/1, STL001454/1, and the UK Space Agency CREST2 PanCam-2020 research Grant No. ST/L00500X/1. Additional Aberystwyth funding has come from The European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013), Grant Agreement Nos. 21881 PRoVisG, 241523 PRoViScout, and Grant Agreement No. 312377 PRoViDE. PMG is funded by a UK Space Agency Aurora Fellowship (grants ST/J005215/1 and ST/L00254X/1).A major scientific goal of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars 2018 rover is to identify evidence of life within the martian rock record. Key to this objective is the remote detection of geological substrates that are indicative of past habitable environments, which will rely on visual (stereo wide-angle, and high resolution images) and multispectral (440–1000 nm) data produced by the Panoramic Camera (PanCam) instrument. We deployed a PanCam emulator at four hydrothermal sites in the Námafjall volcanic region of Iceland, a Mars-analogue hydrothermal alteration terrain. At these sites, sustained acidic–neutral aqueous interaction with basaltic substrates (crystalline and sedimentary) has produced phyllosilicate, ferric oxide, and sulfate-rich alteration soils, and secondary mineral deposits including gypsum veins and zeolite amygdales. PanCam emulator datasets from these sites were complemented with (i) NERC Airborne Research and Survey Facility aerial hyperspectral images of the study area; (ii) in situ reflectance spectroscopy (400–1000 nm) of PanCam spectral targets; (iii) laboratory X-ray Diffraction, and (iv) laboratory VNIR (350–2500 nm) spectroscopy of target samples to identify their bulk mineralogy and spectral properties. The mineral assemblages and palaeoenvironments characterised here are analogous to neutral–acidic alteration terrains on Mars, such as at Mawrth Vallis and Gusev Crater. Combined multispectral and High Resolution Camera datasets were found to be effective at capturing features of astrobiological importance, such as secondary gypsum and zeolite mineral veins, and phyllosilicate-rich substrates. Our field observations with the PanCam emulator also uncovered stray light problems which are most significant in the NIR wavelengths and investigations are being undertaken to ensure that the flight model PanCam cameras are not similarly affected.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe