Parton propagation in a gluon field

The phenomenological success of PQCD is based on processes where the effects of the color field environment on parton propagation can be eliminated or is universal. In hard diffraction and quarkonium production the PQCD subprocess is the same as in fully inclusive scattering, but the sensitivity to reinteractions is different. I discuss how this may be exploited to give new information on the dynamics of hard collisions.     

The phase diagram of a single polymer chain: New insights from a new simulation method

We present simulation results for the phase behavior of a single chain for a flexible lattice polymer model using the Wang-Landau sampling idea. Applying this new algorithm to the problem of the homopolymer collapse allows us to investigate not only the high temperature coil–globule transition but also an ensuing crystallization at lower temperature. Performing a finite size scaling analysis on the two transitions, we show that they coincide for our model in the thermodynamic limit corresponding to a direct collapse of the random coil into the crystal without intermediate coil–globule transition. As a consequence, also the many chain phase diagram of this model can be predicted to consist only of gas and crystal phase in the limit of infinite chain length. This behavior is in agreement with findings on the phase behavior of hard-sphere systems with a relatively short-ranged attractive square well. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2542–2555, 2006     

Practical syntheses of [1,3,5]‐triazine dendritic molecules on solid supports

A practical and divergent synthesis of supported [1,3,5]‐triazine dendritic molecules on Wang resin, PEGA resin, SynPhase? Lanterns, and silica gel is described. The alkylamine linkers used allow derivatization with functionality for both synthetic (e.g., supported reagent and scavenger activity) and chemical biology applications. The use of supported intermediates allows differentiation of symmetric linkers without the need for protecting group chemistry. The synthetic route uses inexpensive, readily available starting materials in a straightforward and scaleable strategy. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2248–2259, 2006     

Entropic criterion for model selection

Model or variable selection is usually achieved through ranking models according to the increasing order of preference. One of methods is applying Kullback–Leibler distance or relative entropy as a selection criterion. Yet that will raise two questions, why use this criterion and are there any other criteria. Besides, conventional approaches require a reference prior, which is usually difficult to get. Following the logic of inductive inference proposed by Caticha [Relative entropy and inductive inference, in: G. Erickson, Y. Zhai (Eds.), Bayesian Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering, AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 707, 2004 (available from arXiv.org/abs/physics/0311093)], we show relative entropy to be a unique criterion, which requires no prior information and can be applied to different fields. We examine this criterion by considering a physical problem, simple fluids, and results are promising.     

Di-jet shape modification in heavy ion collisions

We present preliminary results from intermediate p _T(1–5 GeV/c) di-hadron azimuthal correlations induced by hadronic di-jets produced in AuAu collisions at √s _NN =200 GeV. The near-side (Δ?～0) has a typical singlepeaked structure which broadens with the centrality of the collision. A qualitatively new phenomenon shows up in the shape of the away-side (Δ?～π): it has a symmetric, double-peaked structure in central and mid-central collisions.     

When maths really is rocket science

Two problems in projectiles are discussed which generate interestingloci.