Neutral color-spin locking phase in neutron stars

We present results for the spin-1 color-spin locking phase (CSL) using a NJL-type model in two flavor quark matter for compact stars applications. The CSL condensate is flavor symmetric and therefore charge and color neutrality can easily be satisfied. We find small energy gaps ~1 MeV, which make the CSL matter composition and the EoS not very different from the normal quark matter phase. We keep finite quark masses in our calculations and obtain no gapless modes that could have strong consequences in the late cooling of neutron stars. Finally, we show that the region of the phase diagram relevant for neutron star cores, when asymmetric flavor pairing is suppressed, could be covered by the CSL phase.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, contribution talk to the IVth International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics(QNP06), Madrid, Spain, 5-10 Jun 200

Color-Flavor Locking and Chiral Symmetry Breaking in High Density QCD

We propose a symmetry breaking scheme for QCD with three massless quarks at high baryon density wherein the color and flavor SU(3)_color times SU(3)_L times SU(3)_R symmetries are broken down to the diagonal subgroup SU(3)_{color+L+R} by the formation of a condensate of quark Cooper pairs. We discuss general properties that follow from this hypothesis, including the existence of gaps for quark and gluon excitations, the existence of Nambu-Goldstone bosons which are excitations of the diquark condensate, and the existence of a modified electromagnetic gauge interaction which is unbroken and which assigns integral charge to the elementary excitations. We present mean-field results for a Hamiltonian in which the interaction between quarks is modelled by that induced by single-gluon exchange. We find gaps of order 10-100 MeV for plausible values of the coupling. We discuss the effects of nonzero temperature, nonzero quark masses and instanton-induced interactions on our results.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX. Factors of 2 corrected, figs and tables updated accordingl

Mixed phases of color superconducting quark matter

We examine electrically and color neutral quark matter in beta-equilibrium focusing on the possibility of mixed phases between different color superconducting phases. To that end we apply the Gibbs criterion to ensure phase equilibrium and discuss the external conditions under which these mixed phases can occur. Neglecting surface and Coulomb effects we find a rich structure of different mixed phases with up to four components, including 2SC and CFL matter as well as more ``exotic'' components, like a phase with us- and ds-pairing but without ud-pairing. Preliminary estimates indicate, however, that the mixed phases become unstable if surface and Coulomb effects are included.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, v2: minor changes in the text, version to appear in Nucl. Phys.

E-Business Models In The Travel Industry

Drawing on recently published data, this report examines some of the trends in travel e-commerce. Using a case study approach, the author examines in detail some of the e-business models impacting on the travel industry both in the Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) markets. Although B2C leisure transactions currently account for just 1% of the value of global travel, there is real potential for future growth. However to be successful both new entrants and existing players will need to ensure their e-business model adds value for the customer, otherwise their position in the value chain will be threatened. The most immediate potential for growth and profitability lies in the B2B market, particularly in the development of vertical portals or community extranets. These are virtual spaces enabling travel buyers and suppliers to trade online. The integration of legacy systems with Internet Protocol (IP) technology is taking place across a range of travel sectors and will provide the platform on which a wide range of e-business applications can be developed. This development will lead to the ultimate catalyst for travel e-business -- the convergence of data (internet), voice (telephone) and video (television)

eCRM in the Travel Industry

We are bombarded with Internet forecasts and statistics every day, however there is little doubt that the Internet has permanently changed the face of travel promotion and distribution. While only a minority of consumers are actually prepared to buy online at the present time, this minority is growing and there are large numbers of consumers who wish to use the Internet for information and communication. Travel and hospitality companies are selling an information-rich product and will need to leverage the full range of offline and e-channels to engage their customers in dialogue. The Internet does not have any respect for geographic or organisational boundaries and companies will have to forge new business models, involving partnerships and customer-driven product design, in order to meet the needs of the online consumer. There are major challenges and opportunities for companies wishing to add the e to their CRM strategy

Color superconductivity: Continuity of quark and hadron matter, the role of the strange quark mass, and perturbative results

We summarize some recent results on the structure of QCD at very high baryon density.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in the proceedings of Quark Matter 9

Quenched Hadron Spectroscopy with Improved Actions

A variety of different combinations of improved gluon and fermion actions is tested for quenched hadron spectroscopyComment: 3 pages, latex, 4 figures, talk presented at the LATTICE9

On gap equations and color-flavor locking in cold dense QCD with three massless flavors

The superconductivity in cold dense QCD with three massless flavors is analyzed in the framework of the Schwinger-Dyson equation. The set of two coupled gap equations for the color antitriplet, flavor antitriplet (bar{3},bar{3}) and the color sextet, flavor sextet (6,6) order parameters is derived. It is shown that the antitriplet-antitriplet gives the dominant contribution to the color-flavor locked order parameter, while the sextet-sextet is small but nonzero.Comment: 9 pages, no figures, REVTe

Lower Courts and Constitutional Comparativism

The issue of constitutional comparativism has been a topic of significant commentary in recent years. However, there is one aspect of this subject that has been almost completely ignored by scholars: the reception, or lack thereof, of constitutional comparativism by state and lower federal courts. While the Supreme Court\u27s enthusiasm for constitutional comparativism has waxed and now waned, lower state and federal courts have remained resolutely agnostic about this new movement. This is of tremendous practical significance because over ninety-nine percent of all cases are resolved by lower state and federal courts. Accordingly, if the lower courts eschew constitutional comparativism, then this constitutes the rejection of a comparative interpretive methodology in virtually all cases. This article examines this issue in consideration of the related opinions of two leading constitutional law scholars, David Fontana (who favors the use of comparative material in lower courts) and Vicki Jackson (who opposes it)

Unlocking Color and Flavor in Superconducting Strange Quark Matter

We explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter with massless u and d quarks as a function of the strange quark mass m_s and the chemical potential mu for baryon number. Neglecting electromagnetism, we describe the different baryonic and quark matter phases at zero temperature. For quark matter, we support our model-independent arguments with a quantitative analysis of a model which uses a four-fermion interaction abstracted from single-gluon exchange. For any finite m_s, at sufficiently large mu we find quark matter in a color-flavor locked state which leaves a global vector-like SU(2)_{color+L+R} symmetry unbroken. As a consequence, chiral symmetry is always broken in sufficiently dense quark matter. As the density is reduced, for sufficiently large m_s we observe a first order transition from the color-flavor locked phase to a color superconducting phase analogous to that in two flavor QCD. At this unlocking transition chiral symmetry is restored. For realistic values of m_s our analysis indicates that chiral symmetry breaking may be present for all densities down to those characteristic of baryonic matter. This supports the idea that quark matter and baryonic matter may be continuously connected in nature. We map the gaps at the quark Fermi surfaces in the high density color-flavor locked phase onto gaps at the baryon Fermi surfaces at low densities.Comment: Latex with eps figures, 28 pages, minor corrections, references update