Ising models on the Regularized Apollonian Network

We investigate the critical properties of Ising models on a Regularized Apollonian Network (RAN), here defined as a kind of Apollonian Network (AN) in which the connectivity asymmetry associated to its corners is removed. Different choices for the coupling constants between nearest neighbors are considered, and two different order parameters are used to detect the critical behaviour. While ordinary ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic models on RAN do not undergo a phase transition, some anti-ferrimagnetic models show an interesting infinite order transition. All results are obtained by an exact analytical approach based on iterative partial tracing of the Boltzmann factor as intermediate steps for the calculation of the partition function and the order parameters.

Solvable model for template coexistence in protocells

Compartmentalization of self-replicating molecules (templates) in protocells is a necessary step towards the evolution of modern cells. However, coexistence between distinct template types inside a protocell can be achieved only if there is a selective pressure favoring protocells with a mixed template composition. Here we study analytically a group selection model for the coexistence between two template types using the diffusion approximation of population genetics. The model combines competition at the template and protocell levels as well as genetic drift inside protocells. At the steady state, we find a continuous phase transition separating the coexistence and segregation regimes, with the order parameter vanishing linearly with the distance to the critical point. In addition, we derive explicit analytical expressions for the critical steady-state probability density of protocell compositions.

Malagasy Dialects and the Peopling of Madagascar

The origin of Malagasy DNA is half African and half Indonesian, nevertheless the Malagasy language, spoken by the entire population, belongs to the Austronesian family. The language most closely related to Malagasy is Maanyan (Greater Barito East group of the Austronesian family), but related languages are also in Sulawesi, Malaysia and Sumatra. For this reason, and because Maanyan is spoken by a population which lives along the Barito river in Kalimantan and which does not possess the necessary skill for long maritime navigation, the ethnic composition of the Indonesian colonizers is still unclear. There is a general consensus that Indonesian sailors reached Madagascar by a maritime trek, but the time, the path and the landing area of the first colonization are all disputed. In this research we try to answer these problems together with other ones, such as the historical configuration of Malagasy dialects, by types of analysis related to lexicostatistics and glottochronology which draw upon the automated method recently proposed by the authors cite{Serva:2008, Holman:2008, Petroni:2008, Bakker:2009}. The data were collected by the first author at the beginning of 2010 with the invaluable help of Joselin`a Soafara Nere and consist of Swadesh lists of 200 items for 23 dialects covering all areas of the Island.