Spatial 't Hooft loop to cubic order in hot QCD

Spatial 't Hooft loops of strength k measure the qualitative change in the behaviour of electric colour flux in confined and deconfined phase of SU (N) gauge theory. They show an area law in the deconfined phase, known analytica lly to two loop order with a ``k-scaling'' law k(N-k). In this paper we comput e the O(g^3) correction to the tension. It is due to neutral gluon fields that get their mass through interaction with the wall. The simple k-scaling is lost in cubic order. The generic problem of non-convexity shows up in this order an d the cure is provided. The result for large N is explicitely given. We show tha t nonperturbative effects appear at O(g^5).Comment: 22 pages. Apart from a discussion on the renormalization effect of the Polyakov loop to cubic order only cosmetic changes with respect to the earlier hep-ph/021229

The diversity of organisational forms in banking: France, Italy and Spain 1900-2000

This paper examines, from a historical perspective, the gradual entrance into the market of mutual and not for profit banks (specifically cooperative banks and savings banks), their continually increasing competitiveness with traded banks in France, Italy and Spain. In all three countries, these institutions played an important role in the retail banking sector. Special attention will be devoted to analysing the different models of adjustment adopted by the banking systems in the south of Europe in the wake of the deregulating process undertaken in the last quarter of the twentieth century. In summary, then, this paper is an attempt to identify the historical factors responsible for the persistence, or disappearance, of certain idiosyncratic aspects of the banking system in each country, together with the various adjustments produced in each case.banks, savings banks, co-operative banks, comparative banking systems, France, Spain, Italy

Governance in Spanish Savings Banks. A Historical Perspective

During the previous three decades, mutual financial firms have been experiencing a process of demutualization, and some of the non-for-profit banks have become publicly listed companies. Hence, the persistence of the Spanish Savings Banks constitutes an interesting case study. In line with recent literature, this paper attempts to reach a better understanding of the factors that have contributed to the persistence of these entities in the long run and to the maintenance of a very specific model of corporate governance. Regulatory influences, politics and political institutions have proved to be key elements of a model which has proved capable of delivering successful outcomes in increasingly competitive conditions. Nonetheless, the financial crisis would seem to have exacerbated the stresses and strains within this model and, in combination with the pressure of increasingly globalized markets, the Spanish Savings Banks find themselves in a new scenario.corporate governance; stakeholder regime; savings banks

Interfaces in hot gauge theory

The string tension at low T and the free energy of domain walls at high T can be computed from one and the same observable. We show by explicit calculation that domain walls in hot Z(2) gauge theory have good thermodynamical behaviour. This is due to roughening of the wall, which expresses the restoration of translational symmetry.Comment: Contributed paper to the proceedings of the second workshop on Continuous Advances in QCD, ITP, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, March 28-31, 1996. 11 pages, figures and style file are appended in uuencoded gzip.tar.fil

Cubic order for spatial 't Hooft loop in hot QCD

Spatial 't Hooft loops of strength k measure the qualitative change in the behaviour of electric colour flux in confined and deconfined phase of SU(N) gauge theory. They show an area law in the deconfined phase, known analytically to two loop order with a ``k-scaling'' law k(N-k). In this paper we compute the O(g^3) correction to the tension. It is due to neutral gluon fields that get their mass through interaction with the wall. The simple k-scaling is lost in cubic order. The generic problem of non-convexity shows up in this order. The result for large N is explicitely given.Comment: 5 pages, appears in the proceedings of SEWM200

Spatial 't Hooft loop to cubic order in hot QCD II

In this paper we provide an exact formula for the area law of the 't Hooft loop for any SU(N) gauge group to cubic order in hot gauge theory. The correction is very small for all temperatures above $T_c$, in stark contrast to the cubic correction to the pressure. The gradient approximation in a previous paper, only valid for large N, is in excellent agreement with the present, exact evalution. Comparison to lattice data is good. Casimir scaling is violated by a small amount not yet resolved by the precision of lattice data.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Nucl. Phys. B. Minor changes mad