457 research outputs found
The Cost of Stability in Coalitional Games
A key question in cooperative game theory is that of coalitional stability,
usually captured by the notion of the \emph{core}--the set of outcomes such
that no subgroup of players has an incentive to deviate. However, some
coalitional games have empty cores, and any outcome in such a game is unstable.
In this paper, we investigate the possibility of stabilizing a coalitional
game by using external payments. We consider a scenario where an external
party, which is interested in having the players work together, offers a
supplemental payment to the grand coalition (or, more generally, a particular
coalition structure). This payment is conditional on players not deviating from
their coalition(s). The sum of this payment plus the actual gains of the
coalition(s) may then be divided among the agents so as to promote stability.
We define the \emph{cost of stability (CoS)} as the minimal external payment
that stabilizes the game.
We provide general bounds on the cost of stability in several classes of
games, and explore its algorithmic properties. To develop a better intuition
for the concepts we introduce, we provide a detailed algorithmic study of the
cost of stability in weighted voting games, a simple but expressive class of
games which can model decision-making in political bodies, and cooperation in
multiagent settings. Finally, we extend our model and results to games with
coalition structures.Comment: 20 pages; will be presented at SAGT'0
organic crystals: superconducting versus antiferromagnetic instabilities in an anisotropic triangular lattice Hubbard model
A Hubbard model at half-filling on an anisotropic triangular lattice has been
proposed as the minimal model to describe conducting layers of
organic materials. The model interpolates between the
square lattice and decoupled chains. The materials
present many similarities with cuprates, such as the presence of unconventional
metallic properties and the close proximity of superconducting and
antiferromagnetic phases. As in the cuprates, spin fluctuations are expected to
play a crucial role in the onset of superconductivity. We perform a
weak-coupling renormalization-group analysis to show that a superconducting
instability occurs. Frustration in the antiferromagnetic couplings, which
arises from the underlying geometrical arrangement of the lattice, breaks the
perfect nesting of the square lattice at half-filling. The spin-wave
instability is suppressed and a superconducting instability predominates. For
the isotropic triangular lattice, there are again signs of long-range magnetic
order, in agreement with studies at strong-coupling.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figs, to appear in Can. J. Phys. (proceedings of the
Highly Frustrated Magnetism (HFM-2000) conference, Waterloo, Canada, June
2000
Distributions of flux vacua
We give results for the distribution and number of flux vacua of various
types, supersymmetric and nonsupersymmetric, in IIb string theory compactified
on Calabi-Yau manifolds. We compare this with related problems such as counting
attractor points.Comment: 43 pages, 7 figures. v2: improved discussion of finding vacua with
discrete flux, references adde
Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi model and accelerating expansion
I discuss the spherically symmetric but inhomogeneous Lemaitre-Tolman- Bondi
(LTB) metric, which provides an exact toy model for an inhomogeneous universe.
Since we observe light rays from the past light cone, not the expansion of the
universe, spatial variation in matter density and Hubble rate can have the same
effect on redshift as acceleration in a perfectly homogeneous universe. As a
consequence, a simple spatial variation in the Hubble rate can account for the
distant supernova data in a dust universe without any dark energy. I also
review various attempts towards a semirealistic description of the universe
based on the LTB model.Comment: Invited Review for a special Gen. Rel. Grav. issue on Dark Energy. 17
pages, 3 figure
Ultra-High Energy Neutrino Fluxes and Their Constraints
Applying our recently developed propagation code we review extragalactic
neutrino fluxes above 10^{14} eV in various scenarios and how they are
constrained by current data. We specifically identify scenarios in which the
cosmogenic neutrino flux, produced by pion production of ultra high energy
cosmic rays outside their sources, is considerably higher than the
"Waxman-Bahcall bound". This is easy to achieve for sources with hard injection
spectra and luminosities that were higher in the past. Such fluxes would
significantly increase the chances to detect ultra-high energy neutrinos with
experiments currently under construction or in the proposal stage.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, version published in Phys.Rev.
Cross-National Differences in Victimization : Disentangling the Impact of Composition and Context
Varying rates of criminal victimization across countries are assumed to be the outcome of countrylevel structural constraints that determine the supply ofmotivated o¡enders, as well as the differential composition within countries of suitable targets and capable guardianship. However, previous empirical tests of these ‘compositional’ and ‘contextual’ explanations of cross-national di¡erences
have been performed upon macro-level crime data due to the unavailability of comparable individual-level data across countries. This limitation has had two important consequences for cross-national crime research. First, micro-/meso-level mechanisms underlying cross-national differences cannot be truly inferred from macro-level data. Secondly, the e¡ects of contextual measures (e.g. income inequality) on crime are uncontrolled for compositional heterogeneity. In this
paper, these limitations are overcome by analysing individual-level victimization data across 18 countries from the International CrimeVictims Survey. Results from multi-level analyses on theft and violent victimization indicate that the national level of income inequality is positively related to risk, independent of compositional (i.e. micro- and meso-level) di¡erences. Furthermore, crossnational variation in victimization rates is not only shaped by di¡erences in national context, but
also by varying composition. More speci¢cally, countries had higher crime rates the more they consisted of urban residents and regions with lowaverage social cohesion.
Adsorption of mono- and multivalent cat- and anions on DNA molecules
Adsorption of monovalent and multivalent cat- and anions on a deoxyribose
nucleic acid (DNA) molecule from a salt solution is investigated by computer
simulation. The ions are modelled as charged hard spheres, the DNA molecule as
a point charge pattern following the double-helical phosphate strands. The
geometrical shape of the DNA molecules is modelled on different levels ranging
from a simple cylindrical shape to structured models which include the major
and minor grooves between the phosphate strands. The densities of the ions
adsorbed on the phosphate strands, in the major and in the minor grooves are
calculated. First, we find that the adsorption pattern on the DNA surface
depends strongly on its geometrical shape: counterions adsorb preferentially
along the phosphate strands for a cylindrical model shape, but in the minor
groove for a geometrically structured model. Second, we find that an addition
of monovalent salt ions results in an increase of the charge density in the
minor groove while the total charge density of ions adsorbed in the major
groove stays unchanged. The adsorbed ion densities are highly structured along
the minor groove while they are almost smeared along the major groove.
Furthermore, for a fixed amount of added salt, the major groove cationic charge
is independent on the counterion valency. For increasing salt concentration the
major groove is neutralized while the total charge adsorbed in the minor groove
is constant. DNA overcharging is detected for multivalent salt. Simulations for
a larger ion radii, which mimic the effect of the ion hydration, indicate an
increased adsorbtion of cations in the major groove.Comment: 34 pages with 14 figure
Treatable traits in the European U-BIOPRED adult asthma cohorts
No abstract availabl
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