SODA WARS: THE EFFECT OF A SODA TAX ELECTION ON UNIVERSITY BEVERAGE SALES

We examine how soda sales changed due to the campaign attention and election outcome of a local excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Using panel data of beverage sales from university retailers in Berkeley, California, we estimate that soda purchases relative to control beverages significantly dropped immediately after the election, months before the tax was implemented in the city of Berkeley or on campus. Supplemental scanner data from off-campus retailers reveal this result is not unique to the university setting. Our findings suggest soda tax media coverage and election outcomes can have larger effects on purchasing behavior than the tax itself. (JEL D12, H20, C23, I38, Q18)

Revised Huang-Yang multipolar pseudopotential

A number of authors have recently pointed out inconsistencies of results obtained with the Huang-Yang multipolar pseudo-potential for low-energy scattering [K. Huang and K. C. Yang, Phys. Rev. A, v 105, 767 (1957); later revised in K. Huang, ``Statistical Mechanics'', (Wiley, New York, 1963)]. The conceptual validity of their original derivation has been questioned. Here I show that these inconsistencies are rather due to an {\em algebraic} mistake made by Huang and Yang. With the corrected error, I present the revised version of the multipolar pseudo-potential

Ice core paleovolcanic records from the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada

We previously reported a record of regionally significant volcanic eruptions in the North Pacific using an ice core from Eclipse Icefield (St. Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada). The acquisition of two new ice cores from Eclipse Icefield, along with the previously available Eclipse Icefield and Mount Logan Northwest Col ice cores, allows us to extend our record of North Pacific volcanism to 550 years before present using a suite of four ice cores spanning an elevation range of 3–5 km. Comparison of volcanic sulfate flux records demonstrates that the results are highly reproducible, especially for the largest eruptions such as Katmai (A.D. 1912). Correlation of volcanic sulfate signals with historically documented eruptions indicates that at least one-third of the eruptions recorded in St. Elias ice cores are from Alaskan and Kamchatkan volcanoes. Although there are several moderately large (volcanic explosivity index (VEI) ≥ 4) eruptions recorded in only one core from Eclipse Icefield, the use of multiple cores provides signals in at least one core from all known VEI ≥ 4 eruptions in Alaska and Kamchatka since A.D. 1829. Tephrochronological evidence from the Eclipse ice cores documents eruptions in Alaska (Westdahl, Redoubt, Trident, and Katmai), Kamchatka (Avachinsky, Kliuchevoskoi, and Ksudach), and Iceland (Hekla). Several unidentified tephra-bearing horizons, with available geochemical evidence suggesting Alaskan and Kamchatkan sources, were also found. We present a reconstruction of annual volcanic sulfate loading for the North Pacific troposphere based on our ice core data, and we provide a detailed assessment of the atmospheric and climatic effects of the Katmai eruption

Ice core evidence for a second volcanic eruption around 1809 in the Northern Hemisphere

A volcanic signal observed in ice cores from both polar regions six years prior to Tambora is attributed to an unknown tropical eruption in 1809. Recovery of dacitic tephra from the 1809 horizon in a Yukon ice core (Eclipse) that is chemically distinct from andesitic 1809 tephra found in Antarctic ice cores indicates a second eruption in the Northern Hemisphere at this time. Together with the similar magnitude and timing of the 1809 volcanic signal in the Arctic and Antarctic, this could suggest a large tropical eruption produced the sulfate and Antarctic tephra and a minor Northern Hemisphere eruption produced the Eclipse tephra. Nonetheless, the possibility that there were coincidental eruptions of similar magnitude in both hemispheres, rather than a single tropical eruption, should not be discounted. Correctly attributing the source of the 1809 volcanic signal has important implications for modeling the magnitude and latitudinal distribution of volcanic radiative forcing

Brownian Motion Model of Quantization Ambiguity and Universality in Chaotic Systems

We examine spectral equilibration of quantum chaotic spectra to universal statistics, in the context of the Brownian motion model. Two competing time scales, proportional and inversely proportional to the classical relaxation time, jointly govern the equilibration process. Multiplicity of quantum systems having the same semiclassical limit is not sufficient to obtain equilibration of any spectral modes in two-dimensional systems, while in three-dimensional systems equilibration for some spectral modes is possible if the classical relaxation rate is slow. Connections are made with upper bounds on semiclassical accuracy and with fidelity decay in the presence of a weak perturbation.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys Rev

Exact Vacuum Energy of Orbifold Lattice Theories

We investigate the orbifold lattice theories constructed from supersymmetric Yang-Mills matrix theories (mother theories) with four and eight supercharges. We show that the vacuum energy of these theories does not receive any quantum correction perturbatively.Comment: 14 pages, no figure, LaTeX2e, typos corrected, errors in references corrected, comments adde

Poynting Vector Flow in a Circular Circuit

A circuit is considered in the shape of a ring, with a battery of negligible size and a wire of uniform resistance. A linear charge distribution along the wire maintains an electrostatic field and a steady current, which produces a constant magnetic field. Earlier studies of the Poynting vector and the rate of flow of energy considered only idealized geometries in which the Poynting vector was confined to the space within the circuit. But in more realistic cases the Poynting vector is nonzero outside as well as inside the circuit. An expression is obtained for the Poynting vector in terms of products of integrals, which are evaluated numerically to show the energy flow. Limiting expressions are obtained analytically. It is shown that the total power generated by the battery equals the energy flowing into the wire per unit time.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

A Lattice Formulation of Super Yang-Mills Theories with Exact Supersymmetry

We construct super Yang-Mills theories with extended supersymmetry on hypercubic lattices of various dimensions keeping one or two supercharges exactly. Gauge fields are represented by ordinary unitary link variables, and the exact supercharges are nilpotent up to gauge transformations. Among the models, we show that the desired continuum theories are obtained without any fine tuning of parameters for the cases ${\cal N}=2, 4, 8$ in two-dimensions.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX, (v2) problem on degenerate vacua discussed, renormalization arguments modified, (v3) explanations and references added, published version in JHE