5,862 research outputs found
Cooperative Performance and Board of Director Characteristics: A Quantitative Investigation
Previous cooperative governance literature has relied primarily on qualitative data to recommend change. Using data provided by the USDA-Rural Business and Cooperative Services Agency (RBS) and collected from cooperative top managers we find statistical evidence that various board of director characteristics do affect a range of cooperative financial measures.governance, finance, Agribusiness,
Collective pairing of resonantly coupled microcavity polaritons
We consider the possible phases of microcavity polaritons tuned near a
bipolariton Feshbach resonance. We show that, as well as the regular polariton
superfluid phase, a "molecular" superfluid exists, with (quasi-)long-range
order only for pairs of polaritons. We describe the experimental signatures of
this state. Using variational approaches we find the phase diagram (critical
temperature, density and exciton-photon detuning). Unlike ultracold atoms, the
molecular superfluid is not inherently unstable, and our phase diagram suggests
it is attainable in current experiments.Comment: paper (4 pages, 3 figures), Supplemental Material (7 pages, 8
figures
Universality in modelling non-equilibrium pattern formation in polariton condensates
The key to understanding the universal behaviour of systems driven away from
equilibrium lies in the common description obtained when particular microscopic
models are reduced to order parameter equations. Universal order parameter
equations written for complex matter fields are widely used to describe systems
as different as Bose-Einstein condensates of ultra cold atomic gases, thermal
convection, nematic liquid crystals, lasers and other nonlinear systems.
Exciton-polariton condensates recently realised in semiconductor microcavities
are pattern forming systems that lie somewhere between equilibrium
Bose-Einstein condensates and lasers. Because of the imperfect confinement of
the photon component, exciton-polaritons have a finite lifetime, and have to be
continuously re-populated. As photon confinement improves, the system more
closely approximates an equilibrium system. In this chapter we review a number
of universal equations which describe various regimes of the dynamics of
exciton-polariton condensates: the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which models
weakly interacting equilibrium condensates, the complex Ginsburg-Landau
equation---the universal equation that describes the behaviour of systems in
the vicinity of a symmetry--breaking instability, and the complex
Swift-Hohenberg equation that in comparison with the complex Ginsburg-Landau
equation contains additional nonlocal terms responsible for spacial mode
selection. All these equations can be derived asymptotically from a generic
laser model given by Maxwell-Bloch equations. Such an universal framework
allows the unified treatment of various systems and continuously cross from one
system to another. We discuss the relevance of these equations, and their
consequences for pattern formation.Comment: 19 pages; Chapter to appear in Springer&Verlag book on "Quantum
Fluids: hot-topics and new trends" eds. A. Bramati and M. Modugn
Exact and approximate moment closures for non-Markovian network epidemics
Moment-closure techniques are commonly used to generate low-dimensional
deterministic models to approximate the average dynamics of stochastic systems
on networks. The quality of such closures is usually difficult to asses and the
relationship between model assumptions and closure accuracy are often
difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. Here we carefully examine some
commonly used moment closures, in particular a new one based on the concept of
maximum entropy, for approximating the spread of epidemics on networks by
reconstructing the probability distributions over triplets based on those over
pairs. We consider various models (SI, SIR, SEIR and Reed-Frost-type) under
Markovian and non-Markovian assumption characterising the latent and infectious
periods. We initially study two special networks, namely the open triplet and
closed triangle, for which we can obtain analytical results. We then explore
numerically the exactness of moment closures for a wide range of larger motifs,
thus gaining understanding of the factors that introduce errors in the
approximations, in particular the presence of a random duration of the
infectious period and the presence of overlapping triangles in a network. We
also derive a simpler and more intuitive proof than previously available
concerning the known result that pair-based moment closure is exact for the
Markovian SIR model on tree-like networks under pure initial conditions. We
also extend such a result to all infectious models, Markovian and
non-Markovian, in which susceptibles escape infection independently from each
infected neighbour and for which infectives cannot regain susceptible status,
provided the network is tree-like and initial conditions are pure. This works
represent a valuable step in deepening understanding of the assumptions behind
moment closure approximations and for putting them on a more rigorous
mathematical footing.Comment: Main text (45 pages, 11 figures and 3 tables) + supplementary
material (12 pages, 10 figures and 1 table). Accepted for publication in
Journal of Theoretical Biology on 27th April 201
Lessons in Failure: The Rice Growers Association Cooperative
This empirical study investigates a large California cooperative's closure and identifies lessons learned that might be useful to other cooperatives. It was found that the cooperative's directors failed to effectively supervise management. In turn, management fell short of expectations to fully evaluate complex business decisions.Agribusiness,
Industry Leaders' Perspectives on Communicating the Cooperative Value Package
Communication, Cooperatives, Value Package, Agribusiness, Q13, P13,
Collective Dynamics of Bose--Einstein Condensates in Optical Cavities
Recent experiments on Bose--Einstein condensates in optical cavities have
reported a quantum phase transition to a coherent state of the matter-light
system -- superradiance. The time dependent nature of these experiments demands
consideration of collective dynamics. Here we establish a rich phase diagram,
accessible by quench experiments, with distinct regimes of dynamics separated
by non-equilibrium phase transitions. We include the key effects of cavity
leakage and the back-reaction of the cavity field on the condensate. Proximity
to some of these phase boundaries results in critical slowing down of the decay
of many-body oscillations. Notably, this slow decay can be assisted by large
cavity losses. Predictions include the frequency of collective oscillations, a
variety of multi-phase co-existence regions, and persistent optomechanical
oscillations described by a damped driven pendulum. These findings open new
directions to study collective dynamics and non-equilibrium phase transitions
in matter-light systems.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Quench dynamics of a disordered array of dissipative coupled cavities
We investigate the mean-field dynamics of a system of interacting photons in
an array of coupled cavities in presence of dissipation and disorder. We follow
the evolution of on an initially prepared Fock state, and show how the
interplay between dissipation and disorder affects the coherence properties of
the cavity emission and that these properties can be used as signatures of the
many-body phase of the whole array.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, new reference adde
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