89 research outputs found
Central bank digital currencies and financial stability
Most Central Banks in the world are currently considering - or at least studying - the
launch of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). For instance, on 14 July 2021
the European Central Bank decided to launch a two-year investigation phase of a
possible Digital Euro [European Central Bank (2021)]. Those announcements have
raised many expectations and also some concerns. There is a fear that once the
general public has easy access to the Central Bank balance sheet through electronic
means (in addition to physical banknotes), competition will increase on the deposit
taking activities of banks. This would compromise their funding, reduce their
profitability and destabilise their business models. The perspective of frequent and
ample bank runs would be very bad for financial stability.
These are legitimate concerns, especially in the euro area, where banks and bank
credit take a major role in financial intermediation. However, there is another side to
the issue. Central Bank money - and easy access to it - are crucial to financial
stability. Contemporary monetary systems are based on a close complementarity
between private and public money. CBDCs are necessary to preserve that equilibrium
in a rapidly transforming digital econom
Relativistic analysis of magnetoelectric crystals: extracting a new 4-dimensional P odd and T odd pseudoscalar from Cr_2 O_3 data
Earlier, the linear magnetoelectric effect of chromium sesquioxide Cr_2 O_3
has been determined experimentally as a function of temperature. One measures
the electric field-induced magnetization on Cr_2 O_3 crystals or the magnetic
field-induced polarization. From the magnetoelectric moduli of Cr_2 O_3 we
extract a 4-dimensional relativistic invariant pseudoscalar \tilde\alpha. It is
temperature dependent and of the order of ~ 10^{-4} Y_0, with Y_0 as vacuum
admittance. We show that the new pseudoscalar \tilde\alpha is odd under parity
transformation and odd under time inversion. Moreover, \tilde\alpha is for Cr_2
O_3 what Tellegen's gyrator is for two port theory, the axion field for axion
electrodynamics, and the PEMC (perfect electromagnetic conductor) for
electrical engineering.Comment: 6 pages latex, 3 figures, accepted by Physics Letters
Simulation of an optically induced asymmetric deformation of a liquid-liquid interface
Deformations of liquid interfaces by the optical radiation pressure of a
focused laser wave were generally expected to display similar behavior,
whatever the direction of propagation of the incident beam. Recent experiments
showed that the invariance of interface deformations with respect to the
direction of propagation of the incident wave is broken at high laser
intensities. In the case of a beam propagating from the liquid of smaller
refractive index to that of larger one, the interface remains stable, forming a
nipple-like shape, while for the opposite direction of propagation, an
instability occurs, leading to a long needle-like deformation emitting
micro-droplets. While an analytical model successfully predicts the equilibrium
shape of weakly deformed interface, very few work has been accomplished in the
regime of large interface deformations. In this work, we use the Boundary
Integral Element Method (BIEM) to compute the evolution of the shape of a
fluid-fluid interface under the effect of a continuous laser wave, and we
compare our numerical simulations to experimental data in the regime of large
deformations for both upward and downward beam propagation. We confirm the
invariance breakdown observed experimentally and find good agreement between
predicted and experimental interface hump heights below the instability
threshold
The Covid-19 pandemic and business law: a series of posts from the Oxford business law blog
The COVID-19 Pandemic is the biggest challenge for the world since World War Two, warned UN Secretary General, António Guterres, on 1 April 2020. Millions of lives may be lost. The threat to our livelihoods is extreme as well. Job losses worldwide may exceed 25 million. Legal systems are under extreme stress too. Contracts are disrupted, judicial services suspended, and insolvency procedures tested. Quarantine regulations threaten constitutional liberties. However, laws can also be a powerful tool to contain the effects of the pandemic on our lives and reduce its economic fallout. To achieve this goal, rules designed for normal times might need to be adapted to ‘crisis-mode’, at least temporarily. Business Laws in particular fulfil an important function in this context. Our livelihoods depend on how well businesses are able to navigate through the current crisis. Beginning in early February 2020, the Oxford Business Law Blog has published posts on how Business Laws could contribute to containing the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and on how they need (or need not) to be adapted to achieve the desired effect. This working paper collects the posts published throughout March in chronological order. Thematically, the focus is on finance, financial regulation and insolvency laws. This is not surprising as the most pressing problem businesses face right now is to manage their cash flow. We hope that the contributions in this paper inspire more work by scholars and help policymakers worldwide to adopt the right measures to reduce the damage caused by the Pandemic
Stretching and squeezing of sessile dielectric drops by the optical radiation pressure
We study numerically the deformation of sessile dielectric drops immersed in
a second fluid when submitted to the optical radiation pressure of a continuous
Gaussian laser wave. Both drop stretching and drop squeezing are investigated
at steady state where capillary effects balance the optical radiation pressure.
A boundary integral method is implemented to solve the axisymmetric Stokes flow
in the two fluids. In the stretching case, we find that the drop shape goes
from prolate to near-conical for increasing optical radiation pressure whatever
the drop to beam radius ratio and the refractive index contrast between the two
fluids. The semi-angle of the cone at equilibrium decreases with the drop to
beam radius ratio and is weakly influenced by the index contrast. Above a
threshold value of the radiation pressure, these "optical cones" become
unstable and a disruption is observed. Conversely, when optically squeezed, the
drop shifts from an oblate to a concave shape leading to the formation of a
stable "optical torus". These findings extend the electrohydrodynamics approach
of drop deformation to the much less investigated "optical domain" and reveal
the openings offered by laser waves to actively manipulate droplets at the
micrometer scale
General relativistic Sagnac formula revised
The Sagnac effect is a time or phase shift observed between two beams of
light traveling in opposite directions in a rotating interferometer. We show
that the standard description of this effect within the framework of general
relativity misses the effect of deflection of light due to rotational inertial
forces. We derive the necessary modification and demonstrate it through a
detailed analysis of the square Sagnac interferometer rotating about its
symmetry axis in Minkowski space-time. The role of the time shift in a Sagnac
interferometer in the synchronization procedure of remote clocks as well as its
analogy with the Aharanov-Bohm effect are revised.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Long-range correlations in non-equilibrium systems: Lattice gas automaton approach
In systems removed from equilibrium, intrinsic microscopic fluctuations
become correlated over distances comparable to the characteristic macroscopic
length over which the external constraint is exerted. In order to investigate
this phenomenon, we construct a microscopic model with simple stochastic
dynamics using lattice gas automaton rules that satisfy local detailed balance.
Because of the simplicity of the automaton dynamics, analytical theory can be
developed to describe the space and time evolution of the density fluctuations.
The exact equations for the pair correlations are solved explicitly in the
hydrodynamic limit. In this limit, we rigorously derive the results obtained
phenomenologically by fluctuating hydrodynamics. In particular, the spatial
algebraic decay of the equal-time fluctuation correlations predicted by this
theory is found to be in excellent agreement with the results of our lattice
gas automaton simulations for two different types of boundary conditions.
Long-range correlations of the type described here appear generically in
dynamical systems that exhibit large scale anisotropy and lack detailed
balance.Comment: 23 pages, RevTeX; to appear in Phys. Rev.
Relativistic nature of a magnetoelectric modulus of Cr_2O_3-crystals: a new 4-dimensional pseudoscalar and its measurement
Earlier, the magnetoelectric effect of chromium sesquioxide Cr_2O_3 has been
determined experimentally as a function of temperature. One measures the
electric field-induced magnetization on Cr_2O_3 crystals or the magnetic
field-induced polarization. From the magnetoelectric moduli of Cr_2O_3 we
extract a 4-dimensional relativistic invariant pseudoscalar
. It is temperature dependent and of the order of
10^{-4}/Z_0, with Z_0 as vacuum impedance. We show that the new pseudoscalar is
odd under parity transformation and odd under time inversion. Moreover,
is for Cr_2O_3 what Tellegen's gyrator is for two port
theory, the axion field for axion electrodynamics, and the PEMC (perfect
electromagnetic conductor) for electrical engineering.Comment: Revtex, 36 pages, 9 figures (submitted in low resolution, better
quality figures are available from the authors
Silencing of the Rotavirus NSP4 Protein Decreases the Incidence of Biliary Atresia in Murine Model
Biliary atresia is a common disease in neonates which causes obstructive jaundice and progressive hepatic fibrosis. Our previous studies indicate that rotavirus infection is an initiator in the pathogenesis of experimental biliary atresia (BA) through the induction of increased nuclear factor-kappaB and abnormal activation of the osteopontin inflammation pathway. In the setting of rotavirus infection, rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) serves as an important immunogen, viral protein 7 (VP7) is necessary in rotavirus maturity and viral protein 4 (VP4) is a virulence determiner. The purpose of the current study is to clarify the roles of NSP4, VP7 and VP4 in the pathogenesis of experimental BA. Primary cultured extrahepatic biliary epithelia were infected with Rotavirus (mmu18006). Small interfering RNA targeting NSP4, VP7 or VP4 was transfected before rotavirus infection both in vitro and in vivo. We analyzed the incidence of BA, morphological change, morphogenesis of viral particles and viral mRNA and protein expression. The in vitro experiments showed NSP4 silencing decreased the levels of VP7 and VP4, reduced viral particles and decreased cytopathic effect. NSP4-positive cells had strongly positive expression of integrin subunit α2. Silencing of VP7 or VP4 partially decreased epithelial injury. Animal experiments indicated after NSP4 silencing, mouse pups had lower incidence of BA than after VP7 or VP4 silencing. However, 33.3% of VP4-silenced pups (N = 6) suffered BA and 50% of pups (N = 6) suffered biliary injury after VP7 silencing. Hepatic injury was decreased after NSP4 or VP4 silencing. Neither VP4 nor VP7 were detected in the biliary ducts after NSP4. All together, NSP4 silencing down-regulates VP7 and VP4, resulting in decreased incidence of BA
Laser microfluidics: fluid actuation by light
The development of microfluidic devices is still hindered by the lack of
robust fundamental building blocks that constitute any fluidic system. An
attractive approach is optical actuation because light field interaction is
contactless and dynamically reconfigurable, and solutions have been anticipated
through the use of optical forces to manipulate microparticles in flows.
Following the concept of an 'optical chip' advanced from the optical actuation
of suspensions, we propose in this survey new routes to extend this concept to
microfluidic two-phase flows. First, we investigate the destabilization of
fluid interfaces by the optical radiation pressure and the formation of liquid
jets. We analyze the droplet shedding from the jet tip and the continuous
transport in laser-sustained liquid channels. In the second part, we
investigate a dissipative light-flow interaction mechanism consisting in
heating locally two immiscible fluids to produce thermocapillary stresses along
their interface. This opto-capillary coupling is implemented in adequate
microchannel geometries to manipulate two-phase flows and propose a contactless
optical toolbox including valves, droplet sorters and switches, droplet
dividers or droplet mergers. Finally, we discuss radiation pressure and
opto-capillary effects in the context of the 'optical chip' where flows,
channels and operating functions would all be performed optically on the same
device
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