Gender-Job Satisfaction Differences across Europe: An Indicator for Labor Market Modernization

In 14 member states of the European Union, women's relative to men's levels of job satisfaction are compared by using data of the European Household Community Panel. The countries under consideration can be assigned to three different groups. Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands do not show significant gender-job satisfaction differences. In contrast, in Portugal men are more satisfied with their jobs than women. However, in the vast majority of the investigated countries female workers show a significantly higher level of job satisfaction. As the majority of women are disadvantaged compared to men in the labor market, the findings clearly demonstrate a gender-job satisfaction paradox in these countries. From this point of view, only Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands display gender-job satisfaction equality. The results suggest that objective (socio-economic and institutional) determinants of labor market statuses and subjective (assessed and evaluated) perspectives are mutually complementary. The more restrictive the labor market access and process is for women, the more likely a gender-job satisfaction paradox is to emerge in any country. With regard to the process of labor market modernization, the results support the hypotheses that equal opportunities for women and men like in Scandinavian countries and also partially in the Netherlands implicate that the gender-job satisfaction paradox does not appear anymore due to a fading-out process over past decades.Cross-national comparison; Gender-job satisfaction paradox; Labor supply; Labor market modernization

Chiral symmetry and strangeness at SIS energies

In this talk we review the consequences of the chiral SU(3) symmetry for strangeness propagation in nuclear matter. Objects of crucial importance are the meson-baryon scattering amplitudes obtained within the chiral coupled-channel effective field theory. Results for antikaon and hyperon-resonance spectral functions in cold nuclear matter are presented and discussed. The importance of the Sigma(1385) resonance for the subthreshold antikaon production in heavy-ion reaction at SIS is pointed out. The in-medium properties of the latter together with an antikaon spectral function based on chiral SU(3) dynamics suggest a significant enhancement of the pi \Lambda -> bar K N reaction in nuclear matter.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, invited talk at Erice 200

Nuclear spin-orbit interaction from chiral pion-nucleon dynamics

Using the two-loop approximation of chiral perturbation theory, we calculate the momentum and density dependent nuclear spin-orbit strength $U_{ls}(p,k_f)$. This quantity is derived from the spin-dependent part of the interaction energy $\Sigma_{spin} = {i\over 2} \vec \sigma \cdot (\vec q \times\vec p) U_{ls}(p,k_f)$ of a nucleon scattering off weakly inhomogeneous isospin symmetric nuclear matter. We find that iterated $1\pi$-exchange generates at saturation density, $k_{f0}=272.7$MeV, a spin-orbit strength at $p=0$ of $U_{ls}(0,k_{f0})\simeq 35$ MeVfm$^2$ in perfect agreement with the empirical value used in the shell model. This novel spin-orbit strength is neither of relativistic nor of short range origin. The potential $V_{ls}$ underlying the empirical spin-orbit strength $\widetilde U_{ls}= V_{ls} r_{ls}^2$ becomes a rather weak one, $V_{ls}\simeq 17$ MeV, after the identification $r_{ls}= m_\pi^{-1}$ as suggested by the present calculation. We observe however a strong $p$-dependence of $U_{ls}(p,k_{f0})$ leading even to a sign change above $p=200$MeV. This and other features of the emerging spin-orbit Hamiltonian which go beyond the usual shell model parametrization leave questions about the ultimate relevance of the spin-orbit interaction generated by $2\pi$-exchange for a finite nucleus. We also calculate the complex-valued isovector single-particle potential $U_I(p,k_f)+ i W_I(p,k_f)$ in isospin asymmetric nuclear matter proportional to $\tau_3 (N-Z)/(N+Z)$. For the real part we find reasonable agreement with empirical values and the imaginary part vanishes at the Fermi-surface $p=k_f$.Comment: 20 pages, 10 Figures, Accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics

Quasi-particle interaction in nuclear matter from chiral pion-nucleon dynamics

Based on a recent chiral approach to nuclear matter we calculate the in-medium interaction of nucleons at the Fermi surface $|\vec p_{1,2}|=k_f$. The isotropic part of this quasi-particle interaction is characterized by four density dependent (dimensionful) Fermi-liquid parameters: $f_0(k_f), f_0'(k_f), g_0(k_f)$ and $g_0'(k_f)$. In the approximation to $1\pi$-exchange and iterated $1\pi$-exchange (which as such leads already to a good nuclear matter equation of state) we find a spin-isospin interaction strength of $g_0'(2m_\pi) = 1.14$fm$^2$, compatible with existing empirical values. In the next step we include systematically the contributions from $2\pi$-exchange with virtual $\Delta(1232)$-isobar excitation which have been found important for good single-particle properties and spin-stability of nuclear matter. Without any additional short distance terms the spin-dependent Fermi-liquid parameters $g_0(k_{f0})$ and $g'_0(k_{f0})$ come out far too large. Estimates of these short-distance parameters from realistic NN-potentials go in the right direction, but sizeable enhancement factors are still needed to reproduce the empirical values of $g_0(k_{f0})$ and $g_0'(k_{f0})$. This points towards the importance of higher order iterations subsumed in the induced interaction. We consider also the tensor part of the quasi-nucleon interaction at the Fermi surface. In comparison to the leading $1\pi$-exchange tensor interaction we find from the $2\pi$-exchange corrections almost a doubling of the isoscalar tensor strength $h_0(k_f)$, whereas the isovector tensor strength $h_0'(k_f)$ is much less affected. These features are not changed by the inclusion of the chiral $\pi N\Delta$-dynamics.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Nuclear Physics A (2006

Female Labor Market Transitions in Europe

Using micro panel data, labor market transitions are analyzed for the EU-member states by cumulative year-by-year transition probabilities. As female (non-)employment patterns changed more dramatically than male employment in past decades, the analyses mainly refer to female labor supply. In search for important determinants of these transitions, six EU-countries with different labor market-regimes are selected as examples (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, UK). Within these countries, women's determinants of labor market transitions are compared by means of pooled multinominal logit-regressions. The outcomes hint at both, the importance of socio-economic determinants, like the life cycle or human capital, but also address gender related differences in the paths of labor market transitions. Clearly, the observed cross-national differences are driven by specific national institutional settings. Among others, one of the most crucial features is the day-care infrastructure concerning children, which either fosters or restricts a sustainable risk management between family and work in the respective countries.labor supply, labor market transitions, socio-economic determinants, institutional settings, risk management, cross-national comparison

On baryon resonances and chiral symmetry

We study J^P=(3/2)^- baryon resonances as generated by chiral coupled-channel dynamics. Parameter free results are obtained in terms of the Weinberg-Tomozawa term predicting the leading s-wave interaction strength of Goldstone bosons with baryon-decuplet states. In the 'heavy' SU(3) limit with m_\pi = m_K \sim 500 MeV the resonances turn into bound states forming a decuplet and octet representation of the SU(3) group. Using physical masses the mass splitting are remarkably close to the empirical pattern.Comment: revised version: includes two additional references, gives improved discussions and eliminted some misprint

Scales in nuclear matter: Chiral dynamics with pion nucleon form factors

A systematic calculation of nuclear matter is performed which includes the long-range correlations between nucleons arising from one- and two-pion exchange. Three-body effects from $2\pi$-exchange with excitations of virtual $\Delta(1232)$-isobars are also taken into account in our diagrammatic calculation of the energy per particle $\bar E(k_f)$. In order to eliminate possible high-momentum components from the interactions we introduce at each pion-baryon vertex a form factor of monopole type. The empirical nuclear matter saturation point, $\rho_0 \simeq 0.16$fm$^{-3}$, $\bar E_0\simeq -16$MeV, is well reproduced with a monopole mass of $\Lambda \simeq 4\pi f_\pi \simeq 1.16$GeV. As in the recent approach based on the universal low-momentum $NN$-potential $V_{\rm low-k}$, the inclusion of three-body effects is crucial in order to achieve saturation of nuclear matter. We demonstrate that the dependence of the pion-exchange contributions to $\bar E(k_f)$ on the ''resolution'' scale $\Lambda$ can be compensated over a wide range of $\Lambda$ by counterterms with two ''running'' contact-couplings. As a further application we study the in-medium chiral condensate $(\rho)$ beyond the linear density approximation. For $\rho \leq 1.5 \rho_0$ we find small corrections from the derivative $d \bar E(k_f)/d m_\pi$, which are stable against variations of the monopole regulator mass $\Lambda$.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

The in-medium KˉN\bar K N interaction within a chiral unitary approach

The s- and p-wave contributions to the $\bar K N$ interaction in dense nuclear matter are obtained using a chiral unitary approach. We perform a self-consistent calculation of the $\bar K$ self-energy including Pauli blocking effects, meson self-energies modified by short-range correlations and baryon binding potentials. We find that the on-shell factorization cannot be applied to evaluate the in-medium corrections to p-wave amplitudes. Furthermore, the $\Lambda$ and $\Sigma$ develop a mass shift of -30 MeV at saturation density while the $\Sigma^*$ width increases to 80 MeV. We conclude that no deep and narrow $\bar K$ bound states could be observed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the Yukawa International Seminar (YKIS2006) on "New Frontiers on QCD", Kyoto, Japan, November 20-December 8, 200

Nuclear Many-Body Dynamics constrained by QCD and Chiral Symmetry

We present a novel description of nuclear many-body systems, both for nuclear matter and finite nuclei, emphasizing the connection with the condensate structure of the QCD ground state and spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. Lorentz scalar and vector mean-fields are introduced in accordance with QCD sum rules. Nuclear binding arises from pionic fluctuations, using in-medium chiral perturbation theory up to three-loop order. Ground state properties of $^{16}$O and $^{40}$Ca are calculated. The built-in QCD constraints reduce the number of input parameters significantly in comparison with purely phenomenological relativistic mean-field approaches.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to be published in European Physical Journal

Antikaon interactions with nucleons and nuclei

This report summarizes our understanding of antikaon-nucleon interactions and reviews the present theoretical situation in the quest for quasibound antikaon-nuclear systems.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings Int. Conf. on Hypernuclear and Strange Particle Physics, Sept. 14-18, 2009, Tokai, Japa