On Normal ordering and Canonical transformations in Thermal Field Theory

We look at a real scalar field in thermal equilibrium in the context of the new normal ordering and field split defined by Evans and Steer. We show that the field split defines a natural canonical transformation, but that this transformation differs from others known in thermal field theory.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX. (Revisions made to discussion and various small errors in equations corrected

Light from Cosmic Strings

The time-dependent metric of a cosmic string leads to an effective interaction between the string and photons - the "gravitational Aharonov-Bohm" effect -- and causes cosmic strings to emit light. We evaluate the radiation of pairs of photons from cosmic strings and find that the emission from cusps, kinks and kink-kink collisions occurs with a flat spectrum at all frequencies up to the string scale. Further, cusps emit a beam of photons, kinks emit along a curve, and the emission at a kink-kink collision is in all directions. The emission of light from cosmic strings could provide an important new observational signature of cosmic strings that is within reach of current experiments for a range of string tensions.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Gravitational Wave Bursts from Cosmic Superstrings with Y-junctions

Cosmic superstring loops generically contain strings of different tensions that meet at Y-junctions. These loops evolve non-periodically in time, and have cusps and kinks that interact with the junctions. We study the effect of junctions on the gravitational wave signal emanating from cosmic string cusps and kinks. We find that earlier results on the strength of individual bursts from cusps and kinks on strings without junctions remain largely unchanged, but junctions give rise to additional contributions to the gravitational wave signal coming from strings expanding at the speed of light at a junction and kinks passing through a junction.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Economies of Scale and Scope in Network Industries: Lessons for the UK water and sewerage sectors

Many studies of the water and sewerage industries place significant importance on the benefits of economies of scale and scope and how these relate to vertically integrated firms. We have re-examined the early literature on scale and scope economies and find that these studies do not implicitly preclude non-integrated firms from fully utilising assets for multi-product activities; they can still reap scope economies through trading in the open market. Further, we demonstrate difficulties in separating these two types of economies when assessing firm performance. Trade-offs between governance and production costs are a key issue in determining the value of vertically integrated firms that may undergo divestiture. We discuss the present policy debate regarding the optimal structure of the water and sewerage markets in England and Wales in the light of this, and recommend avenues of research that will help determine the optimal policy

Local energy policy and managing low carbon transition: the case of Leicester, UK

National and local energy policies are implemented within a complex energy landscape that makes any evaluation of their impacts far from straightforward. Drawing upon a case study of Leicester this paper argues that the ability of local authorities to deliver significant energy savings within this landscape is questionable, albeit with other additional benefits being realised (e.g. job creation, community engagement). It examines existing domestic energy demand and multiple deprivation data for Leicester and neighbouring cities and combines this with a qualitative description of the transition process. The paper identifies the need for a more systematic analysis of how national energy policy translates to the local level and concludes that it is problematic even for a leading, pro-active and innovative local authority to have a statistically meaningful energy policy. Even where energy policies are favourable, carbon reduction is less easy to realise than other – more local - co-benefits and that in the light of significant financial and co-ordination constraints more attention needs to be given to how local communities can be more effectively supported in their desire to meet (or exceed) national targets.We acknowledge the financial assistance of the EPSRC Flexnet award (EP/E0411X/1) and all of the Leicester based contributors to the project, as well as the very helpful comments of two anonymous referees; the usual disclaimers apply

Monolithic Implementation of a Planar Gunn Diode and a pHEMT

No abstract available

Local Energy Policy and Managing the Low Carbon Transition: The Case of Leicester

This paper seeks to provide insights into the links between the local and national energy policy. Leicester City Council has sought to take a leadership role on implementing innovative energy policies within their city. consequently, this paper investigates the impact of national and local energy policy in Leicester. It examines the consumption of energy within city, the network of players within energy policy and two flagship aspects of the policy the district heating scheme and the use of smart metering. The paper concludes that energy policy looks very different at local and national levels

A survey of cardinalfish (Apogonidae) of Antsiranana Bay, northern Madagascar

The cardinalfish of Antsiranana Bay, northern Madagascar, were surveyed over an 11 month period by underwater census employing a simple search pattern using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. Over this period 15 species were observed including one species not previously recorded in Madagascar, Siphamia versicolor. Whilst some species were ubiquitous across sites within the bay others appeared only as single records. Cardinalfish communities were compared between sites within the bay using PRIMER 6 (Plymouth Routines In Multivariate Ecological Research) and on a national scale against existing records. Overall the species richness of cardinalfish in Antsiranana Bay is less than that observed in other regions of Madagascar. The reasons behind these regional variations include oceanic currents, temperature, depth, disturbance and sedimentation, a recognised threat to Madagascar’s marine communities. This final point was reaffirmed by comparison of cardinalfish communities between sites within the bay which revealed little variation in species composition between sites, with the exception of highly-sedimented sites in the north - east of the bay that had a significantly different cardinalfish fauna to the rest. As a family that rely on the complexity of the coral reef for shelter, and exhibit high site fidelity, examination of cardinalfish communities may provide a measure of the health of a region’s reef

Brane Gas Inflation

We consider the brane gas picture of the early universe. At later stages, when there are no winding modes and the background is free to expand, we show that a moving 3-brane, which we identify with our universe, can inflate even though it is radiation-dominated. The crucial ingredients for successful inflation are the coupling to the dilaton and the equation of state of the bulk. If we suppose the brane initially forms in a collision of higher-dimensional branes, then the spectrum of primordial density fluctuations naturally has a thermal origin.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur