From Hide to Handbag: A Holistic Review of the Leather Industry and Its Environmental Impact

Leather is a universally versatile material used in various products in the global market. Today, leather, specifically from the commercial cow, is still desired by manufacturers for its durability, accessibility, and quality. However, there are adverse environmental and ethical consequences of leather products using chrome tanning, in particular, that consumers do not recognize. This paper analyzes, evaluates, and contextualizes the current methods of leather production and the environmental issues associated with the trade. Furthermore, it discusses some sustainable efforts made regarding material choice and alternative production methods. With a holistic review of leather production and its implications, this paper examines the EU Strategy for Sustainable Circular Economy and Textiles, Chain of Custody - Transparency in Leather Manufacturing Pilot Program, and the Sustainable Development Goals in the Leather Industry EU. These policies aim to foster a more environmentally aware and sustainable leather trade. This paper will determine their effectiveness, feasibility, and potential drawbacks, then recommend reform options reflecting the current policies.https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/glo100/1002/thumbnail.jp

Non-Commutative Painlevé Equations and Hermite-Type Matrix Orthogonal Polynomials

We study double integral representations of Christoffel–Darboux kernels associated with two examples of Hermite-type matrix orthogonal polynomials. We show that the Fredholm determinants connected with these kernels are related through the Its–Izergin–Korepin–Slavnov (IIKS) theory with a certain Riemann-Hilbert problem. Using this Riemann-Hilbert problem we obtain a Lax pair whose compatibility conditions lead to a non-commutative version of the Painlevé IV differential equation for each family

Riemann-Hilbert approach to multi-time processes; the Airy and the Pearcey case

We prove that matrix Fredholm determinants related to multi-time processes can be expressed in terms of determinants of integrable kernels \`a la Its-Izergin-Korepin-Slavnov (IIKS) and hence related to suitable Riemann-Hilbert problems, thus extending the known results for the single-time case. We focus on the Airy and Pearcey processes. As an example of applications we re-deduce a third order PDE, found by Adler and van Moerbeke, for the two-time Airy process.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur

The Transition between the Gap Probabilities from the Pearcey to the Airy Process—a Riemann–Hilbert Approach

We consider the gap probability for the Pearcey and Airy processes; we set up a Riemann–Hilbert approach (different from the standard one) whereby the asymptotic analysis for large gap/large time of the Pearcey process is shown to factorize into two independent Airy processes using the Deift–Zhou steepest descent analysis. Additionally, we relate the theory of Fredholm determinants of integrable kernels and the theory of isomonodromic tau function. Using the Riemann–Hilbert problem mentioned above, we construct a suitable Lax pair formalism for the Pearcey gap probability and re-derive the two nonlinear PDEs recently found and additionally find a third one not reducible to those

Double scaling limits of random matrices and minimal (2m,1) models: the merging of two cuts in a degenerate case

In this article, we show that the double scaling limit correlation functions of a random matrix model when two cuts merge with degeneracy $2m$ (i.e. when $y\sim x^{2m}$ for arbitrary values of the integer $m$) are the same as the determinantal formulae defined by conformal $(2m,1)$ models. Our approach follows the one developed by Berg\`{e}re and Eynard in \cite{BergereEynard} and uses a Lax pair representation of the conformal $(2m,1)$ models (giving Painlev\'e II integrable hierarchy) as suggested by Bleher and Eynard in \cite{BleherEynard}. In particular we define Baker-Akhiezer functions associated to the Lax pair to construct a kernel which is then used to compute determinantal formulae giving the correlation functions of the double scaling limit of a matrix model near the merging of two cuts.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figures. Presentation improved, typos corrected. Published in Journal Of Statistical Mechanic

Higher Order Analogues of Tracy-Widom Distributions via the Lax Method

We study the distribution of the largest eigenvalue in formal Hermitian one-matrix models at multicriticality, where the spectral density acquires an extra number of k-1 zeros at the edge. The distributions are directly expressed through the norms of orthogonal polynomials on a semi-infinite interval, as an alternative to using Fredholm determinants. They satisfy non-linear recurrence relations which we show form a Lax pair, making contact to the string literature in the early 1990's. The technique of pseudo-differential operators allows us to give compact expressions for the logarithm of the gap probability in terms of the Painleve XXXIV hierarchy. These are the higher order analogues of the Tracy-Widom distribution which has k=1. Using known Backlund transformations we show how to simplify earlier equivalent results that are derived from Fredholm determinant theory, valid for even k in terms of the Painleve II hierarchy.Comment: 24 pages. Improved discussion of Backlund transformations, in addition to other minor improvements in text. Typos corrected. Matches published versio

The transition between the gap probabilities from the Pearcey to the Airy process; a Riemann-Hilbert approach

We consider the gap probability for the Pearcey and Airy processes; we set up a Riemann--Hilbert approach (different from the standard one) whereby the asymptotic analysis for large gap/large time of the Pearcey process is shown to factorize into two independent Airy processes using the Deift-Zhou steepest descent analysis. Additionally we relate the theory of Fredholm determinants of integrable kernels and the theory of isomonodromic tau function. Using the Riemann-Hilbert problem mentioned above we construct a suitable Lax pair formalism for the Pearcey gap probability and re-derive the two nonlinear PDEs recently found and additionally find a third one not reducible to those.Comment: 43 pages, 7 figures. Final version with minor changes. Accepted for publication on International Mathematical Research Notice

Matrix biorthogonal polynomials on the unit circle and non-Abelian Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy

Adler and van Moerbeke \cite{AVM} described a reduction of 2D-Toda hierarchy called Toeplitz lattice. This hierarchy turns out to be equivalent to the one originally described by Ablowitz and Ladik \cite{AL} using semidiscrete zero-curvature equations. In this paper we obtain the original semidiscrete zero-curvature equations starting directly from the Toeplitz lattice and we generalize these computations to the matrix case. This generalization lead us to the semidiscrete zero-curvature equations for the non-abelian (or multicomponent) version of Ablowitz-Ladik equations \cite{GI}. In this way we extend the link between biorthogonal polynomials on the unit circle and Ablowitz-Ladik hierarchy to the matrix case.Comment: 23 pages, accepted on publication on J. Phys. A., electronic link: http://stacks.iop.org/1751-8121/42/36521

Nonlinear PDEs for gap probabilities in random matrices and KP theory

Airy and Pearcey-like kernels and generalizations arising in random matrix theory are expressed as double integrals of ratios of exponentials, possibly multiplied with a rational function. In this work it is shown that such kernels are intimately related to wave functions for polynomial (Gel'fand-Dickey reductions) or rational reductions of the KP-hierarchy; their Fredholm determinant also satisfies linear PDEs (Virasoro constraints), yielding, in a systematic way, non-linear PDEs for the Fredholm determinant of such kernels. Examples include Fredholm determinants giving the gap probability of some infinite-dimensional diffusions, like the Airy process, with or without outliers, and the Pearcey process, with or without inliers.Comment: Minor revision: accepted for publication on Physica

The multicomponent 2D Toda hierarchy: Discrete flows and string equations

The multicomponent 2D Toda hierarchy is analyzed through a factorization problem associated to an infinite-dimensional group. A new set of discrete flows is considered and the corresponding Lax and Zakharov--Shabat equations are characterized. Reductions of block Toeplitz and Hankel bi-infinite matrix types are proposed and studied. Orlov--Schulman operators, string equations and additional symmetries (discrete and continuous) are considered. The continuous-discrete Lax equations are shown to be equivalent to a factorization problem as well as to a set of string equations. A congruence method to derive site independent equations is presented and used to derive equations in the discrete multicomponent KP sector (and also for its modification) of the theory as well as dispersive Whitham equations.Comment: 27 pages. In the revised paper we improved the presentatio