The IR stability of de Sitter QFT: Physical initial conditions

This work uses Lorentz-signature in-in perturbation theory to analyze the late-time behavior of correlators in time-dependent interacting massive scalar field theory in de Sitter space. We study a scenario recently considered by Krotov and Polyakov in which the coupling $g$ turns on smoothly at finite time, starting from $g=0$ in the far past where the state is taken to be the (free) Bunch-Davies vacuum. Our main result is that the resulting correlators (which we compute at the one-loop level) approach those of the interacting Hartle-Hawking state at late times. We argue that similar results should hold for other physically-motivated choices of initial conditions. This behavior is to be expected from recent quantum "no hair" theorems for interacting massive scalar field theory in de Sitter space which established similar results to all orders in perturbation theory for a dense set of states in the Hilbert space. Our current work i) indicates that physically motivated initial conditions lie in this dense set, ii) provides a Lorentz-signature counter-part to the Euclidean techniques used to prove such theorems, and iii) provides an explicit example of the relevant renormalization techniques.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figure

The IR stability of de Sitter QFT: results at all orders

We show that the Hartle-Hawking vacuum for theories of interacting massive scalars in de Sitter space is both perturbatively well-defined and stable in the IR. Correlation functions in this state may be computed on the Euclidean section and Wick-rotated to Lorentz-signature. The results are manifestly de Sitter-invariant and contain only the familiar UV singularities. More importantly, the connected parts of all Lorentz-signature correlators decay at large separations of their arguments. Our results apply to all cases in which the free Euclidean vacuum is well defined, including scalars with masses belonging to both the complementary and principal series of $SO(D,1)$. This suggests that interacting QFTs in de Sitter -- including higher spin fields -- are perturbatively IR-stable at least when i) the Euclidean vacuum of the zero-coupling theory exists and ii) corresponding Lorentz-signature zero-coupling correlators decay at large separations. This work has significant overlap with a paper by Stefan Hollands, which is being released simultaneously.Comment: 30 pp., 4 figures. Small typos fixed, refs adde

AUTOMATION OR OPENNESS?: TECHNOLOGY AND TRADE IMPACTS ON COSTS AND LABOR COMPOSITION IN THE FOOD SYSTEM

Productivity, technology, production costs, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

How High School Size Configuration Affects Student Achievement In The State Of Florida

The study was conducted to determine if there were any statistically significant differences in student achievement as measured by the 10th-grade Reading and Mathematics Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) at the school level between the configurations of high schools, controlling for the percentage of minority population and SES. A total of 259 large public high schools within Florida were used in the study; 149 traditional schools and 110 large schools using small learning communities. Because prior researchers have indicated that the number of low SES students and the percentage of minority students can have an effect on student achievement, these covariates were controlled for in this study. There was a significant difference in the FCAT Mathematics scores of students based on school configuration. Those students who attended traditional high schools scored higher than those in the smaller learning communities. There was a similar finding in the FCAT Reading scores, but it was only marginally significant. The interaction between the percentage of the minority population and low SES population was also evaluated, but no significant interaction was found. A qualitative survey was also sent to administrators at schools who were involved in the study. In direct contradiction to the quantitative study results, the vast majority of respondents thought that the use of a small learning community would increase student achievement. With the advent of Common Core in Mathematics and Language Arts, this iv research lends itself to be expanded on a national level to determine if a larger sample size would yield the same or differing results

Ontological Structures in Aristotle

According to the traditional view of the Categories, the ten categories are the highest genera of beings. Each of them stands at the head of a tree-like division of the the items falling under it; this division is also sometimes called a category . The metaphysical structure made up of these ten divisions is the system of the categories . According to the traditional view, the system of the categories is very rigidly laid out. Not only is every being included in the structure, but every being has exactly one location. Each being is predicated essentially of those below it along the lines of division. Each being is related to those above it, if any, as a determination of them, and to those below it, if any, as a determinable. Because of these facts, the full analysis of the essence of any being can be gotten by stringing together the names of all the beings superior to it in the division, along with a final differentia. But this traditional view is very widely off the mark. We here present arguments for rejecting the traditional interpretation of the categories

Corporate Social Responsibility and Economic Performance

We describe some perspectives on corporate social responsibility (CSR), in order to provide a context for considering the strategic motivations and implications of CSR. Based on this framework, which is based on characterizing optimal firm decision making and underlies most existing work on CSR, we propose an agenda for further theoretical and empirical research on CSR. We then summarize and relate the articles in this special issue to the proposed agenda.

An Analysis of the Dimensions of Congressional Voting: The Case for Foreign Aid

The major focus of this paper concerns defining congressional issue dimensions towards the American foreign assistance programs of 1979 to 1982. The resulting dimensions serve as a foundation to identify coalitions of congressmen who support or oppose different aspects of foreign aid policies. Previous foreign aid vote studies have usually divided congressmen into pro and con camps or placed them along activist-restrained continuums. This study, however, is based on the assumption that foreign aid policy has become too complex for such divisions and that its dimensions center more around the types of aid, the purposes of aid, and the ideological leanings of the intended recipients. Roll-call votes were initially sorted into dimensions by a factor analysis procedure. These results were used to construct issue dimension indexes for both houses of Congress for the 95th and 96th Congresses. For each data set the results produced two groups of indexes, one concerning funding questions and the others concerning policy questions. The funding dimensions were assumed to encompass the compromises that were necessary in order to produce passable legislation. These dimensions were considered important because they could be used to identify congressmen who support or oppose foreign aid on a general level. The policy question dimensions, on the other hand were assumed to show two simplified positions towards foreign aid issues. At one end of the policy dimension are those mostly concerned with fostering private enterprise and using force to protect the status quo and American interests. Called traditionalists, these members consider foreign aid to be useful if it enables the Unites States to make a strong response to the spread of communism. The opposite side was labeled the prodevelopment position and consisted of those who view the capitalism-versus-communism-socialism world view as over-simplistic. They are more likely to favor international cooperation in solving the Third World problems that make countries susceptible to communism. The major basis for congressional decision-making appears to be the ideological inclinations of recipient governments. The traditional group directs aid to right-wing governments and the prodevelopment group aims aid at moderate and left-leaning nations. The coalitions which supported the traditional and prodevelopment positions were identified by regression equations which included ideology, party, region, median income, and urban-rural variables. The major finding was that liberals were always more likely prodevelopment and conservatives more likely traditional. The importance of ideology tends to add credence to the theory that congressmen view foreign and domestic issues from the same set of beliefs. Although party was a significant factor only half the time its importance was found to be related to the pull of presidential loyalty considerations. Regional, urban-rural and constituency income factors were found to be of little or no importance in identifying coalitions