Irreversible Work Reduction by Disorder in Many-Body Quantum Systems

We study the effect of disorder on work exchange associated to quantum Hamiltonian processes by considering an Ising spin chain in which the strength of coupling between spins are randomly drawn from either Normal or Gamma distributions. The chain is subjected to a quench of the external transverse field which induces this exchange of work. In particular, we study the irreversible work incurred by a quench as a function of the initial temperature, field strength and magnitude of the disorder. While presence of weak disorder generally increases the irreversible work generated, disorder of sufficient strength can instead reduce it, giving rise to a disorder induced lubrication effect. This reduction of irreversible work depends on the nature of the distribution considered, and can either arise from acquiring the behavior of an effectively smaller quench for the Normal-distributed spin couplings, or that of effectively single spin dynamics in the case of Gamma distributed couplings.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Ultrabroadband dispersive radiation by spatiotemporal oscillation of multimode waves

Despite the abundance and importance of three-dimensional systems, relatively little progress has been made on spatiotemporal nonlinear optical waves compared to time-only or space-only systems. Here we study radiation emitted by three-dimensionally evolving nonlinear optical waves in multimode fiber. Spatiotemporal oscillations of solitons in the fiber generate multimode dispersive wave sidebands over an ultrabroadband spectral range. This work suggests routes to multipurpose sources of coherent electromagnetic waves, with unprecedented wavelength coverage.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, Supplementary Movie files for preprint available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3meO8G6ZzA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k42llO-c1r

Obscure Existential Narratives: Predetermination and Freedom in Nepalese Horoscopic Knowledge.

Nepali astrological divination can be seen as a form sense-making which, in providing access to the ‘hidden motifs’ attained to determine life events, mitigates the irreducibility of being-in- the-world by providing existential narratives. Conveying hope to act upon what is initially approached as a hopeless fate, astrological knowledge forwards the perception that troubling events, apparently out of control, are also liable to be acted upon. This reveals a permanent tension between ‘fatalism’ and ‘freedom’ that challenges rendering Nepal exclusively in fatalist terms, as argued by the Nepali anthropologist Dor Bahadur Bista. Yet, accounting for these reinterpretations requires a personally-tailored inquiry, usually overlooked by sociocentric approaches that patronizingly disregard people as mere carriers of a worldview, as in the case of the ontological turn

Social and alternative banking: project selection and monitoring after the New Basel Capital Accord

Any economic activity calls for the exercise of moral judgement. There are some economic activities that actively promote collective benefit as a primary or secondary aim, and there are others that aim to increase the value of a firm. Investment decisions always have collective impact, but collective returns may be ignored or considered less important in company management if the objective is the maximisation of shareholder wealth. The allocative function exercised by banks in their credit activity may take this into account. Some banks nowadays focus on social profile, while others integrate the traditional approach with this new sensibility. But unfortunately banking regulations governing stability and soundness of the financial system make no mention of the social profile. The New Basel Capital Accord was an opportunity to recognise that bank's objectives may not consist only of the maximisation of shareholder wealth. But it was a missed opportunity, in that it gave advantages to traditional commercial banks and not to banks focussing on collective goals. This paper puts forward proposals for integrating the Basel II framework with profiles of collective bank credit policy. Social credit evaluation methods could help to identify those ethical banks which are more successful in meeting collective objectives. A sustainable credit appraisal methodology could have been examined by the Basel Committee and could have incentivated sustainable banking by giving it specific advantages.social banking, alternative banking, socially responsible investing, investments appraisal, Basel II, new capital accord