591 research outputs found
The Poverty of Growth with Interdependent Utility Functions
We argue that with interdependent utility functions growth can
lead to a decline in total welfare of a society if the gains from growth are
sufficiently unequally distributed in the presence of negative
externalities, i.e., envy
The Poverty of Growth with Interdependent Utility Functions
We argue that with interdependent utility functions growth can lead to a decline in total welfare of a society if the gains from growth are sufficiently unequally distributed in the presence of negative externalities, i.e., envy.Interdependent utility functions ; growth ; inequality
The Poverty of Growth with Interdependent Utility Functions
We argue that with interdependent utility functions growth can lead to a decline in total welfare of a society if the gains from growth are sufficiently unequally distributed in the presence of negative externalities, i.e., envy.interdependent utility functions, growth, inequality
Quantum heat engines: limit cycles and exceptional points
We show that the inability of a quantum Otto cycle to reach a limit cycle is
connected with the propagator of the cycle being non-compact. For a working
fluid consisting of quantum harmonic oscillators, the transition point in
parameter space where this instability occurs is associated with a
non-hermitian degeneracy (exceptional point) of the eigenvalues of the
propagator. In particular, a third-order exceptional point is observed at the
transition from the region where the eigenvalues are complex numbers to the
region where all the eigenvalues are real. Within this region we find another
exceptional point, this time of second order, at which the trajectory becomes
divergent. The onset of the divergent behavior corresponds to the modulus of
one of the eigenvalues becoming larger than one. The physical origin of this
phenomenon is that the hot and cold heat baths are unable to dissipate the
frictional internal heat generated in the adiabatic strokes of the cycle. This
behavior is contrasted with that of quantum spins as working fluid which have a
compact Hamiltonian and thus no exceptional points. All arguments are
rigorously proved in terms of the systems' associated Lie algebras
Patterns driven by combined AC and DC electric fields in nematic liquid crystals
The effect of superimposed ac and dc electric fields on the formation of
electroconvection and flexoelectric patterns in nematic liquid crystals was
studied. For selected ac frequencies an extended standard model of the
electro-hydrodynamic instabilities was used to characterize the onset of
pattern formation in the two-dimensional parameter space of the magnitudes of
the ac and dc electric field components. Numerical as well as approximate
analytical calculations demonstrate that depending on the type of patterns and
on the ac frequency, the combined action of ac and dc fields may either enhance
or suppress the formation of patterns. The theoretical predictions are
qualitatively confirmed by experiments in most cases. Some discrepancies,
however, seem to indicate the need to extend the theoretical description
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