High-energy evolution to three loops

The Balitsky-Kovchegov equation describes the high-energy growth of gauge theory scattering amplitudes as well as nonlinear saturation effects which stop it. We obtain the three-loop corrections to the equation in planar N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory. Our method exploits a recently established equivalence with the physics of soft wide-angle radiation, so-called non-global logarithms, and thus yields at the same time the three-loop evolution equation for non-global logarithms. As a by-product of our analysis, we develop a Lorentz-covariant method to subtract infrared and collinear divergences in cross-section calculations in the planar limit. We compare our result in the linear regime with a recent prediction for the so-called Pomeron trajectory, and compare its collinear limit with predictions from the spectrum of twist-two operators.Peer reviewe

Collective action problems:Disentangling possible feedback loops between government policies and the public’s value-change

Solving collective action problems, such as poverty reduction or climate change, depends on interactions between governments' and voters' preferences regarding pro-social actions. This paper examines whether the overall direction of change in pro-social public policy precedes public value-change, rather than the other way around. We examine change in the public’s pro-social values in six European countries, as measured by the European Social Survey (ESS) during 2002-2012. In these countries, we conducted an expert survey to rate governmental policy that expresses these values over the same period, thereby examining value-change in governmental policy. The chronological comparison of value-change of the public with that of respective governments suggests that changes in pro-social government policies may drive public value-change rather than vice versa. This complements previous studies focused on the opinion-policy connection. Possible political implications are discussed. The promising findings of this initial study point to the importance of conducting larger-scale future studies

Bridging the ideological gap? How fairness perceptions mediate the effect of revenue recycling on public support for carbon taxes in the United States, Canada and Germany

Carbon taxes are frequently advocated as a means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet their political feasibility remains a challenge. To enhance their political appeal, carbon tax proponents have proposed revenue recycling as a means of alleviating public concern with this instrument's visible costs. Analyzing data from identical survey-experiments administered in the United States, Canada, and Germany, we examine the extent to which returning revenues to the public has the potential to broaden the political acceptability of carbon taxes across ideological and national contexts. While public opinion is sensitive to the cost attributes of carbon taxes, we find that in some cases, opposition to carbon taxes can be offset by a reduction in income taxes. However, these effects tend to be modest in size, limited to some ideological groups, and varied across countries. Moreover, we demonstrate that fairness perceptions are a crucial mechanism linking revenue recycling to carbon tax support in all countries examined

Public support for aviation policy measures in Sweden

Air travel has received increasing attention in the climate debate in recent years. Current climate policy in this sector remains weak in comparison to, for example, the road transport sector. In this study, we analyze public support for seven different national policy measures that have been chosen to reflect the main thinking raised in the debate. Using original data from Sweden (N = 4500), we found that less coercive measures, as well as regulatory measures targeting the aviation industry rather than individuals directly, are more readily supported by the public than market-based policies aiming to push individuals away from air travel. The analyses of the different policy measures reveal many similarities between them. Climate concern, a personal norm to act in a more climate-friendly way, a political orientation to the left and high levels of institutional trust all display strong associations with support for all the different policy types. Perceptions of fairness, in particular, and effectiveness were strongly associated with overall policy support. Interestingly, however, the extent to which a policy measure was expected to affect one’s own personal freedom was found to have a very weak correlation with policy support. Key policy insights Public support was higher for ‘pull’ policies (climate labelling and subsidies for high-speed and night trains), as well as for regulatory measures targeting the aviation industry (biofuel blending mandate), than for policies that aim to push individuals away from air travel (e.g. air passenger tax). The weakest public support was found for frequent flyer taxation and personal carbon allowances. One reason, however, may be that these are novel policy options where the respondents had little prior information. In line with previous research, climate concern, ideology and trust in institutions correlate with attitudes to aviation polices, but the multivariate model showed that perceptions of whether a policy is fair and effective were by far the most important variables. Hence, fairness and effectiveness appear to be crucial aspects for the design of new policies

Dibromobianthryl ordering and polymerization on Ag(100)

We study the interaction between dibromobianthryl (DBBA) and the Ag(100) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory. DBBA is prochiral on adsorption and forms racemic domains with molecular rows aligned with the substrate nearest-neighbor [011] and [0 ̄11] directions. Deposition at elevated temperature leads to the formation of disordered meandering graphene nanowires of constant width

Vähähiilisen rakentamisen hankintakriteerit

Tässä oppaassa esitetään vapaaehtoiset kriteerisuositukset, joiden avulla julkisin varoin toteuttavien ja hankintalain alaisten rakennushankkeiden hiilijalanjälkeä voidaan pienentää. Erityinen painopiste on elinkaariajattelussa. Sitä suositellaan toteutettavaksi rakennusten suunnitteluvaiheesta alkaen elinkaaren hiilijalanjäljen laskennan kautta. Kriteerit sisältävät soveltuvuusvaatimusten ja kustannusten arvioinnin lisäksi energian, materiaalien ja innovaatioiden arvioinnin. Näihin teemoihin liittyvät kriteerit on laadittu erikseen suunnittelupalveluiden hankintaan, materiaalien ja laitteiden hankintaan, rakennusurakoiden hankintaan, kokonaisvastuurakentamiseen ja elinkaarimallille. Kriteereitä täydentävät standardeihin pohjautuvat yksityiskohtaiset ohjeet, joiden avulla hankkeissa mukana olevat ympäristöarvioinnin ammattilaiset voivat tehdä vertailukelpoisia laskelmi

Vihreä julkinen rakentaminen - Hankintaopas

Julkisilla hankinnoilla voidaan tehokkaasti ohjata varoja ympäristöä säästäviin rakennushankkeisiin. Hankintalain muutoksen myötä tuli aiempaa suoremmin mahdolliseksi käyttää ympäristöystävällisyyttä osoittavia kriteerejä hankinnan kohteen kuvauksessa tai valintakriteereissä. Tässä oppaassa esitetään suositukset vihreän julkisen rakennushankinnan toteuttamiseksi. Hankintojen valmisteluun tulee varata riittävästi aikaa ja osaajia. Hankintayksiköiden tueksi tarvitaan strateginen mandaatti, jotta ympäristönäkökulmien huomioimiselle ja sen edellyttämälle resursoinnille on koko organisaation hyväksyntä. Elinkaariajattelu on oleellinen edellytys vihreässä julkisessa rakentamisessa. Erityisesti hankinnan valmistelulla sekä suunnittelupalveluiden hankinnan kohteen kuvauksella on keskeinen vaikutus toteutettavan rakennushankkeen ympäristövaikutuksiin. Vihreän julkisen rakentamisen tueksi löytyy monia apukeinoja. Olemassa olevat ekologisen rakentamisen standardit luovat läpinäkyvän pohjan ympäristöarvioinnille. Erilaiset vapaaehtoiset ympäristöjärjestelmät ja ympäristömerkit mahdollistavat eri hankkeille sopivia reittejä kohti pienempiä ympäristövaikutuksia. Vihreä julkinen rakentaminen ei välttämättä ole tavanomaista rakentamista kalliimpaa. Se on vahva signaali sitoutumisesta lain minimivaatimuksia pidemmälle menevään vastuullisuutee

Procurement criteria for low-carbon building

This guide presents recommendations for Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria to be applied on a voluntary basis in order to reduce the carbon footprint of building projects implemented by means of public funds under the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts. Particular focus is placed on lifecycle thinking, which should be applied starting from the planning stage of buildings with calculations of the building lifecycle carbon footprint. Besides the suitability requirements for tenderers and cost estimates, the criteria include the assessment of energy, material and innovation aspects. Specific criteria relating to these categories have been drawn up for the procurement of design services, procurement of materials and equipment, procurement of building works, Design & Build projects and Design, Build & Operate contracts. The criteria are supplemented by detailed instructions based on standards which enable the environmental assessors involved in the projects to make comparable calculation