62,441 research outputs found
Entropic localization in non-unitary Newtonian gravity
The localizing properties and the entropy production of the Newtonian limit
of a nonunitary version of fourth order gravity are analyzed. It is argued that
pure highly unlocalized states of the center of mass motion of macroscopic
bodies rapidly evolve into unlocalized ensembles of highly localized states.
The localization time and the final entropy are estimated
Relativistic generalizations of gravity-induced localization models
Nonunitary versions of Newtonian gravity leading to wavefunction localization
admit natural special-relativistic generalizations. They include the first
consistent relativistic localization models. At variance with the unified model
of localization and gravity, the purely localizing version requires negative
energy fields, which however are less harmful than usual and can be used to
build ultraviolet-finite theories.Comment: RevTex, 10 page
Do Campaign Finance Policies Really Improve Voters' Welfare?
In an electoral race, interest groups will be willing to finance political candidates’ campaigns in return for favors that are costly to voters. Starting from the empirical observation of split contributions, we develop a theoretical model of directly informative campaign advertising with rational voters. In this setting, interest groups that demand more favors are less likely to finance candidates to enhance their electoral prospects. We find that the only feasible Pareto improving policy involves providing specific limits and subsidies to each candidate. Unfortunately, this policy is very demanding in terms of information for the policy maker and always involves candidates providing favors to interest groups. We argue that bans on contributions without public subsidies may not be welfare improving, since they negatively affect the informational value of advertisements.Campaign Finance, Interest Groups, Elections, Welfare
A Modica-Mortola approximation for branched transport
The M^\alpha energy which is usually minimized in branched transport problems
among singular 1-dimensional rectifiable vector measures with prescribed
divergence is approximated (and convergence is proved) by means of a sequence
of elliptic energies, defined on more regular vector fields. The procedure
recalls the Modica-Mortola one for approximating the perimeter, and the
double-well potential is replaced by a concave power
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