Impact of microphysics on the growth of one-dimensional breath figures

Droplet patterns condensing on solid substrates (breath figures) tend to evolve into a self-similar regime, characterized by a bimodal droplet size distribution. The distributions comprise a bell-shaped peak of monodisperse large droplets, and a broad range of smaller droplets. The size distribution of the latter follows a scaling law characterized by a non-trivial polydispersity exponent. We present here a numerical model for three-dimensional droplets on a one-dimensional substrate (fiber) that accounts for droplet nucleation, growth and merging. The polydispersity exponent retrieved using this model is not universal. Rather it depends on the thickness of the fiber and on details of the droplet interaction leading to merging. In addition, its values consistently differ from the theoretical prediction by Blackman (Phys. Rev. Lett., 2000). Possible causes of this discrepancy are pointed out

Thermalization at intermediate coupling

We use the AdS/CFT conjecture to investigate the thermalization of large-N_c N=4 Super Yang-Mills plasma in the limit of large but finite 't Hooft coupling. On the gravity side, we supplement the type IIB supergravity action by the full set of O(\alpha'^3) operators, which enables us to derive O(\lambda^{-3/2}) corrections to the emission spectrum of prompt photons in one model of holographic thermalization. Decreasing the coupling strength from the \lambda=\infty limit, we observe a qualitative change in the way the photon spectral density approaches its thermal limit as a function of the photon energy. We interpret this behavior as a sign of the thermalization pattern of the plasma shifting from top/down towards bottom/up.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor corrections, added reference

Experiences in Northern Bobwhite Propagation and Translocation in Ohio, 1978-2012

Ohio once boasted a population of 7 million northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Catastrophic blizzards during 1976–1977 and 1977–1978 brought winter quail mortalities of 85% and 80%, respectively. Ohio’s bobwhite population was 430,000 in 1978, a 90% reduction from 1976. Remnant quail populations were small, isolated, and incapable of rapid recovery. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) initiated a statewide stocking effort to expedite population growth. The ODNR chose to propagate wild quail in captivity and release first-generation progeny (F1). Throughout 1980–1986, the ODNR released 65,000 F1 quail statewide. The ODNR monitored population response with North American Breeding Bird Survey, mail carriers, and roadside whistle-counts, but found little evidence of success. The ODNR evaluated postrelease survival and productivity of F1 hens (n = 100) and wild hens (n = 40) during 1984–1986 and deemed F1 hens inferior to wild hens. In 1993, the ODNR produced population models to develop minimum stocking rates for wild quail translocation, but insufficient numbers were captured. From 1998 to 2000 and 2005 to 2009, the ODNR translocated wild quail from Kansas to 5 Ohio sites with suitable, unoccupied habitat. Concurrently the ODNR translocated wild quail within Ohio. The ODNR conducted annual spring whistle-counts on all release sites during 1998–2012. Little or no evidence of sustained populations existed on sites after 7 years. Bobwhite translocation may yet show promise for population restoration, but evaluation should include 7–10 years of monitoring at a minimum

A New Limit on Signals of Lorentz Violation in Electrodynamics

We describe the results of an experiment to test for spacetime anisotropy terms that might exist from Lorentz violations. The apparatus consists of a pair of cylindrical superconducting cavity-stabilized oscillators operating in the TM_{010} mode with one axis east-west and the other vertical. Spatial anisotropy is detected by monitoring the beat frequency at the sidereal rate and its first harmonic. We see no anisotropy to a part in 10^{13}. This puts a comparable bound on four linear combinations of parameters in the general Standard Model extension, and a weaker bound of <4 x 10^{-9} on three others.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

Optical Response of Sr2_2RuO4_4 Reveals Universal Fermi-liquid Scaling and Quasiparticles Beyond Landau Theory

We report optical measurements demonstrating that the low-energy relaxation rate ($1/\tau$) of the conduction electrons in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ obeys scaling relations for its frequency ($\omega$) and temperature ($T$) dependence in accordance with Fermi-liquid theory. In the thermal relaxation regime, 1/\tau\propto (\hbar\omega)^2 + (p\pi\kB T)^2 with $p=2$, and $\omega/T$ scaling applies. Many-body electronic structure calculations using dynamical mean-field theory confirm the low-energy Fermi-liquid scaling, and provide quantitative understanding of the deviations from Fermi-liquid behavior at higher energy and temperature. The excess optical spectral weight in this regime provides evidence for strongly dispersing "resilient" quasiparticle excitations above the Fermi energy

Hybridization gap and anisotropic far-infrared optical conductivity of URu2Si2

We performed far-infrared optical spectroscopy measurements on the heavy fermion compound URu 2 Si 2 as a function of temperature. The light's electric-field was applied along the a-axis or the c-axis of the tetragonal structure. We show that in addition to a pronounced anisotropy, the optical conductivity exhibits for both axis a partial suppression of spectral weight around 12 meV and below 30 K. We attribute these observations to a change in the bandstructure below 30 K. However, since these changes have no noticeable impact on the entropy nor on the DC transport properties, we suggest that this is a crossover phenomenon rather than a thermodynamic phase transition.Comment: To be published in Physical Review

The future of insurance intermediation in the age of the digital platform economy

Today most insurance is sold by over a million brokers and independent agents acting as intermediaries between the insurance companies and their customers. Digitalization and changing customer behavior have fostered the development of insurtech businesses, and, more recently, multi-sided platforms are emerging as new market forms for insurance intermediation. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of how the emergence of the platform economy with a market dominated by multi-sided platforms potentially impacts insurance intermediation in the future. Using inductive content analysis on the results of a systematic literature review of the body of research on insurance intermediation, we identify the key functional roles fulfilled by insurance intermediaries. Applying these roles to a literature review on multi-sided platforms allows us to compare how different market forms and players embody the functional roles of intermediaries. Our findings suggest that multi-sided platforms are better able to perform certain roles in terms of agility, scale and scope, and we discuss the future role of platforms in insurance intermediation