Integral formula for elliptic SOS models with domain walls and a reflecting end

In this paper we extend previous work of Galleas and the author to elliptic SOS models. We demonstrate that the dynamical reflection algebra can be exploited to obtain a functional equation characterizing the partition function of an elliptic SOS model with domain-wall boundaries and one reflecting end. Special attention is paid to the structure of the functional equation. Through this approach we find a novel multiple-integral formula for that partition function.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor improvements, reference adde

Work Organisation and Innovation - Case Study: Rabobank, Netherlands

[Excerpt] Rabobank Nederland (RN) is part of Rabobank Group, which provides financial services and insurance. It is the largest financial services provider in the Netherlands. The group operates in 47 countries and has an employee base of 59,670 full-time equivalents (FTE). In the Netherlands RN has an employee base of 6,800 FTE, which is more or less equal to 8,500 employees. RN is a cooperative, located in Utrecht, and the administrative centre for 139 (2011) local cooperative Rabobanks. The local banks are not branches of RN as each of them has its own banking licence from the central Nederlandsche Bank. The joint employee base of the local Rabobanks is 27,000 FTE. The 139 local Rabobanks, RN and affiliates, provide services to some 10 million clients, including 1.9 million members (Rabobank Annual Report, 2011)

Resurrecting the partially isotropic Haldane-Shastry model

We present a new and simpler expression for the Hamiltonian of the partially isotropic (XXZ-like) version of the Haldane-Shastry model, which was derived by D. Uglov over two decades ago in an apparently little-known preprint. While resembling the pairwise long-range form of the Haldane-Shastry model our formula accounts for the multi-spin interactions obtained by Uglov. Our expression is physically meaningful, makes hermiticity manifest, and is computationally more efficient. We discuss the model's properties, including its limits and (ordinary and quantum-affine) symmetries. In particular we introduce the appropriate notions of translational invariance and momentum. We review the model's exact spectrum found by Uglov for finite spin-chain length, which parallels the isotropic case up to level splitting due to the anisotropy. We also extend the partially isotropic model to higher rank, with $SU(n)$ 'spins', for which the spectrum is determined by $\mathfrak{sl}_n$-motifs.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, 1 table; v2: various minor changes and additions; v3: 6 pages, 1 figure, 1 table; added proof of equality of formulae, minor further changes; v4: minor changes; v5: minor chang

N-body simulations of star clusters

Two aspects of our recent N-body studies of star clusters are presented: (1) What impact does mass segregation and selective mass loss have on integrated photometry? (2) How well compare results from N-body simulations using NBODY4 and STARLAB/KIRA?Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure with 4 panels (in colour, not well visible in black-and-white; figures screwed in PDF version, ok in postscript; to see further details get the paper source). Conference proceedings for IAUS246 'Dynamical Evolution of Dense Stellar Systems', ed. E. Vesperini (Chief Editor), M. Giersz, A. Sills, Capri, Sept. 2007; v2: references correcte

A numerical study of the F-model with domain-wall boundaries

We perform a numerical study of the F-model with domain-wall boundary conditions. Various exact results are known for this particular case of the six-vertex model, including closed expressions for the partition function for any system size as well as its asymptotics and leading finite-size corrections. To complement this picture we use a full lattice multi-cluster algorithm to study equilibrium properties of this model for systems of moderate size, up to L=512. We compare the energy to its exactly known large-L asymptotics. We investigate the model's infinite-order phase transition by means of finite-size scaling for an observable derived from the staggered polarization in order to test the method put forward in our recent joint work with Duine and Barkema. In addition we analyse local properties of the model. Our data are perfectly consistent with analytical expressions for the arctic curves. We investigate the structure inside the temperate region of the lattice, confirming the oscillations in vertex densities that were first observed by Sylju{\aa}sen and Zvonarev, and recently studied by Lyberg et al. We point out '(anti)ferroelectric' oscillations close to the corresponding frozen regions as well as 'higher-order' oscillations forming an intricate pattern with saddle-point-like features.Comment: v4: 15 pages, 11 figures, 1 table; various minor improvements; supplementary material available upon reques

Partial quantification of pigments extracted from the zooxanthellate octocoral Sinularia flexibilis at varying irradiances

Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and carotenoid pigments of the zooxanthellate octocoral Sinularia flexibilis were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography following exposure to three light intensities for over 30 days. From the coral fragments located at different light intensities, a total carotenoid of >41 µg g-1 dry weight, including peridinin, xanthophylls (likely diadinoxanthin + diatoxanthin), and chl-a as the most abundant pigments, with minor contents of astaxantin and ß-carotene were detected. The whole content of chl-a weighed 5 µg g-1 dry weight in all coral colonies. Chl-a and carotenoids contributed 11.2% and 88.2%, respectively, to all pigments detected, and together accounted for 99.4% of the total pigments present. The highest contents of carotenoids and chl-a was observed in the coral grafts placed in an irradiance of 100 µmol quanta m-2 s-1; they showed lower ratios of total carotenoids: chl-a compared to those exposed to 400 µmol quanta m-2 s-1 after >30 days of incubation. The ratios of peridinin and xanthophylls with respect to chl-a from the colonies at 400 µmol quanta m-2 s-1 were approximately double those observed at irradiances of 100 and 200 µmol quanta m-2 s-1. Partial quantification of pigments in this study showed that the carotenoids of S. flexibilis showed a decrease at irradiances above 100 µmol quanta m-2 s-1, with the exception of an increase in ß-carotene at 200 µmol quanta m-2 s-1

Spring forward of woven fabric reinforced composites

Continuous-fibre-reinforced plastic products are usually formed at elevated temperatures. They exhibit distortions when they are cooled to room temperature and released from the mould. For example, the enclosed angle of an L-shaped product decreases, see Fig. 1. This effect is known as spring-forward. It is mainly due to the anisotropic thermal shrinkage of the composite, which is small in the fibre direction and relatively large in the direction normal to the fibres. The costs of forming a product with the demanded dimensions by trial and error are high. To reduce these costs, the objective of the research described in this paper is to develop a model, which predicts the occurring distortions

FDI, terrorism and the availability heuristic for U.S. investors before and after 9/11

We record the existence of an availability heuristic that is reflected in disaster myopia of U.S. investors and exists prior to the attacks of 9/11. We argue that this is fueled by an aggregate experience hypothesis effect, resulting in a pronounced increase in the sensitivity of U.S. stock prices to terrorist attacks on foreign soil. After 9/11, stock prices react proportionally to the size of an attack and the share of FDI stock held in the region by the sector in which firms operate. This effect, non-existent prior to 2002, has become increasingly strong in recent years