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Spin liquids, Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev models, and the cuprate superconductors
No full textPhysicsAuthor's Origina
Transcendental Visions in Wixárika Art, The Nierika_Osiris González Romero
No full textVersion of Recor
Mass Transit Pricing and Fare Caps in Bangkok: National Politics, Urban Economics, and International Comparisons
No full textThailand’s Pheu Thai-led national government had planned to cap Bangkok’s mass transit train fares at 20 baht for Thai citizens, beginning in October or November of 2025. The plan expands on a 2023 fare cap for some trains, and on then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s transit proposals from 2005-2006. Thus, the fare cap has been discussed for decades, and it resembles other Thaksin-era initiatives in offering a simple benefit for lower-income voters. Comparing normal transit fares and income measures across East Asia shows that there is merit to some fare reform: Bangkok’s train fares are among the highest in Asia, both in absolute terms and relative to the wages of the poorest residents, which hinders workers’ mobility. However, Bangkok’s transit system also remains underdeveloped compared to other major cities in Asia, with as much as a third of Bangkok’s population lacking easy access to mass transit trains. Lowering fares would have limited equity benefits for most residents, would not lead to stable transit revenues, and would likely make further transit expansion less affordable. Raising minimum fares, while reducing fares for some lines and interchanges, could improve Bangkok’s transportation and regional economy, while sustaining the transit system’s finances.Version of Recor
Scaling and Ruling: The Measuring Passion in Ancient China
No full textThe changing understanding of truth and information in the history of ancient technology invite the search for new and justifiable ways of measure. Part I In Chapter 1 I offer an overview of the problems of past and current scholarship, laying the ground for introducing a new concept techno-onto-poiesis, foregrounding the prevailing, manifest importance of the technical ingenuity and process upon the end-product itself, in comparison to teleologically determined technopraxis largely governing today’s technological production. In Chapter 2 I argue that the approach via ontological poiesis and “movements” in action is the most successful to studying the specificities of ancient Chinese measurement (arithmetic and non-arithmetic) in transmitted and excavated literature and technical practice. Part II. In Chapter 3 I use this analysis to set up a new narrative based on the standards which any complex and more elusive ways of “measure” must meet if they were to be considered by this method. In Chapter 4 I apply this method respectively to a dual system of cosmological measurement that eventually gave rise to the formal yin-lü-shu-liang-du in Imperial period. Part III. Chapter 5 is comprised of a series of case studies of ancient techniques (woodworking, handcrafting, and handling), developing a theory of somaesthetics of technics that serve as new tools for further analysis for the survival of poiesis. Chapter 6 is a study of early Chinese texts and practice, specifically those linked to the Han period shu (“number”) or xiangshu (“pattern/image and number”) manner of interpreting the divination methods in the Book of Changes [henceforth Yishu]), and their material expression in standardized measuring vessels.Religion, Committee on the Study o
Essays on Economic Design: Theory and Estimation
No full textThis thesis studies optimal economic design choices, both theoretically and empirically, in environments where some market participants themselves make welfare-relevant design choices.
In the first two chapters, I study a platform's preferencing mechanism, or rule that assigns the placement of offers on a platform. I theoretically derive a platform's consumer-optimal preferencing rule in a setting in which firms choose prices in a locally envy-free profile, given the preferencing rule, which in special cases, correspond with equilibria in a Generalized Second Price auction. Additionally, I show that Reimers and Waldfogel (2023) empirical test to measure platform bias is valid even under prices endogenous to the preferencing rule in a locally envy-free profile. On Amazon, I measure the extent of platform bias using a large dataset from the platform during the years 2020-2022.
I then extend this study to an environment in which firm prices are determined in a non-myopic, dynamic setting, which depends on the platform's preferencing rule. These dynamic pricing strategies result in pricing patterns that closely resemble Edgeworth cycles.
I provide a method to estimate the primitives that govern these pricing cycles, which allows me to assess the counterfactual welfare implications associated with various preferencing rules, using a large dataset from the Amazon platform from 2018-2022. The welfare effects of policy proposals in this environment, in particular those that eliminate self-preferencing, significantly differ from those under the static price competition environment.
The last chapter studies a class of complete information quantum games, where design choices in quantum versions of classical games, in particular the chosen basis and initial state, determine the set of feasible outcome distributions in a Nash equilibrium in quantum strategies. I derive necessary and sufficient conditions for a Nash equilibrium in quantum strategies to Pareto improve upon classical correlated equilibria in certain classes of quantum games.Economic
Tracing the Origins: Cosmological Information in the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe
No full textOne of the central observables in cosmology is the correlation function of the matter density field. Yet, the large-scale structure of the universe cannot be directly observed, as it is dominated by dark matter. To probe it, we rely on indirect tracers such as galaxy surveys, 21-cm observations, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background. Recent advances in cosmological observations have produced a wealth of data across these tracers, offering unprecedented opportunities to investigate the physical processes and cosmic history that shaped the universe—from its initial conditions to its present state. This data abundance, however, raises two major challenges: (1) How can we efficiently and accurately extract information from the large-scale structure? (2) How can we combine different observational datasets in a consistent joint analysis? Addressing these questions is central to modern cosmological data analysis pipelines.
This thesis tackles these challenges through four directions:
(1) We apply a novel statistic—the skew-spectrum—to galaxy survey data, enabling efficient compression of the three-point correlation function and improved constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity, a potential signature of inflation.
(2) We study the combined information content of galaxy clustering and CMB lensing using both two- and three-point correlation functions. To support this analysis, we develop a new method based on the FFTLog algorithm that significantly accelerates the theoretical computation of projected angular statistics for galaxy surveys and weak lensing.
(3) We generalize the skew-spectrum formalism from redshift space to harmonic space, facilitating consistent and efficient cross-correlation studies across different cosmological probes. As a proof of concept, we implement this approach on N-body simulations.
(4) We perform field-level inference—applied for the first time to 21-cm signals from the epoch of reionization—within the framework of the effective field theory of large-scale structure. Despite foreground contamination, our high-dimensional Bayesian analysis enables reconstruction of the obscured signal and constraints on key physical parameters. We further explore cutting-edge diffusion-based generative models as an alternative inference method and find that their performance is comparable to traditional approaches.Physic
Beyond Munich : the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the Forgotten Face of British Appeasement Policy, 1919-1939
No full textThis thesis offers a reinterpretation of British appeasement policy through the lens of the often-overlooked 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement, arguing that it represents a pivotal moment of proactive strategic diplomacy. Moving beyond the dominant historical narrative that portrays appeasement as a reactive and monolithic failure, this study introduces a new conceptual framework that distinguishes between proactive and reactive forms of appeasement. Tracing this pattern from the post-Versailles period through the 1920s and early 1930s, this thesis aims to analyze how and why British policymakers consistently pursued diplomatic engagement with Germany through approaches grounded in reciprocity and principled diplomacy. The primary motivation behind this strategy was to uphold the League of Nations and its collective security framework while safeguarding British strategic interests. Furthermore, the thesis demonstrates that this strategy did not develop in isolation; instead, it built upon a longer tradition of appeasement within nineteenth-century British Grand Strategy, where calculated concessions were used to preserve international equilibrium and imperial security. By drawing on parliamentary debates, cabinet records, and diplomatic correspondence, this study highlights how the Anglo-German Naval Agreement was not an isolated misstep but rather the culmination of a coherent interwar strategy before British policy devolved into reactive crisis management later in the decade. By situating the Anglo-German Naval Agreement within this broader historical arc, this thesis reconceptualizes appeasement as an evolving diplomatic instrument and offers a significant contribution to existing scholarship on British foreign policy and interwar diplomacy