Stefan Hutzler

Experimental observation of scaling laws for alternating current and direct current conductivity in polymer-carbon nanotube composite thin films

Alternating current (ac) and direct current (dc) conductivities have been measured in polymer-nanotube composite thin films. This was carried out for a range of concentrations of multiwall nanotubes in two polymer hosts, poly(m-phenylenevinylene-co-2,5-dioctyloxyp-phenylenevinylene) (PmPV) and polyvinylalcohol (PVA). In all cases the dc conductivity σDC was ohmic in the voltage range studied. In general the ac conductivity displayed two distinct regions, a frequency independent region of magnitude σ0 at low frequency and a frequency dependent region at higher frequency. Both σDC and σ0 followed a percolation scaling law of the form σ∝(p−pc)t with pc=0.055% by mass and t=1.36. This extrapolates to a conductivity of 1×10−3 S/m for 100% nanotube content. Such a low value reflects the presence of a thick polymer coating, resulting in poor electrical connection between tubes. This leads to the suggestion that charge transport is controlled by fluctuation induced tunneling. In the high frequency regime the cond...

The Evolution of Interdependence in World Equity Markets - Evidence from Minimum Spanning Trees

The concept of a minimum spanning tree is used to study the process of market integration for a large group of national stock market indices. We show how the asset tree evolves over time and describe the dynamics of its normalized length, mean occupation layer, and single- and multiple-step linkage survival rates. Over the period studied, 1997–2006, the tree shows a tendency to become more compact. This implies that global equity markets are increasingly interrelated. The consequence for global investors is a potential reduction of the benefits of international portfolio diversification.

The fluid dynamics of foams

Liquid foam is an example of soft matter (or a complex fluid) with a very well-defined structure, first clearly described by Joseph Plateau in the 19th century. Current research addresses many aspects of the fluid dynamics of this system. How is liquid transported through it in response to a pressure gradient or gravity? How does it respond to stress, particularly above the yield stress? What is the nature of the local fluid flow in the Plateau borders and their junctions? Simple first-order answers to many such questions exist but ongoing experiments continue to challenge our understanding.

Dynamics of money and income distributions

We study the model of interacting agents proposed by Chatterjee et al that allows agents to both save and exchange wealth. Closed equations for the wealth distribution are developed using a mean field approximation. We show that when all agents have the same fixed savings propensity, subject to certain well defined approximations defined in the text, these equations yield the conjecture proposed by Chatterjee for the form of the stationary agent wealth distribution. If the savings propensity for the equations is chosen according to some random distribution we show further that the wealth distribution for large values of wealth displays a Pareto like power law tail, ie P(w)\sim w^{1+a}. However the value of

Two-dimensional foam rheology with viscous drag.

a

Sector analysis for a FTSE portfolio of stocks

for the model is exactly 1. Exact numerical simulations for the model illustrate how, as the savings distribution function narrows to zero, the wealth distribution changes from a Pareto form to to an exponential function. Intermediate regions of wealth may be approximately described by a power law with

Rheological properties of the soft-disk model of two-dimensional foams

a>1

Measurement of Foam Density Profiles Using AC capacitance.

. However the value never reaches values of \~ 1.6-1.7 that characterise empirical wealth data. This conclusion is not changed if three body agent exchange processes are allowed. We conclude that other mechanisms are required if the model is to agree with empirical wealth data.

The effects of Plateau borders in the two-dimensional soap froth III. Further results

We formulate and apply a continuum model that incorporates elasticity, yield stress, plasticity, and viscous drag. It is motivated by the two-dimensional foam rheology experiments of Debregeas et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 178305 (2001)10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.178305] and Wang et al. [Phys. Rev. E 73, 031401 (2006)10.1103/PhysRevE.73.031401], and is successful in exhibiting their principal features, which are an exponentially decaying velocity profile and strain localization. Transient effects are also identified.

Dense packings of spheres in cylinders: Simulations

Using a portfolio of stocks from the London Stock Exchange FTSE100 index (FTSE), we study both the time dependence of their correlations and the normalized tree length of the associated minimal spanning tree (MST). The first four moments of the distribution of correlations and lengths of the tree are examined in detail and differences in behavior noted. For different economic groups and industries, clustering is evident. However, comparing the classification used prior to 2006 with that introduced in January 2006 it is clear that the new classification, apart from one or two notable exceptions, is much more compatible with the clustering obtained by the MST analysis. We finally compare the MST for real data with that obtained for a synthetic random market. The latter tree would seem more like the structure found by Coronnello et al. for trees based on high-frequency data.