The recently reported non-zero isotropic birefringence angle in Planck 2018 polarization
data provides a tantalizing hint for new physics of axions. In this paper, we explain this by a
string theory motivated axion with a monodromy potential that plays the role of dark energy. Upon
using the birefringence measurement and the constraint on the equation of state for dark energy in
this scenario, we find an upper bound on the axion decay constant as fa
≲ 1016
GeV. This naturally gives an energy scale of order GUT and can resolve the theoretical issue of
super-Planckian field range of the conventional axion dark energy model. We further study the
implications of cosmic birefringence for the underlying theory and its consequences for the string
swampland conjectures. We finally discuss oscillatory features in the dark energy sector and the
expected cosmic birefringence tomography.
Openness is a common feature in the contemporary design field. It may be found in both production and design processes, and enables the ability to spread information, create networks and connect people, skills or companies. In the last few year many new web platforms have based their business model on crowdsourcing, networking and on collective intelligence, envisioning new relations between the customer, the designer and the production system. Today not all of them are still on the market, and others have taken new directions. This paper presents a comparison of the path of three design companies: Opendesk, Quirky and Formabilio. The first company is still flourishing, the second changed its intent in part and the third closed after three years of activity. All these platforms have some points in common: they are design companies, they produce objects, their work is based on using internet and they create networks.The paper seeks to analyze these similarities, as well as the differences between these companies, by focusing the role of design, the methods of production and distribution, and the degree of openness in each of them.
The article explores the concept of “openness” in the design field. In particular, it suggests a broad interpretation of the relationship between “openness” and design by analyzing the use of the expression “open design” between 2000 and 2017. This expression is related to words such as, co-design, crowdsourcing, open innovation, making and open manufacturing, which can be synthesized by the concepts of open source, collaboration, and access. The article finally expresses, through a critical point of view, the reasons why open processes in design have limitations.
The paper presents an analysis of the evolution of Open Design and Open Manufacturing from 2000 to 2020. The two phenomena are examined by taking into account real experiences in these fields in order to track the most relevant developments. The first step of the research consisted in the identification of the best-known and most oftencited experiences, which have been collected into four different subsets, according to their type, and organized into a chronological visualization. The second step of the research involved the identification and description of three case studies, one for each of the main types: Instructables, OpenStructures and Precious Plastics. Finally, the paper identifies three main time frames, and expresses the constructive and the critical aspects of the two open processes, concluding with a speculation on three possible futures.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.