The impact of externalities on the innovation activity of Russian firms

In this paper, we analyze the impact of externalities on firms’ capacity to develop and implement innovations. We evaluate a Probit model containing both firm level factors and regional factors, such as the institutional environment, state support, and human capital. The dependent variable is a dummy variable reflecting the involvement of a firm in innovation activity. We employ data provided by BEEPS 2012-2014 for firm-level indicators and data provided by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service for region level indicators. The results confirm that at present the most important external factors affecting the innovation activity of Russian firms are state support, both at the firm level and at the regional level, the economic situation in the region, institutions, and quality of human capital. At the same time, we found that several factors such as political stability, tax policy, and investment risks were insignificant. These results require further analysis. We also found that the impact of the factors mentioned above depends on whether a region receives state support. The results imply that a differentiated policy that considers regional characteristics will probably be more effective than a uniform policy on innovation. © 2018, National Research University, Higher School of Econoimics. All rights reserved.The study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project №18-010-01190 “Models for analysing innovation development factors and comparative advantages in the Russian economy”). The authors are grateful to Karina Nagieva, postgraduate student at the Higher School of Economics and Management of the Ural Federal University, for her contributions to this study. The authors would also like to thank participants of the conference hosted by the HSE Centre for Market Studies and Spatial Economics (St. Petersburg, June, 2016) for their valuable comments. Sole responsibility for any possible mistakes lies with the authors

Self-similarity of wind-driven seas

International audienceThe results of theoretical and numerical study of the Hasselmann kinetic equation for deep water waves in presence of wind input and dissipation are presented. The guideline of the study: nonlinear transfer is the dominating mechanism of wind-wave evolution. In other words, the most important features of wind-driven sea could be understood in a framework of conservative Hasselmann equation while forcing and dissipation determine parameters of a solution of the conservative equation. The conservative Hasselmann equation has a rich family of self-similar solutions for duration-limited and fetch-limited wind-wave growth. These solutions are closely related to classic stationary and homogeneous weak-turbulent Kolmogorov spectra and can be considered as non-stationary and non-homogeneous generalizations of these spectra. It is shown that experimental parameterizations of wind-wave spectra (e.g. JONSWAP spectrum) that imply self-similarity give a solid basis for comparison with theoretical predictions. In particular, the self-similarity analysis predicts correctly the dependence of mean wave energy and mean frequency on wave age Cp / U10. This comparison is detailed in the extensive numerical study of duration-limited growth of wind waves. The study is based on algorithm suggested by Webb (1978) that was first realized as an operating code by Resio and Perrie (1989, 1991). This code is now updated: the new version is up to one order faster than the previous one. The new stable and reliable code makes possible to perform massive numerical simulation of the Hasselmann equation with different models of wind input and dissipation. As a result, a strong tendency of numerical solutions to self-similar behavior is shown for rather wide range of wave generation and dissipation conditions. We found very good quantitative coincidence of these solutions with available results on duration-limited growth, as well as with experimental parametrization of fetch-limited spectra JONSWAP in terms of wind-wave age Cp / U10

Spine-sheath polarization structures in four active galactic nuclei jets

We present the results of multifrequency (15 + 8 + 5 GHz) polarization Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the three BL Lacertae objects 0745 + 241, 1418 + 546 and 1652 + 398 together with 5-GHz VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) observations of 1418 + 546 and 1.6- and 5-GHz VSOP observations of the blazar 1055 + 018. The jets of all these sources have polarization structure transverse to the jet axis, with the polarization E vectors aligned with the jet along the jet spine and 'sheaths' of orthogonal E vectors at one or both edges of the jet. The presence of polarization aligned with the jet near the 'spine' may indicate that the jets are associated with helical B fields that propogate outward with the jet flow; the presence of orthogonal polarization near the edges of the jet may likewise be a consequence of a helical jet B field, or may be owing to an interaction with the ambient medium on parsec scales. We have tentatively detected interknot polarization in 1055 + 018 with E aligned with the local jet direction, consistent with the possibility that the jet of this source is associated with a helical B field

Diffusion model of interacting gravity waves on the surface of deep fluid

International audienceA simple phenomenological model for nonlinear interactions of gravity waves on the surface of deep water is developed. The Snl nonlinear interaction term in the kinetic equation for wave action is replaced by the nonlinear second-order diffusion-type operator. Analytical and numerical studies show that the new model gives a reasonably good description of a real situation, consuming three order of magnitude less computer time

Cluster superconductivity in the magnetoelectric Pb(Fe1/2Sb1/2)O3 ceramics

We report the observation of cluster (local) superconductivity in the magnetoelectric Pb(Fe1/2Sb1/2)O3 ceramics prepared at a hydrostatic pressure of 6 GPa and temperatures 1200-1800 K to stabilize the perovskite phase. The superconductivity is manifested by an abrupt drop of the magnetic susceptibility at the critical temperature TC 7 K. Both the magnitude of this drop and TC decrease with magnetic field increase. Similarly, the low-field paramagnetic absorption measured by EPR spectrometer drops significantly below TC as well. The observed effects and their critical magnetic field dependence are interpreted as manifestation of the superconductivity and Meissner effect in metallic Pb nanoclusters existing in the ceramics. Their volume fraction and average size were estimated as 0.1-0.2% and 140-150 nm, respectively. The superconductivity related effects disappear after oxidizing annealing of the ceramics.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure