Commodity cycles and financial instability in emerging economies

Commodity-exporting economies display procyclicality with the price of commodity exports. However, the evidence for the relative importance of commodity price shocks for aggregate fluctuations remains inconclusive. Using Russian data from 2001 to 2018 we estimate a small open economy New Keynesian model with a banking system and leveraged domestic firms who default on their unsecured domestic debt. We show that allowing default rates to vary endogenously over the business cycle amplifies the estimated contribution of commodity price shocks. Endogenous default introduces time-varying wedges that amplify the response of commodity price shocks through demand and income effects rather than the relative price effects that are found in the country risk-premium, balance sheet, and financial accelerator channels. We find that the contribution of commodity prices to explaining fluctuations in GDP rises from 2.5 to 33.6% while for deposits and non-performing loans, it increases from 5.3% and 1.6% to 71.3% and 60.4%, respectively

New records of lichens and allied fungi from the Leningrad Region, Russia. XII

Three lichen species and eight lichenicolous fungi were recorded for the first time for St. Petersburg or Eastern Leningrad Region. In addition, the protected species Lobaria scrobiculata was rediscovered in the Leningrad Region. The lichenicolous fungus Arthonia parietinaria is new to Russia, and two species, Didymocyrtis melanelixiae and Tremella everniae, are new for European Russia

Minigap, Parity Effect and Persistent Currents in SNS Nanorings

We have evaluated a proximity-induced minigap in the density of states (DOS) of SNS junctions and SNS nanorings at an arbitrary concentration of non-magnetic impurities. We have demonstrated that an isotropic energy minigap in the electron spectrum opens up already at arbitrarily weak disorder, while angle resolved DOS at higher energies can remain strongly anisotropic. The minigap value $\epsilon_g$ can be tuned by passing a supercurrent through an SNS junction or by applying a magnetic flux $\Phi$ to an SNS ring. A non-monotonous dependence of $\epsilon_g$ on $\Phi$ has been found at weak disorder. We have also studied persistent currents in isolated SNS nanorings. For odd number of electrons in the ring we have found a non-trivial current-phase (current-flux) relation which -- at relatively high disorder -- may lead to a $\pi$-junction state and spontaneous currents in the ground state of the system.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

The lichens of Moshchny Islannd (Lavansaari) - one of the remote islands in the Gulf of Finland.

Peer reviewe

Bulk viscosity of superfluid hyperon stars

We calculated bulk viscosity due to non-equilibrium weak processes in superfluid nucleon-hyperon matter of neutron stars. For that, the dissipative relativistic hydrodynamics, formulated in paper [1] for superfluid mixtures, was extended to the case when both nucleons and hyperons are superfluid. It was demonstrated that in the most general case (when neutrons, protons, Lambda, and Sigma^{-} hyperons are superfluid), non-equilibrium weak processes generate sixteen bulk viscosity coefficients, with only three of them being independent. In addition, we corrected an inaccuracy in a widely used formula for the bulk viscosity of non-superfluid nucleon-hyperon matter.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figure

Bulk viscosity of superfluid neutron stars

The hydrodynamics, describing dynamical effects in superfluid neutron stars, essentially differs from the standard one-fluid hydrodynamics. In particular, we have four bulk viscosity coefficients in the theory instead of one. In this paper we calculate these coefficients, for the first time, assuming they are due to non-equilibrium beta-processes (such as modified or direct Urca process). The results of our analysis are used to estimate characteristic damping times of sound waves in superfluid neutron stars. It is demonstrated that all four bulk viscosity coefficients lead to comparable dissipation of sound waves and should be considered on the same footing.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, this version with some minor stylistic changes is published in Phys. Rev.

Mesoscopic fluctuations of the supercurrent in diffusive Josephson junctions

We study mesoscopic fluctuations and weak localization correction to the supercurrent in Josephson junctions with coherent diffusive electron dynamics in the normal part. Two kinds of junctions are considered: a chaotic dot coupled to superconductors by tunnel barriers and a diffusive junction with transparent normal--superconducting interfaces. The amplitude of current fluctuations and the weak localization correction to the average current are calculated as functions of the ratio between the superconducting gap and the electron dwell energy, temperature, and superconducting phase difference across the junction. Technically, fluctuations on top of the spatially inhomogeneous proximity effect in the normal region are described by the replicated version of the \sigma-model. For the case of diffusive junctions with transparent interfaces, the magnitude of mesoscopic fluctuations of the critical current appears to be nearly 3 times larger than the prediction of the previous theory which did not take the proximity effect into account.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, 2 table

Efficiency of Finding Muon Track Trigger Primitives in CMS Cathode Strip Chambers

In the CMS Experiment, muon detection in the forward direction is accomplished by cathode strip chambers~(CSC). These detectors identify muons, provide a fast muon trigger, and give a precise measurement of the muon trajectory. There are 468 six-plane CSCs in the system. The efficiency of finding muon trigger primitives (muon track segments) was studied using~36 CMS CSCs and cosmic ray muons during the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge~(MTCC) exercise conducted by the~CMS experiment in~2006. In contrast to earlier studies that used muon beams to illuminate a very small chamber area ($< \! 0.01$~m$^2$), results presented in this paper were obtained by many installed CSCs operating {\em in situ} over an area of $\approx \! 23$~m$^2$ as a part of the~CMS experiment. The efficiency of finding 2-dimensional trigger primitives within 6-layer chambers was found to be~$99.93 \pm 0.03\%$. These segments, found by the CSC electronics within $800$~ns after the passing of a muon through the chambers, are the input information for the Level-1 muon trigger and, also, are a necessary condition for chambers to be read out by the Data Acquisition System

Search for anomalous Wtb couplings and flavour-changing neutral currents in t-channel single top quark production in pp collisions at root s=7 and 8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good