ENERGY POLICY WORKSHOP

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Radio Observations of 4079 Quasars

Using the NVSS radio catalog, we have searched for radio emission from 4079 quasars taken from the 1996 version of the Veron-Cetty and Veron (1996) quasar catalog. The comparison resulted in the positive detection of radio emission from 799 quasars. Of these, 168 are new radio detections. Examination of the radio luminosities shows a dramatic increase in the fraction of radio-loud quasars from the current epoch to z=0.5 and a gradual decline beyond z=1.0. Inspection of the radio-loud fraction as a function of M_B shows little dependence fainter than M_B=-29.5.Comment: 25 pages, including 9 figures and 1 tabl

Field induced phase transition in the few photon regime

Some features of the field induced phase transition accompanied by the vacuum creation of an electron-positron plasma (EPP) in strong time-dependent electric fields have been discussed in the work [1] in the domain of the tunneling mechanism ($\omega \ll m$, where $\omega$ is the characteristic frequency of the external field and $m$ is the electron mass). In the present contribution the features of the this process will be considered in the few photon domain where $\omega \sim m$. We observe a narrowing of the transient domain of the fast oscillations and, mainly, a considerable growth of the effectiveness of the EPP production. Under these circumstances, we see an increase of the effectiveness of the EPP creation in the particular case of a bifrequent excitation, where both mechanisms (tunneling and few photon) act simultaneously [2,3].Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, contribution to the Proceedings of the XXIII International Baldin Seminar on "High Energy Physics Problems", Dubna, Russia, September 19-24, 201

Nuclear fusion induced by X-rays in a crystal

The nuclei that constitute a crystalline lattice, oscillate relative to each other with a very low energy that is not sufficient to penetrate through the Coulomb barriers separating them. An additional energy, which is needed to tunnel through the barrier and fuse, can be supplied by external electromagnetic waves (X-rays or the synchrotron radiation). Exposing to the X-rays the solid compound LiD (lithium-deuteride) for the duration of 111 hours, we have detected 88 events of the nuclear fusion d+Li6 ---> Be8*. Our theoretical estimate agrees with what we observed. One of possible applications of the phenomenon we found, could be the measurements of the rates of various nuclear reactions (not necessarily fusion) at extremely low energies inaccessible in accelerator experiments.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. C on 28 October 201

Delegation or Voting

Collective decision procedures should balance the incentives they provide to acquire information and their capacity to aggregate private information. In a decision problem in which a project can be accepted or rejected once information about its quality has been acquired or not, we compare the performance of a delegation structure with that of two voting procedures. Delegation makes one's acceptance decision pivotal by definition. The decisiveness of one's vote in a voting procedure depends on the other agent's vote. This in turn determines the decision to acquire information. In the debate about a rational choice foundation of Condorcet's Jury Theorem, the distribution of information was left exogenous. Mixed (acceptance) strategies were required to validate th

THE FEDERAL AGRICULTURE IMPROVEMENT AND REFORM ACT OF 1996: COMMODITY AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act contains major revisions in farm commodity programs. This paper summarizes the major provision of legislation. Because many program implementation rules must be developed, program participants are advised to consult their local office of the USDA Farm Service Agency for final program provisions.Agricultural and Food Policy,

A PREVIEW OF THE 1996 FARM PROGRAM PROVISIONS

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have written farm bills that contain major revisions in farm commodity programs. Differences in these bills, House bill HR 2854 and Senate bill S 1541, must now be resolved by a Conference Committee, approved by a final vote of both houses of Congress, and signed by the President. Though differences in the bills do exist, the bills contain many similar provisions that appear likely to be included in the final version of the bill. This paper summarizes the major provisions of these bills and identifies areas where differences must be resolved by the Conference Committee.Agricultural and Food Policy,