Primordial nucleosynthesis in higher dimensional cosmology

We investigate nucleosynthesis and element formation in the early universe in the framework of higher dimensional cosmology. For this purpose we utilize a previous solution of the present author, which may be termed as the generalized Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model. We find that temperature decays less rapidly in higher dimensional cosmology, which we believe may have nontrivial consequences \emph{vis-a-vis} primordial physics

Absence of replica symmetry breaking in the random field Ising model

It is shown that replica symmetry is not broken in the random field Ising model in any dimension, at any temperature and field strength, except possibly at a measure-zero set of exceptional temperatures and field strengths.Comment: 11 pages. To appear in Commun. Math. Phy

Insourcing: How Bringing Back Essential Federal Jobs Can Save Taxpayer Dollars and Improve Services

Explains how federal government agencies can save millions of dollars and retain vital skills and expertise by insourcing -- moving work back in-house that should not be outsourced to private contractors in the first place. Recommends reforms

Better Auditing for Better Contracting: Eight Recommendations to Reform the Defense Contract Audit Agency and Other Federal Government Audit

Examines why the DCAA's audits of government contractors sometimes fail. Proposes reforms to strengthen oversight, including giving auditors authority to subpoena contractor records and shifting from limited to risk-based audits and random checks

Estimation in spin glasses: A first step

The Sherrington--Kirkpatrick model of spin glasses, the Hopfield model of neural networks and the Ising spin glass are all models of binary data belonging to the one-parameter exponential family with quadratic sufficient statistic. Under bare minimal conditions, we establish the $\sqrt{N}$-consistency of the maximum pseudolikelihood estimate of the natural parameter in this family, even at critical temperatures. Since very little is known about the low and critical temperature regimes of these extremely difficult models, the proof requires several new ideas. The author's version of Stein's method is a particularly useful tool. We aim to introduce these techniques into the realm of mathematical statistics through an example and present some open questions.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009053607000000109 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Is it "natural" to expect Economics to become a part of the Natural Sciences?

We are in the middle of a complex debate as to whether Economics is really a proper natural science. The 'Discussion & Debate' issue of this Euro. Phys. J. Special Topic volume is: 'Can economics be a Physical Science?' I discuss some aspects here.Comment: 7 pages; EPJ-ST special issue on 'Can Economics be a Physical Science?' Edited by S. Sinha, A. S. Chakrabarti & M. Mitr