Discontinuous Almost Automorphic Functions and Almost Automorphic Solutions of Differential Equations with Piecewise Constant Argument

In this article we introduce a class of discontinuous almost automorphic functions which appears naturally in the study of almost automorphic solutions of differential equations with piecewise constant argument. Their fundamental properties are used to prove the almost automorphicity of bounded solutions of a system of differential equations with piecewise constant argument. Due to the strong discrete character of these equations, the existence of a unique discrete almost automorphic solution of a non-autonomous almost automorphic difference system is obtained, for which conditions of exponential dichotomy and discrete Bi-almost automorphicity are fundamental

Antineutrino flux from the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant

We present a calculation of the antineutrino flux produced by the reactors at the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant in M\'exico, based on the antineutrino spectra produced in the decay chains of the fission fragments of the main isotopes in the reactor core, and their fission rates, that have been calculated using the DRAGON simulation code. We also present an estimate of the number of expected events in a detector made of plastic scintillator with a mass of 1 ton, at 100 m from the reactor cores.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 4 table

Physics Beyond the Standard Model: Focusing on the Muon Anomaly

We present a model based on the implication of an exceptional E_{6}-GUT symmetry for the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. We follow a particular chain of breakings with Higgses in the 78 and 351 representations. We analyse the radiative correction contributions to the muon mass and the effects of the breaking of the so-called Weinberg symmetry. We also estimate the range of values of the parameters of our model.Comment: 14 RevTeX pages, 5 figure

Who Should Bear the Administrative Costs of an Emissions Tax?

All environmental policies involve administrative costs, the costs of implementing and managing policies that extend beyond abatement costs. We examine theoretically the optimal distribution of these costs between the public and regulated sources of pollution. The distribution of administrative costs affects social welfare only if public funds are more expensive than private funds, or if the distribution of administrative costs affects the size of a regulated industry. If having the public take on a larger part of administrative costs increases the size of the industry and this does not lead to lower emissions for a given emissions tax, then it is optimal to make the pollution sources bear all of the administrative costs. A necessary, but not sufficient, reason for having the public bear part of the cost burden is if aggregate emissions decrease as a result.Emissions Taxes, Pigouvian Taxes, Administrative Costs, Pollution Control

A Note on Emissions Taxes and Incomplete Information

In contrast with what we perceive is the conventional wisdom about setting emissions taxes under uncertainty, we demonstrate that setting a uniform tax equal to expected marginal damage is not generally efficient under incomplete information about firms’ abatement costs and damages from pollution. We show that efficient taxes will deviate from expected marginal damage if there is uncertainty about the slopes of the marginal abatement costs of regulated firms. Moreover, efficient emissions tax rates will vary across firms if a regulator can use observable firm-level characteristics to gain some information about how the firms’ marginal abatement costs vary.Emissions Taxes, Incomplete Information, Uncertainty

Deep Studies of the Resolved Stellar Populations in the Outskirts of M31

We discuss the first results from ongoing studies of the resolved stellar populations in the outskirts of our nearest large neighbour, M31. Deep HST/WFPC2 archival observations are used to construct colour-magnitude-diagrams which reach well below the horizontal branch at selected locations in the outer disk and halo, while a panoramic ground-based imaging survey maps spatial density variations through resolved star counts to a projected radius of ~50 kpc.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in proc of "New Quests in Stellar Astrophysics: The Link Between Stars and Cosmology", eds. M. Chavez, A. Bressan, A. Buzzoni, D. Mayy

Charm Meson Mixing: An Experimental Review

We review current experimental results on charm mixing and CP violation. We survey experimental techniques, including time-dependent, time-independent, and quantum-correlated measurements. We review techniques that use a slow pion tag from D*+ --> pi+ D0 + c.c. decays and those that do not, and cover two-body and multi-body D0 decay modes. We provide a summary of D-mixing results to date and comment on future experimental prospects at the LHC and other new or planned facilities.Comment: 53 pages, 29 figures, 8 table

A critical appraisal of ATLAS9 and NextGen 5 model atmospheres

The fitting atmosphere parameters (Teff, g, and [Fe/H]) for over 300 stars in the Gunn & Striker and Jacoby et al. catalogs have been obtained relying on the Kurucz (1992) ATLAS9 and Hauschildt et al (1999) NextGen5 synthesis models. The output results are compared, and a critical appraisal of both theoretical codes is performed.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures; proceedings of "New Quests in Stellar Astrophysics: The link between Stars and Cosmology", 26-30 March, 2001, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, eds. M. Chavez, A. Bressan, A. Buzzoni & D. Mayya, to be published by the Kluwer Academic Publisher