The effectiveness of the federal funds rate as the U.S. monetary policy tool before, during and after the great recession

The effectiveness of the Federal Reserve’s policy of quantitative easing via large-scale asset purchase programs has been studied extensively. This paper distinguishes itself by examining the effectiveness of the federal funds rate as the U.S. monetary policy tool before, during and after the Great Recession of 2007-09. The zero lower bound came into play one year into the Great Recession, having dropped 425 basis points from the cycle peak. We begin by evaluating using the Wald test for Granger causality and the Johansen test for cointegration presence whether or not the changes in the federal funds rate affected the term structure of Treasury securities. Given that equity markets are sensitive to changes in interest rates, we next examine the impact of the federal funds rate changes on the level and volatility of the U.S. stock market. Our analysis reveals that the Fed policy of lowering the federal funds rate during the Great Recession was effective, resulting in changes in the Treasury term structure during but not after the Great Recession. Additionally, the Fed’s policy actions influenced the stock market and its volatility during the Great Recession only.peer-reviewe

Growth of superconducting MgB2 thin films via postannealing techniques

We report the effect of annealing on the superconductivity of MgB2 thin films as functions of the postannealing temperature in the range from 700 C to 950 C and of the postannealing time in the range from 30 min to 120 min. On annealing at 900 C for 30 min, we obtained the best-quality MgB2 films with a transition temperature of 39 K and a critical current density of ~ 10^7 A/cm^2. Using the scanning electron microscopy, we also investigated the film growth mechanism. The samples annealed at higher temperatures showed the larger grain sizes, well-aligned crystal structures with preferential orientations along the c-axis, and smooth surface morphologies. However, a longer annealing time prevented the alignment of grains and reduced the superconductivity, indicating a strong interfacial reaction between the substrate and the MgB2 film.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures include

Analysis of Laser ARPES from Bi2_2Sr2_2CaCu2_2O8+δ_{8+\delta} in superconductive state: angle resolved self-energy and fluctuation spectrum

We analyze the ultra high resolution laser angle resolved photo-emission spectroscopy (ARPES) intensity from the slightly underdoped Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ in the superconductive (SC) state. The momentum distribution curves (MDC) were fitted at each energy \w employing the SC Green's function along several cuts perpendicular to the Fermi surface with the tilt angle $\theta$ with respect to the nodal cut. The clear observation of particle-hole mixing was utilized such that the complex self-energy as a function of $\omega$ is directly obtained from the fitting. The obtained angle resolved self-energy is then used to deduce the Eliashberg function \alpha^2 F^{(+)}(\th,\w) in the diagonal channel by inverting the d-wave Eliashberg equation using the maximum entropy method. Besides a broad featureless spectrum up to the cutoff energy $\omega_c$, the deduced $\alpha^2 F$ exhibits two peaks around 0.05 eV and 0.015 eV. The former and the broad feature are already present in the normal state, while the latter emerges only below $T_c$. Both peaks become enhanced as $T$ is lowered or the angle $\th$ moves away from the nodal direction. The implication of these findings are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, summited to PR

Bandwidth-Controlled Insulator-Metal Transition and Correlated Metallic State in 5dd Transition Metal Oxides Srn+1_{n+1}Irn_{n}O3n+1_{3n+1} (nn=1, 2, and ∞\infty)

We investigated the electronic structures of the 5$d$ Ruddlesden-Popper series Sr$_{n+1}$Ir$_{n}$O$_{3n+1}$ ($n$=1, 2, and $\infty$) using optical spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. As 5$d$ orbitals are spatially more extended than 3$d$ or 4$d$ orbitals, it has been widely accepted that correlation effects are minimal in 5$d$ compounds. However, we observed a bandwidth-controlled transition from a Mott insulator to a metal as we increased $n$. In addition, the artificially synthesized perovskite SrIrO$_{3}$ showed a very large mass enhancement of about 6, indicating that it was in a correlated metallic state

Composition dependence of electronic structure and optical properties of Hf1-xSixOy gate dielectrics

Copyright © 2008 American Institute of Physics. This article is copyrighted as indicated in the article. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditionsComposition-dependent electronic structure and optical properties of Hf1−xSixOy 0.1 x 0.6 gate dielectrics on Si at 450 °C grown by UV-photo-induced chemical vapor deposition UV-CVD have been investigated via x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and spectroscopy ellipsometry SE . By means of the chemical shifts in the Hf 4f, Si 2p, and O 1s spectra, the Hf–O–Si bondings in the as-deposited films have been confirmed. Analyses of composition-dependent band alignment of Hf1−xSixOy / Si gate stacks have shown that the valence band VB offset Ev demonstrates little change; however, the values of conduction band offset Ec increase with the increase in the silicon atomic composition, resulting from the increase in the separation between oxygen 2p orbital VB state and antibonding d states intermixed of Hf and Si. Analysis by SE, based on the Tauc–Lorentz model, has indicated that decreases in the optical dielectric constant and increase in band gap have been observed as a function of silicon contents. Changes in the complex dielectric functions and band gap Eg related to the silicon concentration in the films are discussed systematically. From the band offset and band gap viewpoint, these results suggest that Hf1−xSixOy films provide sufficient tunneling barriers for electrons and holes, making them promising candidates as alternative gate dielectrics.National Natural Science Foundation of China and Royal Society U.K