Giant Planets

We review the interior structure and evolution of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and giant exoplanets with particular emphasis on constraining their global composition. Compared to the first edition of this review, we provide a new discussion of the atmospheric compositions of the solar system giant planets, we discuss the discovery of oscillations of Jupiter and Saturn, the significant improvements in our understanding of the behavior of material at high pressures and the consequences for interior and evolution models. We place the giant planets in our Solar System in context with the trends seen for exoplanets.Comment: This chapter is to be published in the second edition of the Treatise on Geophysics (Eds. T. Spohn, G. Schubert). 42 pages, 16 figures. Accepted 25 February 201

Titan

The following topics are discussed with respect to Titan: observations of the atmosphere; laboratory simulations and theoretical models of Titan's atmosphere; endpoints of atmospheric chemistry - aerosols and oceans; exobiology; and the next steps in understanding Titan

Giant Planets

We review the interior structure and evolution of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and extrasolar giant planets with particular emphasis on constraining their global composition

Price setting in the euro area: some stylised facts from individual producer price data

This paper documents producer price setting in 6 countries of the euro area: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. It collects evidence from available studies on each of those countries and also provides new evidence. These studies use monthly producer price data. The following five stylised facts emerge consistently across countries. First, producer prices change infrequently : each month around 21% of prices change. Second, there is substantial cross-sector heterogeneity in the frequency of price changes: prices change very often in the energy sector, less often in food and intermediate goods and least often in nondurable non- food and durable goods. Third, countries have a similar ranking of industries in terms of frequency of price changes. Fourth, there is no evidence of downward nominal rigidity: price changes are for about 45% decreases and 55% increases. Fifth, price changes are sizeable compared to the inflation rate. The paper also examines the factors driving producer price changes. It finds that costs structure, competition, seasonality, inflation and attractive pricing all play a role in driving producer price changes. In addition producer prices tend to be more flexible than consumer prices. --Price-setting,producer prices

Price setting in the euro area : some stylised facts from individual producer price data

This paper documents producer price setting in 6 countries of the euro area: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. It collects evidence from available studies on each of those countries and also provides new evidence. These studies use monthly producer price data. The following five stylised facts emerge consistently across countries. First, producer prices change infrequently: each month around 21% of prices change. Second, there is substantial cross-sector heterogeneity in the frequency of price changes: prices change very often in the energy sector, less often in food and intermediate goods and least often in non-durable non- food and durable goods. Third, countries have a similar ranking of industries in terms of frequency of price changes. Fourth, there is no evidence of downward nominal rigidity: price changes are for about 45% decreases and 55% increases. Fifth, price changes are sizeable compared to the inflation rate. The paper also examines the factors driving producer price changes. It finds that costs structure, competition, seasonality, inflation and attractive pricing all play a role in driving producer price changes. In addition producer prices tend to be more flexible than consumer prices.Price-setting, producer prices

Price setting in the euro area: Some stylised facts from Individual Producer Price Data

This paper documents producer price setting in 6 countries of the euro area: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. It collects evidence from available studies on each of those countries and also provides new evidence. These studies use monthly producer price data. The following five stylised facts emerge consistently across countries. First, producer prices change infrequently: each month around 21% of prices change. Second, there is substantial cross-sector heterogeneity in the frequency of price changes: prices change very often in the energy sector, less often in food and intermediate goods and least often in non-durable non- food and durable goods. Third, countries have a similar ranking of industries in terms of frequency of price changes. Fourth, there is no evidence of downward nominal rigidity: price changes are for about 45% decreases and 55% increases. Fifth, price changes are sizeable compared to the inflation rate. The paper also examines the factors driving producer price changes. It finds that costs structure, competition, seasonality, inflation and attractive pricing all play a role in driving producer price changes. In addition producer prices tend to be more flexible than consumer prices.

Fast and User-friendly Quantum Key Distribution

Some guidelines for the comparison of different quantum key distribution experiments are proposed. An improved 'plug & play' interferometric system allowing fast key exchange is then introduced. Self-alignment and compensation of birefringence remain. Original electronics implementing the BB84 protocol and allowing user-friendly operation is presented. Key creation with 0.1 photon per pulse at a rate of 486 Hz with a 5.4% QBER - corresponding to a net rate of 210Hz - over a 23 Km installed cable was performed.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, added referenc

New insights on Saturn's formation from its nitrogen isotopic composition

The recent derivation of a lower limit for the $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio in Saturn's ammonia, which is found to be consistent with the Jovian value, prompted us to revise models of Saturn's formation using as constraints the supersolar abundances of heavy elements measured in its atmosphere. Here we find that it is possible to account for both Saturn's chemical and isotopic compositions if one assumes the formation of its building blocks at $\sim$45 K in the protosolar nebula, provided that the O abundance was $\sim$2.6 times protosolar in its feeding zone. To do so, we used a statistical thermodynamic model to investigate the composition of the clathrate phase that formed during the cooling of the protosolar nebula and from which the building blocks of Saturn were agglomerated. We find that Saturn's O/H is at least $\sim$34.9 times protosolar and that the corresponding mass of heavy elements ($\sim$43.1 \Mearth) is within the range predicted by semi-convective interior models.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

Ecosistemas territoriales de aprendizaje en España: el papel del territorio en la eficacia y la equidad educativas

El objetivo principal de esta tesis es contrastar, para el caso español, el papel del territorio en la eficacia y la equidad educativas. Sosteniéndose que, en forma de un ecosistema territorial de aprendizaje, ese papel territorial en la eficacia educativa se basa en tres roles del territorio: como espacio contenedor de recursos y agentes, como espacio con un papel activo y como espacio de relaciones y procesos. Y que el papel territorial en la equidad educativa afecta a las dos principales vertientes de la misma: como inclusión y como justicia. Para alcanzar ese objetivo, en los Capítulos 1 y 2 se establece el marco teórico a partir de una revisión de la literatura. De esta forma, se repasa el papel del aprendizaje en la literatura económica desde una perspectiva centrada en la calidad educativa, y se revisan los principales debates de los aspectos clave de la misma: la eficacia y la equidad educativas. Y se revisa el papel del territorio en la calidad educativa desde una perspectiva triple en torno a los tres roles planteados del territorio, postulando y describiendo el modelo de ecosistema territorial de aprendizaje. En el Capítulo 3 se lleva a cabo una descripción y una justificación de lo apropiado de las fuentes de datos y de las metodologías empleadas: el Informe PISA, en su edición 2015, y la Evaluación Final de Educación Secundaria de la Comunidad de Madrid, en su edición de 2017; y los jerárquicos o multinivel. En el Capítulo 4 se examina la eficacia educativa regional en España acorde a los tres roles territoriales planteados. Para ello, en primer lugar, se resalta la diferente distribución territorial de los factores condicionantes del aprendizaje. Tras esto, se contrasta de manera estadística la vinculación existente entre esos condicionantes y los resultados, incorporando factores particulares del territorio. Finalmente, se discute el diferente funcionamiento que los determinantes muestran en función del territorio de pertenencia del estudiante. En el Capítulo 5 se realiza un análisis de la equidad educativa regional en España en sus vertientes como inclusión y como justicia. Así, tras comprobar la divergencia regional existente en el acceso educativo según perfiles concretos de los estudiantes y escuelas, se analizan las disparidades territoriales y los determinantes contextuales del fracaso escolar, con énfasis en su manifestación como un bajo rendimiento en PISA. De igual forma, se exponen las disparidades regionales que aparecen en los indicadores de equidad en PISA en función del principio de justicia social escogido, y se analizan las divergencias territoriales existentes en la relación de los principales factores ajenos al control de los estudiantes que influyen en sus resultados educativos. En el Capítulo 6 se aplican los fundamentos del ecosistema territorial de aprendizaje para el caso concreto de Madrid. Esto, dada la riqueza y nivel de desagregación espacial de la base de datos de la evaluación final de educación secundaria de la Comunidad de Madrid, permite contrastar, a una escala local desagregada en distritos más próxima y con una potencialmente mayor influencia contextual sobre los estudiantes, los resultados sobre el papel del territorio en la eficacia y la equidad educativas obtenidos a nivel regional. Finalmente, en el Capítulo 7, se recogen las principales conclusiones obtenidas a lo largo de toda la tesis doctoral, orientando las mismas hacia una discusión de la efectividad de las políticas públicas educativas existentes y a recomendaciones para su implementación y enfoque. Y se señalan las principales limitaciones metodológicas y relacionadas con las fuentes de información, así como las principales líneas de investigación futuras