Hunting electroweakinos at future hadron colliders and direct detection experiments

We analyse the mass reach for electroweakinos at future hadron colliders and their interplay with direct detection experiments. Motivated by the LHC data, we focus on split supersymmetry models with different electroweakino spectra. We find for example that a 100 TeV collider may explore Winos up to ~ 7 TeV in low scale gauge mediation models or thermal Wino dark matter around 3 TeV in models of anomaly mediation with long-lived Winos. We show moreover how collider searches and direct detection experiments have the potential to cover large part of the parameter space even in scenarios where the lightest neutralino does not contribute to the whole dark matter relic density.Comment: 25 pages, matches version accepted by JHE

Potential and limits of numerical modelling for supporting the development of HTS devices

In this paper, we present a general review of the status of numerical modelling applied to the design of high temperature superconductor (HTS) devices. The importance of this tool is emphasized at the beginning of the paper, followed by formal definitions of the notions of models, numerical methods and numerical models. The state-of-the-art models are listed, and the main limitations of existing numerical models are reported. Those limitations are shown to concern two aspects: one the one hand, the numerical performance (i.e. speed) of the methods themselves is not good enough yet; on the other hand, the availability of model file templates, material data and benchmark problems is clearly insufficient. Paths for improving those elements are provided in the paper. Besides the technical aspects of the research to be further pursued, for instance in adaptive numerical methods, most recommendations command for an increased collective effort for sharing files, data, codes and their documentation

Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: a review of methods and approaches. ESRI Working Paper No. 645 December 2019

Many urgent environmental problems can be mitigated with more sustainable use of resource. An acknowledgement of which is a growing interest among policy practitioners in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour change initiatives. The effect of anthropic pressure on the environment is long known and the first pro-environmental behaviour studies date back to the middle 1970s. Despite this, the scientific literature has not yet answered several questions: what are the most suitable ways to encourage behavioural changes? What are the barriers to project implementation? What are the long run effects of behavioural change projects? With this in mind, this contribution offers a review of the existing literature on behavioural change case studies and provides a categorisation of treatments and guidelines for successful project implementation. Five different approaches have been considered: education and awareness, social influence, relationship building, incentives and nudges, which have been used in experimental studies. On balance the case studies suggest that all approaches are suitable but their selection should be based on specific objectives and target population. Interestingly, the choice of the behaviour to change is rarely discussed before project implementation. This analysis also highlights that little is known on whether behaviour change projects achieve sustained pro-environmental behavioural change over time

Critical state solution of a cable made of curved thin superconducting tapes

In this paper we develop a method based on the critical state for calculating the current and field distributions and the AC losses in a cable made of curved thin superconducting tapes. The method also includes the possibility of considering spatial variation of the critical current density, which may be the result of the manufacturing process. For example, rare-earth based coated conductors are known to have a decrease of the transport properties in near the edges of the tape: this influences the way current and field penetrate in the sample and, consequently, the AC losses. We demonstrate that curved tapes arranged on a cylindrical former behave as an infinite horizontal stack of straight tapes, and we compare the AC losses in a variety of working conditions, both without and with the lateral dependence of the critical current density. This model and subsequent similar approaches can be of interest for various applications of coated conductors, including power cables and conductor-on-round-core (CORC) cables

Fiscal Policies and the Dollar/Pound Exchange Rate: 1870-1984

This paper investigates the consequences of fiscal policies for the exchange rate. After developing a simple theory of how government financing policies should effect the exchange rate, we test it using data on the dollar/pound exchange rate. Previous analyses have concentrated mainly on the past-Bretton Woods flexible exchange rate system, thus ignoring potentially useful information contained In fixed exchange rate periods or in previous flexible exchange rate periods. This paper shows that it is theoretically proper and econometrically feasible to merge evidence from different nominal exchange rate systems. The gain of this procedure is that we can extend the sample period back to the 1870's. Our results suggest that permanent government expenditures are the only fiscal variables that significantly affected the dollar/pound nominal exchange rate. Budget deficits appear to be irrelevant in this respect.

Another unconsidered sinister effect of indusrty-specific crises? On the possible emergence of adverse selection phenomena on the survival of entrepreneurial ventures.

This article explores the possibility that under an intensely negative industry-specific shock, the commonly detected positive relationship between the human capital of founders and the survival prospects of start-up businesses may actually be reversed. Starting from an analysis of the issue from a theoretical perspective in order to derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for the emergence of these adverse selection phenomena in entrepreneurship, the study examines a sample of 179 Italian start-ups operating in the ICT services market created during the boom period from 1995 to early 2000. Econometric analyses provide evidence that, during an intense industry crisis (i.e., early 2000 to 2003), entrepreneurs with a substantial amount of human capital may pursue an exit strategy.High-tech entrepreneurship; Adverse selection; Industry crises.

3-D modeling and simulation of 2G HTS stacks and coils

Use of 2G HTS coated conductors in several power applications has become popular in recent years. Their large current density under high magnetic fields makes them suitable candidates for high power capacity applications such as stacks, coils, magnets, cables and current leads. For this reason, modeling and simulation of their electromagnetic properties is very desirable in the design and optimization processes. For many applications, when symmetries allow it, simple models consisting of 1D or 2D representations are well suited for providing a satisfying description of the problem at hand. However, certain designs such as racetrack coils and finite-length or non-straight stacks, do pose a 3D problem that cannot be easily reduced to a 2D configuration. Full 3-D models have been developed, but their use for simulating superconducting devices is a very challenging task involving a large-scale computational problem. In this work, we present a new method to simulate the electromagnetic transient behavior of 2G HTS stacks and coils. The method, originally used to model stacks of straight superconducting tapes or circular coils in 2D, is now extended to 3D. The main idea is to construct an anisotropic bulklike equivalent for the stack or coil, such that the geometrical layout of the internal alternating structures of insulating, metallic, superconducting and substrate layers is reduced while keeping the overall electromagnetic behavior of the original device. Besides the aforementioned interest in modeling and simulating 2G HTS coated conductors, this work gives a further step towards efficient 3D modeling and simulation of superconducting devices for large scale applications

Business fluctuations in a behavioral switching model: Gridlock effects and credit crunch phenomena in financial networks

In this paper we characterize the evolution over time of a credit network in the most general terms as a system of interacting banks and firms operating in a three-sector economy with goods, credit and interbank market. Credit connections change over time via an evolving fitness measure depending from lenders’ supply of liquidity and borrowers’ demand of credit. Moreover, an endogenous learning mechanism allows agents to switch between a loyal or a shopping-around strategy according to their degree of satisfaction. The crucial question we investigate is how financial bubbles and credit-crunch phenomena emerge from the implemented mechanism