ECONOMETRIC INVESTIGATION OF THE DYNAMIC EFFECTS OF THE 1983 PAYMENT-IN-KIND PROGRAM ON THE WHEAT ECONOMY

A stochastic, dynamic, and control-system econometric model of the wheat sector is developed to assess the effects of the Payment-in Kind program. Empirical results the complex dynamics of the responses. Reduced storage costs and deficiency payments for the U.S. government and increased income for wheat farmers are benefits from the PIK program in the short-run. Increased direct government transfers from the public to support the program were required. The long-run economic implications are not clearly desirable. This is due primarily to the highly sensitive international wheat market.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Thermal conductance as a probe of the non-local order parameter for a topological superconductor with gauge fluctuations

We investigate the effect of quantum phase slips on a helical quantum wire coupled to a superconductor by proximity. The effective low-energy description of the wire is that of a Majorana chain minimally coupled to a dynamical $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field. Hence the wire emulates a matter-coupled gauge theory, with fermion parity playing the role of the gauged global symmetry. Quantum phase slips lift the ground state degeneracy associated with unpaired Majorana edge modes at the ends of the chain, a change that can be understood as a transition between the confined and the Higgs-mechanism regimes of the gauge theory. We identify the quantization of thermal conductance at the transition as a robust experimental feature separating the two regimes. We explain this result by establishing a relation between thermal conductance and the Fredenhagen-Marcu string order-parameter for confinement in gauge theories. Our work indicates that thermal transport could serve as a measure of non-local order parameters for emergent or simulated topological quantum order.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; v2: different introduction, added references, updated figure 2; published version to appear in PR

Nilpotent Networks and 4D RG Flows

Starting from a general $\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFT, we study the network of $\mathcal{N} = 1$ SCFTs obtained from relevant deformations by nilpotent mass parameters. We also study the case of flipper field deformations where the mass parameters are promoted to a chiral superfield, with nilpotent vev. Nilpotent elements of semi-simple algebras admit a partial ordering connected by a corresponding directed graph. We find strong evidence that the resulting fixed points are connected by a similar network of 4D RG flows. To illustrate these general concepts, we also present a full list of nilpotent deformations in the case of explicit $\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFTs, including the case of a single D3-brane probing a $D$- or $E$-type F-theory 7-brane, and 6D $(G,G)$ conformal matter compactified on a $T^2$, as described by a single M5-brane probing a $D$- or $E$-type singularity. We also observe a number of numerical coincidences of independent interest, including a collection of theories with rational values for their conformal anomalies, as well as a surprisingly nearly constant value for the ratio $a_{\mathrm{IR}} / c_{\mathrm{IR}}$ for the entire network of flows associated with a given UV $\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFT. The $\texttt{arXiv}$ submission also includes the full dataset of theories which can be accessed with a companion $\texttt{Mathematica}$ script.Comment: v2: 73 pages, 12 figures, clarifications and references adde

From Majorana Fermions to Topological Order

We consider a system consisting of a 2D network of links between Majorana fermions on superconducting islands. We show that the fermionic Hamiltonian modeling this system is topologically-ordered in a region of parameter space. In particular we show that Kitaev's toric code emerges in fourth-order perturbation theory. By using a Jordan-Wigner transformation we can map the model onto a family of signed 2D Ising models in a transverse field where the signs (FM or AFM) are determined by additional gauge bits. Our mapping allows an understanding of the non-perturbative regime and the phase transition to a non-topological phase. We discuss the physics behind a possible implementation of this model and argue how it can be used for topological quantum computation by adiabatic changes in the Hamiltonian.Comment: 4+4 pages, 5 figures. v2 has a new reference and a few new comments. In v3: yet another new reference and Supplementary Material is renamed Appendix. In v4: several typos are corrected, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

A Forecasting-Programming Method for Swine Production-Marketing Decisions

This study reports on the development and progress of a forecasting-programming model for swine inventory management and marketing decisions. This model considers interrelationships between breeding herd, feeder pig and finishing hog activities. Objectives were: 1. To structure a dynamic operational decision model for a modern farrow-to-finish swine confinement unit which conforms with economic theory, uses price and cost forecast information and is as consistent as possible with current production scheduling practices. 2. To use and test this model during a combined production and marketing decision process and to compare economic results with results of a standard strategy

A Forecasting-Programming Method for Swine Production-Marketing Decisions

This study reports on the development and progress of a forecasting-programming model for swine inventory management and marketing decisions. This model considers interrelationships between breeding herd, feeder pig and finishing hog activities. Objectives were: 1. To structure a dynamic operational decision model for a modern farrow-to-finish swine confinement unit which conforms with economic theory, uses price and cost forecast information and is as consistent as possible with current production scheduling practices. 2. To use and test this model during a combined production and marketing decision process and to compare economic results with results of a standard strategy

Orderly Production and Marketing in the Beef-Pork Sector

This study will present economic models for analyzing temporal equilibrium positions for the beef-pork sector. The issues of spatial distribution, storage, and meat forms will not be directly analyzed. Grade and yield changes for various carcass classes will, however, be implied in the carrying costs of the animal. The models will be designed such that a number of different factors that affect the production and marketing of beef and pork can be analyzed simultaneously