Reply to the comment by Jacobs and Thorpe

Reply to a comment on "Infinite-Cluster geometry in central-force networks", PRL 78 (1997), 1480. A discussion about the order of the rigidity percolation transition.Comment: 1 page revTe

Laplacian Distribution and Domination

Let $m_G(I)$ denote the number of Laplacian eigenvalues of a graph $G$ in an interval $I$, and let $\gamma(G)$ denote its domination number. We extend the recent result $m_G[0,1) \leq \gamma(G)$, and show that isolate-free graphs also satisfy $\gamma(G) \leq m_G[2,n]$. In pursuit of better understanding Laplacian eigenvalue distribution, we find applications for these inequalities. We relate these spectral parameters with the approximability of $\gamma(G)$, showing that $\frac{\gamma(G)}{m_G[0,1)} \not\in O(\log n)$. However, $\gamma(G) \leq m_G[2, n] \leq (c + 1) \gamma(G)$ for $c$-cyclic graphs, $c \geq 1$. For trees $T$, $\gamma(T) \leq m_T[2, n] \leq 2 \gamma(G)$

Assessment of clear and cloudy sky parameterizations for daily downwelling longwave radiation over different land surfaces in Florida, USA

Clear sky downwelling longwave radiation (Rldc) and cloudy sky downwelling longwave radiation (Rld) formulas were tested across eleven sites in Florida. The Brunt equation, using air vapor pressure and temperature measurements, provides the best Rldc estimates with a root mean square error of less than around 12 Wm−2 across all sites. The Crawford and Duchon\u27s cloudiness factor with Brunt equation is recommended for Rld calculations. This combined approach requires no local calibration and estimates Rld with a root mean square error of less than around 13 Wm−2 and squared correlation coefficients that typically exceed 0.9

Electron-hole spectra created by adsorption on metals from density-functional theory

Non-adiabaticity in adsorption on metal surfaces gives rise to a number of measurable effects, such as chemicurrents and exo-electron emission. Here we present a quantitative theory of chemicurrents on the basis of ground-state density-functional theory (DFT) calculations of the effective electronic potential and the Kohn-Sham band structure. Excitation probabilities are calculated both for electron-hole pairs and for electrons and holes separately from first-order time-dependent perturbation theory. This is accomplished by evaluating the matrix elements (between Kohn-Sham states) of the rate of change of the effective electronic potential between subsequent (static) DFT calculations. Our approach is related to the theory of electronic friction, but allows for direct access to the excitation spectra. The method is applied to adsorption of atomic hydrogen isotopes on the Al(111) surface. The results are compatible with the available experimental data (for noble metal surfaces); in particular, the observed isotope effect in H versus D adsorption is described by the present theory. Moreover, the results are in qualitative agreement with computationally elaborate calculations of the full dynamics within time-dependent density-functional theory, with the notable exception of effects due to the spin dynamics. Being a perturbational approach, the method proposed here is simple enough to be applied to a wide class of adsorbates and surfaces, while at the same time allowing us to extract system-specific information.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B, http://prb.aps.org/, v2: some major improvements, plus correction of minor error

Synchronisation of financial crises

This paper develops concordance indices for studying the simultaneous occurrence of financial crises. The indices are designed to cope with these typically low incidence events. This leads us to confine attention to non-tranquil periods to develop a bivariate index and its multivariate analog for potentially serially correlated categorical data. An application to the Bordo et al. (2001) data set reveals the extent of concordance in banking and currency crises across countries. The internationalisation of financial crises in the 20th century is shown to have increased for currency crises and decreased for banking crises

Spatiotemporal analyses of soil moisture from point to footprint scale in two different hydroclimatic regions

This paper presents time stability analyses of soil moisture at different spatial measurement support scales (point scale and airborne remote sensing (RS) footprint scale 800 m × 800 m) in two different hydroclimatic regions. The data used in the analyses consist of in situ and passive microwave remotely sensed soil moisture data from the Southern Great Plains Hydrology Experiments 1997 and 1999 (SGP97 and SGP99) conducted in the Little Washita (LW) watershed, Oklahoma, and the Soil Moisture Experiments 2002 and 2005 (SMEX02 and SMEX05) in the Walnut Creek (WC) watershed, Iowa. Results show that in both the regions soil properties (i.e., percent silt, percent sand, and soil texture) and topography (elevation and slope) are significant physical controls jointly affecting the spatiotemporal evolution and time stability of soil moisture at both point and footprint scales. In Iowa, using point‐scale soil moisture measurements, the WC11 field was found to be more time stable (TS) than the WC12 field. The common TS points using data across the 3 year period (2002–2005) were mostly located at moderate to high elevations in both the fields. Furthermore, the soil texture at these locations consists of either loam or clay loam soil. Drainage features and cropping practices also affected the field‐scale soil moisture variability in the WC fields. In Oklahoma, the field having a flat topography (LW21) showed the worst TS features compared to the fields having gently rolling topography (LW03 and LW13). The LW13 field (silt loam) exhibited better time stability than the LW03 field (sandy loam) and the LW21 field (silt loam). At the RS footprint scale, in Iowa, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests show that the percent clay and percent sand are better able to discern the TS features of the footprints compared to the soil texture. The best soil indicator of soil moisture time stability is the loam soil texture. Furthermore, the hilltops (slope ∼0%–0.45%) exhibited the best TS characteristics in Iowa. On the other hand, in Oklahoma, ANOVA results show that the footprints with sandy loam and loam soil texture are better indicators of the time stability phenomena. In terms of the hillslope position, footprints with mild slope (0.93%–1.85%) are the best indicators of TS footprints. Also, at both point and footprint scales in both the regions, land use–land cover type does not influence soil moisture time stability

Overview of the Status and Strangeness Capabilities of STAR

STAR is a large acceptance spectrometer capable of precision measurements of a wide variety of strange particles. We discuss the STAR detector, its configuration during the first two years of RHIC operation, and its initial performance for Au+Au collisions. The expected performance for strangeness physics and initial data on strange particle reconstruction in Au+Au collisions are presented.Comment: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter, Berkeley, California, July 20-25, 200

Why didn't the Global Financial Crisis hit Latin America?

Latin America has a rich history of financial crises. However, it was relatively unharmed by the 2007-2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). This paper investigates why, and in particular the role of commodity prices and its institutional framework - in line with the fourth generation financial crisis model. We set up Early Warning Systems (EWS) for Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. These consist of an ordered logit model for currency crises for the period 1990-2007 with a dynamic factor model to deal with the large number of explanatory variables. We present forecasts for the period 2008-2009. We find that international indicators play an important role in explaining currency crises in Mexico, while banking indicators and commodities explain the currency crisis in Argentina and Brazil. Furthermore, debt and domestic economy indicators are relevant for Argentina and Mexico. Finally, we observe that currency crises in all three countries are related to institutional indicators. For none of the countries the Early Warning System would have issued an early warning for the GFC.Financial crises, Early Warning Systems, Latin America, dynamic factor models, ordered logit model,