Intrinsic and extrinsic origins of the polar Kerr effect in a chiral p-wave superconductor

Recently, the measurement of the polar Kerr effect (PKE) in the quasi two-dimensional superconductor Sr2RuO4, which is motivated to observe the chirality of px + i py-wave pairing, has been reported. We clarify that the PKE has intrinsic and extrinsic (disorder-induced) origins. The extrinsic contribution would be dominant in the PKE experiment.Comment: 7 pages, to be published in Mod. Phys. Lett.

News on PHOTOS Monte Carlo: gamma^* -> pi^+ pi^-(gamma) and K^\pm -> pi^+ pi^- e^\pm nu (gamma)

PHOTOS Monte Carlo is widely used for simulating QED effects in decay of intermediate particles and resonances. It can be easily connected to other main process generators. In this paper we consider decaying processes gamma^* -> pi^+ pi^-(gamma) and K^\pm -> pi^+ pi^- e^\pm nu (gamma) in the framework of Scalar QED. These two processes are interesting not only for the technical aspect of PHOTOS Monte Carlo, but also for precision measurement of alpha_{QED}(M_Z), g-2, as well as pi pi scattering lengths.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figures, proceedings of the PhiPsi09, Oct. 13-16, 2009, Beijing, Chin

Security bid auctions for agency contracts

A principal uses security bid auctions to award an incentive contract to one among several agents, in the presence of hidden action and hidden information. Securities range from cash to equity and call options. “Steeper” securities are better surplus extractors that narrow the gap between the two highest valuations, yet reduce effort incentives. In view of this trade-off, the generalized equity auction that includes a (possibly negative) cash reward to the winner tends to outperform all other auctions, although it cannot extract the entire surplus implement efficient effort. Hence, profit sharing emerges without risk aversion or limited liability

Auctions with imperfect commitment when the reserve may signal the auctioneer's type

If bidders are uncertain whether the auctioneer sticks to the announced reserve, some bidders respond by not bidding, speculating that the auctioneer may revoke the reserve. However, the reserve inadvertently signals the auctioneer's type, which drives a unique separating and a multitude of pooling equilibria. If one eliminates belief systems that violate the "intuitive criterion", one obtains a unique equilibrium reserve price equal to the seller's own valuation. Paradoxically, even if bidders initially believe that the auctioneer is bound by his reserve almost with certainty, commitment has no value

A holistic model of conflicts in a multicultural urban congregation in Britain: towards a comprehensive and systematic approach

This study investigates conflicts in a multicultural congregation in an urban area in the U.K. Although diverse types of conflict occur in the research field, there is no theoretical framework to analyse and interpret them from a combined range of perspectives that could produce a comprehensive account of conflict. Furthermore, there is no systematic method to classify the various types of conflict and to employ appropriate approaches to deal with them effectively. This research uses an ethnographical methodology not only to provide a thick description of conflict in the research field, but also to develop an original analytical tool for categorizing the multidimensionality of conflicts and to propose practical suggestions as application. For a comprehensive understanding of conflict, I used a multidisciplinary perspective synthesizing a sociological and theological approach to conflict in order to analyse and interpret not only people’s social and cultural beliefs and behaviours, but also the structural and contextual issues in the organization. I also used a multidimensional perspective to analyse and interpret multifactorial and multifaceted conflicts in order to provide a more profound explanation of the dynamics of conflict phenomena. For practical application, I established a typology as an analytical process to classify diverse conflict types according to their scales, intensity and nature. I also created a systematic formulation to suggest the most effective conflict approach and its strategies to a particular conflict type. The significant contribution of this research is to establish a holistic model which provides not only rich details of ethnographic stories for a comprehensive understanding of conflict, but also a practical demonstration from analysing conflicts to handling them for peace-making, peace-keeping and peacebuilding in a multicultural congregational setting. This thesis is generalizable to similar multicultural Christian congregational settings in urban areas in the UK as it offers theoretically informed professional practice as well as a theoretical framework to analyse and interpret diverse conflicts in multicultural congregations

The Value Effect and the Market For Chinese Stocks

A long literature in empirical finance has isolated both a value and a small-capitalization effect in asset pricing. This study confirms the existence of these style effects both in new types of equity indexes and in the stocks of Chinese companies traded in international markets. We then present a new nonparametric method of portfolio construction that enables investors to extract the predictive power of these style effects, without diluting their efficacy through an unintended weighting distribution that closely resembles capitalization weighting. We then develop a simple method to isolate periods where style tilts are likely to be particularly effective.China, stock market, capitalization, stock portolios, equity index