An Optimal Rule for Switching over to Renewable fuels with Lower Price Volatility: A Case of Jump Diffusion Process

This study investigates the optimal switching boundary to a renewable fuel when oil prices exhibit continuous random fluctuations along with occasional discontinuous jumps. In this paper, oil prices are modeled to follow jump diffusion processes. A completeness result is derived. Given that the market is complete the value of a contingent claim is risk neutral expectation of the discounted pay off process. Using the contingent claim analysis of investment under uncertainty, the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation is derived for finding value function and optimal switching boundary. We get a mixed differential-difference equation which would be solved using numerical methods.Demand and Price Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Assessment of Variation in Carbon Pool in Bamboo Plantation and Managed Agricultural System

The present study was conducted to quantify the carbon pool in two different vegetation systems, i.e. bamboo plantation and agricultural fields in the Tarai belt of Uttarakhand, India during 2011-13. Two bamboo plantation sites viz. Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa nutans, and two agricultural sites viz. C12, D7 were studied. The major parameters of the study involved litter decomposition study, carbon stocks in vegetation and soil, and carbon sequestration potential. The soil organic carbon stocks under the study sites B. balcooa, B. nutans, C12, and D7 were 65.40, 57.28, 37.48 and 36.32 t ha-1 respectively. Hence, the highest carbon sequestration potential was observed for B. balcooa plantation soil. The decomposition and nutrient dynamics in the decomposing leaves of the plantation were studied and regression equations were developed. In agricultural sites where crop rotation was main management practice applied, plant biomass carbon stock and soil carbon stock were estimated. In both sites (C12 and D7), biomass carbon stock was found very significant (5.28 and 5.12 t ha-1). In all sites, total biomass production was highest in B. balcooa (479.13 t ha-1) and so biomass carbon stock was too (233.84 t ha-1). Carbon sequestration potential was found more in biomass than in soil in the case of bamboo, but in agricultural sites, it was more in soil than biomass. Thus the present study clearly demonstrates that besides being an economic strength bamboo plant have shown encouraging results in the field of carbon sequestration potential. Also, the study has revealed the importance of agriculture in terms of carbon sequestration potential with the help of good management practices

Dopant Induced Stabilization of Silicon Cluster at Finite Temperature

With the advances in miniaturization, understanding and controlling properties of significant technological systems like silicon in nano regime assumes considerable importance. It turns out that small silicon clusters in the size range of 15-20 atoms are unstable upon heating and in fact fragment in the temperature range of 1200 K to 1500 K. In the present work we demonstrate that it is possible to stabilize such clusters by introducing appropriate dopant (in this case Ti). Specifically, by using the first principle density functional simulations we show that Ti doped Si$_{16}$, having the Frank-Kasper geometry, remains stable till 2200 K and fragments only above 2600 K. The observed melting transition is a two step process. The first step is initiated by the surface melting around 600 K. The second step is the destruction of the cage which occurs around 2250 K giving rise to a peak in the heat capacity curve.Comment: 6 pages, 8 Figs. Submitted to PR