Financing of Liabilities Beyond the Service Life of Nuclear Installations

Operation of a nuclear installation is connected with the creation of long-term liabilities for spent fuel management and disposal, and also decommissioning of the installation (power plant, storages). This means that the operator will have to expend considerable amount of financial resources over a long period after the closure of installation. These financial resources will have to be created during operation of the installation. Related costs to be expended in future must be fully included in the price of electricity, in order to ensure fair competition among different operators. Financial resources for future coverage of liabilities must be continuously invested in order to compensate for inflation and to gain some real interest.Any failure by the operator to comply with its liabilities poses an economic and potentially an environmental hazard for operator’s country. Due attention must therefore be paid to assessing connected costs, defining liabilities and ensuring appropriate regulatory oversight. Appropriate measures must be well defined and firmly anchored in the legislation of countries operating nuclear installations. This paper reviews the basic principles that should ensure operator’s compliance their liabilities, and maps the current situation in the Czech Republic.

Determination of tip transfer function for quantitative MFM using frequency domain filtering and least squares method

Magnetic force microscopy has unsurpassed capabilities in analysis of nanoscale and microscale magnetic samples and devices. Similar to other Scanning Probe Microscopy techniques, quantitative analysis remains a challenge. Despite large theoretical and practical progress in this area, present methods are seldom used due to their complexity and lack of systematic understanding of related uncertainties and recommended best practice. Use of the Tip Transfer Function (TTF) is a key concept in making Magnetic Force Microscopy measurements quantitative. We present a numerical study of several aspects of TTF reconstruction using multilayer samples with perpendicular magnetisation. We address the choice of numerical approach, impact of non-periodicity and windowing, suitable conventions for data normalisation and units, criteria for choice of regularisation parameter and experimental effects observed in real measurements. We present a simple regularisation parameter selection method based on TTF width and verify this approach via numerical experiments. Examples of TTF estimation are shown on both 2D and 3D experimental datasets. We give recommendations on best practices for robust TTF estimation, including the choice of windowing function, measurement strategy and dealing with experimental error sources. A method for synthetic MFM data generation, suitable for large scale numerical experiments is also presented

The qq-boson-fermion realizations of quantum suprealgebra Uq(gl(2/1))U_q(gl(2/1))

We show that our construction of realizations for Lie algebras and quantum algebras can be generalized to quantum superalgebras, too. We study an example of quantum superalgebra $U_q(gl(2/1))$ and give the boson-fermion realization with respect to one pair od q-deformed boson operator and 2 pairs of fermions.Comment: 8 page

The Born supremacy: quantum advantage and training of an Ising Born machine

The search for an application of near-term quantum devices is widespread. Quantum Machine Learning is touted as a potential utilisation of such devices, particularly those which are out of the reach of the simulation capabilities of classical computers. In this work, we propose a generative Quantum Machine Learning Model, called the Ising Born Machine (IBM), which we show cannot, in the worst case, and up to suitable notions of error, be simulated efficiently by a classical device. We also show this holds for all the circuit families encountered during training. In particular, we explore quantum circuit learning using non-universal circuits derived from Ising Model Hamiltonians, which are implementable on near term quantum devices. We propose two novel training methods for the IBM by utilising the Stein Discrepancy and the Sinkhorn Divergence cost functions. We show numerically, both using a simulator within Rigetti's Forest platform and on the Aspen-1 16Q chip, that the cost functions we suggest outperform the more commonly used Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) for differentiable training. We also propose an improvement to the MMD by proposing a novel utilisation of quantum kernels which we demonstrate provides improvements over its classical counterpart. We discuss the potential of these methods to learn `hard' quantum distributions, a feat which would demonstrate the advantage of quantum over classical computers, and provide the first formal definitions for what we call `Quantum Learning Supremacy'. Finally, we propose a novel view on the area of quantum circuit compilation by using the IBM to `mimic' target quantum circuits using classical output data only.Comment: v3 : Close to journal published version - significant text structure change, split into main text & appendices. See v2 for unsplit version; v2 : Typos corrected, figures altered slightly; v1 : 68 pages, 39 Figures. Comments welcome. Implementation at https://github.com/BrianCoyle/IsingBornMachin

The strophomenide brachiopod Ahtiella Öpik in the Ordovician of Gondwana and the early history of the plectambonitoids

The Precordilleran species Ahtiella Argentina Benedetto and Herrera, 1986 is redescribed and illustrated and Monorthis coloradoensis Benedetto, 1998b from northwestern Argentina is reassigned to the genus Ahtiella Öpik, 1932. Ahtiella famatiniana new species from volcaniclastic rocks of the Famatina range (western Argentina) and Ahtiella tunaensis new species from the Precordillera basin (Cuyania terrane) are proposed. Paleogeographic and stratigraphic evidence strongly suggests that Ahtiella originated in the Andean region of Gondwana to further migrate to Avalonia, Baltica, and Cuyania. Contrary to previous assumptions, the fossil record from the Famatina volcaniclastic succession suggests that the plectambonitoid Ahtiella famatiniana n. sp. evolved from the hesperonomiid orthoid Monorthis transversa Benedetto, 2003 that always occurs in the underlying strata. Phylogenetic analysis of Ahtiella species shows that A. famatiniana n. sp. and the Peruvian A. zarelae Villas in Gutiérrez-Marco and Villas, 2007 are not only the earliest species of the genus but also are morphologically intermediate between Monorthis Bates, 1968 and the later and more derived species of Ahtiella from Baltica and Cuyania. If, as empirical evidence presented here shows, Ahtiella originated from Monorthis through a series of minor transformations, then the impressive morphological gap between orthides and strophomenides was bridged through short-time cladogenesis events, suggesting that it might not have a definite discontinuity between the species level evolution and the origin of higher taxa (macroevolution).Fil: Benedetto, Juan Luis Arnaldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra; Argentin

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation and Real Options

The first part of this paper describes the nuclear fuel cycle. It is divided into three parts. The first part, called Front-End, covers all activities connected with fuel procurement and fabrication. The middle part of the cycle includes fuel reload design activities and the operation of the fuel in the reactor. Back-End comprises all activities ensuring safe separation of spent fuel and radioactive waste from the environment. The individual stages of the fuel cycle are strongly interrelated. Overall economic optimization is very difficult. Generally, NPV is used for an economic evaluation in the nuclear fuel cycle. However the high volatility of uranium prices in the Front-End, and the large uncertainty of both economic and technical parameters in the Back-End, make the use of NPV difficult. The real option method is able to evaluate the value added by flexibility of decision making by a company under conditions of uncertainty. The possibility of applying this method to the nuclear fuel cycle evaluation is studied.

Extending the Life Time of a Nuclear Power Plant: Impact on Nuclear Liabilities in the Czech Republic

Nuclear power plant (NPP) operators have several basic long-term liabilities. Such liabilities include storage, treatment and disposal of radioactive waste generated at the operators’ NPP, storage and management of nuclear fuel irradiated in the reactor of the operator’s NPP (“spent fuel”), disposal of the spent fuel (SF) or residues resulting from spent fuel reprocessing. Last but not least, the operator is liable for decommissioning its nuclear facilities. If the operator considers extending the life time of its NPP or if the construction of a new NPP is being evaluated by an investor, an integral part of the economic evaluation must be a comprehensive assessment of future incremental costs related to the above-mentioned long-term liabilities. An economic evaluation performed by standard methods (usually NPV, alternatively real options) leads to a decision either to proceed with the project or to shelve it. If the investor decides to go ahead with the project there can be an immediate impact on nuclear liabilities. The impact is not the same for all operator liabilities. Depending on the valid legislation and the nature of the liability, in some cases the extent of the liability must be immediately recalculated when a decision is made to proceed with the project, and the annual accrual of accumulated reserves / funds must be adjusted. In other cases, the change in liability is linked to the generation of additional radioactive waste or spent fuel. In the Czech Republic, responsibility for each of the nuclear liabilities is defined, as is the form in which the financial means are to be accumulated. This paper deals with the impact of NPP life time extension (alternatively NPP power up-rate or construction of a new NPP) on individual nuclear liabilities in the conditions of the Czech Republic.

Особенности ценообразования и контроля за ценами на продукцию малых и средних семейных предприятий

It is estimated that family enterprises participate in the entire global business by 80% share, while in the Czech Republic, family enterprises participate only by 20 to 30% in the gross domestic product, with the reason being the disruption of tradition of family businesses as a result of centrally planned economy. In case of small and medium family business the price is given exogenously, specifically by the situation on the market. Was found that the selection of the price calculation method is one of the critical controlling decisions. Thus, it can be said that consistent controlling management of small and medium-sized family businesses result in their increased competitiveness, it timely eliminates external risks, improves their stability and extends the life cycle and has a positive effects on the overall economic climate.Визначено, що у світовій економіці частка сімейних підприємств становить 80%, у той самий час у Чехії частка сімейних підприємств є рівною 20-30%, що є результатом централізованої планової економіки. Встановлено, що на малих і середніх підприємствах ціни встановлюються екзогенно, зокрема, на основі врахування ситуації, що склалася на ринку. У ході дослідження було з’ясовано, що вибір методу розрахунку цін є одним із найважливіших управлінських рішень на малих і середніх сімейних підприємствах. Також визначено, що послідовне управління малими та середніми сімейними підприємствами дозволяє підвищити їх конкурентоспроможність, своєчасно усунути зовнішні ризики, підвищити їх стабільність, подовжити життєвий цикл, а також чинить позитивний вплив на загальний економічний клімат у країні.Определено, что в мировой экономике доля семейных предприятий составляет 80%, в то же время в Чехии доля семейных предприятий является равной 20-30%, что является результатом централизованной плановой экономики. Установлено, что на малых и средних предприятиях цены устанавливаются экзогенно, в частности, на основе учета ситуации на рынке. В ходе исследования было выяснено, что выбор метода расчета цен является одним из важнейших управленческих решений на малых и средних семейных предприятиях. Также определено, что последовательное управление малыми и средними семейными предприятиями позволяет повысить их конкурентоспособность, своевременно устранить внешние риски, повысить их стабильность, удлинить жизненный цикл, а также оказывает положительное влияние на общий экономический климат в стране