Study of the average vertical distribution of temperature in the martian atmosphere final report

Convective-radiative equilibrium model for computing temperature profile - vertical temperature distribution in Martian atmospher

Burley tobacco clubs in Malawi : nonmarket institutions for exports

This paper studies nonmarket institutions that facilitate exports. In Malawi, as in many other developing countries, farmers face numerous constraints that disconnect them from export markets. The paper explores the role of a local institution, the burley tobacco clubs, in bridging smallholders to exports. Burley clubs potentially enable farmers to increase their tobacco farming productivity by providing services related to institutional access, collective action, economies of scale, and supporting network. Using matching methods and instrumental variable techniques, the authors find that tobacco club membership causes an increase of between 40-74 percent in output per acre and an increase of between 45-89 percent in tobacco sales per acre. Instead, neither the land share allocated to tobacco nor the unit value obtained by the producers is affected by club membership.Tobacco Use and Control,Alcohol and Substance Abuse,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Adolescent Health,Access to Finance

One pion production in neutrino-nucleon scattering and the different parametrizations of the weak N→ΔN\rightarrow\Delta vertex

The $N \to \Delta$ weak vertex provides an important contribution to the one pion production in neutrino-nucleon and neutrino-nucleus scattering for $\pi N$ invariant masses below 1.4 GeV. Beyond its interest as a tool in neutrino detection and their background analyses, one pion production in neutrino-nucleon scattering is useful to test predictions based on the quark model and other internal symmetries of strong interactions. Here we try to establish a connection between two commonly used parametrizations of the weak $N \to \Delta$ vertex and form factors (FF) and we study their effects on the determination of the axial coupling $C_5^A(0)$, the common normalization of the axial FF, which is predicted to hold 1.2 by using the PCAC hypothesis. Predictions for the $\nu_{\mu} p \to \mu^- p\pi^+$ total cross sections within the two approaches, which include the resonant $\Delta^{++}$ and other background contributions in a coherent way, are compared to experimental data.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Multiplicative Lidskii's inequalities and optimal perturbations of frames

In this paper we study two design problems in frame theory: on the one hand, given a fixed finite frame \cF for \hil\cong\C^d we compute those dual frames \cG of \cF that are optimal perturbations of the canonical dual frame for \cF under certain restrictions on the norms of the elements of \cG. On the other hand, for a fixed finite frame \cF=\{f_j\}_{j\in\In} for \hil we compute those invertible operators $V$ such that $V^*V$ is a perturbation of the identity and such that the frame V\cdot \cF=\{V\,f_j\}_{j\in\In} - which is equivalent to \cF - is optimal among such perturbations of \cF. In both cases, optimality is measured with respect to submajorization of the eigenvalues of the frame operators. Hence, our optimal designs are minimizers of a family of convex potentials that include the frame potential and the mean squared error. The key tool for these results is a multiplicative analogue of Lidskii's inequality in terms of log-majorization and a characterization of the case of equality.Comment: 22 page

Optimal dual frames and frame completions for majorization

In this paper we consider two problems in frame theory. On the one hand, given a set of vectors $\mathcal F$ we describe the spectral and geometrical structure of optimal completions of $\mathcal F$ by a finite family of vectors with prescribed norms, where optimality is measured with respect to majorization. In particular, these optimal completions are the minimizers of a family of convex functionals that include the mean square error and the Bendetto-Fickus' frame potential. On the other hand, given a fixed frame $\mathcal F$ we describe explicitly the spectral and geometrical structure of optimal frames $\mathcal G$ that are in duality with $\mathcal F$ and such that the Frobenius norms of their analysis operators is bounded from below by a fixed constant. In this case, optimality is measured with respect to submajorization of the frames operators. Our approach relies on the description of the spectral and geometrical structure of matrices that minimize submajorization on sets that are naturally associated with the problems above.Comment: 29 pages, with modifications related with the exposition of the materia

Relic density calculations beyond tree-level, exact calculations versus effective couplings: the ZZ final state

The inferred value of the relic density from cosmological observations has reached a precision that is akin to that of the LEP precision measurements. This level of precision calls for the evaluation of the annihilation cross sections of dark matter that goes beyond tree-level calculations as currently implemented in all codes for the computation of the relic density. In supersymmetry radiative corrections are known to be large and thus must be implemented. Full one-loop radiative corrections for many annihilation processes have been performed. It is important to investigate whether the bulk of these corrections can be parameterised through an improved Born approximation that can be implemented as a selection of form factors to a tree-level code. This paper is a second in a series that addresses this issue. After having provided these form factors for the annihilation of the neutralinos into fermions, which cover the case of a bino-like LSP (Lightest Supersymmetric Particle), we turn our attention here to a higgsino-like dark matter candidate through its annihilation into $ZZ$. We also investigate the cases of a mixed LSP. In all cases we compare the performance of the form factor approach with the result of a full one-loop correction. We also study the issue of the renormalisation scheme dependence. An illustration of the phenomenon of non decoupling of the heavy sfermions that takes place for the annihilation of the lightest neutralino into $ZZ$ is also presented.Comment: 20

Planetary meteorology Final report

Temperature profile, wind measurement, radiative heat transfer, and diurnal variations in Martian atmospher

Black brane solutions and their solitonic extremal limit in Einstein-scalar gravity

We investigate static, planar, solutions of Einstein-scalar gravity admitting an anti-de Sitter (AdS) vacuum. When the squared mass of the scalar field is positive and the scalar potential can be derived from a superpotential, minimum energy theorems indicate the existence of a scalar soliton. On the other hand, for these models, no-hair theorems forbid the existence of hairy black brane solutions with AdS asymptotics. By considering a specific example (an exact integrable model which has the form of a Toda molecule) and by deriving explicit exact solution, we show that these models allow for hairy black brane solutions with non-AdS domain wall asymptotics, whose extremal limit is a scalar soliton. The soliton smoothly interpolates between a non-AdS domain wall solution at $r=\infty$ and an AdS solution near $r=0$.Comment: 5 pages, no figure