Real Asset Ownership and the Risk and Return to Stockholders

Many corporations own a significant amount of real assets and this includes real estate. However, the effect of real asset ownership on the risk and return for a firm’s stockholders is unknown. This study attempts to ascertain the effect, if any, of corporate real asset ownership on the risk and return to stockholders. Using data from 1985 through 1994, the results indicate a lack of diversification benefits associated with holding real assets.

Bounded H_\infty-calculus for pseudodifferential Douglis-Nirenberg systems of mild regularity

Parameter-ellipticity with respect to a closed subsector of the complex plane for pseudodifferential Douglis-Nirenberg systems is discussed and shown to imply the existence of a bounded H_\infty-calculus in suitable scales of Sobolev, Besov, and Hoelder spaces. We also admit non pseudodifferential perturbations. Applications concern systems with coefficients of mild Hoelder regularity and the generalized thermoelastic plate equations.Comment: 22 page

On the Fredholm property of bisingular pseudodifferential operators

For operators belonging either to a class of global bisingular pseudodifferential operators on $R^m \times R^n$ or to a class of bisingular pseudodifferential operators on a product $M \times N$ of two closed smooth manifolds, we show the equivalence of their ellipticity (defined by the invertibility of certain associated homogeneous principal symbols) and their Fredholm mapping property in associated scales of Sobolev spaces. We also prove the spectral invariance of these operator classes and then extend these results to the even larger classes of Toeplitz type operators.Comment: 21 pages. Expanded sections 3 and 4. Corrected typos. Added reference

Simulating nonequilibrium quantum fields with stochastic quantization techniques

We present lattice simulations of nonequilibrium quantum fields in Minkowskian space-time. Starting from a non-thermal initial state, the real-time quantum ensemble in 3+1 dimensions is constructed by a stochastic process in an additional (5th) ``Langevin-time''. For the example of a self-interacting scalar field we show how to resolve apparent unstable Langevin dynamics, and compare our quantum results with those obtained in classical field theory. Such a direct simulation method is crucial for our understanding of collision experiments of heavy nuclei or other nonequilibrium phenomena in strongly coupled quantum many-body systems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, PRL version, minor change

Involution and Constrained Dynamics I: The Dirac Approach

We study the theory of systems with constraints from the point of view of the formal theory of partial differential equations. For finite-dimensional systems we show that the Dirac algorithm completes the equations of motion to an involutive system. We discuss the implications of this identification for field theories and argue that the involution analysis is more general and flexible than the Dirac approach. We also derive intrinsic expressions for the number of degrees of freedom.Comment: 28 pages, latex, no figure

On the relevance of large scale pulsed-laser deposition: Evidence of structural heterogeneities in ZnO thin films

Pulsed-laser deposition is known as a well-suited method for growing thin films of oxide compounds presenting a wide range of functional properties. A limitation of this method for industrial process is the very anisotropic expansion dynamics of the plasma plume, which induces difficulties to grow on large scale films with homogeneous thickness and composition. The specific aspect of the crystalline or orientation uniformity has not been investigated, despite its important role on oxide films properties. In this work, the crystalline parameters and the texture of zinc oxide films are studied as a function of position with respect to the central axis of the plasma plume. We demonstrate the existence of large non-uniformities in the films. The stoichiometry, the lattice parameter, and the distribution of crystallites orientations drastically depend on the position with respect to the plume axis, i.e., on the oblique incidence of the ablated species. The origin of these non-uniformities, in particular, the unexpected tilted orientation of the ZnO c-axis may be attributed to the combined effects of the oblique incidence and of the ratio between oxygen and zinc fluxes reaching the surface of the growing film

Droplets on Soft Surfaces Exhibit a Reluctance to Coalesce due to an Intervening Wetting Ridge

Microscale interactions with deformable substrates are of fundamental interest for studying self-assembly processes and the mobility of cells on soft surfaces, with applications in traction force microscopy. The behavior of microscale water droplets on a soft polymer substrate is investigated. Droplets formed by condensation on the soft substrate are reluctant to coalesce, which leads to coverage of the surface with clusters of droplets assembled in a honeycomb-like pattern. Cryogenically fixed in this state, scanning electron microscopy of these droplets reveals the presence of an intervening wetting ridge of the polymer that acts as a barrier between neighboring droplets and prevents coalescence. A linear elastic deformation model is developed to predict this surface profile and corroborate the observed behavior