The Topological Processor for the future ATLAS Level-1 Trigger: from design to commissioning

The ATLAS detector at LHC will require a Trigger system to efficiently select events down to a manageable event storage rate of about 400 Hz. By 2015 the LHC instantaneous luminosity will be increased up to 3 x 10^34 cm-2s-1, this represents an unprecedented challenge faced by the ATLAS Trigger system. To cope with the higher event rate and efficiently select relevant events from a physics point of view, a new element will be included in the Level-1 Trigger scheme after 2015: the Topological Processor (L1Topo). The L1Topo system, currently developed at CERN, will consist initially of an ATCA crate and two L1Topo modules. A high density opto-electroconverter (AVAGO miniPOD) drives up to 1.6 Tb/s of data from the calorimeter and muon detectors into two high-end FPGA (Virtex7-690), to be processed in about 200 ns. The design has been optimized to guarantee excellent signal in- tegrity of the high-speed links and low latency data transmission on the Real Time Data Path (RTDP). The L1Topo receives data in a standalone protocol from the calorimeters and muon detectors to be processed into several VHDL topological algorithms. Those algorithms perform geometrical cuts, correlations and calculate complex observables such as the invariant mass. The output of such topological cuts is sent to the Central Trigger Processor. This talk focuses on the relevant high-density design characteristic of L1Topo, which allows several hundreds optical links to processed (up to 13 Gb/s each) using ordinary PCB material. Relevant test results performed on the L1Topo prototypes to characterize the high-speed links latency (eye diagram, bit error rate, margin analysis) and the logic resource utilization of the algorithms are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Price Linkage and Transmission between Shippers and Retailers in the French Fresh Vegetable Channel

The existence and the kind of asymmetry that characterize the relationships between shipping-point and retail prices are investigated for two major French fresh vegetables: tomatoes and chicory. Weekly data allow considering these relationships at very detailed levels such as region or supermarket chain. Moreover, the methodology proposes an implicit treatment of asymmetries in price transmission by using recently developed threshold cointegration methods. Our results do not give evidence to the widespread assertion that shipping-point price increases are completely and rapidly passed by middlemen on to consumers while there is a slower and less complete transmission of shipping-point price declines. As already emphasized in the literature, these results may be linked to the perishable nature of the two considered fresh vegetables.Agribusiness, L66, L81, Q13,

Imperfect competition in the fresh tomato industry

In this paper, we analyse the market power of the retail industry in the French tomato market. Following the methods developed in the New Empirical Industrial Organization, we develop a structural model of this industry. The analysis is based on detailed data on final consumption and prices at both shipper and consumer levels for two types of tomatoes in France. The structural model is composed of a system of demand equation and supply equation. Supply equation includes a term that represents the market power of the retail sector. We use different models of demand in order to test the robustness of our results. We show that i) elasticity of demand varies during the year ii) the retail sector exercise only a "moderate" market power iii) the estimated mark-up of the retail sector varies from 0 to about 0.13 €/kg depending on the period iv) the mark-up is thus small (3% in average) as compared to the consumer price which is mainly explained by cost of production. We conclude to a moderate exercise of market power of the retail sector in this sector.Market power, Imperfect competition, Fresh products, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing, L13, Q13, L66, L81,

Quality Labels and Firm Survival in the Food Industry

Both industry and firm characteristics influence the survival of a firm in an industry over time. Aging, size, structure are factors often discussed in the literature, but public intervention effects - through public quality labeling for example - may also have an effect that is examined here. We use data on French firms producing cheese under public quality label or not over the period 1990-2006. We perform a nonparametric estimation using Kaplan-Meier estimators as well as proportional hazard rate models to assess the impact of such factors on firms survival. Our results confirm existing finding on firm survival determinants. We also shed light on the effect of public intervention into that industry. More precisely, our focus on public quality labeling in the French cheese industry shows that quality label reduces the risk of exiting for firms and more particularly for small firms. In other words, public intervention in this industry is well designed to increase the competitiveness of small firms enabling the coexistence on the market of both small and large firms.Agribusiness,

Nonparametric vs parametric binary choice models: An empirical investigation

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Imperfect Competition in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Industry

Do retailers exert market power in the fresh fruit and vegetables markets? In the EU countries, as the retail industry distributes a significant part of fruit and vegetables, a non competitive behavior might have significant impact on consumption, on surplus and welfare. In this paper, we shed some light on the degree of non-competitive distortions in the French fresh fruit and vegetable markets. We analyze the market of tomato. The analysis is based on aggregate data on final consumption and prices at both shipper and consumer levels in France. The structural model is composed of a system of demand equations, supply equations and pricing equations which include terms that capture the oligopoly and oligopsony power of the retail sector and that account for product differentiation. We show that: i) elasticity of demand varies during the year ii) the exercise of market power decreases over time iii) if markets were competitive, retail price would decrease by about 2% to 12% depending on the year while shipping price might be 10% to 54% higher than observed. As a general result quantities consumed would not change significantly. We conclude that the retail sector exerts a moderate market power.Oligopsony, oligopoly, retail industry, fruit and vegetable markets., Agricultural and Food Policy,