The Spirit of Capitalism and Excess Smoothness

In a recent paper [Luo, Smith, and Zou (2009)] we showed that the spirit of capitalism could in theory resolve the two fundamental anomalies of modern consumption theory, excess sensitivity and excess smoothness. However, that basic model could not plausibly explain the empirical magnitude of excess smoothness. In this paper we develop two extensions of the model ¡ª one with transitory and permanent shocks to income, the other with a stochastic interest rate ¡ª that where the spirit of capitalism can explain excess smoothness.The spirit of capitalism, Consumption smoothing, Interest rate risk

Optimization of synchronization in gradient clustered networks

We consider complex clustered networks with a gradient structure, where sizes of the clusters are distributed unevenly. Such networks describe more closely actual networks in biophysical systems and in technological applications than previous models. Theoretical analysis predicts that the network synchronizability can be optimized by the strength of the gradient field but only when the gradient field points from large to small clusters. A remarkable finding is that, if the gradient field is sufficiently strong, synchronizability of the network is mainly determined by the properties of the subnetworks in the two largest clusters. These results are verified by numerical eigenvalue analysis and by direct simulation of synchronization dynamics on coupled-oscillator networks.Comment: PRE, 76, 056113 (2007

Transient thermal performance prediction method for parabolic trough solar collector under fluctuating solar radiation

As the effect of the global warming is becoming noticeable, the importance for environmental sustainability has been raised. Parabolic trough solar thermal collector system, which is one of the solutions to reduce the carbon dioxide emission, is a mature technology for electricity generation. Malaysia is a tropical country with long daytime, which makes suitable for solar thermal applications with parabolic trough solar thermal collectors. However, the high humidity causes the solar radiation to fluctuate. In order to simulate the solar thermal collectors’ performance at an early design stage of solar thermal power generation systems, fast still accurate transient thermal performance prediction methodis required. Although multiple transient thermal simulation methodologies exist, they are not suited especially at an early design stage where quick but reasonably accurate thermal performance prediction is needed because of their long calculation time. In this paper, a transient thermal prediction method is developed to predict exit temperature of parabolic trough collectors under fluctuating solar radiation. The method is governed by simple summation operations and requires much less calculating time than the existing numerical methods. If the radiation heat loss at the parabolic trough collector tube surface is small, the working fluid temperature rise may be approximated as proportional to the receiving heat flux. The fluctuating solar radiation is considered as a series of heat flux pulses applied for a short period of time. The time dependent solar collector exit temperature is approximated by superimposing the exit temperature rise caused by each heat flux pulse. To demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed methodology, the solar collector exit temperature for one-day operation is predicted. The predicted solar collector exit temperature captures the trend of a finite element analysis result well. Still, the largest temperature difference is 38.8K and accuracy is not satisfactory. Currently, the accuracy of the proposed method is being improved. At the same time, its capabilities are being expanded

Domain Wall Brane in Eddington Inspired Born-Infeld Gravity

Recently, inspired by Eddington's theory, an alternative gravity called Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity was proposed by Ba$\tilde{\text{n}}$ados and Ferreira. It is equivalent to Einstein's general relativity in vacuum, but deviates from it when matter is included. Interestingly, it seems that the cosmological singularities are prevented in this theory. Based on the new theory, we investigate a thick brane model with a scalar field presenting in the five-dimensional background. A domain wall solution is obtained, and further, we find that at low energy the four-dimensional Einstein gravity is recovered on the brane. Moreover, the stability of gravitational perturbations is ensured in this model.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, improved versio

Subcarrier Index Coordinate Expression (SICE): An Ultra-low-power OFDM-compatible Wireless Communications Scheme Tailored for Internet of Things

This paper describes a novel data modulation method for ultra-low-power wireless uplink communication between a client device of the internet of things (IoT) and a base station (or an access point). The proposed scheme is dubbed as subcarrier index coordinate expression (SICE), which utilizes the indices of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers and waveforms with different phase shifts to represent the information to be sent. SICE is targeted for IoT applications with low data rate requirements, and is especially useful for battery-powered IoT devices demanding low-power communications, due to its characteristics of low peak to average power ratio (PAPR) and high power efficiency in wireless transmission. Unlike ongoing efforts in IoT wireless communications at standardization organizations which focus on simplifying functionalities of the existing protocols to save power, the technique developed in this paper is a fundamentally new and yet OFDM-compatible physical-layer approach that can drastically reduce power consumption of data transmission.Engineering and Applied Science

Deterministic quantum teleportation between distant atomic objects

Quantum teleportation is a key ingredient of quantum networks and a building block for quantum computation. Teleportation between distant material objects using light as the quantum information carrier has been a particularly exciting goal. Here we demonstrate a new element of the quantum teleportation landscape, the deterministic continuous variable (cv) teleportation between distant material objects. The objects are macroscopic atomic ensembles at room temperature. Entanglement required for teleportation is distributed by light propagating from one ensemble to the other. Quantum states encoded in a collective spin state of one ensemble are teleported onto another ensemble using this entanglement and homodyne measurements on light. By implementing process tomography, we demonstrate that the experimental fidelity of the quantum teleportation is higher than that achievable by any classical process. Furthermore, we demonstrate the benefits of deterministic teleportation by teleporting a dynamically changing sequence of spin states from one distant object onto another