Sealed bid second price auctions with discrete bids

A single item is sold to two bidders by way of a sealed bid second price auction in which bids are restricted to a set of discrete values. Restricting attention to symmetric pure strategy behavior on the part of bidders, a unique equilibrium exists. When following these equilibrium strategies bidders may bid strictly above or below their valuation, implying that the item may be awarded to a bidder other than the high valuation bidder. In an auction with two acceptable bids, the expected revenue of the seller may be maximized by a high bid level not equal to the highest possible bidder valuation and may exceed the expected revenue from an analogous second price auction with continuous bidding (and no reserve price). With three acceptable bids, a revenue maximizing seller may choose unevenly spaced bids. With an arbitrary number of evenly spaced bids, as the number of acceptable bids is increased, the expected revenue of the seller and the probability of ex post inefficiency both may either increase or decrease

Crystallization kinetics and role of stress in Al induced layer exchange crystallization process of amorphous SiGe thin film on glass

The present study reports Al induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous (a)-SiGe in Al-Ge-Si ternary system at low temperature ~ 350 degree C. In addition to crystallization, the isothermal annealing of a-SiGe/AlOx/Al/corning-glass (CG) structure was found to be accompanied by an Al induced layer exchange (ALILE) phenomenon. The evolution of residual stress in the Al layer during isothermal annealing is evaluated using X-ray diffraction based technique to ascertain the role of stress in the ALILE process. A corroboration of the stress with the growth kinetics, analyzed using Avrami theory of phase transformation gives a comprehensive understanding of the ALILE crystallization process in this system. The grown polycrystalline SiGe thin film is a potential candidate for novel technological applications in semiconductor devices.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figure

Galactic exploration by directed Self-Replicating Probes, and its implications for the Fermi paradox

This paper proposes a long term scheme for robotic exploration of the galaxy,and then considers the implications in terms of the `Fermi paradox' and our search for ETI. We discuss the parameter space of the `galactic ecology' of civilizations in terms of the parameters T (time between ET civilizations arising) and L, the lifetime of these civilizations. Six different regions are described.Comment: 1 figur

Investigation of continuously traversing microphone system for mode measurement

The continuously Traversing Microphone System consists of a data acquisition and processing method for obtaining the modal coefficients of the discrete, coherent acoustic field in a fan inlet duct. The system would be used in fan rigs or full scale engine installations where present measurement methods, because of the excessive number of microphones and long test times required, are not feasible. The purpose of the investigation reported here was to develop a method for defining modal structure by means of a continuously traversing microphone system and to perform an evaluation of the method, based upon analytical studies and computer simulated tests. A variety of system parameters were examined, and the effects of deviations from ideal were explored. Effects of traverse speed, digitizing rate, run time, roundoff error, calibration errors, and random noise background level were determined. For constant fan operating speed, the sensitivity of the method to normal errors and deviations was determined to be acceptable. Good recovery of mode coefficients was attainable. Fluctuating fan speed conditions received special attention, and it was concluded that by employing suitable time delay procedures, satisfactory information on mode coefficients can be obtained under realistic conditions. A plan for further development involving fan rig tests was prepared

Reanalysis of the (J = 5) state at 592 keV in 180Ta and its role in the neutrino-process nucleosynthesis of 180Ta in supernovae

We analyze the production and freeze-out of the isomer 180Tam in the neutrino-process. We consider the influence of a possible low-lying intermediate (J = 5) state at 592 keV using a transition width estimated from the measured half-life. This more realistic width is much smaller than the previous estimate.We find that the 592-keV state leads only to a small reduction of the residual isomer population ratio from the previous result; that is, considering this better estimate for the transition width, the isomer population ratio changes from R = 0.39 to R = 0.38, whereas previously it was estimated that this transition could reduce the ratio to R = 0.18. This finding strengthens the evidence that 138La and 180Ta are coproduced by neutrino nucleosynthesis with an electron neutrino temperature of kT~4 MeV.Comment: Published in Physical Review C, 9 Pages, 2 Figure

Unparticle effects in rare (t -> c g g) decay

Rare (t -> c g g) decay can only appear at loop level in the Standard Model (SM), and naturally they are strongly suppressed. These flavor changing decays induced by the mediation of spin-0 and spin-2 unparticles, can appear at tree level in unparticle physics. In this work the virtual effects of unparticle physics in the flavor-changing (t -> c g g) decay is studied. Using the SM result for the branching ratio of the (t -> c g g) decay, the parameter space of d_U and Lambda_U, where the branching ratio of this decay exceeds the one predicted by the SM, is obtained. Measurement of the branching ratio larger than 10^(-9) can give valuable information for establishing unparticle physics.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, LaTeX formatte