Canonical partition function for anomalous systems described by the κ\kappa-entropy

Starting from the $\kappa$-distribution function, obtained by applying the maximal entropy principle to the $\kappa$-entropy [G. Kaniadakis, Phys. Rev. E 66 (2002), 056125], we derive the expression of the canonical $\kappa$-partition function and discuss its main properties. It is shown that all important macroscopical quantities of the system can be expressed employing only the $\kappa$-partition function. The relationship between the associated $\kappa$-free energy and the $\kappa$-entropy is also discussed.Comment: 8 pages, no figures. Work presented at the International conference Complexity and Nonextensivity: New Trends in Statistical Mechanics. - Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics - (14-18 March 2005) Kyoto, Japa

Foreign Direct Investment in China: Effects on Growth and Economic Performance

By almost all accounts, foreign direct investment (FDI) in China has been one of the major success stories of the past 10 years. Starting from a base of less than $19 billion in 1990, the stock of FDI in China rose to over$300 billion at the end of 1999. Ranked by the stock of inward FDI, China thus has become the leader among all developing nations and second among the APEC nations (only the United States holds a larger stock of inward FDI). China's FDI consists largely of greenfield investment, while inward FDI in the United States by contrast has been generated more by takeover of existing enterprises than by new establishment, a point developed later in this paper. The majority of FDI in China has originated from elsewhere in developing Asia (i.e., not including Japan). Hong Kong, now a largely self-governing "special autonomous region" of China itself, has been the largest source of record. The dominance of Hong Kong, however, is somewhat illusory in that much FDI nominally from Hong Kong in reality is from elsewhere. Some of what is listed as Hong Kong-source FDI in China is, in fact, investment by domestic Chinese that is "round-tripped" through Hong Kong (see footnote 2). Other FDI in China listed as Hong Kong in origin is in reality from various western nations and Taiwan that is placed into China via Hong Kong intermediaries. Alas, no published records exist to indicate exactly how much FDI in China that is nominally from Hong Kong is in fact attributable to other nations. According to official sources, in the period 1992-96, FDI from developing Asian nations dominated total FDI flows into China, but since 1996 a growing portion of these flows has come from other sources (i.e., Europe, North America, and Japan). This latter FDI generally has been of a different character than FDI from developing Asian nations. While the latter has been concentrated in export-processing activities in sectors in which China has revealed comparative advantage, much of the former has been directed more toward the domestic market in sectors in which China has no revealed comparative advantage. Thus one consequence of a rising percentage of FDI from Japan, Europe, and North America has been that overall the activities of foreign-invested enterprises in China have become somewhat more focused on the domestic market, and less on export markets, in the late 1990s relative to the mid-1990s. The consequences are discussed in more detail later in this paper. This includes an econometric test of whether FDI in China has contributed to increased total factor productivity growth in those provinces that have received large amounts of FDI. The tests suggest that the result is positive, and hence that FDI has contributed significantly to economic growth in China beyond that which results from faster capital accumulation.

Comparisons of monthly mean cosmic ray counting rates observes from worldwide network of neutron monitors

In order to examine the stability of neutron monitor observation, each of the monthly average counting rates of a neutron monitors is correlated to those of Kiel neutron monitor. The regression coefficients thus obtained are compared with the coupling coefficients of isotropic intensity radiation. The results of the comparisons for five year periods during 1963 to 1982, and for whole period are given. The variation spectrum with a single power law with an exponent of -0.75 up to 50 GV is not so unsatisfactory one. More than one half of the stations show correlations with the coefficient greater than 0.9. Some stations have shifted the level of mean counting rates by changing the instrumental characteristics which can be adjusted

Discrete elastic model for stretching-induced flagellar polymorphs

Force-induced reversible transformations between coiled and normal polymorphs of bacterial flagella have been observed in recent optical-tweezer experiment. We introduce a discrete elastic rod model with two competing helical states governed by a fluctuating spin-like variable that represents the underlying conformational states of flagellin monomers. Using hybrid Brownian dynamics Monte-Carlo simulations, we show that a helix undergoes shape transitions dominated by domain wall nucleation and motion in response to externally applied uniaxial tension. A scaling argument for the critical force is presented in good agreement with experimental and simulation results. Stretching rate-dependent elasticity including a buckling instability are found, also consistent with the experiment

Long term changes in cosmic ray diurnal variations observed by ion chambers in Hong Kong and Japan

Yearly average solar diurnal variations of cosmic ray ion chamber data are inspected from a view point of the eleven and the 22 year solar activity cycle modulations. Ion chamber data and neutron data from various stations are added. From an inspection of observed data, a simple approximation that the 11 year and the 22 year variations of the solar diurnal variation are along 18-hour and 12-hour axes, respectively is proposed. The 18-hour component of diurnal variation in the 11 year cycle increases toward the solar active years. The 12-hour component is enhanced when the solar general magnetic field is parallel to the rotation vector, and is almost zero for the other state. The transition occurs when the amplitude of the 18-hour component is greater owing to the transition of the field during the maximum phase of solar activity. The 22 year shift is consistent with the drift modulation model in heliosphere

Well-localized edge states in two-dimensional topological insulators: ultrathin Bi films

We theoretically study the generic behavior of the penetration depth of the edge states in two-dimensional quantum spin Hall systems. We found that the momentum-space width of the edge-state dispersion scales with the inverse of the penetration depth. As an example of well-localized edge states, we take the Bi(111) ultrathin film. Its edge states are found to extend almost over the whole Brillouin zone. Correspondingly, the bismuth (111) 1-bilayer system is proposed to have well-localized edge states in contrast to the HgTe quantum well.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure