21,077 research outputs found
Currency Unions and International Integration
This paper characterizes the integration patterns of international currency unions (such as the CFA Franc zone and the East Caribbean Currency Area). We empirically explore different features of currency unions, and compare them both to countries with sovereign monies, and to regions within nations. We ask: are countries within international currency unions as integrated as regions within political unions? We do this by examining the criteria for Mundell's concept of an optimum currency area. We find that members of currency unions are more integrated than countries with their own currencies, but less integrated than regions within a country. For instance, we find that currency union members have more trade and less volatile real exchange rates than countries with their own monies, but less trade and more volatile exchange rates than regions within individual countries. Similarly, business cycles are more highly synchronized across currency union countries than across countries with sovereign monies, but not as synchronized as regions of a single country. Finally, currency union membership is not associated with significantly greater risk sharing, though risk sharing is widespread within countries.
Quasielastic neutrino scattering from oxygen and the atmospheric neutrino problem
We examine several phenomena beyond the scope of Fermi-gas models that affect
the quasielastic scattering (from oxygen) of neutrinos in the 0.1 -- 3.0 GeV
range. These include Coulomb interactions of outgoing protons and leptons, a
realistic finite-volume mean field, and the residual nucleon-nucleon
interaction. None of these effects are accurately represented in the Monte
Carlo simulations used to predict event rates due to and neutrinos
from cosmic-ray collisions in the atmosphere. We nevertheless conclude that the
neglected physics cannot account for the anomalous to ratio observed
at Kamiokande and IMB, and is unlikely to change absolute event rates by more
than 10--15\%. We briefly mention other phenomena, still to be investigated in
detail, that may produce larger changes.Comment: In Revtex version 2. 14 pages, 3 figures (available on request from
J. Engel, tel. 302-831-4354, [email protected]
Shape transformations in rotating ferrofluid drops
Floating drops of magnetic fluid can be brought into rotation by applying a
rotating magnetic field. We report theoretical and experimental results on the
transition from a spheroid equilibrium shape to non-axissymmetrical three-axes
ellipsoids at certain values of the external field strength. The transitions
are continuous for small values of the magnetic susceptibility and show
hysteresis for larger ones. In the non-axissymmetric shape the rotational
motion of the drop consists of a vortical flow inside the drop combined with a
slow rotation of the shape. Nonlinear magnetization laws are crucial to obtain
quantitative agreement between theory and experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Semi-analytic approximations for production of atmospheric muons and neutrinos
Simple approximations for fluxes of atmospheric muons and muon neutrinos are
developed which display explicitly how the fluxes depend on primary cosmic ray
energy and on features of pion production. For energies of approximately 10 GeV
and above the results are sufficiently accurate to calculate response functions
and to use for estimates of systematic uncertainties.Comment: 15 pages with 8 figure
SRB ascent aerodynamic heating design criteria reduction study, volume 1
An independent set of solid rocket booster (SRB) convective ascent design environments were produced which would serve as a check on the Rockwell IVBC-3 environments used to design the ascent phase of flight. In addition, support was provided for lowering the design environments such that Thermal Protection System (TPS), based on conservative estimates, could be removed leading to a reduction in SRB refurbishment time and cost. Ascent convective heating rates and loads were generated at locations in the SRB where lowering the thermal environment would impact the TPS design. The ascent thermal environments are documented along with the wind tunnel/flight test data base used as well as the trajectory and environment generation methodology. Methodology, as well as, environment summaries compared to the 1980 Design and Rockwell IVBC-3 Design Environment are presented in this volume, 1
Fluctuation theorem for entropy production during effusion of a relativistic ideal gas
The probability distribution of the entropy production for the effusion of a
relativistic ideal gas is calculated explicitly. This result is then extended
to include particle and anti-particle pair production and annihilation. In both
cases, the fluctuation theorem is verified.Comment: 6 pages, no figure
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