Studies on generalized Yule models

We present a generalization of the Yule model for macroevolution in which, for the appearance of genera, we consider point processes with the order statistics property, while for the growth of species we use nonlinear time-fractional pure birth processes or a critical birth-death process. Further, in specific cases we derive the explicit form of the distribution of the number of species of a genus chosen uniformly at random for each time. Besides, we introduce a time-changed mixed Poisson process with the same marginal distribution as that of the time-fractional Poisson process.Comment: Published at https://doi.org/10.15559/18-VMSTA125 in the Modern Stochastics: Theory and Applications (https://vmsta.org/) by VTeX (http://www.vtex.lt/

Up or Down? Capital Income Taxation in the United States and the United Kingdom

Empirical evidence suggests that the Effective Marginal Tax Rate (EMTR) on income from capital has increased considerably in both the United States and the United Kingdom over the period 1982-2005. This evidence contradicts the corporate tax literature which predicts that the EMTR should instead fall over time as a result of increasing international capital mobility and higher tax competition between governments. This paper argues that this inconsistency is entirely due to the fact that EMTRs on income from capital are currently computed from versions of the neoclassical investment model which do not take into account financial constraints on dividend policy faced by firms investing in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The paper incorporates financial constraints on dividend policy into the analytical framework for the computation of the EMTR and employs the new model to re-calculate time series of the EMTRs in both countries. The new empirical results show that, in contrast to the existing evidence, the EMTR on investment financed by either retained earnings or new equity has indeed declined over time in both countries, while the EMTR on debt-financed investment has remained relatively stable.capital income taxation, dividend policy, effective marginal tax rates, financial constraints

On Some Operators Involving Hadamard Derivatives

In this paper we introduce a novel Mittag--Leffler-type function and study its properties in relation to some integro-differential operators involving Hadamard fractional derivatives or Hyper-Bessel-type operators. We discuss then the utility of these results to solve some integro-differential equations involving these operators by means of operational methods. We show the advantage of our approach through some examples. Among these, an application to a modified Lamb--Bateman integral equation is presented

On the Integral of Fractional Poisson Processes

In this paper we consider the Riemann--Liouville fractional integral $\mathcal{N}^{\alpha,\nu}(t)= \frac{1}{\Gamma(\alpha)} \int_0^t (t-s)^{\alpha-1}N^\nu(s) \, \mathrm ds$, where $N^\nu(t)$, $t \ge 0$, is a fractional Poisson process of order $\nu \in (0,1]$, and $\alpha > 0$. We give the explicit bivariate distribution $\Pr \{N^\nu(s)=k, N^\nu(t)=r \}$, for $t \ge s$, $r \ge k$, the mean $\mathbb{E}\, \mathcal{N}^{\alpha,\nu}(t)$ and the variance $\mathbb{V}\text{ar}\, \mathcal{N}^{\alpha,\nu}(t)$. We study the process $\mathcal{N}^{\alpha,1}(t)$ for which we are able to produce explicit results for the conditional and absolute variances and means. Much more involved results on $\mathcal{N}^{1,1}(t)$ are presented in the last section where also distributional properties of the integrated Poisson process (including the representation as random sums) is derived. The integral of powers of the Poisson process is examined and its connections with generalised harmonic numbers is discussed

Analytic solutions of fractional differential equations by operational methods

We describe a general operational method that can be used in the analysis of fractional initial and boundary value problems with additional analytic conditions. As an example, we derive analytic solutions of some fractional generalisation of differential equations of mathematical physics. Fractionality is obtained by substituting the ordinary integer-order derivative with the Caputo fractional derivative. Furthermore, operational relations between ordinary and fractional differentiation are shown and discussed in detail. Finally, a last example concerns the application of the method to the study of a fractional Poisson process

Fractional calculus modelling for unsteady unidirectional flow of incompressible fluids with time-dependent viscosity

In this note we analyze a model for a unidirectional unsteady flow of a viscous incompressible fluid with time dependent viscosity. A possible way to take into account such behaviour is to introduce a memory formalism, including thus the time dependent viscosity by using an integro-differential term and therefore generalizing the classical equation of a Newtonian viscous fluid. A possible useful choice, in this framework, is to use a rheology based on stress/strain relation generalized by fractional calculus modelling. This is a model that can be used in applied problems, taking into account a power law time variability of the viscosity coefficient. We find analytic solutions of initial value problems in an unbounded and bounded domain. Furthermore, we discuss the explicit solution in a meaningful particular case

Discussion on the paper "On Simulation and Properties of the Stable Law" by L. Devroye and L. James

We congratulate the authors for the interesting paper. The reading has been really pleasant and instructive. We discuss briefly only some of the interesting results given in Devroye and James "On simulation and properties of the stable law", 2014 with particular attention to evolution problems. The contribution of the results collected in the paper is useful in a more wide class of applications in many areas of applied mathematics

Fractional Diffusion-Telegraph Equations and their Associated Stochastic Solutions

We present the stochastic solution to a generalized fractional partial differential equation involving a regularized operator related to the so-called Prabhakar operator and admitting, amongst others, as specific cases the fractional diffusion equation and the fractional telegraph equation. The stochastic solution is expressed as a L\'evy process time-changed with the inverse process to a linear combination of (possibly subordinated) independent stable subordinators of different indices. Furthermore a related SDE is derived and discussed

Observations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability driven by dynamic motions in a solar prominence

Prominences are incredibly dynamic across the whole range of their observable spatial scales, with observations revealing gravity-driven fluid instabilities, waves, and turbulence. With all these complex motions, it would be expected that instabilities driven by shear in the internal fluid motions would develop. However, evidence of these have been lacking. Here we present the discovery in a prominence, using observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), of a shear flow instability, the Kelvin-Helmholtz sinusoidal-mode of a fluid channel, driven by flows in the prominence body. This finding presents a new mechanism through which we can create turbulent motions from the flows observed in quiescent prominences. The observation of this instability in a prominence highlights their great value as a laboratory for understanding the complex interplay between magnetic fields and fluid flows that play a crucial role in a vast range of astrophysical systems.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ