RECENT FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERN OF JAPANESE HOUSEHOLDS: DRIVING FORCES BEHIND WESTERNIZATION

A complete demand system for 11 aggregated food categories with 24 demographic variables, is specified following QUAIDS and is estimated using Japanese household level data. The estimation results suggest that westernization is due to the income effect and the tendency is further enhanced by the demographic factors.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Observation of "Partial Coherence" in an Aharonov-Bohm Interferometer with a Quantum Dot

We report experiments on the interference through spin states of electrons in a quantum dot (QD) embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interferometer. We have picked up a spin-pair state, for which the environmental conditions are ideally similar and have traced the AB amplitude in the range of the gate voltage that covers the pair. The behavior of the asymmetry in the amplitude around the two Coulomb peaks agrees with the theoretical prediction that relates a spin-flip process in a QD to the quantum dephasing of electrons. These results consist evidence of "partial coherence" due to an entanglement of spins in the QD and the interferometer.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTe

Anomalous In-Plane Anisotropy of the Onset of Superconductivity in (TMTSF)2ClO4

We report the magnetic field-amplitude and field-angle dependence of the superconducting onset temperature Tc_onset of the organic superconductor (TMTSF)2ClO4 in magnetic fields H accurately aligned to the conductive ab' plane. We revealed that the rapid increase of the onset fields at low temperatures occurs both for H // b' and H // a, irrespective of the carrier confinement. Moreover, in the vicinity of the Pauli limiting field, we report a shift of a principal axis of the in-plane field-angle dependence of Tc_onset away from the b' axis. This feature may be related to an occurrence of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phases.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Spectropolarimetric Study on Circumstellar Structure of Microquasar LS I +61deg 303

We present optical linear spectropolarimetry of the microquasar LS I +61$^{\circ}$ 303. The continuum emission is mildly polarized (up to 1.3 %) and shows almost no temporal change. We find a distinct change of polarization across the H$\alpha$ emission line, indicating the existence of polarization component intrinsic to the microquasar. We estimate the interstellar polarization (ISP) component from polarization of the H$\alpha$ line and derive the intrinsic polarization component. The wavelength dependence of the intrinsic component is well explained by Thomson scattering in equatorial disk of the Be-type mass donor. The position angle (PA) of the intrinsic polarization $\sim 25^{\circ}$ represents the rotational axis of the Be disk. This PA is nearly perpendicular to the PA of the radio jet found during quiescent phases. Assuming an orthogonal disk-jet geometry around the compact star, the rotational axis of the accretion disk is almost perpendicular to that of the Be disk. Moreover, according to the orbital parameters of the microquasar, the compact star is likely to get across the Be disk around their periastron passage. We discuss the peculiar circumstellar structure of this microquasar inferred from our observation and possible connection with its high-energy activities.Comment: 17pages, 7figures; accepted for Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japa