Preemption, Start-Up Decisions and the Firms' Capital Structure

In this article, we analyse the interactions between financial and start-up decisions in an oligopolistic framework, where firms compete to enter a new market. We show that preemption can substantially reduce the negative effects of credit rationing on start-up investment decisions.capital structure

Investment Size and Firm’s Value Under Profit Sharing Regulation

In this article we analyse the effects of different regulatory schemes (price cap and profit sharing) on a firm’s investment of endogenous size. Using a real option approach in continuous time, we show that profit sharing does not affect a firm’s start-up decision relative to a pure price cap scheme. Unless the threshold after which profit sharing intervenes is very high, however, introducing a profit sharing element delays further investments: this decreases the present value of total investment. We also evaluate the reduction in the firm’s value due to profit sharing, linking this reduction to the option value of future investments.Regulation, Investment, Profit sharing, Real options, RPI-x

Profit Sharing and Investment by Regulated Utilities: a Welfare Analysis

We analyse the effects of different regulatory schemes (price cap and profit sharing) on a firm’s investment of endogenous size. Using a real option approach in continuous time, we show that profit sharing does not delay a firm’s start-up investment relative to a pure price cap scheme. Profit sharing does not necessarily affect total investment either, if the threshold for profit sharing is high enough. Only a profit sharing intervening for low profit levels may delay further investments. We also evaluate the effects of profit sharing on social welfare, determining the level of profit that should optimally trigger tighter regulation: profit sharing should be less stringent in sectors where there are bigger investment opportunities.regulation, investment, profit sharing, real options, RPI-x

Z-dependent Barriers in Multifragmentation from Poissonian Reducibility and Thermal Scaling

We explore the natural limit of binomial reducibility in nuclear multifragmentation by constructing excitation functions for intermediate mass fragments (IMF) of a given element Z. The resulting multiplicity distributions for each window of transverse energy are Poissonian. Thermal scaling is observed in the linear Arrhenius plots made from the average multiplicity of each element. ``Emission barriers'' are extracted from the slopes of the Arrhenius plots and their possible origin is discussed.Comment: 15 pages including 4 .ps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters. Also available at http://csa5.lbl.gov/moretto

The Wide-field High-resolution Infrared TElescope (WHITE)

The Wide-field High-resolution Infrared TElescope (WHITE) will be dedicated in the first years of its life to carrying out a few (well focused in terms of science objectives and time) legacy surveys. WHITE would have an angular resolution of ~0.3'' homogeneous over ~0.7 sq. deg. in the wavelength range 1 - 5 um, which means that we will very efficiently use all the available observational time during night time and day time. Moreover, the deepest observations will be performed by summing up shorter individual frames. We will have a temporal information that can be used to study variable objects. The three key science objectives of WHITE are : 1) A complete survey of the Magellanic Clouds to make a complete census of young stellar objects in the clouds and in the bridge and to study their star formation history and the link with the Milky Way. The interaction of the two clouds with our Galaxy might the closest example of a minor merging event that could be the main driver of galaxy evolution in the last 5 Gyrs. 2) The building of the first sample of dusty supernovae at z<1.2 in the near infrared range (1-5 um) to constrain the equation of state from these obscured objects, study the formation of dust in galaxies and build the first high resolution sample of high redshift galaxies observed in their optical frame 3) A very wide weak lensing survey over that would allow to estimate the equation of state in a way that would favourably compete with space projects.Comment: Invited talk to the 2nd ARENA Conference : "The Astrophysical Science Cases at Dome C" Potsdam 17-21 September, 200

The resistible effects of Coulomb interaction on nucleus-vapor phase coexistence

We explore the effects of Coulomb interaction upon the nuclear liquid vapor phase transition. Because large nuclei (A>60) are metastable objects, phases, phase coexistence, and phase transitions cannot be defined with any generality and the analogy to liquid vapor is ill-posed for these heavy systems. However, it is possible to account for the Coulomb interaction in the decay rates and obtain the coexistence phase diagram for the corresponding uncharged system.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure