Analysis of the effects of the global financial crisis on the Turkish economy, using hierarchical methods

We have analyzed the topology of 50 important Turkish companies for the period 2006-2010 using the concept of hierarchical methods (the minimal spanning tree (MST) and hierarchical tree (HT)). We investigated the statistical reliability of links between companies in the MST by using the bootstrap technique. We also used the average linkage cluster analysis (ALCA) technique to observe the cluster structures much better. The MST and HT are known as useful tools to perceive and detect global structure, taxonomy, and hierarchy in financial data. We obtained four clusters of companies according to their proximity. We also observed that the Banks and Holdings cluster always forms in the centre of the MSTs for the periods 2006-2007, 2008, and 2009-2010. The clusters match nicely with their common production activities or their strong interrelationship. The effects of the Automobile sector increased after the global financial crisis due to the temporary incentives provided by the Turkish government. We find that Turkish companies were not very affected by the global financial crisis.     

Hierarchical structure of countries based on carbon dioxide emission over the periods of 1971–2012; the relationships economic growth and energy consumption

This study uses hierarchical structure methods (minimal spanning tree, (MST) and hierarchical tree, (HT)) to examine the hierarchical structures of the carbon dioxide emission from the 84 countries by three main sectors, namely electricity/heat, manufacturing/construction and transportation sectors. We obtain the topological properties among the countries based on carbon dioxide emission over the periods of 1971–2012. We also perform the bootstrap techniques to investigate a value of the statistical reliability to the links of the MSTs. The results of the topologies structural of these trees are as follows: (i) We identified different groups of countries according to their economic growth and geographical location. (ii) Our results show that the high income and low energy consuming country groups are more important within the network.     

Correlations,hierarchies and networks of the world’s automotive companies

We investigate, within the scope of econophysics, the correlations, hierarchies and networks of the world’s automotive companies over the 2003–2010 period by using the concept of a minimal spanning tree (MST) and hierarchical tree (HT). We derive a hierarchical organization and construct the MSTs and HTs for the 2003–2010 period and illustrate how the MSTs and their associated HTs developed over time. These periods are divided into two subperiods, such as 2003–2006 and 2007–2010, in order to test various time-windows and understand the temporal evolution of the correlation structure over time. We perform the bootstrap techniques to investigate a value of the statistical reliability to the links of the MSTs. We also use average linkage cluster analysis (ALCA) to observe the cluster structure more clearly in HTs. From the structural topologies of these trees, we identify different clusters of companies according to their geographical proximity and economic ties. Our results show that some companies are more important within the network, due to a tighter connection with other companies. We also find that these important companies play a predominant role in the world’s automotive industry.     

Multi-Interval Subfactors and Modularity¶of Representations in Conformal Field Theory

We describe the structure of the inclusions of factors ?(E)⊂?(E′)′ associated with multi-intervals E⊂ℝ for a local irreducible net ? of von Neumann algebras on the real line satisfying the split property and Haag duality. In particular, if the net is conformal and the subfactor has finite index, the inclusion associated with two separated intervals is isomorphic to the Longo–Rehren inclusion, which provides a quantum double construction of the tensor category of superselection sectors of ?. As a consequence, the index of ?(E)⊂?(E′)′ coincides with the global index associated with all irreducible sectors, the braiding symmetry associated with all sectors is non-degenerate, namely the representations of ? form a modular tensor category, and every sector is a direct sum of sectors with finite dimension. The superselection structure is generated by local data. The same results hold true if conformal invariance is replaced by strong additivity and there exists a modular PCT symmetry. Received: 7 July 1999 / Accepted: 13 January 2001     

Topology of the correlation networks among major currencies using hierarchical structure methods

We studied the topology of correlation networks among 34 major currencies using the concept of a minimal spanning tree and hierarchical tree for the full years of 2007-2008 when major economic turbulence occurred. We used the USD (US Dollar) and the TL (Turkish Lira) as numeraires in which the USD was the major currency and the TL was the minor currency. We derived a hierarchical organization and constructed minimal spanning trees (MSTs) and hierarchical trees (HTs) for the full years of 2007, 2008 and for the 2007-2008 period. We performed a technique to associate a value of reliability to the links of MSTs and HTs by using bootstrap replicas of data. We also used the average linkage cluster analysis for obtaining the hierarchical trees in the case of the TL as the numeraire. These trees are useful tools for understanding and detecting the global structure, taxonomy and hierarchy in financial data. We illustrated how the minimal spanning trees and their related hierarchical trees developed over a period of time. From these trees we identified different clusters of currencies according to their proximity and economic ties. The clustered structure of the currencies and the key currency in each cluster were obtained and we found that the clusters matched nicely with the geographical regions of corresponding countries in the world such as Asia or Europe. As expected the key currencies were generally those showing major economic activity.     

Quantized current of a hybrid single-electron transistor with superconducting leads and a normal-metal island

We discuss the operation of the superconductor–insulator–normal-metal–insulator–superconductor (SINIS) turnstile. This voltage-biased hybrid single-electron transistor (SET) provides current quantization even with only one radio-frequency (rf) control parameter, namely the gate voltage of the single island. We give an overview of the main error mechanisms of the turnstile and consider its feasibility as a quantum current standard. We also present experimental results of pumping with the SINIS structure which show decreased leakage current compared to earlier measurements with the opposite NISIN structure.     

A Bayesian Entropy Approach to Sectoral Systemic Risk Modeling

We investigate the dynamics of systemic risk of European companies using an approach that merges paradigmatic risk measures such as Marginal Expected Shortfall, CoVaR, and Delta CoVaR, with a Bayesian entropy estimation method. Our purpose is to bring to light potential spillover effects of the entropy indicator for the systemic risk measures computed on the 24 sectors that compose the STOXX 600 index. Our results show that several sectors have a high proclivity for generating spillovers. In general, the largest influences are delivered by Capital Goods, Banks, Diversified Financials, Insurance, and Real Estate. We also bring detailed evidence on the sectors that are the most pregnable to spillovers and on those that represent the main contributors of spillovers.     

Fluorescence and absorption of polystyrene exposed to UV laser radiation

We show that when polystyrene is exposed (for 15–60 sec) to a UV laser light beam (λ = 248 nm), its absorption and luminescent properties change significantly. In the irradiated polymer, optical centers are formed with absorption bands in the 280–460 nm region and fluorescence bands in the 330–520 nm region. We have established the chemical structure of the optical centers for fluorescence of polystyrene. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 54–58, January–February, 2006.     

Hierarchical structures of correlations networks among Turkey’s exports and imports by currencies

We have examined the hierarchical structures of correlations networks among Turkey’s exports and imports by currencies for the 1996–2010 periods, using the concept of a minimal spanning tree (MST) and hierarchical tree (HT) which depend on the concept of ultrametricity. These trees are useful tools for understanding and detecting the global structure, taxonomy and hierarchy in financial markets. We derived a hierarchical organization and build the MSTs and HTs during the 1996–2001 and 2002–2010 periods. The reason for studying two different sub-periods, namely 1996–2001 and 2002–2010, is that the Euro (EUR) came into use in 2001, and some countries have made their exports and imports with Turkey via the EUR since 2002, and in order to test various time-windows and observe temporal evolution. We have carried out bootstrap analysis to associate a value of the statistical reliability to the links of the MSTs and HTs. We have also used the average linkage cluster analysis (ALCA) to observe the cluster structure more clearly. Moreover, we have obtained the bidimensional minimal spanning tree (BMST) due to economic trade being a bidimensional problem. From the structural topologies of these trees, we have identified different clusters of currencies according to their proximity and economic ties. Our results show that some currencies are more important within the network, due to a tighter connection with other currencies. We have also found that the obtained currencies play a key role for Turkey’s exports and imports and have important implications for the design of portfolio and investment strategies.     

Optical properties of multilayer materials based on silicon and nanosized magnesium silicide crystallites

We have studied the optical properties of silicon with incorporated nanocrystallites of semiconducting magnesium silicide by optical spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. We have calculated the optical functions of samples grown with different numbers of layers of incorporated magnesium silicide nanocrystallites. We have determined the contribution of magnesium silicide to the electronic structure of multilayer samples in the photon energy range 1.5–3.0 eV. We have studied the phonon structure of the grown multilayer samples, based on analysis of two-phonon and three-phonon resonances in silicon and Mg₂Si. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 204–209, March–April, 2006.     

Similarity measure and topology evolution of foreign exchange markets using dynamic time warping method: Evidence from minimal spanning tree

In this study, we employ a dynamic time warping method to study the topology of similarity networks among 35 major currencies in international foreign exchange (FX) markets, measured by the minimal spanning tree (MST) approach, which is expected to overcome the synchronous restriction of the Pearson correlation coefficient. In the empirical process, firstly, we subdivide the analysis period from June 2005 to May 2011 into three sub-periods: before, during, and after the US sub-prime crisis. Secondly, we choose NZD (New Zealand dollar) as the numeraire and then, analyze the topology evolution of FX markets in terms of the structure changes of MSTs during the above periods. We also present the hierarchical tree associated with the MST to study the currency clusters in each sub-period. Our results confirm that USD and EUR are the predominant world currencies. But USD gradually loses the most central position while EUR acts as a stable center in the MST passing through the crisis. Furthermore, an interesting finding is that, after the crisis, SGD (Singapore dollar) becomes a new center currency for the network.     

Novel approach to pion and eta production in proton-proton collisions near threshold

We evaluate the threshold matrix–element for the reaction pp→ppπ⁰ in a fully relativistic Feynman diagrammatic approach. We employ a simple effective range approximation to take care of the S–wave pp final–state interaction. The experimental value for the threshold amplitude A = (2.7 −i0.3) fm⁴ can be reproduced by contributions from tree level chiral (long–range) pion exchange and short–range effects related to vector meson exchanges, with ω-exchange giving the largest individual contribution. Pion loop effects appear to be small. We stress that the commonly used heavy baryon formalism is not applicable in the NN–system above the pion production threshold due to the large external momentum, |p|≃ (Mm _π)^−1/2, with M and m _π the nucleon and the pion mass, respectively. We furthermore investigate the reaction pp→pnπ⁺ near threshold within the same approach. We extract from the data the triplet threshold amplitude as B = (2.8 −i1.5) fm⁴. Its real part can be well understood from (relativistic) tree level meson–exchange diagrams. In addition, we investigate the process pp→ppη near threshold. We use a simple factorization ansatz for the ppη final–state interaction and extract from the data the modulus of the threshold amplitude, |C|= 1.32 fm⁴. With g _ηN= 5.3, this value can be reproduced by (relativistic) tree level meson–exchange diagrams and η–rescattering, whose strength is fixed by the ηN scattering length. We also comment on the recent near threshold data for η^′–production. Received: 27 November 1998     

Monitoring of wave-like disturbances by means of oblique sounding of the ionosphere

We present the results of experimental studies of ionospheric wave-like disturbances on the basis of oblique chirp sounding data for the mid-latitude paths Cyprus-Rostov-on-Don and Inskip-Rostov-on-Don. Twenty-four-hour measurements were performed in January-May and October–November, 2005 and in January, 2006. The spectral analysis of variations in the maximum observed frequency (MOF) is performed. It is shown that the spectra of the MOF fluctuations have a well pronounced line structure. The amplitude-dominant spectral harmonics are concentrated near the frequencies 0.18–0.8 mHz (20–90-min periods). We give the results of modeling of radio waves propagation in the presence of traveling ionospheric disturbances and compare the calculated and experimental data. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radio.zika, Vol. 49, No. 12, pp. 1015–1029, December 2006.     

Critical clusters in interdependent economic sectors

In this paper we develop a data-driven hierarchical clustering methodology to group the economic sectors of a country in order to highlight strongly coupled groups that are weakly coupled with other groups. Specifically, we consider an input-output representation of the coupling among the sectors and we interpret the relation among sectors as a directed graph; then we recursively apply the spectral clustering methodology over the graph, without a priori information on the number of groups that have to be obtained. In order to do this, we resort to the eigengap criterion, where a suitable number of groups is selected automatically based on the intensity and structure of the coupling among the sectors. We validate the proposed methodology considering a case study for Italy, inspecting how the coupling among clusters and sectors changes from the year 1995 to 2011, showing that in the years the Italian structure underwent deep changes, becoming more and more interdependent, i.e., a large part of the economy has become tightly coupled.     

Trends in worldwide nanotechnology patent applications: 1991 to 2008

Nanotechnology patent applications published during 1991–2008 have been examined using the “title–abstract” keyword search on esp@cenet “worldwide” database. The longitudinal evolution of the number of patent applications, their topics, and their respective patent families have been evaluated for 15 national patent offices covering 98% of the total global activity. The patent offices of the United States (USA), People’s Republic of China (PRC), Japan, and South Korea have published the largest number of nanotechnology patent applications, and experienced significant but different growth rates after 2000. In most repositories, the largest numbers of nanotechnology patent applications originated from their own countries/regions, indicating a significant “home advantage.” The top applicant institutions are from different sectors in different countries (e.g., from industry in the US and Canada patent offices, and from academe or government agencies at the PRC office). As compared to 2000, the year before the establishment of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), numerous new invention topics appeared in 2008, in all 15 patent repositories. This is more pronounced in the USA and PRC. Patent families have increased among the 15 patent offices, particularly after 2005. Overlapping patent applications increased from none in 1991 to about 4% in 2000 and to about 27% in 2008. The largest share of equivalent nanotechnology patent applications (1,258) between two repositories was identified between the US and Japan patent offices.     

Correlation based networks of equity returns sampled at different time horizons

We investigate the planar maximally filtered graphs of the portfolio of the 300 most capitalized stocks traded at the New York Stock Exchange during the time period 2001–2003. Topological properties such as the average length of shortest paths, the betweenness and the degree are computed on different planar maximally filtered graphs generated by sampling the returns at different time horizons ranging from 5 min up to one trading day. This analysis confirms that the selected stocks compose a hierarchical system progressively structuring as the sampling time horizon increases. Finally, a cluster formation, associated to economic sectors, is quantitatively investigated.     

The Structure of pre-Verma Modules over the N = 1 Ramond Algebra

In this note, we determine the structure of the pre-Verma modules over the N = 1 Ramond algebra. The results of this note together with the results obtained in Iohara and Koga [Adv Math 178:1–65, 2003] completely determine the structure of Verma modules over the N = 1 super Virasoro algebra both in Neveu Schwarz and Ramond sectors.     

Some features of the fractal structure of the developed small-scale ionospheric turbulence

We present the results of the first studies of the fractal structure of the developed small-scale ionospheric turbulence (SSIT) during special experiments on radio-raying of the midlatitude ionosphere by signals from orbital satellites in 2005–2006. It is established that under conditions of developed turbulence, typical values of the fractal dimension of the space occupied by natural SSIT inhomogeneities are, as a rule, close to the topological dimension of their embedding space, and the true values of the spectral index of isotropic SSIT only slightly differ from the corresponding generally accepted nominal values in the embedding space. Nevertheless, even small differences in the mentioned parameters detected in the experiment witness a sharply nonuniform distribution of the local fractal structures of the developed SSIT in space. We propose a stochastic model of the nonstationary process for fast amplitude fluctuations of signals during their propagation in the ionosphere with nonuniform spatial distribution of small-scale electron-density fluctuations. Eventually, namely this nonuniform distribution of small-scale electron-density fluctuations leads to the specific multifractal structure of the amplitude records of received signals. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 287–294, April 2008.     

Non-Adiabatic Four-Body Calculation of Double-Muonic Hydrogen Molecules

We predicted the level structure of double muonic hydrogen molecules on the basis of the non-adiabatic four-body calculation. We employed the coupled-rearrangement-channel variational method with the Jacobian-coordinate Gaussian-basis functions taking the strong μ–μ correlation into account. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.