Homological invariants of modules over contracting endomorphisms

It is proved that when R is a local ring of positive characteristic, \({\phi\colon R{\to} R}\) is its Frobenius endomorphism, and some non-zero finite R-module has finite flat dimension or finite injective dimension for the R-module structure induced through \({\phi}\) , then R is regular. This broad generalization of Kunz’s characterization of regularity in positive characteristic is deduced from a theorem concerning a local ring R with residue field of k of arbitrary characteristic: If \({\phi}\) is a contracting endomorphism of R, then the Betti numbers and the Bass numbers over \({\phi}\) of any non-zero finitely generated R-module grow at the same rate, on an exponential scale, as the Betti numbers of k over R.     

Integrating Interval Estimates of Global Optima and Local Search Methods for Combinatorial Optimization Problems

The problem of estimating the global optimal values of intractable combinatorial optimization problems is of interest to researchers developing and evaluating heuristics for these problems. In this paper we present a method for combining statistical optimum prediction techniques with local search methods such as simulated annealing and tabu search and illustrate the approach on a single machine scheduling problem. Computational experiments show that the approach yields useful estimates of optimal values with very reasonable computational effort.     

The credit risk+ model with general sector correlations

We consider an enhancement of the credit risk⁺ model to incorporate correlations between sectors. We model the sector default rates as linear combinations of a common set of independent variables that represent macro-economic variables or risk factors. We also derive the formula for exact VaR contributions at the obligor level.     

Methanol diffusion rates through the anode diffusion layer in direct methanol fuel cells from limiting current measurements

Metal foams may be used in direct methanol fuel cells to feed reactants to the catalyst layer and to collect current from the resulting electrochemical reaction. Although the mass transfer from the metal foam to the underlying gas diffusion layer (GDL) is diffusion-dominated, it is found that at a fixed methanol concentration, the limiting current density increases with increasing methanol flow rates. This unexpected result is attributed to the more efficient removal of product CO₂ from the GDL. A methodology is developed to estimate the effective diffusion coefficient of methanol in the anode diffusion layer from limiting current density measurements, and to extract the fraction of GDL volume occupied by CO₂.     

Entanglement dynamics in two-qubit open system interacting with a squeezed thermal bath via quantum nondemolition interaction

We analyze the dynamics of entanglement in a two-qubit systeminteracting with an initially squeezed thermal environment via aquantum nondemolition system-reservoir interaction, with the systemand reservoir assumed to be initially separable. We compare andcontrast the decoherence of the two-qubit system in the case wherethe qubits are mutually close-by (`collective regime’) or distant(`localized regime’) with respect to the spatial variation of theenvironment. Sudden death of entanglement (as quantified byconcurrence) is shown to occur in the localized case rather than inthe collective case, where entanglement tends to `ring down’.A consequence of the QND character of the interaction is that thetime-evolved fidelity of a Bell state never falls below \(1/\sqrt{2}\),a fact that is useful for quantum communication applicationslike a quantum repeater. Usinga novel quantification of mixed state entanglement, we show thatthere are noise regimes where even though entanglementvanishes, the state is still available forapplications like NMR quantum computation, because of the presenceof a pseudo-pure component.     

Working group report: Flavor physics and model building

This is the report of flavor physics and model building working group at WHEPP-9. While activites in flavor physics have been mainly focused on B-physics, those in model building have been primarily devoted to neutrino physics. We present summary of working group discussions carried out during the workshop in the above fields, and also briefly review the progress made in some projects subsequently.     

Glass physics: from fundamentals to applications

The European Physical Journal E -