Increasing risk aversion and life-cycle investing

Mathematics and Financial Economics - We derive the optimal portfolio for an investor with increasing relative risk aversion in a complete continuous-time securities market. The IRRA assumption...     

Recent research using the Oxford electron beam ion trap

The presence of the σ-phase in Fe-Cr alloys (eg. Stainless steel) is important in industrial applications and from an academic point of view. The presence of the σ-phase in these alloys drastically affects their mechanical properties and their resistance to various corrosive media. In the present investigation Fe-Cr alloys containing different amounts of Mo were prepared and the transformation to the σ-phase was carried out by isothermally annealing the samples for various periods in an argon atmosphere. It will be shown that the presence of Mo has a dramatic accelerating effect on the rate of the σ-phase formation in these alloys. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Absolute rate constants for reactions of free radicals in the high-temperature photolysis of formamide vapor. II. Amino radicals

The rotating-sector method has been applied to the photoinitiated radical-chain decomposition of formamide at 300°C to measure the rate constant for the bimolecular disappearance of NH₂ radicals. The decomposition is propagated by the reactions (1) (2) Conditions were chosen so that reaction (1) was rate controlling and NH₂ the terminating radical. A flow system was employed with C₂F₆ as a carrier gas at a pressure of 300 Tort, and the chain reaction was initiated by the photolysis of either formamide or NH₃. A value of 4.7(±2.0) × 10¹⁰ (M ·sec)^?1 was estimated for the termination reaction (3) and a value of 8.4 × 10⁶ (M ·sec)^?1 for reaction (1) in the same system, both at 300°C.     

Rate constants for abstraction of hydrogen from ethylene by methyl and ethyl radicals relative to abstraction from propane and isobutane

A method is described for the measurement of relative rate constants for abstraction of hydrogen from ethylene at temperatures in the region of 750 K. The method is based on the effect of the addition of small quantities of propane and isobutane on the rates of formation of products in the thermal chain reactions of ethylene. On the assumption that methane and ethane are formed by the following reactions, (1) measurements of the ratio of the rates of formation of methane and ethane in the presence and absence of the additive gave the following results: Values for k₂ and k₃ obtained from these ratios are compared with previous measurements.     

Fission induced by heavy-ion collisions

Fission fragment angular distributions from sequential fission induced in heavy-ion reactions will depend on the angular momentum exchange occuring in such reactions in considerable detail. Theoretical expressions for the angular distributions of fission products from totally and partly polarized nuclei are presented. They are compared with recent measurements and discussed in relation to the deep inelastic reaction mechanism.     

Surface free energies of solid metals: Estimation from liquid surface tension measurements

An equation is derived on semi-theoretical grounds which expresses the solid-vapour surface free energy as a function of the liquid surface tension and the solid-liquid interfacial free energy. A means of calculating reliable values for the solid-liquid energy is presented, which then allows an accurate estimate of solid surface energy at the melting temperature, T_m, to be made for the large number of elements for which dependable liquid surface tension data exist. A method of estimating surface entropy is presented, and has been used to calculate the energies typical of “average”, high-index surfaces at temperatures ranging from 0 K to T_m. It is felt that this paper describes the most accurate method presently available for the calculation of the surface energy of solids in the absence of direct experimental measurement.     

Spatially resolved dynamic eigenmode spectrum of Co rings

The spatially resolved eigenmode spectrum of micrometer-sized Co ring elements has been determined by means of combined vector network analyzer ferromagnetic resonance and time resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements. Up to 5 resonant eigenmodes were observed in the frequency range from 45 MHz to 20 GHz as a function of an external magnetic bias field. A well-defined mode structure was found for the two equilibrium states (vortex and onion) which correspond to distinctive spatial modes. The effect of dynamic inter-ring coupling on the modes in the remanent states was evinced. The experimental results are found to be in good agreement with those of micromagnetic simulations. Our results demonstrate that, in analogy to the well-defined static equilibrium magnetic states of ring elements, the eigenmode spectra of this high symmetry geometry consist of a well-defined and simple mode structure.