Locally symmetric positively curved Finsler spaces

We showed that any compact locally symmetric Finsler metric with positive flag curvature must be Riemannian. Dedicated to Professor Karsten Grove on the occassion of his sixtieth birthday Received: 8 May 2006     

Energy level alignment between C60 and Al using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy

The energy level alignment between C₆₀ and Al has been investigated by using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. To obtain the interfacial electronic structure between C₆₀ and Al, C₆₀ was deposited on a clean Al substrate in a stepwise manner. The valence-band spectra were measured immediately after each step of C₆₀ deposition without breaking the vacuum. The measured onset of the highest occupied molecular orbital energy level was located at 1.59 eV from the Fermi level of Al. The vacuum level was shifted 0.68 eV toward lower binding energy with additional C₆₀ layers. The observed vacuum level shift means that the interface dipole exists at the interface between C₆₀ and Al. The barrier height of electron injection from Al to C₆₀ is 0.11 eV, which is smaller value than that of hole injection.     

Moments of claims in a Markovian environment

This paper considers discounted aggregate claims when the claim rates and sizes fluctuate according to the state of the risk business. We provide a system of differential equations for the Laplace–Stieltjes transform of the distribution of discounted aggregate claims under this assumption. Using the differential equations, we present the first two moments of discounted aggregate claims in a Markovian environment. We also derive simple expressions for the moments of discounted aggregate claims when the Markovian environment has two states. Numerical examples are illustrated when the claim sizes are specified.     

Recurrent solar wind streams

A new approach to investigating the statistical relationship between certain solar features and recurrent wind streams is presented. This approach is based, on a comparative analysis of the distributions of lifetimes of a set of solar features, recurrent geomagnetic disturbances, and geomagnetic “calms.” Correlation coefficients of 0.81, 0.85, 0.79, and 0.77 are found for the distributions of several solar features—filaments, large-scale magnetic fields, coronal features, and coronal holes, respectively—and recurrent geomagnetic disturbances. A correlation factor of 0.97 between the distributions of geomagnetic “calms” and active regions is found. The combined evidence indicates that no specific type of solar feature is responsible for the recurrent stream activity. Rather, the configuration of the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun appears to control the permanently existing corpuscular activity. Since prominences trace polarity division lines of the large-scale magnetic field structure of the Sun, they have been checked as a possible general predictor of recurrent corpuscular activity; their parameters could present the most reliable indices that relate closely with trends in geomagnetic disturbances. A comparative analysis of cyclic variations of sunspot numbers, the total number of prominences, the relative number of low-height (<-20″) prominences, and recurrent geomagnetic storms is made for solar cycle N16. The relative number of low-height prominences is found to correlate broadly (0.83) with recurrent wind streams. P. K. Shternberg State Astronomical Institute, Moscow, Russia; National Solar Observatory, Sacramento Peak, U.S. Published in Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 145–151, February, 1998.     

Investigation of the degradation of commercial polyoxymethylene copolymer in water service applications

An investigation has been carried out on the influence of degradation on various properties of commercial polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymer fittings in chlorinated cold water service lines. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to document interior bulk morphological changes and typical defects. The various types of irregular cracks and pits were observed at the innerface of the samples. DSC and intrinsic viscosity determination were carried out for investigation of crystallinity and molecular weight changes. It was seen that the crystallinity of the POM increases at a much higher rate at the inner surface layers than the outer layer in the used samples. The FT-IR spectra of the new and used samples indicate the extent of degradation of the samples.     

Minimal regular polygons serving as universal covers in R 2

A universal cover is a set K with the property that each set of unit diameter is a subset of a congruent copy of K. It is shown that the smallest regular n-gon, for fixed n 4, which serves as an universal cover in R ² is the smallest regular n-gon covering a Reuleaux triangle of unit width.