A simple Markov chain structure for the evolution of credit ratings

We focus on continuous Markov chains as a model to describe the evolution of credit ratings. In this work it is checked whether a simple, tridiagonal type of generator provides a good approximation to a general one. Three different tridiagonal approximations are proposed and their performance is checked against two generators, corresponding to a volatile and a stable period, respectively. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

57Fe Mössbauer Spectroscopy Study of LaFe1−x Co x O3 (x=0 and 0.5) Formed by Mechanical Milling

Hyperfine Interactions - Perovskite-related phases of the type LaFe1?x Co x O3 (x=0 and 0.5) have been synthesised by milling techniques. The materials are of smaller particle size and more...     

Gravitational collapse of a charged and radiating fluid ball in the diffusion limit

The collapse of a charged and radiating ball in the diffusion limit is studied using a method reported by Herrera and collaborators. The interior solution is matched with the exterior Reissner-Nordström-Vaidya metric to obtain a system of differential equations at the surface of the distribution, which can be integrated numerically for some set of initial data. For one model, the profiles of the physical variables are obtained at any piece of the material in terms of Schwarzschild-like coordinates.     

Analysis of a demodulation system for Fiber Bragg Grating sensors using two fixed filters

The analysis of a demodulation system for Fiber Bragg Grating sensors based on two fixed spectral filters has been carried out both theoretically and experimentally. Different system configurations were analyzed by modifying the spectral position of the filters as well as the optical power-level of the signal reaching the two photo-detectors. Measurements with integration times that varied from 0.01 to 1 s have been compared with the low-frequency limit predicted for long-term operation. Comparisons between simulated and experimental results show good agreement, and extrapolations indicate that it should be possible to achieve an operating spectrum range of the order of 7 nm, with uncertainties equivalent to less than 2 pm in measurements of the sensor peak position.     

Newtonian limits of warp drive spacetimes

We find a class of warp drive spacetimes possessing Newtonian limits, which we then determine. The same method is used to compute Newtonian limits of the Schwarzschild solution and spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological models. This work was partially supported by FCT/POCTI/FEDER.     

Geometric Algebra in Linear Algebra and Geometry

This article explores the use of geometric algebra in linear and multilinear algebra, and in affine, projective and conformal geometries. Our principal objective is to show how the rich algebraic tools of geometric algebra are fully compatible with and augment the more traditional tools of matrix algebra. The novel concept of an h-twistor makes possible a simple new proof of the striking relationship between conformal transformations in a pseudo-Euclidean space to isometries in a pseudo-Euclidean space of two higher dimensions. The utility of the h-twistor concept, which is a generalization of the idea of a Penrose twistor to a pseudo-Euclidean space of arbitrary signature, is amply demonstrated in a new treatment of the Schwarzian derivative.     

Perfect fluid spacetimes admitting curvature collineations

Some basic concepts about curvature collineations are reviewed and the existing results on this topic are applied to the case of perfect fluids, giving a characterization of those amongst them which admit proper curvature collineations.     

Validating DEA as a ranking tool: An application of DEA to assess performance in higher education

There is a general interest in ranking schemes applied to complex entities described by multiple attributes. Published rankings for universities are in great demand but are also highly controversial. We compare two classification and ranking schemes involving universities; one from a published report, ‘Top American Research Universities’ by the University of Florida's TheCenter and the other using DEA. Both approaches use the same data and model. We compare the two methods and discover important equivalences. We conclude that the critical aspect in classification and ranking is the model. This suggests that DEA is a suitable tool for these types of studies.