Imperfection Information, Optimal Monetary Policy and Informational Consistency

This paper examines the implications of imperfect information (II) for optimal monetary policy with a consistent set of informational assumptions for the modeller and the private sector an assumption we term the informational consistency. We use an estimated simple NK model from Levine et al. (2012), where the assumption of symmetric II significantly improves the fit of the model to US data to assess the welfare costs of II under commitment, discretion and simple Taylor-type rules. Our main results are: first, common to all information sets we find significant welfare gains from commitment only with a zero-lower bound constraint on the interest rate. Second, optimized rules take the form of a price level rule, or something very close across all information cases. Third, the combination of limited information and a lack of commitment can be particularly serious for welfare. At the same time we find that II with lags introduces a ‘tying ones hands’ effect on the policymaker that may improve welfare under discretion. Finally, the impulse response functions under our most extreme imperfect information assumption (output and inflation observed with a two-quarter delay) exhibit hump-shaped behaviour and the fiscal multiplier is significantly enhanced in this case

Localization and delocalization errors in density functional theory and implications for band-gap prediction

The band-gap problem and other systematic failures of approximate functionals are explained from an analysis of total energy for fractional charges. The deviation from the correct intrinsic linear behavior in finite systems leads to delocalization and localization errors in large or bulk systems. Functionals whose energy is convex for fractional charges such as LDA display an incorrect apparent linearity in the bulk limit, due to the delocalization error. Concave functionals also have an incorrect apparent linearity in the bulk calculation, due to the localization error and imposed symmetry. This resolves an important paradox and opens the possibility to obtain accurate band-gaps from DFT.Comment: 4 pages 4 figure

Adaptive control of a manipulator with a flexible link

An adaptive controller for a manipulator with one rigid link and one flexible link is presented. The performance and robustness of the controller are demonstrated by numerical simulation results. In the simulations, the manipulator moves in a gravitational field and a finite element model represents the flexible link

Quantum transfer matrix method for one-dimensional disordered electronic systems

We develop a novel quantum transfer matrix method to study thermodynamic properties of one-dimensional (1D) disordered electronic systems. It is shown that the partition function can be expressed as a product of $2\times2$ local transfer matrices. We demonstrate this method by applying it to the 1D disordered Anderson model. Thermodynamic quantities of this model are calculated and discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure

Some Recent Results on Pair Correlation Functions and Susceptibilities in Exactly Solvable Models

Using detailed exact results on pair-correlation functions of Z-invariant Ising models, we can write and run algorithms of polynomial complexity to obtain wavevector-dependent susceptibilities for a variety of Ising systems. Reviewing recent work we compare various periodic and quasiperiodic models, where the couplings and/or the lattice may be aperiodic, and where the Ising couplings may be either ferromagnetic, or antiferromagnetic, or of mixed sign. We present some of our results on the square-lattice fully-frustrated Ising model. Finally, we make a few remarks on our recent works on the pentagrid Ising model and on overlapping unit cells in three dimensions and how these works can be utilized once more detailed results for pair correlations in, e.g., the eight-vertex model or the chiral Potts model or even three-dimensional Yang-Baxter integrable models become available.Comment: LaTeX2e using iopart.cls, 10 pages, 5 figures (5 eps files), Dunk Island conference in honor of 60th birthday of A.J. Guttman

Effective range expansion in various scenarios of EFT(\notpi)

Using rigorous solutions, we compare the ERE parameters obtained in three different scenarios of EFT(\notpi) in nonperturbative regime. A scenario with unconventional power counting (like KSW) is shown to be disfavored by the PSA data, while the one with elaborate prescription of renormalization but keeping conventional power counting intact seems more promising.Comment: 6 pages, 3 tables, no figure, revtex4-1, minor revisions, to appear in EP