On the principal eigenvalue of a Robin problem with a large parameter

We study the asymptotic behaviour of the principal eigenvalue of a Robin (or generalised Neumann) problem with a large parameter in the boundary condition for the Laplacian in a piecewise smooth domain. We show that the leading asymptotic term depends only on the singularities of the boundary of the domain, and give either explicit expressions or two-sided estimates for this term in a variety of situations.

The Prony fitting method for digital deconvolution problem

The Prony fitting theory is applied in this paper to solve the deconvolution problem. There are two cases in deconvolution in which unstable solution is easy to appear. They are: (1)the frequency band of known kernel is more narraw than that of the unknown kernel; (2) there exists noise. These two cases are studied thoroughly and the effectiveness of Prony fitting method is showed. Finally, this method is simulated in computer. The simulation results are compared with those obtained by using FFT method directly.

A new approach for the solution of the optimal set-point tracking problem for nonlinear systems

In this paper, a discrete time dynamic integrated system optimisation and parameter estimation algorithm is applied to the solution of the nonlinear tracking optimal control problem. A version of the algorithm with a linear-quadratic model-based problem is developed and implemented in software. The algorithm implemented is tested with simulation examples.

German open ended funds: was there a valuation problem?

In late 2005, a number of German open ended funds suffered significant withdrawals by unit holders. The crisis was precipitated by a long term bear market in German property investment and the fact that these funds offered short term liquidity to unit holders but had low levels of liquidity in the fund. A more controversial suggestion was that the crisis was exacerbated by a perception that the valuations of the fund were too infrequent and inaccurate. As units are priced by reference to these valuations with no secondary market, the valuation process is central to the process. There is no direct evidence that these funds were over-valued but there is circumstantial evidence and this paper examines the indirect evidence of the process to see whether the hypothesis that valuation is an issue for the German funds holds any credibility. It also discusses whether there is a wider issue for other funds of this nature or whether it is a parochial problem confined to Germany. The conclusions are that there is reason to believe that German valuation processes make over-valuation in a recession more likely than in other countries and that more direct research into the German valuation system is required to identify the issues which need to be addressed to make the valuation system more trusted.