86,475 research outputs found
Constraints on transmission, dispersion, and density of states in dielectric multilayers and stepwise potential barriers with arbitrary layer arrangement
Normal-incidence transmission and dispersion properties of optical
multilayers and one-dimensional stepwise potential barriers in the
non-tunneling regime are analytically investigated. The optical paths of every
constituent layer in a multilayer structure, as well as the parameters of every
step of the stepwise potential barrier, are constrained by a generalized
quarter-wave condition. No other restrictions on the structure geometry is
imposed, i.e., the layers are arranged arbitrarily. We show that the density of
states (DOS) spectra of the multilayer or barrier in question are subject to
integral conservation rules similar to the Barnett-Loudon sum rule but ocurring
within a finite frequency or energy interval. In the optical case, these
frequency intervals are regular. For the potential barriers, only non-periodic
energy intervals can be present in the spectrum of any given structure, and
only if the parameters of constituent potential steps are properly chosen.
Abstract The integral conservation relations derived analytically have also
been verified numerically. The relations can be used in dispersion-engineered
multilayer-based devices, e.g., ultrashort pulse compressors or ultracompact
optical delay lines, as well as to design multiple-quantum-well electronic
heterostructures with engineered DOS.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, to be submitted to PR
Finitary and Infinitary Mathematics, the Possibility of Possibilities and the Definition of Probabilities
Some relations between physics and finitary and infinitary mathematics are
explored in the context of a many-minds interpretation of quantum theory. The
analogy between mathematical ``existence'' and physical ``existence'' is
considered from the point of view of philosophical idealism. Some of the ways
in which infinitary mathematics arises in modern mathematical physics are
discussed. Empirical science has led to the mathematics of quantum theory. This
in turn can be taken to suggest a picture of reality involving possible minds
and the physical laws which determine their probabilities. In this picture,
finitary and infinitary mathematics play separate roles. It is argued that
mind, language, and finitary mathematics have similar prerequisites, in that
each depends on the possibility of possibilities. The infinite, on the other
hand, can be described but never experienced, and yet it seems that sets of
possibilities and the physical laws which define their probabilities can be
described most simply in terms of infinitary mathematics.Comment: 21 pages, plain TeX, related papers from
http://www.poco.phy.cam.ac.uk/~mjd101
Unreduced Dynamic Complexity: Towards the Unified Science of Intelligent Communication Networks and Software
Operation of autonomic communication networks with complicated user-oriented functions should be described as unreduced many-body interaction process. The latter gives rise to complex-dynamic behaviour including fractally structured hierarchy of chaotically changing realisations. We recall the main results of the universal science of complexity (http://cogprints.org/4471/) based on the unreduced interaction problem solution and its application to various real systems, from nanobiosystems (http://cogprints.org/4527/) and quantum devices to intelligent networks (http://cogprints.org/4114/) and emerging consciousness (http://cogprints.org/3857/). We concentrate then on applications to autonomic communication leading to fundamentally substantiated, exact science of intelligent communication and software. It aims at unification of the whole diversity of complex information system behaviour, similar to the conventional, "Newtonian" science order for sequential, regular models of system dynamics. Basic principles and first applications of the unified science of complex-dynamic communication networks and software are outlined to demonstrate its advantages and emerging practical perspectives
Organic Design of Massively Distributed Systems: A Complex Networks Perspective
The vision of Organic Computing addresses challenges that arise in the design
of future information systems that are comprised of numerous, heterogeneous,
resource-constrained and error-prone components or devices. Here, the notion
organic particularly highlights the idea that, in order to be manageable, such
systems should exhibit self-organization, self-adaptation and self-healing
characteristics similar to those of biological systems. In recent years, the
principles underlying many of the interesting characteristics of natural
systems have been investigated from the perspective of complex systems science,
particularly using the conceptual framework of statistical physics and
statistical mechanics. In this article, we review some of the interesting
relations between statistical physics and networked systems and discuss
applications in the engineering of organic networked computing systems with
predictable, quantifiable and controllable self-* properties.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, preprint of submission to Informatik-Spektrum
published by Springe
Expectation-driven interaction: a model based on Luhmann's contingency approach
We introduce an agent-based model of interaction, drawing on the contingency
approach from Luhmann's theory of social systems. The agent interactions are
defined by the exchange of distinct messages. Message selection is based on the
history of the interaction and developed within the confines of the problem of
double contingency. We examine interaction strategies in the light of the
message-exchange description using analytical and computational methods.Comment: 37 pages, 16 Figures, to appear in Journal of Artificial Societies
and Social Simulation
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