119,515 research outputs found
Superradiant Undulator Radiation for Selective THz Control Experiments at XFELs
The generation of frequency-tunable, narrow-bandwidth and
carrier-envelope-phase stable THz pulses with fields in the MV/cm regime that
can be appropriately timed to the femtosecond X-ray pulses from
free-electron-lasers is of highest scientific interest. It will enable to
follow the electronic and structural dynamics stimulated by (non)linear
selective excitations of matter on few femtosecond time and {\AA}ngstrom length
scales. In this article, a scheme based on superradiant undulator radiation
generated just after the XFEL is proposed. The concept utilizes cutting edge
superconducting undulator technology and provides THz pulses in a frequency
range between 3 and 30 THz with exceptional THz pulse energies. Relevant
aspects for realization and operation are discussed point by point on the
example of the European XFEL
The Parity Argument for Extended Consciousness
Andy Clark and David Chalmers (1998) argue that certain mental states and processes can be partially constituted by objects located beyond one’s brain and body: this is their extended mind thesis (EM). But they maintain that consciousness relies on processing that is too high in speed and bandwidth to be realized outside the body (see Chalmers, 2008, and Clark, 2009). I evaluate Clark’s and Chalmers’ reason for denying that consciousness extends while still supporting unconscious state extension. I argue that their reason is not well grounded and does not hold up against foreseeable advances in technology. I conclude that their current position needs re-evaluation. If their original parity argument works as a defence of EM, they have yet to identify a good reason why it does not also work as a defence of extended consciousness. I end by advancing a parity argument for extended consciousness and consider some possible replies
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Kingmakers or Cheerleaders? Party Power and the Causal Effects of Endorsements
When parties make endorsements in primary elections, does the favored candidate receive a real boost in his or her vote share, or do parties simply pick the favorites who are already destined to win? To answer this question, we draw on two research designs aimed at isolating the causal effect of Democratic Party endorsements in California’s 2012 primary election. First, we conduct a survey experiment in which we randomly assign a party endorsement, holding all other aspects of a candidate’s background and policy positions constant. Second, we use a unique dataset to implement a regression discontinuity analysis of electoral trends by comparing the vote shares captured by candidates who barely won or barely lost the internal party endorsement contest. We find a constellation of evidence suggesting that endorsements do indeed matter, although this effect appears to be contingent upon the type of candidate and voter: endorsements matter most for candidates in their party’s mainstream, and for voters who identify with that party and for independents. The magnitude of their impact is dramatically smaller than might be estimated from research designs less attuned to recent advances in causal inference
Neutral hydrogen surveys for high redshift galaxy clusters and proto-clusters
We discuss the possibility of performing blind surveys to detect large-scale
features of the universe using 21cm emission. Using instruments with approx.
5'-10' resolution currently in the planning stage, it should be possible to
detect virialized galaxy clusters at intermediate redshifts using the combined
emission from their constituent galaxies, as well as less overdense structures,
such as proto-clusters and the `cosmic web', at higher redshifts. Using
semi-analytic methods we compute the number of virialized objects and those at
turnaround which might be detected by such surveys. We find a surprisingly
large number of objects might be detected even using small (approx. 5%)
bandwidths and elaborate on some issues pertinent to optimising the design of
the instrument and the survey strategy. The main uncertainty is the fraction of
neutral gas relative to the total dark matter within the object. We discuss
this issue in the context of the observations which are currently available.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Probing the quantum vacuum with ultra intense laser pulses
This article presents: 1) The theoretical background of strong field physics
and vacuum structure and stability; 2) The instrumental developments in the
area of pulse lasers and considers the physics case for ultra intense laser
facilities; and 3) Discussion of the applied and fundamental uses of
ultra-intense lasers.Comment: Contribution in Special Topics issue for IZEST, 12 pages incl 1
figure. Contains extended citation list compared to published versio
A cognitive approach to user perception of multimedia quality: An empirical investigation
Whilst multimedia technology has been one of the main contributing factors behind the Web's success, delivery of personalized multimedia content has been a desire seldom achieved in practice. Moreover, the perspective adopted is rarely viewed from a cognitive styles standpoint, notwithstanding the fact that they have significant effects on users’ preferences with respect to the presentation of multimedia content. Indeed, research has thus far neglected to examine the effect of cognitive styles on users’ subjective perceptions of multimedia quality. This paper aims to examine the relationships between users’ cognitive styles, the multimedia quality of service delivered by the underlying network, and users’ quality of perception (understood as both enjoyment and informational assimilation) associated with the viewed multimedia content. Results from the empirical study reported here show that all users, regardless of cognitive style, have higher levels of understanding of informational content in multimedia video clips (represented in our study by excerpts from television programmes) with weak dynamism, but that they enjoy moderately dynamic clips most. Additionally, multimedia content was found to significantly influence users’ levels of understanding and enjoyment. Surprisingly, our study highlighted the fact that Bimodal users prefer to draw on visual sources for informational purposes, and that the presence of text in multimedia clips has a detrimental effect on the knowledge acquisition of all three cognitive style groups
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