407 research outputs found
Modelling end-pumped solid state lasers
The operation dynamics of end-pumped solid-state lasers are investigated by means of a spatially resolved numerical rate-equation model and a time-dependent analytical thermal model. The rate-equation model allows the optimization of parameters such as the output coupler transmission and gain medium length, with the aim of improving the laser output performance. The time-dependent analytical thermal model is able to predict the temperature and the corresponding induced thermal stresses on the pump face of quasi-continuous wave (qcw) end-pumped laser rods. Both models are found to be in very good agreement with experimental results
Mobile technologies in foreign language learning
Welding with laser beams is an innovative optical technique, which leads to higher penetration depth and a narrower seam compared to conventional welding techniques. Significant criteria of the quality of a junction besides detected faults are the penetration depth and the seam width. Within this article optical sensors for process monitoring as well as a predictive control scheme based on these are presented. In the closed loop control the process' inputs laser power and focal position are optimised by taking the future welding speed into account. For modelling the physical demanding, non-linear process an Artificial Neural Network with external dynamics is applied. First results of the application on a real laser welding system are described
Leveraging OpenStack and Ceph for a Controlled-Access Data Cloud
While traditional HPC has and continues to satisfy most workflows, a new
generation of researchers has emerged looking for sophisticated, scalable,
on-demand, and self-service control of compute infrastructure in a cloud-like
environment. Many also seek safe harbors to operate on or store sensitive
and/or controlled-access data in a high capacity environment.
To cater to these modern users, the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute
designed and deployed Stratus, a locally-hosted cloud environment powered by
the OpenStack platform, and backed by Ceph storage. The subscription-based
service complements existing HPC systems by satisfying the following unmet
needs of our users: a) on-demand availability of compute resources, b)
long-running jobs (i.e., days), c) container-based computing with
Docker, and d) adequate security controls to comply with controlled-access data
requirements.
This document provides an in-depth look at the design of Stratus with respect
to security and compliance with the NIH's controlled-access data policy.
Emphasis is placed on lessons learned while integrating OpenStack and Ceph
features into a so-called "walled garden", and how those technologies
influenced the security design. Many features of Stratus, including tiered
secure storage with the introduction of a controlled-access data "cache",
fault-tolerant live-migrations, and fully integrated two-factor authentication,
depend on recent OpenStack and Ceph features.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, PEARC '18: Practice and Experience in Advanced
Research Computing, July 22--26, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA, US
Propositional Dynamic Logic for Message-Passing Systems
We examine a bidirectional propositional dynamic logic (PDL) for finite and
infinite message sequence charts (MSCs) extending LTL and TLC-. By this kind of
multi-modal logic we can express properties both in the entire future and in
the past of an event. Path expressions strengthen the classical until operator
of temporal logic. For every formula defining an MSC language, we construct a
communicating finite-state machine (CFM) accepting the same language. The CFM
obtained has size exponential in the size of the formula. This synthesis
problem is solved in full generality, i.e., also for MSCs with unbounded
channels. The model checking problem for CFMs and HMSCs turns out to be in
PSPACE for existentially bounded MSCs. Finally, we show that, for PDL with
intersection, the semantics of a formula cannot be captured by a CFM anymore
Asynchronous Games over Tree Architectures
We consider the task of controlling in a distributed way a Zielonka
asynchronous automaton. Every process of a controller has access to its causal
past to determine the next set of actions it proposes to play. An action can be
played only if every process controlling this action proposes to play it. We
consider reachability objectives: every process should reach its set of final
states. We show that this control problem is decidable for tree architectures,
where every process can communicate with its parent, its children, and with the
environment. The complexity of our algorithm is l-fold exponential with l being
the height of the tree representing the architecture. We show that this is
unavoidable by showing that even for three processes the problem is
EXPTIME-complete, and that it is non-elementary in general
Parallelizing Synthesis from Temporal Logic Specifications by Identifying Equicontrollable States
For the synthesis of correct-by-construction control policies from temporal logic specifications the scalability of the synthesis algorithms is often a bottleneck. In this paper, we parallelize synthesis from specifications in the GR(1) fragment of linear temporal logic by introducing a hierarchical procedure that allows decoupling of the fixpoint computations. The state space is partitioned into equicontrollable sets using solutions to parametrized games that arise from decomposing the original GR(1) game into smaller reachability-persistence games. Following the partitioning, another synthesis problem is formulated for composing the strategies from the decomposed reachability games. The formulation guarantees that composing the synthesized controllers ensures satisfaction of the given GR(1) property. Experiments with robot planning problems demonstrate good performance of the approach
Metric-like Lagrangian Formulations for Higher-Spin Fields of Mixed Symmetry
We review the structure of local Lagrangians and field equations for free
bosonic and fermionic gauge fields of mixed symmetry in flat space. These are
first presented in a constrained setting extending the metric formulation of
linearized gravity, and then the (-)trace constraints on fields and
gauge parameters are eliminated via the introduction of auxiliary fields. We
also display the emergence of Weyl-like symmetries in particular classes of
models in low space-time dimensions.Comment: 136 pages, LaTeX. References added. Final version to appear in La
Rivista del Nuovo Cimento
The beginning of time? Evidence for catastrophic drought in Baringo in the early nineteenth century
New developments in the collection of palaeo-data over the past two decades have transformed our understanding of climate and environmental history in eastern Africa. This article utilises instrumental and proxy evidence of historical lake-level fluctuations from Baringo and Bogoria, along with other Rift Valley lakes, to document the timing and magnitude of hydroclimate variability at decadal to century time scales since 1750. These data allow us to construct a record of past climate variation not only for the Baringo basin proper, but also across a sizable portion of central and northern Kenya. This record is then set alongside historical evidence, from oral histories gathered amongst the peoples of northern Kenya and the Rift Valley and from contemporary observations recorded by travellers through the region, to offer a reinterpretation of human activity and its relationship to environmental history in the nineteenth century. The results reveal strong evidence of a catastrophic drought in the early nineteenth century, the effects of which radically alters our historical understanding of the character of settlement, mobility and identity within the Baringo–Bogoria basin
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