1,832 research outputs found
Modulated structures in electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals
Motivated by experiments in electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals with
homeotropic alignment we study the coupled amplitude equations describing the
formation of a stationary roll pattern in the presence of a weakly-damped mode
that breaks isotropy. The equations can be generalized to describe the planarly
aligned case if the orienting effect of the boundaries is small, which can be
achieved by a destabilizing magnetic field. The slow mode represents the
in-plane director at the center of the cell. The simplest uniform states are
normal rolls which may undergo a pitchfork bifurcation to abnormal rolls with a
misaligned in-plane director.We present a new class of defect-free solutions
with spatial modulations perpendicular to the rolls. In a parameter range where
the zig-zag instability is not relevant these solutions are stable attractors,
as observed in experiments. We also present two-dimensionally modulated states
with and without defects which result from the destabilization of the
one-dimensionally modulated structures. Finally, for no (or very small)
damping, and away from the rotationally symmetric case, we find static chevrons
made up of a periodic arrangement of defect chains (or bands of defects)
separating homogeneous regions of oblique rolls with very small amplitude.
These states may provide a model for a class of poorly understood stationary
structures observed in various highly-conducting materials ("prechevrons" or
"broad domains").Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Time--Distance Helioseismology Data Analysis Pipeline for Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO/HMI) and Its Initial Results
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory
(SDO/HMI) provides continuous full-disk observations of solar oscillations. We
develop a data-analysis pipeline based on the time-distance helioseismology
method to measure acoustic travel times using HMI Doppler-shift observations,
and infer solar interior properties by inverting these measurements. The
pipeline is used for routine production of near-real-time full-disk maps of
subsurface wave-speed perturbations and horizontal flow velocities for depths
ranging from 0 to 20 Mm, every eight hours. In addition, Carrington synoptic
maps for the subsurface properties are made from these full-disk maps. The
pipeline can also be used for selected target areas and time periods. We
explain details of the pipeline organization and procedures, including
processing of the HMI Doppler observations, measurements of the travel times,
inversions, and constructions of the full-disk and synoptic maps. Some initial
results from the pipeline, including full-disk flow maps, sunspot subsurface
flow fields, and the interior rotation and meridional flow speeds, are
presented.Comment: Accepted by Solar Physics topical issue 'Solar Dynamics Observatory
Signatures of Emerging Subsurface Structures in Acoustic Power Maps
We show that under certain conditions, subsurface structures in the solar
interior can alter the average acoustic power observed at the photosphere above
them. By using numerical simulations of wave propagation, we show that this
effect is large enough for it to be potentially used for detecting emerging
active regions before they appear on the surface. In our simulations,
simplified subsurface structures are modeled as regions with enhanced or
reduced acoustic wave speed. We investigate the dependence of the acoustic
power above a subsurface region on the sign, depth, and strength of the wave
speed perturbation. Observations from the Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory/Michelson Doppler Imager (SOHO/MDI) prior and during the emergence
of NOAA active region 10488 are used to test the use of acoustic power as a
potential precursor of magnetic flux emergence.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Physics on 21
March 201
Dynamic shortest path problem with travel-time-dependent stochastic disruptions : hybrid approximate dynamic programming algorithms with a clustering approach
We consider a dynamic shortest path problem with stochastic disruptions in the network. We use both historical information and real-time information of the network for the dynamic routing decisions. We model the problem as a discrete time nite horizon Markov Decision Process (MDP). For networks with many levels of disruptions, the MDP faces the curses of dimensionality. We rst apply Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP) algorithm with a standard value function approximation. Then, we improve the ADP algorithm by exploiting the structure of the disruption transition functions. We develop a hybrid ADP with a clustering approach using both a deterministic lookahead policy and a value function approximation. We develop a test bed of networks to evaluate the quality of the solutions. The hybrid ADP algorithm with clustering approach signicantly reduces the computational time, while stil providing good quality solutions. Keywords: Dynamic shortest path problem, Approximate Dynamic Programming, Disruption handling, Clusterin
High Magnetic Field Behaviour of the Triangular Lattice Antiferromagnet, CuFeO_2
The high magnetic field behaviour of the triangular lattice antiferromagnet
CuFeO_2 is studied using single crystal neutron diffraction measurements in a
field of up to 14.5 T and also by magnetisation measurements in a field of up
to 12 T. At low temperature, two well-defined first order magnetic phase
transitions are found in this range of applied magnetic field (H // c): at
H_c1=7.6(3)/7.1(3) T and H_c2=13.2(1)/12.7(1) T when ramping the field up/down.
In a field above H_c2 the magnetic Bragg peaks show unusual history dependence.
In zero field T_N1=14.2(1) K separates a high temperature paramagnetic and an
intermediate incommensurate structure, while T_N2=11.1(3) K divides an
incommensurate phase from the low-temperature 4-sublattice ground state. The
ordering temperature T_N1 is found to be almost field independent, while T_N2
decreases noticeably in applied field. The magnetic phase diagram is discussed
in terms of the interactions between an applied magnetic field and the highly
frustrated magnetic structure of CuFeO_2Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures in ReVTeX. To appear in PR
Observational constraint on dynamical evolution of dark energy
We use the Constitution supernova, the baryon acoustic oscillation, the
cosmic microwave background, and the Hubble parameter data to analyze the
evolution property of dark energy. We obtain different results when we fit
different baryon acoustic oscillation data combined with the Constitution
supernova data to the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder model. We find that the
difference stems from the different values of . We also fit the
observational data to the model independent piecewise constant parametrization.
Four redshift bins with boundaries at , 0.53, 0.85 and 1.8 were chosen
for the piecewise constant parametrization of the equation of state parameter
of dark energy. We find no significant evidence for evolving .
With the addition of the Hubble parameter, the constraint on the equation of
state parameter at high redshift isimproved by 70%. The marginalization of the
nuisance parameter connected to the supernova distance modulus is discussed.Comment: revtex, 16 pages, 5 figures, V2: published versio
Influence of the detector's temperature on the quantum Zeno effect
In this paper we study the quantum Zeno effect using the irreversible model
of the measurement. The detector is modeled as a harmonic oscillator
interacting with the environment. The oscillator is subjected to the force,
proportional to the energy of the measured system. We use the Lindblad-type
master equation to model the interaction with the environment. The influence of
the detector's temperature on the quantum Zeno effect is obtained. It is shown
that the quantum Zeno effect becomes stronger (the jump probability decreases)
when the detector's temperature increases
Determining Absorption, Emissivity Reduction, and Local Suppression Coefficients inside Sunspots
The power of solar acoustic waves is reduced inside sunspots mainly due to
absorption, emissivity reduction, and local suppression. The coefficients of
these power-reduction mechanisms can be determined by comparing time-distance
cross-covariances obtained from sunspots and from the quiet Sun. By analyzing
47 active regions observed by SOHO/MDI without using signal filters, we have
determined the coefficients of surface absorption, deep absorption, emissivity
reduction, and local suppression. The dissipation in the quiet Sun is derived
as well. All of the cross-covariances are width corrected to offset the effect
of dispersion. We find that absorption is the dominant mechanism of the power
deficit in sunspots for short travel distances, but gradually drops to zero at
travel distances longer than about 6 degrees. The absorption in sunspot
interiors is also significant. The emissivity-reduction coefficient ranges from
about 0.44 to 1.00 within the umbra and 0.29 to 0.72 in the sunspot, and
accounts for only about 21.5% of the umbra's and 16.5% of the sunspot's total
power reduction. Local suppression is nearly constant as a function of travel
distance with values of 0.80 and 0.665 for umbrae and whole sunspots
respectively, and is the major cause of the power deficit at large travel
distances.Comment: 14 pages, 21 Figure
Determinant Representations of Correlation Functions for the Supersymmetric t-J Model
Working in the -basis provided by the factorizing -matrix, the scalar
products of Bethe states for the supersymmetric t-J model are represented by
determinants. By means of these results, we obtain determinant representations
of correlation functions for the model.Comment: Latex File, 41 pages, no figure; V2: minor typos corrected, V3: This
version will appear in Commun. Math. Phy
Cosmological models with linearly varying deceleration parameter
We propose a new law for the deceleration parameter that varies linearly with
time and covers Berman's law where it is constant. Our law not only allows one
to generalize many exact solutions that were obtained assuming constant
deceleration parameter, but also gives a better fit with data (from SNIa, BAO
and CMB), particularly concerning the late time behavior of the universe.
According to our law only the spatially closed and flat universes are allowed;
in both cases the cosmological fluid we obtain exhibits quintom like behavior
and the universe ends with a big-rip. This is a result consistent with recent
cosmological observations.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures; some typo corrections; to appear in
International Journal of Theoretical Physic
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