1,269 research outputs found
Methods for determining the optimal arrangement of water deluge systems on offshore installations
Offshore installations are prone to fire and/or explosion accidents. Fires have particularly serious consequences due to their high temperatures and heat flux, which affect humans, structures and environments alike. Due to the hydrocarbon explosions caused by delayed ignition following gas dispersion, fires can be the result of immediate ignition after gas release. Accordingly, it can be difficult to decrease their frequency, which is an element of risk (risk=frequency×consequence), using an active protection system (APS) such as gas detectors capable of shutting down the operation. Thus, it is more efficient to reduce the consequence using a passive protection system (PSS) such as water spray. It is important to decide the number and location of water deluge systems, thus the aim of this study is to introduce a new procedure for optimising the locations of water deluge systems using the water deluge location index (WLI) proposed herein. The locations of water deluge systems are thus optimised based on the results of credible fire scenarios using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool. The effects of water spray and the effectiveness of the WLI are investigated in comparison with uniformly distributed sprays
Consistency of Lambda-Lambda hypernuclear events
Highlights of Lambda-Lambda emulsion events are briefly reviewed. Given three
accepted events, shell-model predictions based on p-shell Lambda hypernuclear
spectroscopic studies are shown to reproduce the Lambda-Lambda (LL) binding
energies of LL10Be and LL13B in terms of the LL binding energy of LL6He.
Predictions for other species offer judgement on several alternative
assignments of the LL13B KEK-E176 event, and on the assignments LL11Be and
LL12Be suggested recently for the KEK-E373 HIDA event. The predictions of the
shell model, spanning a wide range of A values, are compared with those of
cluster models, where the latter are available.Comment: Based on talk given by Avraham Gal at EXA 2011, Vienna, September
2011; Proceedings version prepared for the journal Hyperfine Interactions;
v2--slight changes, matches published versio
Constrained analytical interrelations in neutrino mixing
Hermitian squared mass matrices of charged leptons and light neutrinos in the
flavor basis are studied under general additive lowest order perturbations away
from the tribimaximal (TBM) limit in which a weak basis with mass diagonal
charged leptons is chosen. Simple analytical expressions are found for the
three measurable TBM-deviants in terms of perturbation parameters appearing in
the neutrino and charged lepton eigenstates in the flavor basis. Taking
unnatural cancellations to be absent and charged lepton perturbation parameters
to be small, interrelations are derived among masses, mixing angles and the
amount of CP-violation.Comment: To be published in the Springer Proceedings in the Physics Series
under the heading of the XXI DAE-BRNS Symposium (Guwahati, India
Quark--anti-quark potential in N=4 SYM
We construct a closed system of equations describing the quark--anti-quark
potential at any coupling in planar N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. It is
based on the Quantum Spectral Curve method supplemented with a novel type of
asymptotics. We present a high precision numerical solution reproducing the
classical and one-loop string predictions very accurately. We also analytically
compute the first 7 nontrivial orders of the weak coupling expansion.
Moreover, we study analytically the generalized quark--anti-quark potential
in the limit of large imaginary twist to all orders in perturbation theory. We
demonstrate how the QSC reduces in this case to a one-dimensional Schrodinger
equation. In the process we establish a link between the Q-functions and the
solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure; v2: minor correcton
A Large-Scale, Open-Domain, Mixed-Interface Dialogue-Based ITS for STEM
We present Korbit, a large-scale, open-domain, mixed-interface,
dialogue-based intelligent tutoring system (ITS). Korbit uses machine learning,
natural language processing and reinforcement learning to provide interactive,
personalized learning online. Korbit has been designed to easily scale to
thousands of subjects, by automating, standardizing and simplifying the content
creation process. Unlike other ITS, a teacher can develop new learning modules
for Korbit in a matter of hours. To facilitate learning across a widerange of
STEM subjects, Korbit uses a mixed-interface, which includes videos,
interactive dialogue-based exercises, question-answering, conceptual diagrams,
mathematical exercises and gamification elements. Korbit has been built to
scale to millions of students, by utilizing a state-of-the-art cloud-based
micro-service architecture. Korbit launched its first course in 2019 on machine
learning, and since then over 7,000 students have enrolled. Although Korbit was
designed to be open-domain and highly scalable, A/B testing experiments with
real-world students demonstrate that both student learning outcomes and student
motivation are substantially improved compared to typical online courses
Reactor mixing angle from hybrid neutrino masses
In terms of its eigenvector decomposition, the neutrino mass matrix (in the
basis where the charged lepton mass matrix is diagonal) can be understood as
originating from a tribimaximal dominant structure with small deviations, as
demanded by data. If neutrino masses originate from at least two different
mechanisms, referred to as "hybrid neutrino masses", the experimentally
observed structure naturally emerges provided one mechanism accounts for the
dominant tribimaximal structure while the other is responsible for the
deviations. We demonstrate the feasibility of this picture in a fairly
model-independent way by using lepton-number-violating effective operators,
whose structure we assume becomes dictated by an underlying flavor
symmetry. We show that if a second mechanism is at work, the requirement of
generating a reactor angle within its experimental range always fixes the solar
and atmospheric angles in agreement with data, in contrast to the case where
the deviations are induced by next-to-leading order effective operators. We
prove this idea is viable by constructing an -based ultraviolet
completion, where the dominant tribimaximal structure arises from the type-I
seesaw while the subleading contribution is determined by either type-II or
type-III seesaw driven by a non-trivial singlet (minimal hybrid model).
After finding general criteria, we identify all the symmetries
capable of producing such -based minimal hybrid models.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. v3: section including sum rules added, accepted
by JHE
Semiclassical Analysis of M2-brane in AdS_4 x S^7 / Z_k
We start from the classical action describing a single M2-brane on AdS_4 x
S^7/ Z_k and consider semiclassical fluctuaitions around a static, 1/2 BPS
configuration whose shape is AdS_2 x S^1. The internal manifold S^7/ Z_k is
described as a U(1) fibration over CP^3 and the static configuration is wrapped
on the U(1) fiber. Then the configuration is reduced to an AdS_2 world-sheet of
type IIA string on AdS_4 x CP^3 through the Kaluza-Klein reduction on the S^1.
It is shown that the fluctuations form an infinite set of N=1 supermultiplets
on AdS_2, for k=1,2. The set is invariant under SO(8) which may be consistent
with N=8 supersymmetry on AdS_2. We discuss the behavior of the fluctuations
around the boundary of AdS_2 and its relation to deformations of Wilson loop
operator.Comment: 27 pages, v2: references added, v3: major revision including the
clarification of k=2 case, references added, version to appear in JHE
Anarchy and Leptogenesis
We study if leptogenesis works successfully together with the neutrino mass
anarchy hypothesis. We find that the predicted neutrino mass spectrum is
sensitive to the reheating temperature or the inflaton mass, while the
distributions of the neutrino mixing angles and CP violation phases remain
intact as determined by the invariant Haar measure of U(3). In the case of
thermal leptogenesis, the light neutrino mass distribution agrees well with the
observations if the reheating temperature is O(10^{9-11}) GeV. The mass
spectrum of the right-handed neutrinos and the neutrino Yukawa matrix exhibit a
certain pattern, as a result of the competition between random matrices with
elements of order unity and the wash-out effect. Non-thermal leptogenesis is
consistent with observation only if the inflaton mass is larger than or
comparable to the typical right-handed neutrino mass scale. Cosmological
implications are discussed in connection with the 125GeV Higgs boson mass.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures. v2: figures and references added. v3: published
in JHE
Accidental stability of dark matter
We propose that dark matter is stable as a consequence of an accidental Z2
that results from a flavour-symmetry group which is the double-cover group of
the symmetry group of one of the regular geometric solids. Although
model-dependent, the phenomenology resembles that of a generic Higgs portal
dark matter scheme.Comment: 12 pages, final version, published in JHE
Carbon-nanotube-interfaced glass fiber scaffold for regeneration of transected sciatic nerve.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with their unique and unprecedented properties, have become very popular for the repair of tissues, particularly for those requiring electrical stimuli. Whilst most reports have demonstrated in vitro neural cell responses of the CNTs, few studies have been performed on the in vivo efficacy of CNT-interfaced biomaterials in the repair and regeneration of neural tissues. Thus, we report here for the first time the in vivo functions of CNT-interfaced nerve conduits in the regeneration of transected rat sciatic nerve. Aminated CNTs were chemically tethered onto the surface of aligned phosphate glass microfibers (PGFs) and CNT-interfaced PGFs (CNT-PGFs) were successfully placed into three-dimensional poly(l/d-lactic acid) (PLDLA) tubes. An in vitro study confirmed that neurites of dorsal root ganglion outgrew actively along the aligned CNT-PGFs and that the CNT interfacing significantly increased the maximal neurite length. Sixteen weeks after implantation of a CNT-PGF nerve conduit into the 10mm gap of a transected rat sciatic nerve, the number of regenerating axons crossing the scaffold, the cross-sectional area of the re-innervated muscles and the electrophysiological findings were all significantly improved by the interfacing with CNTs. This first in vivo effect of using a CNT-interfaced scaffold in the regeneration process of a transected rat sciatic nerve strongly supports the potential use of CNT-interfaced PGFs at the interface between the nerve conduit and peripheral neural tissues
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