On the adaptive advantage of always being right (even when one is not)

We propose another positive illusion – overconfidence in the generalisability of one’s theory – that fits with McKay & Dennett’s (M&D’s) criteria for adaptive misbeliefs. This illusion is pervasive in adult reasoning but we focus on its prevalence in children’s developing theories. It is a strongly held conviction arising from normal functioning of the doxastic system that confers adaptive advantage on the individual

Field tuned critical fluctuations in YFe2Al10: Evidence from magnetization, 27Al (NMR, NQR) investigations

We report magnetization, specific heat, and NMR investigations on YFe2Al10 over a wide range in temperature and magnetic field and zero field (NQR) measurements. Magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by T (1/T1T) follow a weak power law (T^-0.4) temperature dependence, which is a signature of critical fluctuations of Fe moments. The value of the Sommerfeld-Wilson ratio and linear relation between 1/T1T and chi(T) suggest the existence of ferromagnetic correlations in this system. No magnetic ordering down to 50 mK in Cp(T) and the unusual temperature and field scaling of the bulk and NMR data are associated with a magnetic instability which drives the system to quantum criticality. The magnetic properties of the system are tuned by field wherein ferromagnetic fluctuations are suppressed and a crossover from quantum critical to FL behavior is observed with increasing magnetic field

Magnetotransport in the low carrier density ferromagnet EuB_6

We present a magnetotransport study of the low--carrier density ferromagnet EuB_6. This semimetallic compound, which undergoes two ferromagnetic transitions at T_l = 15.3 K and T_c = 12.5 K, exhibits close to T_l a colossal magnetoresistivity (CMR). We quantitatively compare our data to recent theoretical work, which however fails to explain our observations. We attribute this disagreement with theory to the unique type of magnetic polaron formation in EuB_6.Comment: Conference contribution MMM'99, San Jos

Traveling Wave Solutions of Advection-Diffusion Equations with Nonlinear Diffusion

We study the existence of particular traveling wave solutions of a nonlinear parabolic degenerate diffusion equation with a shear flow. Under some assumptions we prove that such solutions exist at least for propagation speeds c {\in}]c*, +{\infty}, where c* > 0 is explicitly computed but may not be optimal. We also prove that a free boundary hy- persurface separates a region where u = 0 and a region where u > 0, and that this free boundary can be globally parametrized as a Lipschitz continuous graph under some additional non-degeneracy hypothesis; we investigate solutions which are, in the region u > 0, planar and linear at infinity in the propagation direction, with slope equal to the propagation speed.Comment: 40 pages, 1 figur

A Variational Principle for the Asymptotic Speed of Fronts of the Density Dependent Diffusion--Reaction Equation

We show that the minimal speed for the existence of monotonic fronts of the equation $u_t = (u^m)_{xx} + f(u)$ with $f(0) = f(1) = 0$, $m >1$ and $f>0$ in $(0,1)$ derives from a variational principle. The variational principle allows to calculate, in principle, the exact speed for arbitrary $f$. The case $m=1$ when $f'(0)=0$ is included as an extension of the results.Comment: Latex, postcript figure availabl

A Nuclear Physics Program at the ATLAS Experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

The ATLAS collaboration has significant interest in the physics of ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. We submitted a Letter of Intent to the United States Department of Energy in March 2002. The following document is a slightly modified version of that LOI. More details are available at: http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/SM/ionsComment: Letter of Intent submitted to the United States Department of Energy Nuclear Physics Division in March 2002 (revised version

A model independent and rephase invariant parametrization of CP violation

The phenomenological description of the neutral B meson system is proposed in terms of the fundamental CP-violating observables and within a rephasing invariant formalism. This generic formalism can select the time-dependent and time-integrated asymmetries which provide the basic tools to discriminate the different kinds of possible CP-violating effects in dedicated experimental B-meson facilities.Comment: 19 pages, Plain Te

Fast-slow asymptotic for semi-analytical ignition criteria in FitzHugh-Nagumo system

We study the problem of initiation of excitation waves in the FitzHugh-Nagumo model. Our approach follows earlier works and is based on the idea of approximating the boundary between basins of attraction of propagating waves and of the resting state as the stable manifold of a critical solution. Here, we obtain analytical expressions for the essential ingredients of the theory by singular perturbation using two small parameters, the separation of time scales of the activator and inhibitor, and the threshold in the activator's kinetics. This results in a closed analytical expression for the strength-duration curve.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, as accepted to Chaos on 2017/06/2