75 research outputs found
Structural and ultrametric properties of twenty(L-alanine)
We study local energy minima of twenty(L-alanine). The minima are generated
using high-temperature Molecular Dynamics and Chain-Growth Monte Carlo
simulations, with subsequent minimization. We find that the lower-energy
configurations are -helices for a wide range of dielectric constant
values and that there is no noticeable difference
between the distribution of energy minima in space for different
values of Ultrametricity tests show that lower-energy -helical) configurations form a set which is ultrametric to a
certain degree, providing evidence for the presence of fine structure among
those minima. We put forward a heuristic argument for this fine structure. We
also find evidence for ultrametricity of a different kind among and energy minima. We analyze the distribution of lengths of
-helical portions among the minimized configurations and find a
persistence phenomenon for the ones, in qualitative agreement
with previous studies of critical lengths. Email contact:
[email protected]: Saclay-T93/025 Email: [email protected]
Field theoretic approach to the counting problem of Hamiltonian cycles of graphs
A Hamiltonian cycle of a graph is a closed path that visits each site once
and only once. I study a field theoretic representation for the number of
Hamiltonian cycles for arbitrary graphs. By integrating out quadratic
fluctuations around the saddle point, one obtains an estimate for the number
which reflects characteristics of graphs well. The accuracy of the estimate is
verified by applying it to 2d square lattices with various boundary conditions.
This is the first example of extracting meaningful information from the
quadratic approximation to the field theory representation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, uses epsf.sty. Estimates for the site entropy and
the gamma exponent indicated explicitl
Seeing Tree Structure from Vibration
Humans recognize object structure from both their appearance and motion;
often, motion helps to resolve ambiguities in object structure that arise when
we observe object appearance only. There are particular scenarios, however,
where neither appearance nor spatial-temporal motion signals are informative:
occluding twigs may look connected and have almost identical movements, though
they belong to different, possibly disconnected branches. We propose to tackle
this problem through spectrum analysis of motion signals, because vibrations of
disconnected branches, though visually similar, often have distinctive natural
frequencies. We propose a novel formulation of tree structure based on a
physics-based link model, and validate its effectiveness by theoretical
analysis, numerical simulation, and empirical experiments. With this
formulation, we use nonparametric Bayesian inference to reconstruct tree
structure from both spectral vibration signals and appearance cues. Our model
performs well in recognizing hierarchical tree structure from real-world videos
of trees and vessels.Comment: ECCV 2018. The first two authors contributed equally to this work.
Project page: http://tree.csail.mit.edu
Two dimensional self-avoiding walk with hydrogen-like bonding: Phase diagram and critical behaviour
The phase diagram for a two-dimensional self-avoiding walk model on the
square lattice incorporating attractive short-ranged interactions between
parallel sections of walk is derived using numerical transfer matrix
techniques. The model displays a collapse transition. In contrast to the
standard -point model, the transition is first order. The phase diagram
in the full fugacity-temperature plane displays an additional transition line,
when compared to the -point model, as well as a critical transition at
finite temperature in the hamiltonian walk limit.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures. To appear in Journal of Physics
Hamiltonian walks on Sierpinski and n-simplex fractals
We study Hamiltonian walks (HWs) on Sierpinski and --simplex fractals. Via
numerical analysis of exact recursion relations for the number of HWs we
calculate the connectivity constant and find the asymptotic behaviour
of the number of HWs. Depending on whether or not the polymer collapse
transition is possible on a studied lattice, different scaling relations for
the number of HWs are obtained. These relations are in general different from
the well-known form characteristic of homogeneous lattices which has thus far
been assumed to hold for fractal lattices too.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures; final versio
Income Attainment among Victims of Violence: Results From a Preliminary Study
Violent victimisation may have many short-term psychological and physical outcomes. Occasionally, the negative aftermath of violence persists over time or induces other and more far-reaching consequences. Income attainment after victimisation is one of these outcomes. To date, previous studies have focussed on the income effects of violent victimisation during childhood and adolescence. Violence exposure during the early stages of the life course may frustrate processes of educational and occupational attainment and consequentially result in lower income levels. However, in addition or alternatively, many other and age-independent pathways between violent victimisation and income may be suggested. Prior studies appear to have paid little attention to this issue. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore whether violent victimisation is associated with income levels several years after victimisation, irrespective of the age at which victimisation occurs. Victims of violence were recruited through the Dutch Victim Compensation Fund. To preliminary estimate the effect of violent victimisation on income, a comparable control group of non-victims was composed. The study sample contained 206 victims and 173 non-victims. Both bivariate correlational and multivariate statistical techniques suggested that violent victimisation is a significant predictor of income. Implications of the presented results were discussed with regard to future research and policy practice
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Holier than thou? Identity buffers and adoption of controversial practices in the Islamic banking category
Existing scholarship on categories frequently highlights how some category members may violate codes that others diligently abide by. In this paper, we take into account the differences in identity across category members, and ask how these relative differences determine their response to a code-violating change. Taking a case where category members are clearly identified as ‘insiders’
and ‘outsiders’, we argue that insiders’ reaction to a code violation depends upon the extent to which they believe their identity to be distinct from the code violator’s, who might be an insider or an outsider. Specifically, we suggest that it is the presence or absence of an ‘identity buffer’ – i.e., a relative identity advantage – which determines insiders’ reaction. We hypothesize that when a code violation is introduced by a fellow category insider, the focal insider will be more likely to refrain from the practice. When it is an outsider who introduces the code violation, insiders will be more likely to adopt the code violation as long as they can retain an identity buffer. We further posit that when outsiders adopt code-preserving behavior, thus narrowing the identity buffer between insiders and outsiders, it will mitigate insiders’ likelihood of code violation adoption. We test and find support for our hypotheses using data on Islamic banking industry in 12 countries (2003-2014)
Explaining the effect of rapid internationalization on horizontal foreign divestment in the retail sector. An extended penrosean perspective
Building on and extending Penrosean logic we argue that rapid international expansion by firms might lead to a breach of Penrosean constraints on efficient expansion and to subsequent divestment of international operations to bring firm scope back into Penrosean constraints. We further predict that intra-regional concentration and international experience moderate the above effect because they influence firms ability to avoid a breach of Penrosean constraints and/or weaken the consequences of such a breach. Using data on the international expansion and divestment of large retail MNEs over the period 2003-2012 we find empirical support for the proposed extended Penrose effect in explaining international divestment as well as for the moderating effects of intra-regional concentration and international experience. Our study contributes to the development of Penrosean logic and to our understanding of the factors that drive firms to divest overseas operations
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