1,440 research outputs found
Effects of sterilization on the energy-dissipating properties of balsa wood
Technical report on the effects of sterilization on the energy-dissipating properties of balsa wood is given. Sterilization by ethylene oxide plus heat enhances the average specific energy of balsa while plastic impregnation followed by irradiation-induced polymerization does not
The Satisfiability Threshold of Random 3-SAT Is at Least 3.52
We prove that a random 3-SAT instance with clause-to-variable density less
than 3.52 is satisfiable with high probability. The proof comes through an
algorithm which selects (and sets) a variable depending on its degree and that
of its complement
The Satisfiability Threshold for k-XORSAT
We consider "unconstrained" random -XORSAT, which is a uniformly random
system of linear non-homogeneous equations in over
variables, each equation containing variables, and also consider a
"constrained" model where every variable appears in at least two equations.
Dubois and Mandler proved that is a sharp threshold for satisfiability
of constrained 3-XORSAT, and analyzed the 2-core of a random 3-uniform
hypergraph to extend this result to find the threshold for unconstrained
3-XORSAT.
We show that remains a sharp threshold for satisfiability of
constrained -XORSAT for every , and we use standard results on the
2-core of a random -uniform hypergraph to extend this result to find the
threshold for unconstrained -XORSAT. For constrained -XORSAT we narrow
the phase transition window, showing that implies almost-sure
satisfiability, while implies almost-sure unsatisfiability.Comment: Version 2 adds sharper phase transition result, new citation in
literature survey, and improvements in presentation; removes Appendix
treating k=
The Random Walk in Generalized Quantum Theory
One can view quantum mechanics as a generalization of classical probability
theory that provides for pairwise interference among alternatives. Adopting
this perspective, we ``quantize'' the classical random walk by finding, subject
to a certain condition of ``strong positivity'', the most general Markovian,
translationally invariant ``decoherence functional'' with nearest neighbor
transitions.Comment: 25 pages, no figure
Energy extremality in the presence of a black hole
We derive the so-called first law of black hole mechanics for variations
about stationary black hole solutions to the Einstein--Maxwell equations in the
absence of sources. That is, we prove that where the black hole parameters and denote mass, surface gravity, horizon area, angular velocity of the
horizon, angular momentum, electric potential of the horizon and charge
respectively. The unvaried fields are those of a stationary, charged, rotating
black hole and the variation is to an arbitrary `nearby' black hole which is
not necessarily stationary. Our approach is 4-dimensional in spirit and uses
techniques involving Action variations and Noether operators. We show that the
above formula holds on any asymptotically flat spatial 3-slice which extends
from an arbitrary cross-section of the (future) horizon to spatial
infinity.(Thus, the existence of a bifurcation surface is irrelevant to our
demonstration. On the other hand, the derivation assumes without proof that the
horizon possesses at least one of the following two (related)properties: ()
it cannot be destroyed by arbitrarily small perturbations of the metric and
other fields which may be present, () the expansion of the null geodesic
generators of the perturbed horizon goes to zero in the distant future.)Comment: 30 pages, latex fil
Large Fluctuations in the Horizon Area and what they can tell us about Entropy and Quantum Gravity
We evoke situations where large fluctuations in the entropy are induced, our
main example being a spacetime containing a potential black hole whose
formation depends on the outcome of a quantum mechanical event. We argue that
the teleological character of the event horizon implies that the consequent
entropy fluctuations must be taken seriously in any interpretation of the
quantal formalism. We then indicate how the entropy can be well defined despite
the teleological character of the horizon, and we argue that this is possible
only in the context of a spacetime or ``histories'' formulation of quantum
gravity, as opposed to a canonical one, concluding that only a spacetime
formulation has the potential to compute --- from first principles and in the
general case --- the entropy of a black hole. From the entropy fluctuations in
a related example, we also derive a condition governing the form taken by the
entropy, when it is expressed as a function of the quantal density-operator.Comment: 35 pages, plain Tex, needs mathmacros.tex and msmacros.te
Stable non-uniform black strings below the critical dimension
The higher-dimensional vacuum Einstein equation admits translationally
non-uniform black string solutions. It has been argued that infinitesimally
non-uniform black strings should be unstable in 13 or fewer dimensions and
otherwise stable. We construct numerically non-uniform black string solutions
in 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 dimensions. Their stability is investigated using
local Penrose inequalities. Weakly non-uniform solutions behave as expected.
However, in 12 and 13 dimensions, strongly non-uniform solutions appear to be
stable and can have greater horizon area than a uniform string of the same
mass. In 14 and 15 dimensions all non-uniform black strings appear to be
stable.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures. V2: reference added, matches published versio
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