1,768 research outputs found
Oscillations of dark solitons in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates
We consider a one-dimensional defocusing Gross--Pitaevskii equation with a
parabolic potential. Dark solitons oscillate near the center of the potential
trap and their amplitude decays due to radiative losses (sound emission). We
develop a systematic asymptotic multi-scale expansion method in the limit when
the potential trap is flat. The first-order approximation predicts a uniform
frequency of oscillations for the dark soliton of arbitrary amplitude. The
second-order approximation predicts the nonlinear growth rate of the
oscillation amplitude, which results in decay of the dark soliton. The results
are compared with the previous publications and numerical computations.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Profitable chemical-free cowpea storage technology for smallholder farmers in Africa: opportunities and challenges
Cowpea is the most economically and nutritionally important indigenous African grain legume, grown by millions of resource-poor farmers. It is a key cash crop in areas too dry to grow cotton or other export crops. Most of the over 3 million t of cowpea grain produced annually in West and Central Africa is grown on small farms. Storage is often identified as the key challenge for small scale cowpea growers. Many farmers sell cowpea grain at low harvest time prices rather than risk losses by bruchids during storage. Some traditional methods are effective for small quantities (e.g., 10 kg), but are difficult to scale up. Some effective storage chemicals are available, but they are regularly misused by farmers and merchants. The Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) Project is addressing these problems through promotion of hermetic storage in triple layer sacks which have an outer layer of woven polypropylene and two liners of 80 μ high-density polyethylene. Village demonstrations with more than 45, 000 PICS sacks have shown the technology to be effective. Good quality affordable sacks have been produced by manufacturers in Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali. Over the past three years more than one million sacks have been produced and sold. Despite the success with the outreach activities and the farmer adoption, the challenge remains to develop sustainable sack distribution networks. Issues identified include reluctance of wholesalers to order sacks due to risk associated with a new product, inability of wholesalers to develop effective distribution networks due to difficulties with enforcing contracts, and limited access to capital. The PICS project is exploring new ways to address some of these issues, including using non-traditional distribution systems for PICS sacks such as agro-dealers networks, and adapting distribution systems that have worked for cell phones and other products. Keywords: Cowpea, Bruchids, Hermetic storage, Supply chain, West and Central Afric
Evolutionary Dynamics While Trapped in Resonance: A Keplerian Binary System Perturbed by Gravitational Radiation
The method of averaging is used to investigate the phenomenon of capture into
resonance for a model that describes a Keplerian binary system influenced by
radiation damping and external normally incident periodic gravitational
radiation. The dynamical evolution of the binary orbit while trapped in
resonance is elucidated using the second order partially averaged system. This
method provides a theoretical framework that can be used to explain the main
evolutionary dynamics of a physical system that has been trapped in resonance.Comment: REVTEX Style, Submitte
Transition state theory for wave packet dynamics. I. Thermal decay in metastable Schr\"odinger systems
We demonstrate the application of transition state theory to wave packet
dynamics in metastable Schr\"odinger systems which are approached by means of a
variational ansatz for the wave function and whose dynamics is described within
the framework of a time-dependent variational principle. The application of
classical transition state theory, which requires knowledge of a classical
Hamilton function, is made possible by mapping the variational parameters to
classical phase space coordinates and constructing an appropriate Hamiltonian
in action variables. This mapping, which is performed by a normal form
expansion of the equations of motion and an additional adaptation to the energy
functional, as well as the requirements to the variational ansatz are discussed
in detail. The applicability of the procedure is demonstrated for a cubic model
potential for which we calculate thermal decay rates of a frozen Gaussian wave
function. The decay rate obtained with a narrow trial wave function agrees
perfectly with the results using the classical normal form of the corresponding
point particle. The results with a broader trial wave function go even beyond
the classical approach, i.e., they agree with those using the quantum normal
form. The method presented here will be applied to Bose-Einstein condensates in
the following paper [A. Junginger, M. Dorwarth, J. Main, and G. Wunner,
submitted to J. Phys. A].Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, submitted to J. Phys.
Media outlets and their moguls: why concentrated individual or family ownership is bad for editorial independence
This article investigates the levels of owner influence in 211 different print and broadcast outlets in 32 different European media markets. Drawing on the literature from industrial organisation, it sets out reasons why we should expect greater levels of influence where ownership of individual outlets is concentrated; where it is concentrated in the hands of individuals or families; and where ownership groups own multiple outlets in the same media market. Conversely, we should expect lower levels of influence where ownership is dispersed between transnational companies. The articles uses original data on the ownership structures of these outlets, and combines it with reliable expert judgments as to the level of owner influence in each of the outlets. These hypotheses are tested and confirmed in a multilevel regression model of owner influence. The findings are relevant for policy on ownership limits in the media, and for the debate over transnational versus local control of media
The role of forest genetic resources in responding to biotic and abiotic factors in the context of anthropogenic climate change
The current distribution of forest genetic resources on Earth is the result of a combination of natural processes and human actions. Over time, tree populations have become adapted to their habitats including the local ecological disturbances they face. As the planet enters a phase of human-induced climate change of unprecedented speed and magnitude, however, previously locally-adapted populations are rendered less suitable for new conditions, and ‘natural’ biotic and abiotic disturbances are taken outside their historic distribution, frequency and intensity ranges. Tree populations rely on phenotypic plasticity to survive in extant locations, on genetic adaptation to modify their local phenotypic optimum or on migration to new suitable environmental conditions. The rate of required change, however, may outpace the ability to respond, and tree species and populations may become locally extinct after specific, but as yet unknown and unquantified, tipping points are reached. Here, we review the importance of forest genetic resources as a source of evolutionary potential for adaptation to changes in climate and other ecological factors. We particularly consider climate-related responses in the context of linkages to disturbances such as pests, diseases and fire, and associated feedback loops. The importance of management strategies to conserve evolutionary potential is emphasised and recommendations for policy-makers are provided
Nuclear medium modifications of the NN interaction via quasielastic () and () scattering
Within the relativistic PWIA, spin observables have been recalculated for
quasielastic () and () reactions on a Ca
target. The incident proton energy ranges from 135 to 300 MeV while the
transferred momentum is kept fixed at 1.97 fm^{-1}. In the present
calculations, new Horowitz-Love--Franey relativistic NN amplitudes have been
generated in order to yield improved and more quantitative spin observable
values than before. The sensitivities of the various spin observables to the NN
interaction parameters, such as (1) the presence of the surrounding nuclear
medium, (2) a pseudoscalar versus a pseudovector interaction term, and (3)
exchange effects, point to spin observables which should preferably be measured
at certain laboratory proton energies, in order to test current nuclear models.
This study also shows that nuclear medium effects become more important at
lower proton energies ( 200 MeV). A comparison to the limited available
data indicates that the relativistic parametrization of the NN scattering
amplitudes in terms of only the five Fermi invariants (the SVPAT form) is
questionable.Comment: 10 pages, 6 Postscript figures, uses psfig.sty and article.sty,
submitted to Phys. Rev.
Volume-preserving normal forms of Hopf-zero singularity
A practical method is described for computing the unique generator of the
algebra of first integrals associated with a large class of Hopf-zero
singularity. The set of all volume-preserving classical normal forms of this
singularity is introduced via a Lie algebra description. This is a maximal
vector space of classical normal forms with first integral; this is whence our
approach works. Systems with a non-zero condition on their quadratic parts are
considered. The algebra of all first integrals for any such system has a unique
(modulo scalar multiplication) generator. The infinite level volume-preserving
parametric normal forms of any non-degenerate perturbation within the Lie
algebra of any such system is computed, where it can have rich dynamics. The
associated unique generator of the algebra of first integrals are derived. The
symmetry group of the infinite level normal forms are also discussed. Some
necessary formulas are derived and applied to appropriately modified
R\"{o}ssler and generalized Kuramoto--Sivashinsky equations to demonstrate the
applicability of our theoretical results. An approach (introduced by Iooss and
Lombardi) is applied to find an optimal truncation for the first level normal
forms of these examples with exponentially small remainders. The numerically
suggested radius of convergence (for the first integral) associated with a
hypernormalization step is discussed for the truncated first level normal forms
of the examples. This is achieved by an efficient implementation of the results
using Maple
Order and serial position effects in response time with multiple-item probe recognition
Momentum-Dependent Mean Field Based Upon the Dirac-Brueckner Approach for Nuclear Matter
A momentum-dependent mean field potential, suitable for application in the
transport-model description of nucleus-nucleus collisions, is derived in a
microscopic way. The derivation is based upon the Bonn meson-exchange model for
the nucleon-nucleon interaction and the Dirac-Brueckner approach for nuclear
matter. The properties of the microscopic mean field are examined and compared
with phenomenological parametrizations which are commonly used in
transport-model calculations.Comment: 15 pages text (RevTex) and 4 figures (postscript in a separate
uuencoded file), UI-NTH-930
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