580 research outputs found
Estimating the feasibility of transition paths in extended finite state machines
There has been significant interest in automating testing on the basis of an extended finite state machine (EFSM) model of the required behaviour of the implementation under test (IUT). Many test criteria require that certain parts of the EFSM are executed. For example, we may want to execute every transition of the EFSM. In order to find a test suite (set of input sequences) that achieves this we might first derive a set of paths through the EFSM that satisfy the criterion using, for example, algorithms from graph theory. We then attempt to produce input sequences that trigger these paths. Unfortunately, however, the EFSM might have infeasible paths and the problem of determining whether a path is feasible is generally undecidable. This paper describes an approach in which a fitness function is used to estimate how easy it is to find an input sequence to trigger a given path through an EFSM. Such a fitness function could be used in a search-based approach in which we search for a path with good fitness that achieves a test objective, such as executing a particular transition, and then search for an input sequence that triggers the path. If this second search fails then we search for another path with good fitness and repeat the process. We give a computationally inexpensive approach (fitness function) that estimates the feasibility of a path. In order to evaluate this fitness function we compared the fitness of a path with the ease with which an input sequence can be produced using search to trigger the path and we used random sampling in order to estimate this. The empirical evidence suggests that a reasonably good correlation (0.72 and 0.62) exists between the fitness of a path, produced using the proposed fitness function, and an estimate of the ease with which we can randomly generate an input sequence to trigger the path
An overview of jets and outflows in stellar mass black holes
In this book chapter, we will briefly review the current empirical
understanding of the relation between accretion state and and outflows in
accreting stellar mass black holes. The focus will be on the empirical
connections between X-ray states and relativistic (`radio') jets, although we
are now also able to draw accretion disc winds into the picture in a systematic
way. We will furthermore consider the latest attempts to measure/order jet
power, and to compare it to other (potentially) measurable quantities, most
importantly black hole spin.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to appear in
the Space Sciences Series of ISSI - The Physics of Accretion on to Black
Holes (Springer Publisher
Extended WKB method, resonances and supersymmetric radial barriers
Semiclassical approximations are implemented in the calculation of position
and width of low energy resonances for radial barriers. The numerical
integrations are delimited by t/T<<8, with t the period of a classical particle
in the barrier trap and T the resonance lifetime. These energies are used in
the construction of `haired' short range potentials as the supersymmetric
partners of a given radial barrier. The new potentials could be useful in the
study of the transient phenomena which give rise to the Moshinsky's diffraction
in time.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 3 table
Relaxation equations for two-dimensional turbulent flows with a prior vorticity distribution
Using a Maximum Entropy Production Principle (MEPP), we derive a new type of
relaxation equations for two-dimensional turbulent flows in the case where a
prior vorticity distribution is prescribed instead of the Casimir constraints
[Ellis, Haven, Turkington, Nonlin., 15, 239 (2002)]. The particular case of a
Gaussian prior is specifically treated in connection to minimum enstrophy
states and Fofonoff flows. These relaxation equations are compared with other
relaxation equations proposed by Robert and Sommeria [Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 2776
(1992)] and Chavanis [Physica D, 237, 1998 (2008)]. They can provide a
small-scale parametrization of 2D turbulence or serve as numerical algorithms
to compute maximum entropy states with appropriate constraints. We perform
numerical simulations of these relaxation equations in order to illustrate
geometry induced phase transitions in geophysical flows.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figure
Accretion and ejection in black-hole X-ray transients
Aims: We summarize the current observational picture of the outbursts of
black-hole X-ray transients (BHTs), based on the evolution traced in a
hardness-luminosity diagram (HLD), and we offer a physical interpretation.
Methods: The basic ingredient in our interpretation is the Poynting-Robertson
Cosmic Battery (PRCB, Contopoulos & Kazanas 1998), which provides locally the
poloidal magnetic field needed for the ejection of the jet. In addition, we
make two assumptions, easily justifiable. The first is that the mass-accretion
rate to the black hole in a BHT outburst has a generic bell-shaped form. This
is guaranteed by the observational fact that all BHTs start their outburst and
end it at the quiescent state. The second assumption is that at low accretion
rates the accretion flow is geometrically thick, ADAF-like, while at high
accretion rates it is geometrically thin.
Results: Both, at the beginning and the end of an outburst, the PRCB
establishes a strong poloidal magnetic field in the ADAF-like part of the
accretion flow, and this explains naturally why a jet is always present in the
right part of the HLD. In the left part of the HLD, the accretion flow is in
the form of a thin disk, and such a disk cannot sustain a strong poloidal
magnetic filed. Thus, no jet is expected in this part of the HLD. The
counterclockwise traversal of the HLD is explained as follows: the poloidal
magnetic field in the ADAF forces the flow to remain ADAF and the source to
move upwards in the HLD rather than to turn left. Thus, the history of the
system determines the counterclockwise traversal of the HLD. As a result, no
BHT is expected to ever traverse the entire HLD curve in the clockwise
direction.
Conclusions: We offer a physical interpretation of accretion and ejection in
BHTs with only one parameter, the mass transfer rate.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Radio emission and jets from microquasars
To some extent, all Galactic binary systems hosting a compact object are
potential `microquasars', so much as all galactic nuclei may have been quasars,
once upon a time. The necessary ingredients for a compact object of stellar
mass to qualify as a microquasar seem to be: accretion, rotation and magnetic
field. The presence of a black hole may help, but is not strictly required,
since neutron star X-ray binaries and dwarf novae can be powerful jet sources
as well. The above issues are broadly discussed throughout this Chapter, with a
a rather trivial question in mind: why do we care? In other words: are jets a
negligible phenomenon in terms of accretion power, or do they contribute
significantly to dissipating gravitational potential energy? How do they
influence their surroundings? The latter point is especially relevant in a
broader context, as there is mounting evidence that outflows powered by
super-massive black holes in external galaxies may play a crucial role in
regulating the evolution of cosmic structures. Microquasars can also be thought
of as a form of quasars for the impatient: what makes them appealing, despite
their low number statistics with respect to quasars, are the fast variability
time-scales. In the first approximation, the physics of the jet-accretion
coupling in the innermost regions should be set by the mass/size of the
accretor: stellar mass objects vary on 10^5-10^8 times shorter time-scales,
making it possible to study variable accretion modes and related ejection
phenomena over average Ph.D. time-scales. [Abridged]Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, To appear in Belloni, T. (ed.): The Jet
Paradigm - From Microquasars to Quasars, Lect. Notes Phys. 794 (2009
Transient reduction of DNA methylation at the onset of meiosis in male mice
Background: Meiosis is a specialized germ cell cycle that generates haploid gametes. In the initial stage of meiosis, meiotic prophase I (MPI), homologous chromosomes pair and recombine. Extensive changes in chromatin in MPI raise an important question concerning the contribution of epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation to meiosis. Interestingly, previous studies concluded that in male mice, genome-wide DNA methylation patters are set in place prior to meiosis and remain constant subsequently. However, no prior studies examined DNA methylation during MPI in a systematic manner necessitating its further investigation.
Results: In this study, we used genome-wide bisulfite sequencing to determine DNA methylation of adult mouse spermatocytes at all MPI substages, spermatogonia and haploid sperm. This analysis uncovered transient reduction of DNA methylation (TRDM) of spermatocyte genomes. The genome-wide scope of TRDM, its onset in the meiotic S phase and presence of hemimethylated DNA in MPI are all consistent with a DNA replication-dependent DNA demethylation. Following DNA replication, spermatocytes regain DNA methylation gradually but unevenly, suggesting that key MPI events occur in the context of hemimethylated genome. TRDM also uncovers the prior deficit of DNA methylation of LINE-1 retrotransposons in spermatogonia resulting in their full demethylation during TRDM and likely contributing to the observed mRNA and protein expression of some LINE-1 elements in early MPI.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that contrary to the prevailing view, chromosomes exhibit dynamic changes in DNA methylation in MPI. We propose that TRDM facilitates meiotic prophase processes and gamete quality control
The Stroop revisited: a meta-analysis of interference control in AD/HD
Background: An inhibition deficit, including poor interference control, has been implicated as one of the core deficits in AD/HD. Interference control is clinically measured by the Stroop Colour-Word Task. The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the strength of an interference deficit in AD/HD as measured by the Stroop Colour-Word Task and to assess the role of moderating variables that could explain the results. These moderating variables included: methods of calculating the interference score, comorbid reading and psychiatric disorders, AD/HD-subtypes, gender, age, intellectual functioning, medication, and sample size. Methods: Seventeen independent studies were located including 1395 children, adolescents, and young adults, in the age range of 6-27 years. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect sizes for the scores on the word and the colour card as well as the interference score. Results: Children with AD/HD performed more poorly on all three dependent variables. The effect sizes for word reading (d = .49) and colour naming (d = .58) were larger and more homogeneous than the effect size for the interference score (d = .35). The method used to calculate the interference score strongly influenced the findings for this measure. When interference control was calculated as the difference between the score on the colour card minus the score on the colour-word card, no differences were found between AD/HD groups and normal control groups. Discussion: The Stroop Colour-Word Task, in standard form, does not provide strong evidence for a deficit in interference control in AD/HD. However, the Stroop Colour-Word Task may not be a valid measure of interference control in AD/HD and alternative methodologies may be needed to test this aspect of the inhibitory deficit model in AD/HD. © Association for Child Psychology Psychiatry, 2004
Catalog of Radio Galaxies with z>0.3. I:Construction of the Sample
The procedure of the construction of a sample of distant () radio
galaxies using NED, SDSS, and CATS databases for further application in
statistical tests is described. The sample is assumed to be cleaned from
objects with quasar properties. Primary statistical analysis of the list is
performed and the regression dependence of the spectral index on redshift is
found.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Measurement of third-order nonlinear susceptibilities by non-phase matched third-harmonic generation
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