4,801 research outputs found
Event collisions in systems with delayed switches
Copyright © 2006 Elsevier. NOTICE: This is the authorâs version of a work accepted for publication by Elsevier. Changes resulting from the publishing process, including peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting and other quality control mechanisms, may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in IFAC-PapersOnLine, DOI: 10.3182/20060710-3-IT-4901.00012We study dynamical systems that switch between two different vector fields depending on a discrete variable. If the two vector fields have linearly unstable fixed points and the switch is subject to a hysteresis and to a delay one expects the system to switch periodically back and forth between the two vector fields, always switching at certain submanifolds of the state space. This is true as long as the delay is sufficiently small. When the delay reaches a problem-dependent critical value so-called event collisions occur. We show that at these event collisions the switching manifolds can increase their dimension, giving rise to higher-dimensional dynamics near the periodic orbit than expected. In many practical applications such as control engineering the dynamical system has additional symmetry, which adds difficulty in the analysis because event collisions generically occur at several points along the periodic orbit simultaneously
Numerical study of two dimensional stochastic NLS equations
International audienceIn this paper, we numerically solve the two-dimensional stochastic nonlinear Shrödinger equation in the case of multiplicative and additive white noises. The aim is to investigate their influence on well-known deterministic solutions: stationary states and blowing-up solutions. In the first case, we find that a multiplicative noise has a damping effect very similar to diffusion. However, for small amplitudes of the noise, the structure of solitary state is still localized. In the second case, a local refinement algorithm is used to overcome the difficulty arising for the computation of singular solutions. Our expirements show that multiplicative white noise stops the deterministic blow-up which occurs in the critical case. This extends the results of [15] in the one-dimensional case
Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Menâs Faces
In a range of non-human primate, bird and fish species, the intensity of red coloration in males is associated with social dominance, testosterone levels and mate selection. In humans too, skin redness is associated with health, but it is not known whether â as in non-human species â it is also associated with dominance and links to attractiveness have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we allow female participants to manipulate the CIELab a* value (red-green axis) of skin to maximize the perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness of photographs of menâs faces, and make two findings. First, participants increased a* (increasing redness) to enhance each attribute, suggesting that facial redness is perceived as conveying similar information about a maleâs qualities in humans as it does in non-human species. Second, there were significant differences between trial types: the highest levels of red were associated with aggression, an intermediate level with dominance, and the least with attractiveness. These differences may reflect a trade-off between the benefits of selecting a healthy, dominant partner and the negative consequences of aggression
The dilution peak, metallicity evolution, and dating of galaxy interactions and mergers
Strong inflows of gas from the outer disk to the inner kiloparsecs are
induced during the interaction of disk galaxies. This inflow of relatively
low-metallicity gas dilutes the metallicity of the circumnuclear gas. We have
investigated several aspects of the process as the timing and duration of the
dilution and its correlation with the induced star formation. We analysed major
(1:1) gas-rich interactions and mergers, spanning a range of initial orbital
characteristics. Star formation and metal enrichment from SNe are included in
our model. Our results show that the strongest trend is between the star
formation rate and the dilution of the metals in the nuclear region; i.e., the
more intense the central burst of star formation, the more the gas is diluted.
This trend comes from strong inflows of relatively metal-poor gas from the
outer regions of both disks, which fuels the intense star formation and lowers
the overall metallicity for a time. The strong inflows happen on timescales of
about 10^8 years or less, and the most intense star formation and lowest gas
phase metallicities are seen generally after the first pericentre passage. As
the star formation proceeds and the merger advances, the dilution reduces and
enrichment becomes dominant - ultimately increasing the metallicity of the
circumnuclear gas to a level higher than the initial metallicities of the
merging galaxies. The "fly-bys" - pairs that interact but do not merge - also
cause some dilution. We even see some dilution early in the merger or in the
"fly-bys" and thus do not observe a strong trend between the nuclear
metallicities and separation in our simulations until the merger is well
advanced. We also analyse the O and Fe enrichment of the ISM, and show that the
evolution of the alpha/Fe ratios, as well as the dilution of the central gas
metallicity, can be used as a clock for "dating" the interaction.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, A&A in press. Final version after language
editin
Leadership emergence in a data-driven model of zebrafish shoals with speed modulation
Models of collective animal motion can greatly aid in the design and interpretation of behavioural experiments that seek to unravel, isolate, and manipulate the determinants of leader-follower relationships. Here, we develop an initial model of zebrafish social behaviour, which accounts for both speed and angular velocity regulatory interactions among conspecifics. Using this model, we analyse the macroscopic observables of small shoals influenced by an âinformedâ agent, showing that leaders which actively modulate their speed with respect to their neighbours can entrain and stabilise collective dynamics of the naĂŻve shoal
Observational constraints on Cosmic Reionization
Recent observations have set the first constraints on the epoch of
reionization (EoR), corresponding to the formation epoch of the first luminous
objects. Studies of Gunn-Peterson (GP) absorption, and related phenomena,
suggest a qualitative change in the state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at
, indicating a rapid increase in the neutral fraction of the IGM,
from , perhaps up to
0.1, at . Conversely, transmission spikes in the GP trough, and the
evolution of the \lya galaxy luminosity function indicate at
, while the large scale polarization of the cosmic microwave
background (CMB) implies a significant ionization fraction extending to higher
redshifts, . The results suggest that reionization is less an
event than a process, with the process beginning as early as , and
with the 'percolation', or 'overlap' phase ending at . The data are
consistent with low luminosity star forming galaxies as being the dominant
sources of reionizing photons. Low frequency radio telescopes currently under
construction should be able to make the first direct measurements of HI 21cm
emission from the neutral IGM during the EoR, and upcoming measurements of
secondary CMB temperature anisotropy will provide fine details of the dynamics
of the reionized IGM.Comment: to appear in ARAA 2006, vol 44, page 415-462; latex. 84 pages. 15 fi
A Prospective Controlled Trial of an Electronic Hand Hygiene Reminder System
Background. The use of electronic hand hygiene reminder systems has been proposed as an approach to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, although information on efficacy is limited. We prospectively assessed whether hand hygiene activities among healthcare workers could be increased using an electronic hand hygiene monitoring and reminder system.
Methods. A prospective controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2 medical intensive care units (ICUs) at an academic medical center with comparable patient populations, healthcare staff, and physical layout. Hand hygiene activity was monitored concurrently in both ICUs, and the reminder system was installed in the test ICU. The reminder system was tested during 3 administered phases including: room entry/exit chimes, display of real-time hand hygiene activity, and a combination of the 2.
Results. In the test ICU, the mean number of hand hygiene events increased from 1538 per day at baseline to 1911 per day (24% increase) with the use of a combination of room entry/exit chimes, real-time displays of hand hygiene activity, and manager reports (P \u3c .001); in addition, the ratio of hand hygiene to room entry/exit events also increased from 26.1% to 36.6% (40% increase, P \u3c .001). The performance returned to baseline (1473 hand hygiene events per day) during the follow-up phase. There was no significant change in hand hygiene activity in the control ICU during the course of the trial.
Conclusions. In an ICU setting, an electronic hand hygiene reminder system that provided real-time feedback on overall unit-wide hand hygiene performance significantly increased hand hygiene activity
Vacuum fluctuation force on a rigid Casimir cavity in a gravitational field
We discuss the possibility of verifying the equivalence principle for the
zero-point energy of quantum electrodynamics, by evaluating the force, produced
by vacuum fluctuations, acting on a rigid Casimir cavity in a weak
gravitational field. The resulting force has opposite direction with respect to
the gravitational acceleration; the order of magnitude for a multi-layer cavity
configuration is derived and experimental feasibility is discussed, taking into
account current technological resources.Comment: 13 pages, Latex. In the revised version, the presentation has been
improve
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