Exploring isospin, strangeness and charm distillation in heavy ion collisions

The isospin and strangeness dimensions of the Equation of State are explored. RIA and the SIS200 accelerator at GSI will allow to explore these regions in compressed baryonic matter. 132 Sn + 132 Sn and 100 Sn + 100 Sn collisions as well as the excitation functions of K/pi, Lambda/pi and the centrality dependence of charmonium suppression from the UrQMD and HSD transport models are presented and compared to data. Unambiguous proof for the creation of a 'novel phase of matter' from strangeness and charm yields is not in sight

Non-parametric estimation of mixed discrete choice models

In this paper, different strands of literature are combined in order to obtain algorithms for semi-parametric estimation of discrete choice models that include the modelling of unobserved heterogeneity by using mixing distributions for the parameters defining the preferences. The models use the theory on non-parametric maximum likelihood estimation (NP-MLE) that has been developed for general mixing models. The expectation-maximization (EM) techniques used in the NP-MLE literature are combined with strategies for choosing appropriate approximating models using adaptive grid techniques. \\ Jointly this leads to techniques for specification and estimation that can be used to obtain a consistent specification of the mixing distribution. Additionally, also algorithms for the estimation are developed that help to decrease problems due to the curse of dimensionality. \\ The proposed algorithms are demonstrated in a small scale simulation study to be useful for the specification and estimation of mixture models in the discrete choice context providing some information on the specification of the mixing distribution. The simulations document that some aspects of the mixing distribution such as the expectation can be estimated reliably. They also demonstrate, however, that typically different approximations to the mixing distribution lead to similar values of the likelihood and hence are hard to discriminate. Therefore it does not appear to be possible to reliably infer the most appropriate parametric form for the estimated mixing distribution.Comment: Paper presented at the International Choice Modelling Conference (ICMC2019) in Kobe, Japa

Analysis of Heat Flux Distribution during Brush Seal Rubbing Using CFD with Porous Media Approach

This paper discusses the question of heat flux distribution between bristle package and rotor during a rubbing event. A three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (3D CFD) model of the brush seal test rig installed at the Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery (ITS) was created. The bristle package is modelled as a porous medium with local non-thermal equilibrium. The model is used to numerically recalculate experimentally conducted rub tests on the ITS test rig. The experimentally determined total frictional power loss serves as an input parameter to the numerical calculation. By means of statistical evaluation methods, the ma in influences on the heat flux distribution and the maximum temperature in the frictional contact are determined. The heat conductivity of the rotor material, the heat transfer coefficients at the bristles and the rubbing surface were identified as the dominant factors

Gestion biomimétique de l'énergie dans le bâtiment

The efficient thermal control of buildings is a complex problem. Non controlled perturbations like user behaviour and meteorological conditions can change much with time and make this task difficult. This work proposes considering the building as a 'living system', with an internal activity (user behaviour and internal gains) and placed in an influencing environment (the solar radiation and the external temperature). As a living system, the building must provide thermal comfort conditions to its inhabitants and minimize its energy consumption. Strategies taken from the behavioural thermo regulation of the human body, as well as biomimetic technologies like artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic (technologies that imitate the behaviour of living systems), were used to reach these objectives. An optimal heating controller is proposed. It uses meteorological short term prediction models (for solar radiation and external temperature), as well as a model to describe the thermal evolution of a building. These models are based on artificial neural networks and have the following objectives: Optimize the prediction performance of adaptive meteorological models based on a limited number of local measurements. Precisely describe the thermal behaviour of buildings including the non-linearities introduced by inhabitants, with a self-adaptive model. Limit as much as possible the commissioning procedure necessary to initialize these models. A fuzzy blind controller is also developed. It can manage the sometimes contradictory goals of blinds: Provide optimal visual comfort for the inhabitants; Optimize the thermal exchanges through the window; Satisfy user wishes. To evaluate and compare different heating and blind control strategies, a correlation method is proposed. It evaluates the sensibility to solar and heating gains of a heated and cooled building. The proposed controllers have been tested in two rooms of a non residential building during three years. These rooms have large solar gains (south orientation and a high window fraction) and a massive structure. Many numerical simulations complete the experimental results. When compared to a conventional but efficient heat controller, equipped with internal temperature, external temperature and solar sensors, self adapting heating curve algorithms and optimal start/stop procedures, the biomimetic controller: reduce thermal energy needs (13% for the heating season); optimize the inhabitants' thermal comfort; make easier the commissioning procedure. When the blind controller is added, simulations show an extra 20% of energy savings (when compared to the case with only the biomimetic heating). This results from a reduced global heat transfer coefficient (due to blind's night closing) and an optimization of the solar gains use. This work shows that the heating consumption of buildings depends largely on the way they are controlled. The energy savings obtained with an efficient control is comparable to those resulting of an improvement of the building's envelope. For example, a window area with an automatic blind control can be a heating source (with the solar gains in a winter period) or a cooling source (with passive cooling in a summer period). Appropriate control can use this property to decrease the building's energy consumption

LICOR-Liquid Columns' Resonances

The aim of the experiment LICOR was the investigation of the axial resonances oi cylindrical liquid columns supported by equal circular coaxiaJ disks. In preparation ot the D-2 experiment a •heoreiical model has been developed, which exactly describes the small amplitude oscillations of finite cylindrical columns between coaxial circular disks. In addition, in terrestrial experiments the resonance frequencies of small liquid columns with up to 5 mm in diameter have been determined and investigations with density-matched liquids (silicon oil in a waierlmethanol mixture) have been performed. For the D-2 experiment LICOR the front disk and the rear disk lor use in the AFPM have been constructed and equipped with pressure sensors and the necessary electronics. The pressure exerted by the oscillating liquid column on trie supporting disks vsas as low as 10 Pa. Since the data downlink of the Materials Research Laboratory was just one signal oer second and channel, it was necessary to determine amplitude and phase of the pressure already in the LICOR disks. The D-2 experiment has been successfully performed. It has fully confirmed the theoretical models and remarkably supplements the experiments on small liquid columns and on density-matched columns

Probing vortices in 4He nanodroplets

We present static and dynamical properties of linear vortices in 4He droplets obtained from Density Functional calculations. By comparing the adsorption properties of different atomic impurities embedded in pure droplets and in droplets where a quantized vortex has been created, we suggest that Ca atoms should be the dopant of choice to detect vortices by means of spectroscopic experiments.Comment: Typeset using Revtex4, 4 pages and 2 Postscript file

A Sorting Hat For Clusters. Dynamic Provisioning of Compute Nodes for Colocated Large Scale Computational Research Infrastructures

Current large scale computational research infrastructures are composed of multitudes of compute nodes fitted with similar or identical hardware. For practical purposes, the deployment of the software operating environment to each compute node is done in an automated fashion. If a data centre hosts more than one of these systems – for example cloud and HPC clusters – it is beneficial to use the same provisioning method for all of them. The uniform provisioning approach unifies administration of the various systems and allows flexible dedication and reconfiguration of computational resources. In particular, we will highlight the requirements on the underlying network infrastructure for unified remote boot but segregated service operations. Building upon this, we will present the Boot Selection Service, allowing for the addition, removal or rededication of a node to a given research infrastructure with a simple reconfiguration

Influence of tree hollow characteristics and forest structure on saproxylic beetle diversity in tree hollows in managed forests in a regional comparison

Tree hollows are among the rarest habitats in today's Central European managed forests but are considered key structures for high biodiversity in forests. To analyze and compare the effects of tree hollow characteristics and forest structure on diversity of saproxylic beetles in tree hollows in differently structured managed forests, we examined between 41 and 50 tree hollows in beech trees in each of three state forest management districts in Germany. During the two‐year study, we collected 283 saproxylic beetle species (5880 individuals; 22% threatened species), using emergence traps. At small spatial scales, the size of hollow entrance and the number of surrounding microhabitat structures positively influenced beetle diversity, while the stage of wood mould decomposition had a negative influence, across all three forest districts. We utilized forest inventory data to analyze the effects of forest structure in radii of 50–500 m around tree hollows on saproxylic beetle diversity in the hollows. At these larger spatial scales, the three forest management districts differed remarkably regarding the parameters that influenced saproxylic beetle diversity in tree hollows. In Ebrach, characterized by mostly deciduous trees, the amount of dead wood positively influenced beetle diversity. In the mostly coniferous Fichtelberg forest district, with highly isolated tree hollows, in contrast, only the proportion of beech trees around the focal tree hollows showed a positive influence on beetle diversity. In Kelheim, characterized by mixed forest stands, there were no significant relationships between forest structure and beetle diversity in tree hollows. In this study, the same local tree hollow parameters influenced saproxylic beetle diversity in all three study regions, while parameters of forest structure at larger spatial scales differed in their importance, depending on tree‐species composition