428 research outputs found
Active Mass Under Pressure
After a historical introduction to Poisson's equation for Newtonian gravity,
its analog for static gravitational fields in Einstein's theory is reviewed. It
appears that the pressure contribution to the active mass density in Einstein's
theory might also be noticeable at the Newtonian level. A form of its
surprising appearance, first noticed by Richard Chase Tolman, was discussed
half a century ago in the Hamburg Relativity Seminar and is resolved here.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figure
A nonparametric urn-based approach to interacting failing systems with an application to credit risk modeling
In this paper we propose a new nonparametric approach to interacting failing
systems (FS), that is systems whose probability of failure is not negligible in
a fixed time horizon, a typical example being firms and financial bonds. The
main purpose when studying a FS is to calculate the probability of default and
the distribution of the number of failures that may occur during the
observation period. A model used to study a failing system is defined default
model. In particular, we present a general recursive model constructed by the
means of inter- acting urns. After introducing the theoretical model and its
properties we show a first application to credit risk modeling, showing how to
assess the idiosyncratic probability of default of an obligor and the joint
probability of failure of a set of obligors in a portfolio of risks, that are
divided into reliability classes
A Cretaceous carbonate delta drift in the Montagna della Maiella, Italy
The Upper Cretaceous (Campanian\u2013Maastrichtian) bioclastic wedge of the Orfento Formation in the Montagna della Maiella, Italy, is compared to newly discovered contourite drifts in the Maldives. Like the drift deposits in the Maldives, the Orfento Formation fills a channel and builds a Miocene delta-shaped and mounded sedimentary body in the basin that is similar in size to the approximately 350 km 2 large coarse-grained bioclastic Miocene delta drifts in the Maldives. The composition of the bioclastic wedge of the Orfento Formation is also exclusively bioclastic debris sourced from the shallow-water areas and reworked clasts of the Orfento Formation itself. In the near mud-free succession, age-diagnostic fossils are sparse. The depositional textures vary from wackestone to float-rudstone and breccia/conglomerates, but rocks with grainstone and rudstone textures are the most common facies. In the channel, lensoid convex-upward breccias, cross-cutting channelized beds and thick grainstone lobes with abundant scours indicate alternating erosion and deposition from a high-energy current. In the basin, the mounded sedimentary body contains lobes with a divergent progradational geometry. The lobes are built by decametre thick composite megabeds consisting of sigmoidal clinoforms that typically have a channelized topset, a grainy foreset and a fine-grained bottomset with abundant irregular angular clasts. Up to 30 m thick channels filled with intraformational breccias and coarse grainstones pinch out downslope between the megabeds. In the distal portion of the wedge, stacked grainstone beds with foresets and reworked intraclasts document continuous sediment reworking and migration. The bioclastic wedge of the Orfento Formation has been variously interpreted as a succession of sea-level controlled slope deposits, a shoaling shoreface complex, or a carbonate tidal delta. Current-controlled delta drifts in the Maldives, however, offer a new interpretation because of their similarity in architecture and composition. These similarities include: (i) a feeder channel opening into the basin; (ii) an excavation moat at the exit of the channel; (iii) an overall mounded geometry with an apex that is in shallower water depth than the source channel; (iv) progradation of stacked lobes; (v) channels that pinch out in a basinward direction; and (vi) smaller channelized intervals that are arranged in a radial pattern. As a result, the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian\u2013Maastrichtian) bioclastic wedge of the Orfento Formation in the Montagna della Maiella, Italy, is here interpreted as a carbonate delta drift
Linear frictional forces cause orbits to neither circularize nor precess
For the undamped Kepler potential the lack of precession has historically
been understood in terms of the Runge-Lenz symmetry. For the damped Kepler
problem this result may be understood in terms of the generalization of Poisson
structure to damped systems suggested recently by Tarasov[1]. In this
generalized algebraic structure the orbit-averaged Runge-Lenz vector remains a
constant in the linearly damped Kepler problem to leading order in the damping
coeComment: 16 pages. 1 figure, Rewrite for resubmissio
Latitudinal decline in stand biomass and productivity at the elevational treeline in the Ural mountains despite a common thermal growth limit
Aim: To quantify tree biomass and stand productivity of treeline ecotones and identify driving factors. Location: treeline ecotones of seven regions from the South to Polar Urals, spanning a latitudinal gradient of 1,500 km. Taxa: Picea obovata, Betula pubescens, Larix sibirica. Methods: Stand biomass and productivity were estimated across 18 elevational transects from the tree species line to the closed forest line based on allometric measurements of 326 trees (including roots for 53 trees), stand structure assessments and demographic patterns of 20,600 trees. Stand growth data were linked to (a) temperatures monitored in situ for five years in the South and Polar Urals, (b) climate variables extrapolated from nearby climate stations and (c) measures of nutrient availability in soils and tree foliage. Results: treeline position along the latitudinal gradient occurred at a similar mean growing season temperature. Despite the common cold limitation of tree distribution along the Ural mountain range, stand biomass and productivity within the treeline ecotone decreased by a factor of three and five from the South to the Polar Urals, mainly due to a declining stand density. Among climatic variables, growing season length decreased by 20% and winter temperatures declined by 4°C towards the Polar Urals, whereas growing degree days > 5°C remained similar, averaging 554 ± 9°C. Soil development was poorer in the Polar than in the South Urals, and plant-available N and P in the soil were 20 and 30 times lower, respectively, probably due to lower winter temperatures. Main conclusions: Our results suggest that once the thermal limitation for tree growth is relieved, soil fertility—restricted by permafrost and low soil temperatures during winter—plays a key and yet underexplored role for stand productivity in treeline ecotones. The observed latitudinal decline in stand productivity is important for above- and belowground diversity and functioning. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Lt
Anomalous Behavior of the Contact Process with Aging
The effect of power-law aging on a contact process is studied by simulation
and using a mean-field approach. We find that the system may approach its
stationary state in a nontrivial, nonmonotonous way. For the particular value
of the aging exponent, , we observe a rich set of behaviors:
depending on the process parameters, the relaxation to the stationary state
proceeds as or via a power law with a nonuniversal exponent.
Simulation results suggest that for , the absorbing-state phase
transition is in the universality class of directed percolation.Comment: 4 pages revtex (twocolumn, psfig), 3 figure
U and Th content in the Central Apennines continental crust: a contribution to the determination of the geo-neutrinos flux at LNGS
The regional contribution to the geo-neutrino signal at Gran Sasso National
Laboratory (LNGS) was determined based on a detailed geological, geochemical
and geophysical study of the region. U and Th abundances of more than 50
samples representative of the main lithotypes belonging to the Mesozoic and
Cenozoic sedimentary cover were analyzed. Sedimentary rocks were grouped into
four main "Reservoirs" based on similar paleogeographic conditions and
mineralogy. Basement rocks do not outcrop in the area. Thus U and Th in the
Upper and Lower Crust of Valsugana and Ivrea-Verbano areas were analyzed. Based
on geological and geophysical properties, relative abundances of the various
reservoirs were calculated and used to obtain the weighted U and Th abundances
for each of the three geological layers (Sedimentary Cover, Upper and Lower
Crust). Using the available seismic profile as well as the stratigraphic
records from a number of exploration wells, a 3D modelling was developed over
an area of 2^{\circ}x2^{\circ} down to the Moho depth, for a total volume of
about 1.2x10^6 km^3. This model allowed us to determine the volume of the
various geological layers and eventually integrate the Th and U contents of the
whole crust beneath LNGS. On this base the local contribution to the
geo-neutrino flux (S) was calculated and added to the contribution given by the
rest of the world, yielding a Refined Reference Model prediction for the
geo-neutrino signal in the Borexino detector at LNGS: S(U) = (28.7 \pm 3.9) TNU
and S(Th) = (7.5 \pm 1.0) TNU. An excess over the total flux of about 4 TNU was
previously obtained by Mantovani et al. (2004) who calculated, based on general
worldwide assumptions, a signal of 40.5 TNU. The considerable thickness of the
sedimentary rocks, almost predominantly represented by U- and Th- poor
carbonatic rocks in the area near LNGS, is responsible for this difference.Comment: 45 pages, 5 figures, 12 tables; accepted for publication in GC
How brains make decisions
This chapter, dedicated to the memory of Mino Freund, summarizes the Quantum
Decision Theory (QDT) that we have developed in a series of publications since
2008. We formulate a general mathematical scheme of how decisions are taken,
using the point of view of psychological and cognitive sciences, without
touching physiological aspects. The basic principles of how intelligence acts
are discussed. The human brain processes involved in decisions are argued to be
principally different from straightforward computer operations. The difference
lies in the conscious-subconscious duality of the decision making process and
the role of emotions that compete with utility optimization. The most general
approach for characterizing the process of decision making, taking into account
the conscious-subconscious duality, uses the framework of functional analysis
in Hilbert spaces, similarly to that used in the quantum theory of
measurements. This does not imply that the brain is a quantum system, but just
allows for the simplest and most general extension of classical decision
theory. The resulting theory of quantum decision making, based on the rules of
quantum measurements, solves all paradoxes of classical decision making,
allowing for quantitative predictions that are in excellent agreement with
experiments. Finally, we provide a novel application by comparing the
predictions of QDT with experiments on the prisoner dilemma game. The developed
theory can serve as a guide for creating artificial intelligence acting by
quantum rules.Comment: Latex file, 20 pages, 3 figure
Under pressure: Response urgency modulates striatal and insula activity during decision-making under risk
When deciding whether to bet in situations that involve potential monetary loss or gain (mixed gambles), a subjective sense of pressure can influence the evaluation of the expected utility associated with each choice option. Here, we explored how gambling decisions, their psychophysiological and neural counterparts are modulated by an induced sense of urgency to respond. Urgency influenced decision times and evoked heart rate responses, interacting with the expected value of each gamble. Using functional MRI, we observed that this interaction was associated with changes in the activity of the striatum, a critical region for both reward and choice selection, and within the insula, a region implicated as the substrate of affective feelings arising from interoceptive signals which influence motivational behavior. Our findings bridge current psychophysiological and neurobiological models of value representation and action-programming, identifying the striatum and insular cortex as the key substrates of decision-making under risk and urgency
The Value of Information for Populations in Varying Environments
The notion of information pervades informal descriptions of biological
systems, but formal treatments face the problem of defining a quantitative
measure of information rooted in a concept of fitness, which is itself an
elusive notion. Here, we present a model of population dynamics where this
problem is amenable to a mathematical analysis. In the limit where any
information about future environmental variations is common to the members of
the population, our model is equivalent to known models of financial
investment. In this case, the population can be interpreted as a portfolio of
financial assets and previous analyses have shown that a key quantity of
Shannon's communication theory, the mutual information, sets a fundamental
limit on the value of information. We show that this bound can be violated when
accounting for features that are irrelevant in finance but inherent to
biological systems, such as the stochasticity present at the individual level.
This leads us to generalize the measures of uncertainty and information usually
encountered in information theory
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