33 research outputs found
Computations of the current profile influence on tearing instability
Results of computations of tearing instability of a plasma column in a strong longitudinal magnetic field are presented for different current profiles. The power current profiles j=j sub 0(1-(r/a)(P))(nu) are considered and analyzed for various values of the parameters p and v. The tearing instability of the smoothed two-step profiles is studied. Optimal smoothed two-step profiles are constructed which are stable with respect to all helical largescale perturbations
Scattering solutions in a network of thin fibers: small diameter asymptotics
Small diameter asymptotics is obtained for scattering solutions in a network
of thin fibers. The asymptotics is expressed in terms of solutions of related
problems on the limiting quantum graph. We calculate the Lagrangian gluing
conditions at vertices for the problems on the limiting graph. If the frequency
of the incident wave is above the bottom of the absolutely continuous spectrum,
the gluing conditions are formulated in terms of the scattering data for each
individual junction of the network
Pulse-driven quantum dynamics beyond the impulsive regime
We review various unitary time-dependent perturbation theories and compare
them formally and numerically. We show that the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser
technique performs better owing to both the superexponential character of
correction terms and the possibility to optimize the accuracy of a given level
of approximation which is explored in details here. As an illustration, we
consider a two-level system driven by short pulses beyond the sudden limit.Comment: 15 pages, 5 color figure
Resonance regimes of scattering by small bodies with impedance boundary conditions
The paper concerns scattering of plane waves by a bounded obstacle with
complex valued impedance boundary conditions. We study the spectrum of the
Neumann-to-Dirichlet operator for small wave numbers and long wave asymptotic
behavior of the solutions of the scattering problem. The study includes the
case when is an eigenvalue or a resonance. The transformation from the
impedance to the Dirichlet boundary condition as impedance grows is described.
A relation between poles and zeroes of the scattering matrix in the non-self
adjoint case is established. The results are applied to a problem of scattering
by an obstacle with a springy coating. The paper describes the dependence of
the impedance on the properties of the material, that is on forces due to the
deviation of the boundary of the obstacle from the equilibrium position
Motor Decline in Clinically Presymptomatic Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2 Gene Carriers
BACKGROUND: Motor deficits are a critical component of the clinical characteristics of patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. However, there is no current information on the preclinical manifestation of those motor deficits in presymptomatic gene carriers. To further understand and characterize the onset of the clinical manifestation in this disease, we tested presymptomatic spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 gene carriers, and volunteers, in a task that evaluates their motor performance and their motor learning capabilities. METHODS AND FINDINGS: 28 presymptomatic spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 gene carriers and an equal number of control volunteers matched for age and gender participated in the study. Both groups were tested in a prism adaptation task known to be sensible to both motor performance and visuomotor learning deficits. Our results clearly show that although motor learning capabilities are intact, motor performance deficits are present even years before the clinical manifestation of the disease start. CONCLUSIONS: The results show a clear deficit in motor performance that can be detected years before the clinical onset of the disease. This motor performance deficit appears before any motor learning or clinical manifestations of the disease. These observations identify the performance coefficient as an objective and quantitative physiological biomarker that could be useful to assess the efficiency of different therapeutic agents