1,223 research outputs found
Two-Player Reachability-Price Games on Single-Clock Timed Automata
We study two player reachability-price games on single-clock timed automata.
The problem is as follows: given a state of the automaton, determine whether
the first player can guarantee reaching one of the designated goal locations.
If a goal location can be reached then we also want to compute the optimum
price of doing so. Our contribution is twofold. First, we develop a theory of
cost functions, which provide a comprehensive methodology for the analysis of
this problem. This theory allows us to establish our second contribution, an
EXPTIME algorithm for computing the optimum reachability price, which improves
the existing 3EXPTIME upper bound.Comment: In Proceedings QAPL 2011, arXiv:1107.074
Guided atom laser : a new tool for guided atom optics
We present a guided atom laser. A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is created
in a crossed hybrid magnetic and an elongated optical trap, which acts as a
matterwave guide. Atoms are extracted from the BEC by radio frequency (rf)
outcoupling and then guided in the horizontal optical matterwave guide. This
method allows to control the acceleration of the beam and to achieve large de
Broglie wavelength. We also measure the longitudinal energy of the guided atom
laser using atom optical elements based on a blue light barrier
Momentum Spectroscopy of Phase Fluctuations of an Elongated Bose-Einstein Condensate
We have measured the momentum distribution of an elongated BEC (aspect ratio
of 152), for temperatures below the critical temperature. The corresponding
coherence length is significantly smaller than the condensate length in a wide
range of temperature, in quantitative agreement with theoretical predictions.
The Lorentzian shape of the momentum spectrum supports the image of a phase
fluctuating quasicondensate.Comment: Proceedings of the International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy
(ICOLS 03), Cairns, Australia, july 200
Momentum spectroscopy of 1D phase fluctuations in Bose-Einstein condensates
We measure the axial momentum distribution of Bose-Einstein condensates with
an aspect ratio of 152 using Bragg spectroscopy. We observe the Lorentzian
momentum distribution characteristic of one-dimensional phase fluctuations. The
temperature dependence of the width of this distribution provides a
quantitative test of quasi-condensate theory. In addition, we observe a
condensate length consistent with the absence of density fluctuations, even
when phase fluctuations are large.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
One-dimensional behavior of elongated Bose-Einstein condensates
We study the properties of elongated Bose-Einstein condensates. First, we
show that the dimensions of the condensate after expansion differs from the 3D
Thomas-Fermi regime. We also study the coherence length of such elongated
condensates.Comment: proceeding of Quantum Gases in Low Dimension, Les Houches 2003, 8
pages, 5 figure
Permissive Controller Synthesis for Probabilistic Systems
We propose novel controller synthesis techniques for probabilistic systems
modelled using stochastic two-player games: one player acts as a controller,
the second represents its environment, and probability is used to capture
uncertainty arising due to, for example, unreliable sensors or faulty system
components. Our aim is to generate robust controllers that are resilient to
unexpected system changes at runtime, and flexible enough to be adapted if
additional constraints need to be imposed. We develop a permissive controller
synthesis framework, which generates multi-strategies for the controller,
offering a choice of control actions to take at each time step. We formalise
the notion of permissivity using penalties, which are incurred each time a
possible control action is disallowed by a multi-strategy. Permissive
controller synthesis aims to generate a multi-strategy that minimises these
penalties, whilst guaranteeing the satisfaction of a specified system property.
We establish several key results about the optimality of multi-strategies and
the complexity of synthesising them. Then, we develop methods to perform
permissive controller synthesis using mixed integer linear programming and
illustrate their effectiveness on a selection of case studies
Theoretical tools for atom laser beam propagation
We present a theoretical model for the propagation of non self-interacting
atom laser beams. We start from a general propagation integral equation, and we
use the same approximations as in photon optics to derive tools to calculate
the atom laser beam propagation. We discuss the approximations that allow to
reduce the general equation whether to a Fresnel-Kirchhoff integral calculated
by using the stationary phase method, or to the eikonal. Within the paraxial
approximation, we also introduce the ABCD matrices formalism and the beam
quality factor. As an example, we apply these tools to analyse the recent
experiment by Riou et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 070404 (2006)]
Population and Phase Coherence during the Growth of an Elongated Bose-Einstein Condensate
We study the growth of an elongated phase-fluctuating condensate from a
non-equilibrium thermal cloud obtained by shock-cooling. We compare the growth
of the condensate with numerical simulations, revealing a time delay and a
reduction in the growth rate which we attribute to phase fluctuations. We
measure the phase coherence using momentum Bragg spectroscopy, and thereby
observe the evolution of the phase coherence as a function of time. Combining
the phase coherence results with the numerical simulations, we suggest a simple
model for the reduction of the growth rate based on the reduction of bosonic
stimulation due to phase fluctuations and obtain improved agreement between
theory and experiment
Using an electrohydraulic ankle foot orthosis to study modifications in feedforward control during locomotor adaptation to force fields applied in stance
BACKGROUND: Adapting to external forces during walking has been proposed as a tool to improve locomotion after central nervous system injury. However, sensorimotor integration during walking varies according to the timing in the gait cycle, suggesting that adaptation may also depend on gait phases. In this study, an ElectroHydraulic AFO (EHO) was used to apply forces specifically during mid-stance and push-off to evaluate if feedforward movement control can be adapted in these 2 gait phases. METHODS: Eleven healthy subjects walked on a treadmill before (3 min), during (5 min) and after (5 min) exposure to 2 force fields applied by the EHO (mid-stance/push-off; approximately 10 Nm, towards dorsiflexion). To evaluate modifications in feedforward control, strides with no force field ('catch strides') were unexpectedly inserted during the force field walking period. RESULTS: When initially exposed to a mid-stance force field (FF 20%), subjects showed a significant increase in ankle dorsiflexion velocity. Catches applied early into the FF 20% were similar to baseline (P > 0.99). Subjects gradually adapted by returning ankle velocity to baseline over approximately 50 strides. Catches applied thereafter showed decreased ankle velocity where the force field was normally applied, indicating the presence of feedforward adaptation. When initially exposed to a push-off force field (FF 50%), plantarflexion velocity was reduced in the zone of force field application. No adaptation occurred over the 5 min exposure. Catch strides kinematics remained similar to control at all times, suggesting no feedforward adaptation. As a control, force fields assisting plantarflexion (-3.5 to -9.5 Nm) were applied and increased ankle plantarflexion during push-off, confirming that the lack of kinematic changes during FF 50% catch strides were not simply due to a large ankle impedance. CONCLUSION: Together these results show that ankle exoskeletons such as the EHO can be used to study phase-specific adaptive control of the ankle during locomotion. Our data suggest that, for short duration exposure, a feedforward modification in torque output occurs during mid-stance but not during push-off. These findings are important for the design of novel rehabilitation methods, as they suggest that the ability to use resistive force fields for training may depend on targeted gait phases
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