6,542 research outputs found
Viewpoint consistency in Z and LOTOS: A case study
Specification by viewpoints is advocated as a suitable method of specifying complex systems. Each viewpoint describes the envisaged system from a particular perspective, using concepts and specification languages best suited for that perspective. Inherent in any viewpoint approach is the need to check or manage the consistency of viewpoints and to show that the different viewpoints do not impose contradictory requirements. In previous work we have described a range of techniques for consistency checking, refinement, and translation between viewpoint specifications, in particular for the languages LOTOS and Z. These two languages are advocated in a particular viewpoint model, viz. that of the Open Distributed Processing (ODP) reference model. In this paper we present a case study which demonstrates how all these techniques can be combined in order to show consistency between a viewpoint specified in LOTOS and one specified in Z. Keywords: Viewpoints; Consistency; Z; LOTOS; ODP
Proton NMR studies of the electronic structure of ZrH/sub x/
The proton spin lattice relaxation times and Knight shifts were measured in f.c.c. (delta-phase) and f.c.t. (epsilon-phase) ZrH/sub x/ for 1.5 or = to x or = to 2.0. Both parameters indicate that N(E/sub F/) is very dependent upon hydrogen content with a maximum occurring at ZrH1 83. This behavior is ascribed to modifications in N(E/sub F/) through a fcc/fct distortion in ZrH/sub x/ associated with a Jahn-Teller effect
Explanation for Anomalous Shock Temperatures Measured by Neutron Resonance Spectroscopy
Neutron resonance spectrometry (NRS) has been used to measure the temperature
inside Mo samples during shock loading. The temperatures obtained were
significantly higher than predicted assuming ideal hydrodynamic loading. The
effect of plastic flow and non-ideal projectile behavior were assessed. Plastic
flow was calculated self-consistently with the shock jump conditions: this is
necessary for a rigorous estimate of the locus of shock states accessible.
Plastic flow was estimated to contribute a temperature rise of 53K compared
with hydrodynamic flow. Simulations were performed of the operation of the
explosively-driven projectile system used to induce the shock in the Mo sample.
The simulations predicted that the projectile was significantly curved on
impact, and still accelerating. The resulting spatial variations in load,
including radial components of velocity, were predicted to increase the
apparent temperature that would be deduced from the width of the neutron
resonance by 160K. These corrections are sufficient to reconcile the apparent
temperatures deduced using NRS with the accepted properties of Mo, in
particular its equation of state.Comment: near-final version, waiting for final consent from an autho
Nonlinear Scattering of a Bose-Einstein Condensate on a Rectangular Barrier
We consider the nonlinear scattering and transmission of an atom laser, or
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) on a finite rectangular potential barrier. The
nonlinearity inherent in this problem leads to several new physical features
beyond the well-known picture from single-particle quantum mechanics. We find
numerical evidence for a denumerably infinite string of bifurcations in the
transmission resonances as a function of nonlinearity and chemical potential,
when the potential barrier is wide compared to the wavelength of oscillations
in the condensate. Near the bifurcations, we observe extended regions of
near-perfect resonance, in which the barrier is effectively invisible to the
BEC. Unlike in the linear case, it is mainly the barrier width, not the height,
that controls the transmission behavior. We show that the potential barrier can
be used to create and localize a dark soliton or dark soliton train from a
phonon-like standing wave.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, new version includes clarification of
definition of transmission coefficient in general nonlinear vs. linear cas
Impact of the assimilation of ozone from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer on surface ozone across North America
We examine the impact of assimilating ozone observations from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) on North American surface ozone abundances in the GEOS-Chem model in August 2006. The assimilation reduces the negative bias in the modeled free tropospheric ozone, which enhances the ozone flux into the boundary layer. Surface ozone abundances increased by as much as 9 ppb in western North America and by less than 2 ppb in the southeast, resulting in a total background source of ozone of 20-40 ppb. The enhanced ozone in the model reduced the model bias with respect to surface ozone observations in the western USA, but exacerbated it in the east. This increase in the bias in the boundary layer in the east, despite the agreement between the assimilation and ozonesonde measurements in the free troposphere, suggests errors in the ozone sources or sinks or in boundary layer mixing in the model. © 2009
Casimir-Polder force density between an atom and a conducting wall
In this paper we calculate the Casimir-Polder force density (force per unit
area acting on the elements of the surface) on a metallic plate placed in front
of a neutral atom. To obtain the force density we use the quantum operator
associated to the electromagnetic stress tensor. We explicitly show that the
integral of this force density over the plate reproduces the total force acting
on the plate. This result shows that, although the force is obtained as a sum
of surface element-atom contributions, the stress-tensor method includes also
nonadditive components of Casimir-Polder forces in the evaluation of the force
acting on a macroscopic object.Comment: 5 page
Use of evidence to support healthy public policy: a policy effectiveness-feasibility loop
Public policy plays a key role in improving population health and in the control of diseases, including non-communicable diseases.
However, an evidence-based approach to formulating healthy public policy has been difficult to implement, partly on account of barriers
that hinder integrated work between researchers and policy-makers. This paper describes a “policy effectiveness–feasibility loop” (PEFL) that
brings together epidemiological modelling, local situation analysis and option appraisal to foster collaboration between researchers and
policy-makers. Epidemiological modelling explores the determinants of trends in disease and the potential health benefits of modifying
them. Situation analysis investigates the current conceptualization of policy, the level of policy awareness and commitment among key
stakeholders, and what actually happens in practice, thereby helping to identify policy gaps. Option appraisal integrates epidemiological
modelling and situation analysis to investigate the feasibility, costs and likely health benefits of various policy options. The authors illustrate
how PEFL was used in a project to inform public policy for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in four parts of the eastern
Mediterranean. They conclude that PEFL may offer a useful framework for researchers and policy-makers to successfully work together to
generate evidence-based policy, and they encourage further evaluation of this approach
Statistical Theory of Parity Nonconservation in Compound Nuclei
We present the first application of statistical spectroscopy to study the
root-mean-square value of the parity nonconserving (PNC) interaction matrix
element M determined experimentally by scattering longitudinally polarized
neutrons from compound nuclei. Our effective PNC interaction consists of a
standard two-body meson-exchange piece and a doorway term to account for
spin-flip excitations. Strength functions are calculated using realistic
single-particle energies and a residual strong interaction adjusted to fit the
experimental density of states for the targets, ^{238} U for A\sim 230 and
^{104,105,106,108} Pd for A\sim 100. Using the standard Desplanques, Donoghue,
and Holstein estimates of the weak PNC meson-nucleon coupling constants, we
find that M is about a factor of 3 smaller than the experimental value for
^{238} U and about a factor of 1.7 smaller for Pd. The significance of this
result for refining the empirical determination of the weak coupling constants
is discussed.Comment: Latex file, no Fig
Potential of observations from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer to constrain continental sources of carbon monoxide
Associations involving delays (particularly long delays) between certain weather parameters and geomagnetic activity
Four sunspot-minimum periods (1963-1966, 1971-1977, 1983-1987 and 1992-1997) have been examined for the results which are presented. Using several different weather parameters, tropospheric gravity waves, enhanced cold fronts and two rainfall data sets in Eastern Australia, associations at reasonably high levels of significance have been found with enhanced geomagnetic activity (EGA). Statistically this EGA involved either short delays of several days or long delays of about 20 days. The geomagnetic parameters used were (a) the AE index (b) the hourly H component for a number of stations and (c) the daily K-P-sum value. The K-P-sum analyses have shown that the EGA associated with the delays form part of four or five cycles of recurrent geomagnetic activity for 27-day periodicities. Furthermore statistically two recurrent cycles are found to exist concurrently, one apparently related to the short delays and the other to the long delays. Periodicities of 13.5 days are created because the two sets are displaced from each other by approximately this interval. A brief reference is made to the 13.5 periodicity known to exist for geomagnetic activity and the evidence in the literature for active regions on the sun to be displaced by 180 degrees of solar longitude
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