17,511 research outputs found
New mechanism for impurity-induced step bunching
Codeposition of impurities during the growth of a vicinal surface leads to an
impurity concentration gradient on the terraces, which induces corresponding
gradients in the mobility and the chemical potential of the adatoms. Here it is
shown that the two types of gradients have opposing effects on the stability of
the surface: Step bunching can be caused by impurities which either lower the
adatom mobility, or increase the adatom chemical potential. In particular,
impurities acting as random barriers (without affecting the adatom binding)
cause step bunching, while for impurities acting as random traps the
combination of the two effects reduces to a modification of the attachment
boundary conditions at the steps. In this case attachment to descending steps,
and thus step bunching, is favored if the impurities bind adatoms more weakly
than the substrate.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Substantial revisions and correction
Rotating Superconductors and the London Moment: Thermodynamics versus Microscopics
Comparing various microscopic theories of rotating superconductors to the
conclusions of thermodynamic considerations, we traced their marked difference
to the question of how some thermodynamic quantities (the electrostatic and
chemical potentials) are related to more microscopic ones: The electron's the
work function, mean-field potential and Fermi energy -- certainly a question of
general import.
After the correct identification is established, the relativistic correction
for the London Moment is shown to vanish, with the obvious contribution from
the Fermi velocity being compensated by other contributions such as
electrostatics and interactions.Comment: 23 pages 4 fi
Modification of as-cast Al-Mg/B4C composite by addition of Zr
Zirconium was used in Al-Mg/B4C composite to improve compocasting efficiency by increasing particle incorporation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results revealed that by addition of zirconium a reaction layer containing Zr, Al, B and C is formed on the interface of B4C-matrix. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of extracted particles unveiled that the ZrB2 phase is the main constituent of this layer. Formation of ZrB2 is an exothermic reaction which can rise temperature locally around particles and agglomerates. Rising temperature around agglomerates in conjunction with turbulent flow of melt facilitates agglomerates wetting and dissolving into molten aluminum. As the result, final product contains more uniformly distributed B4C particles. Besides enhancing compocasting efficiency, addition of Zr and formation of reaction layer by improving particle matrix bonding quality, led to increase in ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the composite around 8% and 30%, respectively. SEM observations of the fracture surfaces confirmed that a proper bonding presents at the interface of particles and matrix in presence of Zr.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Using Self-Adaptive Evolutionary Algorithms to Evolve Dynamism-Oriented Maps for a Real Time Strategy Game
9th International Conference on Large Scale Scientific Computations. The final publication is available at link.springer.comThis work presents a procedural content generation system that uses an evolutionary algorithm in order to generate interesting maps for a real-time strategy game, called Planet Wars. Interestingness is here captured by the dynamism of games (i.e., the extent to which they are action-packed). We consider two different approaches to measure the dynamism of the games resulting from these generated maps, one based on fluctuations in the resources controlled by either player and another one based on their confrontations. Both approaches rely on conducting several games on the map under scrutiny using top artificial intelligence (AI) bots for the game. Statistic gathered during these games are then transferred to a fuzzy system that determines the map's level of dynamism. We use an evolutionary algorithm featuring self-adaptation of mutation parameters and variable-length chromosomes (which means maps of different sizes) to produce increasingly dynamic maps.TIN2011-28627-C04-01, P10-TIC-608
A method of open cluster membership determination
A new method for the determination of open cluster membership based on a
cumulative effect is proposed. In the field of a plate the relative x and y
coordinate positions of each star with respect to all the other stars are
added. The procedure is carried out for two epochs t_1 and t_2 separately, then
one sum is subtracted from another. For a field star the differences in its
relative coordinate positions of two epochs will be accumulated. For a cluster
star, on the contrary, the changes in relative positions of cluster members at
t_1 and t_2 will be very small. On the histogram of sums the cluster stars will
gather to the left of the diagram, while the field stars will form a tail to
the right. The procedure allows us to efficiently discriminate one group from
another. The greater the distance between t_1 and t_2 and the more cluster
stars present, the greater is the effect. The accumulation method does not
require reference stars, determination of centroids and modelling the
distribution of field stars, necessary in traditional methods. By the proposed
method 240 open clusters have been processed, including stars up to m<13. The
membership probabilities have been calculated and compared to those obtained by
the most commonly used Vasilevskis-Sanders method. The similarity of the
results acquired the two different approaches is satisfactory for the majority
of clusters.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
A spatially-structured PCG method for content diversity in a Physics-based simulation game
This paper presents a spatially-structured evolutionary algorithm (EA) to procedurally generate game maps of di ferent levels of di ficulty to be solved, in Gravityvolve!, a physics-based simulation videogame that we have implemented and which is inspired by the n-
body problem, a classical problem in the fi eld of physics and mathematics. The proposal consists of a steady-state EA whose population is partitioned into three groups according to the di ficulty of the generated content (hard, medium or easy) which can be easily adapted to handle the automatic creation of content of diverse nature in other games. In addition, we present three fitness functions, based on multiple criteria (i.e:, intersections, gravitational acceleration and simulations), that were used experimentally to conduct the search process for creating a database of
maps with di ferent di ficulty in Gravityvolve!.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech
Histogram comparison as a powerful tool for the search of new physics at LHC. Application to CMSSM
We propose a rigorous and effective way to compare experimental and
theoretical histograms, incorporating the different sources of statistical and
systematic uncertainties. This is a useful tool to extract as much information
as possible from the comparison between experimental data with theoretical
simulations, optimizing the chances of identifying New Physics at the LHC. We
illustrate this by showing how a search in the CMSSM parameter space, using
Bayesian techniques, can effectively find the correct values of the CMSSM
parameters by comparing histograms of events with multijets + missing
transverse momentum displayed in the effective-mass variable. The procedure is
in fact very efficient to identify the true supersymmetric model, in the case
supersymmetry is really there and accessible to the LHC
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