A preliminary archaeometric study of Aeneolithic anthropomorphic statues from Allai (Central Sardinia, Italy)

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Evidence of exactness of the mean field theory in the nonextensive regime of long-range spin models

The q-state Potts model with long-range interactions that decay as 1/r^alpha subjected to an uniform magnetic field on d-dimensional lattices is analized for different values of q in the nonextensive regime (alpha between 0 and d). We also consider the two dimensional antiferromagnetic Ising model with the same type of interactions. The mean field solution and Monte Carlo calculations for the equations of state for these models are compared. We show that, using a derived scaling which properly describes the nonextensive thermodynamic behaviour, both types of calculations show an excellent agreement in all the cases here considered, except for alpha=d. These results allow us to extend to nonextensive magnetic models a previous conjecture which states that the mean field theory is exact for the Ising one.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Selection of features based on electric power quantities for non-intrusive load monitoring

Non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) is a process of determining the operating states and the energy consumption of single electric devices using a single energy meter providing aggregate load measurements. Due to the large spread of power electronic-based and nonlinear devices connected to the network, the time signals of both voltage and current are typically non-sinusoidal. The effectiveness of a NILM algorithm strongly depends on determining a set of discriminative features. In this paper, voltage and current signals were combined to define, according to the definitions provided in Standard IEEE 1459, different power quantities, that can be used to distinguish different types of appliance. Multi-layer perceptron (MLP) classifiers were trained to solve the appliance detection problem as a multi-class event classification problem, varying the electric features in input. This allowed to select an optimal set of features guarantying good classification performance in identifying typical electric loads

Video analysis of dogs with separation-related behaviors

Separation-related behaviors are described as problematic behaviors that occur exclusively in the owner's absence or virtual absence. Diagnosis is generally based on indirect evidence such as elimination or destruction that occurs during owner absence. Questionnaire studies are based on owner perception and might therefore underestimate the actual proportion of dogs with separation problems. The aim of this study was to film dogs with separation-related problems when left home alone and compile objective information on behaviors exhibited. Twenty-three dogs, ranging in age from 5 months to 13 years (2.9 \ub1 22.7 years), were filmed home alone for 20-60 min (49.87 \ub1 12.9 min) after owner departure. Analysis of behaviors on tape showed that dogs spent most of their time vocalizing (22.95 \ub1 12.3% of total observed time) and being oriented to the environment (21 \ub1 20%). Dogs also exhibited panting (14 \ub1 18%), were passive (12 \ub1 27%) and were destroying (6 \ub1 6%) during owner absence. Most dogs displayed signs within less than 10 min after owner departure, such as vocalizing (mean latency 3.25 min) and/or destroying (mean latency 7.13 min). Barking and oriented to the environment tended to decrease (respectively p = 0.08 and p = 0.07) and conversely panting tended to increase over time (p = 0.07). Diagnosis of separation-related problems is traditionally dependant on owner reports. Although owner observation may be informative, direct observation and standardized behavioral measurement of dogs with separation-related problems, before and after treatment, would be the best way to diagnose and to measure behavioral improvement

Evolution of the Magnetic and Structural Properties with the Chemical Composition in Oleate-Capped MnxCo1- xFe2O4Nanoparticles

Understanding the complex link among composition, microstructure, and magnetic properties paves the way to the rational design of well-defined magnetic materials. In this context, the evolution of the magnetic and structural properties in a series of oleate-capped manganese-substituted cobalt ferrites (MnxCo1-xFe2O4) with variable Co/Mn molar ratios is deeply discussed. Single-phase ferrites with similar crystallite and particle sizes (about 10 nm), size dispersity (14%), and weight percentage of capping oleate molecules (17%) were obtained by an oleate-based solvothermal approach. The similarities among the samples permitted the interpretation of the results exclusively on the basis of the actual composition, beyond the other parameters. The temperature and magnetic field dependences of the magnetization were studied together with the interparticle interactions by DC magnetometry. Characteristic temperatures (Tmax, Tdiff, and Tb), coercivity, anisotropy field, and reduced remanence were found to be affected by the Co/Mn ratio, mainly due to the magnetic anisotropy, interparticle interactions, and particle volume distribution. In addition, the cobalt and manganese distributions were hypothesized on the basis of the chemical composition, the inversion degree obtained by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, the anisotropy constant, and the saturation magnetization

Long-range interactions and non-extensivity in ferromagnetic spin models

The Ising model with ferromagnetic interactions that decay as $1/r^\alpha$ is analyzed in the non-extensive regime $0\leq\alpha\leq d$, where the thermodynamic limit is not defined. In order to study the asymptotic properties of the model in the $N\rightarrow\infty$ limit ($N$ being the number of spins) we propose a generalization of the Curie-Weiss model, for which the $N\rightarrow\infty$ limit is well defined for all $\alpha\geq 0$. We conjecture that mean field theory is {\it exact} in the last model for all $0\leq\alpha\leq d$. This conjecture is supported by Monte Carlo heat bath simulations in the $d=1$ case. Moreover, we confirm a recently conjectured scaling (Tsallis\cite{Tsallis}) which allows for a unification of extensive ($\alpha>d$) and non-extensive ($0\leq\alpha\leq d$) regimes.Comment: RevTex, 12 pages, 1 eps figur

The Lie-Poisson structure of the reduced n-body problem

The classical n-body problem in d-dimensional space is invariant under the Galilean symmetry group. We reduce by this symmetry group using the method of polynomial invariants. As a result we obtain a reduced system with a Lie-Poisson structure which is isomorphic to sp(2n-2), independently of d. The reduction preserves the natural form of the Hamiltonian as a sum of kinetic energy that depends on velocities only and a potential that depends on positions only. Hence we proceed to construct a Poisson integrator for the reduced n-body problem using a splitting method.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figure

On the thermal and hydrothermal stability of spinel iron oxide nanoparticles as single and core-shell hard-soft phases

The thermal and hydrothermal stability of oleate-capped nanosized spinel iron oxides is of primary importance for the plethora of applications and environments for which they are employed. An in-situ XRD and ex-situ autoclave treatments have been set up for monitoring the thermal and hydrothermal stability in different samples. In detail, spinel iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) were studied as (i) single-phase alone at three different sizes (about 6, 10, and 15 nm); (ii) as core in a core-shell architecture having cobalt ferrite as shell, at different core sizes (about 6 and 10 nm); (iii) as shell in a core-shell architecture with cobalt ferrite as core, at different shell thicknesses (about 3 and 4 nm). The Rietveld refinement of the diffraction patterns and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy have been exploited to monitor the evolution of the structural parameters and the hematite fraction. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy has permitted to deepen the morphological details on the phases. The spinel iron oxide-hematite transition has been found size- and time-dependent for the single-phase iron oxide NPs (360–455 °C). The transition temperature has increased significantly when iron oxide is incorporated in a core-shell architecture, both as core (630 °C) and shell (520 °C), suggesting a stabilizing effect of cobalt ferrite. The hydrothermal stability of iron oxide and core-shell NPs has been found dependent on water content, time, and temperature, with a reducing effect of pentanol toward the formation of magnetite from maghemite, highlighted by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The synergic effects of cobalt ferrite and pentanol have limited the formation of hematite, leading to the obtainment of magnetite-covered cobalt ferrite NPs upon the hydrothermal treatment

Correlated electron-hole plasma in organometal perovskites

Organic-inorganic perovskites are a class of solution-processed semiconductors holding promise for the realization of low-cost efficient solar cells and on-chip lasers. Despite the recent attention they have attracted, fundamental aspects of the photophysics underlying device operation still remain elusive. Here we use photoluminescence and transmission spectroscopy to show that photoexcitations give rise to a conducting plasma of unbound but Coulomb-correlated electron-hole pairs at all excitations of interest for light-energy conversion and stimulated optical amplification. The conductive nature of the photoexcited plasma has crucial consequences for perovskite-based devices: in solar cells, it ensures efficient charge separation and ambipolar transport while, concerning lasing, it provides a low threshold for light amplification and justifies a favourable outlook for the demonstration of an electrically driven laser. We find a significant trap density, whose cross-section for carrier capture is however low, yielding a minor impact on device performance