A hybrid approach to Fermi operator expansion

In a recent paper we have suggested that the finite temperature density matrix can be computed efficiently by a combination of polynomial expansion and iterative inversion techniques. We present here significant improvements over this scheme. The original complex-valued formalism is turned into a purely real one. In addition, we use Chebyshev polynomials expansion and fast summation techniques. This drastically reduces the scaling of the algorithm with the width of the Hamiltonian spectrum, which is now of the order of the cubic root of such parameter. This makes our method very competitive for applications to ab-initio simulations, when high energy resolution is required.Comment: preprint of ICCMSE08 proceeding

Automated multigravity assist trajectory planning with a modified ant colony algorithm

The paper presents an approach to transcribe a multigravity assist trajectory design problem into an integrated planning and scheduling problem. A modified Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is then used to generate optimal plans corresponding to optimal sequences of gravity assists and deep space manoeuvers to reach a given destination. The modified Ant Colony Algorithm is based on a hybridization between standard ACO paradigms and a tabu-based heuristic. The scheduling algorithm is integrated into the trajectory model to provide a fast time-allocation of the events along the trajectory. The approach demonstrated to be very effective on a number of real trajectory design problems

Design of optimal Earth pole-sitter transfers using low thrust propulsion

Recent studies have shown the feasibility of an Earth pole-sitter mission using low-thrust propulsion. This mission concept involves a spacecraft following the Earth's polar axis to have a continuous, hemispherical view of one of the Earth's poles. Such a view will enhance future Earth observation and telecommunications for high latitude and polar regions. To assess the accessibility of the pole-sitter orbit, this paper investigates optimum Earth pole-sitter transfers employing low-thrust propulsion. A launch from low Earth orbit (LEO) by a Soyuz Fregat upper stage is assumed after which a solar-electric-propulsion thruster transfers the spacecraft to the pole-sitter orbit. The objective is to minimise the mass in LEO for a given spacecraft mass to be inserted into the pole-sitter orbit. The results are compared with a ballistic transfer that exploits the manifolds winding off the pole-sitter orbit. It is shown that, with respect to the ballistic case, low-thrust propulsion can achieve significant mass savings in excess of 200 kg for a pole-sitter spacecraft of 1000 kg upon insertion. To finally obtain a full low-thrust transfer from LEO up to the pole-sitter orbit, the Fregat launch is replaced by a low-thrust, minimum time spiral through an orbital averaging technique, which provides further mass savings, but at the cost of an increased time of flight

Continuous Planetary Polar Observation from Hybrid Pole-Sitters at Venus, Earth, and Mars

A pole-sitter is a satellite that is stationed along the polar axis of the Earth, or any other planet, to generate a continuous, hemispherical view of the planet’s polar regions. In order to maintain such a vantage point, a low-thrust propulsion system is required to counterbalance the gravitational attraction of the planet and the Sun. Previous work has considered the use of solar electric propulsion (SEP) or a hybrid configuration of an SEP thruster and a solar sail to produce the required acceleration. By subsequently optimising the propellant consumption by the thruster, estimates of the mission performance in terms of the payload capacity and mission lifetime have been obtained. This paper builds on these results and aims at lifting the pole-sitter concept to the next level by extending the work both from a technical and conceptual perspective: from a technical perspective, this paper will further improve the mission performance by optimising the pole-sitter orbits for the payload capacity or mission lifetime instead of for the propellant consumption. The results show that, at Earth, this allows improvements in the order of 5-10 percent in terms of payload capacity and mission lifetime. Furthermore, on a conceptual level, this paper will, for the first time, investigate the possibility of so-called quasi-pole-sitter orbits. For quasi-pole-sitter orbits the requirement to be exactly on the polar axis is relaxed to allow some movement around the polar axis as long as continuous observation of the entire polar region at a desired minimum elevation angle is achieved. This ultimately enables solar sail-only pole-sitter orbits that are no longer limited in performance by the SEP propellant consumption. Finally, this paper extends all analyses to other inner Solar System planets, showing that Mars provides excellent conditions for a pole-sitter platform with its low mass and relatively far distance from the Sun. With this extension of the pole-sitter concept to other planets as well as considering, for the first time, the option of quasi-pole-sitter orbits, the concept is lifted to the next level, strengthening the feasibility and utility of these orbits for continuous planetary polar observation

Global Trajectory Optimisation : Can We Prune the Solution Space When Considering Deep Space Manoeuvres? [Final Report]

This document contains a report on the work done under the ESA/Ariadna study 06/4101 on the global optimization of space trajectories with multiple gravity assist (GA) and deep space manoeuvres (DSM). The study was performed by a joint team of scientists from the University of Reading and the University of Glasgow

Multi-rendezvous Spacecraft Trajectory Optimization with Beam P-ACO

The design of spacecraft trajectories for missions visiting multiple celestial bodies is here framed as a multi-objective bilevel optimization problem. A comparative study is performed to assess the performance of different Beam Search algorithms at tackling the combinatorial problem of finding the ideal sequence of bodies. Special focus is placed on the development of a new hybridization between Beam Search and the Population-based Ant Colony Optimization algorithm. An experimental evaluation shows all algorithms achieving exceptional performance on a hard benchmark problem. It is found that a properly tuned deterministic Beam Search always outperforms the remaining variants. Beam P-ACO, however, demonstrates lower parameter sensitivity, while offering superior worst-case performance. Being an anytime algorithm, it is then found to be the preferable choice for certain practical applications.Comment: Code available at https://github.com/lfsimoes/beam_paco__gtoc

Displaced geostationary orbits using hybrid low-thrust propulsion

In this paper, displaced geostationary orbits using hybrid low-thrust propulsion, a complementary combination of Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) and solar sailing, are investigated to increase the capacity of the geostationary ring that is starting to become congested. The SEP propellant consumption is minimized in order to maximize the mission lifetime by deriving semi-analytical formulae for the optimal steering laws for the SEP and solar sail accelerations. By considering the spacecraft mass budget, the performance is also expressed in terms of payload mass capacity. The analyses are performed both for the use of pure SEP and hybrid low-thrust propulsion to allow for a comparison. It is found that hybrid low-thrust control outperforms the pure SEP case both in terms of payload mass capacity and mission lifetime for all displacements considered. Hybrid low-thrust propulsion enables payloads of 255 to 487 kg to be maintained in a 35 km displaced orbit for 10 to 15 years. Adding the influence of the J2 and J22 terms of the Earth’s gravity field has a small effect on this lifetime, which becomes almost negligible for small values of the sail lightness number. Finally, two SEP transfers that allow for an improvement in the performance of hybrid low-thrust control are optimized for the propellant consumption by solving the accompanying optimal control problem using a direct pseudospectral method. The first type of transfer enables a transit between orbits displaced above and below the equatorial plane, while the second type of transfer enables customized service for which a spacecraft is transferred to a Keplerian parking orbit when geostationary coverage is not needed. While the latter requires a modest propellant budget, the first type of transfer comes at the cost of an almost negligible SEP propellant consumption

Nuclear quantum effects in solids using a colored-noise thermostat

We present a method, based on a non-Markovian Langevin equation, to include quantum corrections to the classical dynamics of ions in a quasi-harmonic system. By properly fitting the correlation function of the noise, one can vary the fluctuations in positions and momenta as a function of the vibrational frequency, and fit them so as to reproduce the quantum-mechanical behavior, with minimal a priori knowledge of the details of the system. We discuss the application of the thermostat to diamond and to ice Ih. We find that results in agreement with path-integral molecular dynamics can be obtained using only a fraction of the computational effort.Comment: submitted for publicatio

Portable implementation of a quantum thermal bath for molecular dynamics simulations

Recently, Dammak and coworkers (H. Dammak, Y. Chalopin, M. Laroche, M. Hayoun, and J.J. Greffet. Quantumthermal bath for molecular dynamics simulation. Phys. Rev. Lett., 103:190601, 2009.) proposed that the quantum statistics of vibrations in condensed systems at low temperature could be simulated by running molecular dynamics simulations in the presence of a colored noise with an appropriate power spectral density. In the present contribution, we show how this method can be implemented in a flexible manner and at a low computational cost by synthesizing the corresponding noise 'on the fly'. The proposed algorithm is tested for a simple harmonic chain as well as for a more realistic model of aluminium crystal. The energy and Debye-Waller factor are shown to be in good agreement with those obtained from harmonic approximations based on the phonon spectrum of the systems. The limitations of the method associated with anharmonic effects are also briefly discussed. Some perspectives for disordered materials and heat transfer are considered.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Statistical Physic

Routine blood analysis greatly reduces the false-negative rate of RT-PCR testing for COVID-19

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak is now a pandemic disease reaching as much as 210 countries worldwide with more than 2.5 million infected people and nearly 200.000 deaths. Amplification of viral RNA by RT-PCR represents the gold standard for confirmation of infection, yet it showed false-negative rates as large as 15-20% which may jeopardize the effect of the restrictive measures taken by governments. We previously showed that several hematological parameters were significantly different between COVID-19 positive and negative patients. Among them aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase had pre-dictive values as large as 90%. Thus a combination of RT-PCR and blood tests could reduce the false-negative rate of the genetic test. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 24 patients showing multiple and inconsistent RT-PCR, test during their first hospitalization period, and compared the genetic tests results with their AST and LDH levels. Results: We showed that when considering the hematological parameters, the RT-PCR false-negative rates were reduced by almost 4-fold. Conclusions: The study represents a preliminary work aiming at the development of strategies that, by combining RT-PCR tests with routine blood tests, will lower or even abolish the rate of RT-PCR false-negative results and thus will identify, with high accuracy, patients infected by COVID-19. (www.actabiomedica.it)