2,068 research outputs found
Coarse Brownian Dynamics for Nematic Liquid Crystals: Bifurcation Diagrams via Stochastic Simulation
We demonstrate how time-integration of stochastic differential equations
(i.e. Brownian dynamics simulations) can be combined with continuum numerical
bifurcation analysis techniques to analyze the dynamics of liquid crystalline
polymers (LCPs). Sidestepping the necessity of obtaining explicit closures, the
approach analyzes the (unavailable in closed form) coarse macroscopic
equations, estimating the necessary quantities through appropriately
initialized, short bursts of Brownian dynamics simulation. Through this
approach, both stable and unstable branches of the equilibrium bifurcation
diagram are obtained for the Doi model of LCPs and their coarse stability is
estimated. Additional macroscopic computational tasks enabled through this
approach, such as coarse projective integration and coarse stabilizing
controller design, are also demonstrated
High-Temperature Activated AB2 Nanopowders for Metal Hydride Hydrogen Compression
A reliable process for compressing hydrogen and for removing all contaminants
is that of the metal hydride thermal compression. The use of metal hydride
technology in hydrogen compression applications though, requires thorough
structural characterization of the alloys and investigation of their sorption
properties. The samples have been synthesized by induction - levitation melting
and characterized by Rietveld analysis of the X-Ray diffraction (XRD) patterns.
Volumetric PCI (Pressure-Composition Isotherm) measurements have been conducted
at 20, 60 and 90 oC, in order to investigate the maximum pressure that can be
reached from the selected alloys using water of 90oC. Experimental evidence
shows that the maximum hydrogen uptake is low since all the alloys are
consisted of Laves phases, but it is of minor importance if they have fast
kinetics, given a constant volumetric hydrogen flow. Hysteresis is almost
absent while all the alloys release nearly all the absorbed hydrogen during
desorption. Due to hardware restrictions, the maximum hydrogen pressure for the
measurements was limited at 100 bars. Practically, the maximum pressure that
can be reached from the last alloy is more than 150 bars.Comment: 9 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1207.354
A New Lower Bound for Deterministic Truthful Scheduling
We study the problem of truthfully scheduling tasks to selfish
unrelated machines, under the objective of makespan minimization, as was
introduced in the seminal work of Nisan and Ronen [STOC'99]. Closing the
current gap of on the approximation ratio of deterministic truthful
mechanisms is a notorious open problem in the field of algorithmic mechanism
design. We provide the first such improvement in more than a decade, since the
lower bounds of (for ) and (for ) by
Christodoulou et al. [SODA'07] and Koutsoupias and Vidali [MFCS'07],
respectively. More specifically, we show that the currently best lower bound of
can be achieved even for just machines; for we already get
the first improvement, namely ; and allowing the number of machines to
grow arbitrarily large we can get a lower bound of .Comment: 15 page
Simulations of the Poynting--Robertson Cosmic Battery in Resistive Accretion Disks
We describe the results of numerical "2.5--dimensional" MHD simulations of an
initially unmagnetized disk model orbiting a central point--mass and responding
to the continual generation of poloidal magnetic field due to a secular source
that emulates the Poynting--Robertson (PR) drag on electrons in the vicinity of
a luminous stellar or compact accreting object. The fluid in the disk and in
the surrounding hotter atmosphere has finite electrical conductivity and allows
for the magnetic field to diffuse freely out of the areas where it is
generated, while at the same time, the differential rotation of the disk twists
the poloidal field and quickly induces a substantial toroidal--field component.
The secular PR term has dual purpose in these simulations as the source of the
magnetic field and the trigger of a magnetorotational instability (MRI) in the
disk. The MRI is especially mild and does not destroy the disk because a small
amount of resistivity dampens the instability efficiently. In simulations with
moderate resistivities (diffusion timescales up to 16 local dynamical
times) and after 100 orbits, the MRI has managed to transfer outward
substantial amounts of angular momentum and the inner edge of the disk, along
with azimuthal magnetic flux, has flowed toward the central point--mass where a
new, magnetized, nuclear disk has formed. The toroidal field in this nuclear
disk is amplified by differential rotation and it cannot be contained; when it
approaches equipartition, it unwinds vertically and produces episodic jet--like
outflows. The poloidal field in the inner region cannot diffuse back out if the
characteristic diffusion time is of the order of or larger than the dynamical
time; it continues to grow linearly in time undisturbed and without saturation,
as the outer sections of many poloidal loops are being drawn radially outward.Comment: 27 pages, 55 figure
Einstein--Maxwell--Dilaton metrics from three--dimensional Einstein--Weyl structures
A class of time dependent solutions to Einstein--Maxwell-dilaton
theory with attractive electric force is found from Einstein--Weyl structures
in (2+1) dimensions corresponding to dispersionless Kadomtsev--Petviashvili and
Toda equations. These solutions are obtained from time--like
Kaluza--Klein reductions of solitons.Comment: 12 pages, to be published in Class.Quantum Gra
Infrared Search for Young Stars in HI High-velocity Clouds
We have searched the IRAS Point Source Catalog and HIRES maps for young
stellar objects (YSOs) in the direction of five \HI high-velocity clouds
(HVCs). In agreement with optical searches in the halo, no evidence was found
for extensive star-forming activity inside the high-latitude HVCs.
Specifically, we have found no signs of star formation or YSOs in the direction
of the A IV cloud or in the very-high-velocity clouds HVC~110-7-465 and
HVC~114-10-440. We have identified only one young star in the direction of the
M~I.1 cloud, which shows almost perfect alignment with a knot of \HI emission.
Because of the small number of early-type stars observed in the halo, the
probability for such a positional coincidence is low; thus, this young star
appears to be physically associated with the M~I.1 cloud. We have also
identified a good YSO candidate in the \HI shell-like structure observed in the
core region of the low-latitude cloud complex H (HVC~131+1-200). This region
could be a supernova remnant with several other YSO candidates formed along the
shock front produced by the explosion. In agreement with recent theoretical
estimates, these results point to a low but significant star-formation rate in
intermediate and high Galactic latitude HVCs. For M~I.1 in particular, we
estimate that the efficiency of the star-formation process is M(YSO)/M(\HI)\ga
10^{-4}-10^{-3} by mass. Such efficiency is sufficient to account for (a) the
existence of the few young blue stars whose ages imply that they were born in
the Galactic halo, and (b) the nonprimordial metallicities inferred for some
HVCs if their metal content proves to be low.Comment: 9 pages, 4 JPEG figures. PostScript figures available from author
Diode-switched thermal-transfer printed antenna on flexible substrate
We demonstrate that diode-switching can be used to introduce frequency agility into antennas produced by thermal transfer printing. Our particular example is a triangular Sierpinski fractal pattern with two PIN diodes to switch between operation optimised for the 800 MHz UHF band (diodes on) and the 2400 MHz ISM band (diodes off). Our measured results show an improvement in S11 in the UHF band from -2 dB to -28 dB, and from -7 dB to -30 dB at 2400 MHz, when switching the diodes appropriately. The measured bandwidth is 200 (1000) MHz, and the measured directivity is 3.1dB (5.2dB) while the measured gain is -5.2dB (6.7dB) for the diodes on(off)
Education of physical and rehabilitation medicine specialists across Europe: a call for harmonization
BACKGROUND: Physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) is well established in Europe and officially recognized by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS). The European PRM Board works to promote patient safety and quality of care through the development of the highest standards of medical training and healthcare across Europe as well as the harmonization of PRM specialists' qualifications. In its Action Plan for 2014-2018, the UEMS PRM Board has included the harmonization of the PRM curriculum among the EU countries, as one of its main goals. Based on a European Directive, the Belgian Superior Council is envisaging a reform of the PRM curriculum.
AIM: The aim of this paper is to present the current situation of PRM education in Europe according to the survey carried out by the Belgium Task Force.
DESIGN: An online survey was posted on May 3rd 2015 to all delegates of the UEMS PRM Section and Board. Two questions were formulated: 1) What is the duration and curriculum of PRM training in your country? 2) Does a Postgraduate Rehabilitation training exist for other medical specialties?
RESULTS: The majority of the PRM training programs in Europe have a duration ranging from 4 to 5 years, and are not aiming at downsizing the duration to the European minimal training period of 3 years. The vast majority (70%) of the responding countries don't offer an additional accreditation of Rehabilitation for other medical specialties
CONCLUSIONS: Comparing PRM training programs in Europe can support the long-awaited reform of the PRM postgraduate curriculum in Belgium and gives perspective to agree on a transparent and comparable specialty training throughout Europe. Providing a more comparable training promotes the establishment of PRM and its rehabilitation service provisions in the world
Cauchy-characteristic Evolution of Einstein-Klein-Gordon Systems
A Cauchy-characteristic initial value problem for the Einstein-Klein-Gordon
system with spherical symmetry is presented. Initial data are specified on the
union of a space-like and null hypersurface. The development of the data is
obtained with the combination of a constrained Cauchy evolution in the interior
domain and a characteristic evolution in the exterior, asymptotically flat
region. The matching interface between the space-like and characteristic
foliations is constructed by imposing continuity conditions on metric,
extrinsic curvature and scalar field variables, ensuring smoothness across the
matching surface. The accuracy of the method is established for all ranges of
, most notably, with a detailed comparison of invariant observables
against reference solutions obtained with a calibrated, global, null algorithm.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, 16 pages, revtex, 7 figures available at
http://nr.astro.psu.edu:8080/preprints.htm
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