Pilot decision making in a computer-aided flight management situation

An experimental representation of a computer-aided multi-task flight management situation has been developed. A computer aiding program was implemented to serve as a back-up decision maker. An experiment was conducted with a balanced design of several subject runs for different workload levels. This was achieved using three levels of subsystem event arrival rates, three levels of control task involvement, and three levels of availability of computer aiding. Experimental results compared quite favorably with those from a computer simulation which employed a queueing model. It was shown that the aiding had enhanced system performance as well as subjective ratings, and that the adaptive aiding policy further reduced subsystem delay

Large Magneto-Dielectric Effects in Orthorhombic HoMnO3 and YMnO3

We have found a remarkable increase (up to 60 %) of the dielectric constant with the onset of magnetic order at 42 K in the metastable orthorhombic structures of YMnO3 and HoMnO3 that proves the existence of a strong magneto-dielectric coupling in the compounds. Magnetic, dielectric, and thermodynamic properties show distinct anomalies at the onset of the incommensurate magnetic order and thermal hysteresis effects are observed around the lock-in transition temperature at which the incommensurate magnetic order locks into a temperature independent wave vector. The orders of Mn3+ spins and Ho3+ moments both contribute to the magneto-dielectric coupling. A large magneto-dielectric effect was observed in HoMnO3 at low temperature where the dielectric constant can be tuned by an external magnetic field resulting in a decrease of up to 8 % at 7 Tesla. By comparing data for YMnO3 and HoMnO3 the contributions to the coupling between the dielectric response and Mn and Ho magnetic orders are separated.Comment: revised manuscrip

Pressure-Temperature Phase Diagram of Multiferroic Ni3V2O8Ni_3V_2O_8

The pressure-temperature phase diagram of multiferroic $Ni_3V_2O_8$ is investigated for hydrostatic pressures up to 2 GPa. The stability range of the ferroelectric phase associated with the incommensurate helical spin order is reduced by pressure and ferroelectricity is completely suppressed at the critical pressure of 1.64 GPa at 6.2 K. Thermal expansion measurements at ambient pressure show strong step-like anomalies of the lattice parameters associated with the lock-in transition into the commensurate paraelectric phase. The expansion anomalies are highly anisotropic, the related volume change is consistent with the high-pressure phase diagram

Ferroelectricity in perovskite HoMnO3HoMnO_3 and YMnO3YMnO_3

Ferroelectricity is observed in orthorhombic $HoMnO_3$ and $YMnO_3$ at the magnetic lock-in transitions into an E-type structure or an incommensurate phase with a temperature independent wave vector, respectively. In $HoMnO_3$ the ferroelectric polarization strongly depends on the external magnetic field indicating the involvement of the rare earth moment order in this compound. The results are discussed within the framework of recent theoretical models, in particular the double exchange driven polar displacements predicted for E-type magnetic structures.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Superconductivity in pure and electron doped MgB2: Transport properties and pressure effects

The normal state and superconducting properties of MgB2 and Mg1-xAlxB2 are discussed based on structural, transport, and high pressure experiments. The positive Seebeck coefficient and its linear temperature dependence for Tc<T<160 K provide evidence that the low-temperature transport in MgB2 is due to hole-like metallic carriers. Structural and transport data show the important role of defects as indicated by the correlation of Tc, the residual resistance ratio, and the microstrain extracted from x-ray spectra. The decrease of Tc with hydrostatic pressure is well explained by the strong-coupling BCS theory. The large scatter of the pressure coefficients of Tc for different MgB2 samples, however, cannot be explained within this theory. We speculate that pressure may increase the defect density, particularly in samples with large initial defect concentration.Comment: Presented at NATO Advanced Research Workshop "New Trends in Superconductivity", Yalta (Ukraine) 16-20 September, 200

Thermodynamic evidence for pressure-induced bulk superconductivity in the Fe-As pnictide superconductor CaFe2As2

We report specific-heat and resistivity experiments performed in parallel in a Bridgman-type of pressure cell in order to investigate the nature of pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron pnictide compound CaFe2As2. The presence of a pronounced specific-heat anomaly at Tc reveals a bulk nature of the superconducting state. The thermodynamic transition temperature differs dramatically from the onset of the resistive transition. Our data indicates that superconductivity occurs in the vicinity of a crystallographic phase transition. We discuss the discrepancy between the two methods as caused by strain-induced superconducting precursors formed above the bulk thermodynamic transition due to the vicinity of the structural instability