Ageing of Natural Rubber under Stress

We report a dynamical-mechanical study of stress relaxation at small deformation in a natural (polyisoprene) rubber well above its glass transition temperature Tg. We find that an almost complete relaxation of stress takes place over very long periods of time, even though the elastic network integrity is fully retained. The relaxation rate and the long-time equilibrium modulus are sensitive functions of temperature which do not follow time-temperature superposition. Many characteristic features of non-ergodic ageing response are apparent at both short and very long times. We interpret the observed behaviour in terms of the properties of rubber crosslinks, capable of isomerisation under stress, and relate the results to recent models of soft glassy rheology.Comment: Latex 2e (EPJ style), 5 EPS figure

Hyperopic Cops and Robbers

We introduce a new variant of the game of Cops and Robbers played on graphs, where the robber is invisible unless outside the neighbor set of a cop. The hyperopic cop number is the corresponding analogue of the cop number, and we investigate bounds and other properties of this parameter. We characterize the cop-win graphs for this variant, along with graphs with the largest possible hyperopic cop number. We analyze the cases of graphs with diameter 2 or at least 3, focusing on when the hyperopic cop number is at most one greater than the cop number. We show that for planar graphs, as with the usual cop number, the hyperopic cop number is at most 3. The hyperopic cop number is considered for countable graphs, and it is shown that for connected chains of graphs, the hyperopic cop density can be any real number in $[0,1/2].

Swath Mapping on the Continental Shelf and Slope: The Eel River Basin, Northern California

First Paragraph The STRATAFORM program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (Nittrouer and Kravitz, 1996, this issue) seeks to understand how sedimentary processes lead to the formation of the stratigraphic sequences on continental margins. A central challenge facing this effort is to understand the transport of sediments in shore-parallel as well as shore-perpendicular directions• Multidimensionality is necessary to describe, for example, the accumulation of sediments from river inputs, the distribution of gullies and canyons on the slope, the meandering of channels, and the structure of slumps and slides

The spectral index image of the radio halo in the cluster Abell 520 hosting a famous bow shock

Synchrotron radio emission is being detected from an increasing number of galaxy clusters. Spectral index images are a powerful tool to investigate the origin, nature, and connection of these sources with the dynamical state of the cluster. The aim of this work is to investigate the spectral index distribution of the radio halo in the galaxy cluster A520, a complex system from an optical, radio, and X-ray point of view. We present deep Very Large Array observations in total intensity at 325 and 1400 MHz. We produced and analyzed spectral index images of the radio halo in this frequency range at a resolution of 39" and 60" and looked for possible correlations with the thermal properties of the cluster. We find an integrated radio halo spectral index alpha(325-1400) ~ 1.12. No strong radial steepening is present and the spectral index distribution is intrinsically complex with fluctuations only partially due to measurement errors. The radio halo integrated spectral index and the cluster temperature follow the global trend observed in other galaxy clusters although a strong point-to-point correlation between the spectral index and the thermal gas temperature has not been observed. The complex morphology in the spectral index image of the radio halo in A520 is in agreement with the primary models for radio halo formation. The flatness of the radial profile suggests that the merger is still ongoing and is uniformly and continuously (re-) accelerating the population of relativistic electrons responsible of the radio emission even at large (~ 1 Mpc) distances from the cluster center.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, A&A accepte

Rich Counter-Examples for Temporal-Epistemic Logic Model Checking

Model checking verifies that a model of a system satisfies a given property, and otherwise produces a counter-example explaining the violation. The verified properties are formally expressed in temporal logics. Some temporal logics, such as CTL, are branching: they allow to express facts about the whole computation tree of the model, rather than on each single linear computation. This branching aspect is even more critical when dealing with multi-modal logics, i.e. logics expressing facts about systems with several transition relations. A prominent example is CTLK, a logic that reasons about temporal and epistemic properties of multi-agent systems. In general, model checkers produce linear counter-examples for failed properties, composed of a single computation path of the model. But some branching properties are only poorly and partially explained by a linear counter-example. This paper proposes richer counter-example structures called tree-like annotated counter-examples (TLACEs), for properties in Action-Restricted CTL (ARCTL), an extension of CTL quantifying paths restricted in terms of actions labeling transitions of the model. These counter-examples have a branching structure that supports more complete description of property violations. Elements of these counter-examples are annotated with parts of the property to give a better understanding of their structure. Visualization and browsing of these richer counter-examples become a critical issue, as the number of branches and states can grow exponentially for deeply-nested properties. This paper formally defines the structure of TLACEs, characterizes adequate counter-examples w.r.t. models and failed properties, and gives a generation algorithm for ARCTL properties. It also illustrates the approach with examples in CTLK, using a reduction of CTLK to ARCTL. The proposed approach has been implemented, first by extending the NuSMV model checker to generate and export branching counter-examples, secondly by providing an interactive graphical interface to visualize and browse them.Comment: In Proceedings IWIGP 2012, arXiv:1202.422

The Dynamical State fo the Starless Dense Core FeSt 1-457: A Pulsating Globule?

High resolution molecular line observations of CS, HCO+, C18O and N2H+ were obtained toward the starless globule FeSt 1-457 in order to investigate its kinematics and chemistry. The HCO+ and CS spectra show clear self-reversed and asymmetric profiles across the face of the globule. The sense of the observed asymmetry is indicative of the global presence of expansion motions in the outer layers of the globule. These motions appear to be subsonic and significantly below the escape velocity of the globule. Comparison of our observations with near-infrared extinction data indicate that the globule is gravitationally bound. Taken together these considerations lead us to suggest that the observed expansion has its origin in an oscillatory motion of the outer layers of the globule which itself is likely in a quasi-stable state near hydrostatic equilibrium. Analysis of the observed linewidths of CO and N2H+ confirm that thermal pressure is the dominant component of the cloud's internal support. A simple calculation suggests that the dominant mode of pulsation would be an l = 2 mode with a period of 0.3 Myr. Deformation of the globule due to the large amplitude l = 2 oscillation may be responsible for the double-peaked structure of the core detected in high resolution extinction maps. Detailed comparison of the molecular-line observations and extinction data provides evidence for significant depletion of C18O and perhaps HCO+ while N2H+ may be undepleted to a cloud depth of about 40 magnitudes of visual extinction.Comment: to appear in ApJ vol 665 20 August 2007

Entangling flux qubits with a bipolar dynamic inductance

We propose a scheme to implement variable coupling between two flux qubits using the screening current response of a dc Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID). The coupling strength is adjusted by the current bias applied to the SQUID and can be varied continuously from positive to negative values, allowing cancellation of the direct mutual inductance between the qubits. We show that this variable coupling scheme permits efficient realization of universal quantum logic. The same SQUID can be used to determine the flux states of the qubits.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Octahedral tilting, monoclinic phase and the phase diagram of PZT

Anelastic and dielectric spectroscopy measurements on PZT close to the morphotropic (MPB) and antiferroelectric boundaries provide new insight in some controversial aspects of its phase diagram. No evidence is found of a border separating monoclinic (M) from rhombohedral (R) phases, in agreement with recent structural studies supporting a coexistence of the two phases over a broad composition range x < 0.5, with the fraction of M increasing toward the MPB. It is also discussed why the observed maximum of elastic compliance appears to be due to a rotational instability of the polarisation and therefore cannot be explained by extrinsic softening from finely twinned R phase alone, but indicates the presence also of M phase, not necessarily homogeneous. A new diffuse transition is found within the ferroelectric phase near x ~ 0.1, at a temperature T_IT higher than the well established boundary T_T to the phase with tilted octahedra. It is proposed that around T_IT the octahedra start rotating in a disordered manner and finally become ordered below T_T. In this interpretation, the onset temperature for octahedral tilting monotonically increases up to the antiferroelectric transition of PbZrO3, and the depression of T_T(x) below x = 0.18 would be a consequence of the partial relieve of the mismatch between the cation radii with the initial stage of tilting below T_IT.Comment: submitted to J. Phys.: Condens. Matte

Edwards-Wilkinson surface over a spherical substrate: 1/f1/f noise in the height fluctuations

We study the steady state fluctuations of an Edwards-Wilkinson type surface with the substrate taken to be a sphere. We show that the height fluctuations on circles at a given latitude has the effective action of a perfect Gaussian $1/f$ noise, just as in the case of fixed radius circles on an infinite planar substrate. The effective surface tension, which is the overall coefficient of the action, does not depend on the latitude angle of the circles.Comment: 6 page