388 research outputs found
Using landscape topology to compare continuous metaheuristics: a framework and case study on EDAs and ridge structure
In this paper we extend a previously proposed randomized landscape generator in combination with a comparative experimental methodology to study the behavior of continuous metaheuristic optimization algorithms. In particular, we generate twodimensional landscapes with parameterized, linear ridge structure, and perform pairwise comparisons of algorithms to gain insight into what kind of problems are easy and difficult for one algorithm instance relative to another.We apply thismethodology to investigate the specific issue of explicit dependency modeling in simple continuous estimation of distribution algorithms. Experimental results reveal specific examples of landscapes (with certain identifiable features) where dependency modeling is useful, harmful, or has little impact on mean algorithm performance. Heat maps are used to compare algorithm performance over a large number of landscape instances and algorithm trials. Finally, we perform ameta-search in the landscape parameter space to find landscapes which maximize the performance between algorithms. The results are related to some previous intuition about the behavior of these algorithms, but at the same time lead to new insights into the relationship between dependency modeling in EDAs and the structure of the problem landscape. The landscape generator and overall methodology are quite general and extendable and can be used to examine specific features of other algorithms
Near threshold eta meson production in the d+d->alpha+eta reaction
The d+d->alpha+eta reaction has been investigated near threshold using the
ANKE facility at COSY-Juelich. Both total and differential cross sections have
been measured at two excess energies, Q=2.6 MeV and 7.7 MeV, with a
subthreshold measurement being undertaken at Q=-2.6 MeV to study the physical
background. While consistent with isotropy at the lower energy, the angular
distribution reveals a pronounced anisotropy at the higher one, indicating the
presence of higher partial waves. Options for the decomposition into partial
amplitudes and their consequences for determination of the s-wave eta-alpha
scattering length are discussed.Comment: 8pp, fig.3 added, normalisation in eq.4.1 correcte
Absence of spin dependence in the final state interaction of the d(pol) p --> 3He eta reaction
The deuteron tensor analysing power t_{20} of the d(pol) p --> 3He eta
reaction has been measured at the COSY-ANKE facility in small steps in excess
energy Q up to Q = 11 MeV. Despite the square of the production amplitude
varying by over a factor of five through this range, t_{20} shows little or no
energy dependence. This is evidence that the final state interaction causing
the energy variation is not influenced by the spin configuration in the
entrance channel. The weak angular dependence observed for t_{20} provides
useful insight into the amplitude structure near threshold.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
New determination of the mass of the eta meson at COSY-ANKE
A value for the mass of the eta meson has been determined at the COSY-ANKE
facility through the measurement of a set of deuteron laboratory beam momenta
and associated 3He center-of-mass momenta in the d+p -> 3He+X reaction. The eta
was then identified by the missing-mass peak and the production threshold
determined. The individual beam momenta were fixed with a relative precision of
3 x 10^-5 for values around 3 GeV/c by using a polarized deuteron beam and
inducing an artificial depolarizing spin resonance, which occurs at a
well-defined frequency. The final-state momenta in the two-body d+p -> 3He+eta
reaction were investigated in detail by studying the size of the 3He momentum
ellipse with the forward detection system of the ANKE spectrometer. Final
alignment of the spectrometer for this high precision experiment was achieved
through a comprehensive study of the 3He final-state momenta as a function of
the center-of-mass angles, taking advantage of the full geometrical acceptance.
The value obtained for the mass, m(eta)=(547.873 +- 0.005(stat) +- 0.027(syst))
MeV/c^2, is consistent and competitive with other recent measurements, in which
the meson was detected through its decay products.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, published versio
TVB-EduPack: An interactive learning and scripting platform for The Virtual Brain
The Virtual Brain (TVB; thevirtualbrain.org) is a neuroinformatics platform for full brain network simulation based on individual anatomical connectivity data. The framework addresses clinical and neuroscientific questions by simulating multi-scale neural dynamics that range from local population activity to large-scale brain function and related macroscopic signals like electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. TVB is equipped with a graphical and a command-line interface to create models that capture the characteristic biological variability to predict the brain activity of individual subjects. To enable researchers from various backgrounds a quick start into TVB and brain network modeling in general, we developed an educational module: TVB-EduPack. EduPack offers two educational functionalities that seamlessly integrate into TVB's graphical user interface (GUI): (i) interactive tutorials introduce GUI elements, guide through the basic mechanics of software usage and develop complex use-case scenarios; animations, videos and textual descriptions transport essential principles of computational neuroscience and brain modeling; (ii) an automatic script generator records model parameters and produces input files for TVB's Python programming interface; thereby, simulation configurations can be exported as scripts that allow flexible customization of the modeling process and self-defined batch- and post-processing applications while benefitting from the full power of the Python language and its toolboxes. This article covers the implementation of TVB-EduPack and its integration into TVB architecture. Like TVB, EduPack is an open source community project that lives from the participation and contribution of its users. TVB-EduPack can be obtained as part of TVB from thevirtualbrain.org
Kaon Pair Production in Proton--Proton Collisions
The differential and total cross sections for kaon pair production in the
pp->ppK+K- reaction have been measured at three beam energies of 2.65, 2.70,
and 2.83 GeV using the ANKE magnetic spectrometer at the COSY-Juelich
accelerator. These near-threshold data are separated into pairs arising from
the decay of the phi-meson and the remainder. For the non-phi selection, the
ratio of the differential cross sections in terms of the K-p and K+p invariant
masses is strongly peaked towards low masses. This effect can be described
quantitatively by using a simple ansatz for the K-p final state interaction,
where it is seen that the data are sensitive to the magnitude of an effective
K-p scattering length. When allowance is made for a small number of phi events
where the K- rescatters from the proton, the phi region is equally well
described at all three energies. A very similar phenomenon is discovered in the
ratio of the cross sections as functions of the K-pp and K+pp invariant masses
and the identical final state interaction model is also very successful here.
The world data on the energy dependence of the non-phi total cross section is
also reproduced, except possibly for the results closest to threshold.Comment: 12 two-column pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl
Production of the 1S0 diproton in the pp -> pp pi0 reaction at 0.8 GeV
The pp -> pp pi0 differential cross section has been measured with the ANKE
spectrometer at COSY-Juelich for pion cms angles between 0 and 15.4 degrees at
a proton beam energy of 0.8 GeV. The selection of diproton pairs with an
excitation energy E_{pp} < 3 MeV ensures that the final pp system is dominantly
in the spin-singlet 1S0 state. The kinematics are therefore very similar to
those of pp -> d pi+ but with different spin and isospin transitions. The
results will thus provide a crucial extra test of pion production models in
nucleon-nucleon collisions.
The cross sections, which are over two orders of magnitude smaller than those
of pp -> d pi+, show a forward dip, even stronger than that seen at lower
energies. This behaviour is well reproduced in a theoretical model that
includes P-wave Delta-N states.Comment: 10 pages, 5 eps figures, prepared using elsart.cl
Determination of Deuteron Beam Polarizations at COSY
The vector and tensor polarizations of a deuteron beam have been measured
using elastic deuteron-carbon scattering at 75.6 MeV and deuteron-proton
scattering at 270 MeV. After acceleration to 1170 MeV inside the COSY ring, the
polarizations of the deuterons were checked by studying a variety of nuclear
reactions using a cluster target at the ANKE magnet spectrometer placed at an
internal target position of the storage ring. All these measurements were
consistent with the absence of depolarization during acceleration and provide a
number of secondary standards that can be used in subsequent experiments at the
facility.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure
Feature-based diversity optimization for problem instance classification
Parallel Problem Solving from Nature – PPSN XIVUnderstanding the behaviour of heuristic search methods is a challenge. This even holds for simple local search methods such as 2-OPT for the Traveling Salesperson problem. In this paper, we present a general framework that is able to construct a diverse set of instances that are hard or easy for a given search heuristic. Such a diverse set is obtained by using an evolutionary algorithm for constructing hard or easy instances that are diverse with respect to different features of the underlying problem. Examining the constructed instance sets, we show that many combinations of two or three features give a good classification of the TSP instances in terms of whether they are hard to be solved by 2-OPT.Wanru Gao, Samadhi Nallaperuma, and Frank Neuman
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