Prediction-Based Control of Linear Systems by Compensating Input-Dependent Input Delay of Integral-Type

International audienceThis study addresses the problem of delay compensation via a predictor-based output feedback for a class of linear systems subject to input delay which itself depends on the input. The equation defining the delay is implicit and involves past values of the input through an integral relation, the kernel of which is a polynomial function of the input. This modeling represents systems where transport phenomena take place at the inlet of a system involving a nonlinearity, which frequently occurs in the processing industry. The conditions of asymptotic stabilization require the magnitude of the feedback gain to comply with the initial conditions. Arguments for the proof of this novel result include general Halanay inequalities for delay differential equations and take advantage of recent advances in backstepping techniques for uncertain or varying delay systems

Mirror Matter as Self Interacting Dark Matter

It has been argued that the observed core density profile of galaxies is inconsistent with having a dark matter particle that is collisionless and alternative dark matter candidates which are self interacting may explain observations better. One new class of self interacting dark matter that has been proposed in the context mirror universe models of particle physics is the mirror hydrogen atom whose stability is guaranteed by the conservation of mirror baryon number. We show that the effective transport cross section for mirror hydrogen atoms, has the right order of magnitude for solving the ``cuspy'' halo problem. Furthermore, the suppression of dissipation effects for mirror atoms due to higher mirror mass scale prevents the mirror halo matter from collapsing into a disk strengthening the argument for mirror matter as galactic dark matter.Comment: 6 pages; some references adde

Atomic Dark Matter

We propose that dark matter is dominantly comprised of atomic bound states. We build a simple model and map the parameter space that results in the early universe formation of hydrogen-like dark atoms. We find that atomic dark matter has interesting implications for cosmology as well as direct detection: Protohalo formation can be suppressed below $M_{proto} \sim 10^3 - 10^6 M_{\odot}$ for weak scale dark matter due to Ion-Radiation interactions in the dark sector. Moreover, weak-scale dark atoms can accommodate hyperfine splittings of order 100 \kev, consistent with the inelastic dark matter interpretation of the DAMA data while naturally evading direct detection bounds.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure

Recovering the observable part of the initial data of an infinite-dimensional linear system with skew-adjoint generator

We consider the problem of recovering the initial data (or initial state) of infinite-dimensional linear systems with unitary semigroups. It is well-known that this inverse problem is well posed if the system is exactly observable, but this assumption may be very restrictive in some applications. In this paper we are interested in systems which are not exactly observable, and in particular, where we cannot expect a full reconstruction. We propose to use the algorithm studied by Ramdani et al. in (Automatica 46:1616–1625, 2010) and prove that it always converges towards the observable part of the initial state. We give necessary and sufficient condition to have an exponential rate of convergence. Numerical simulations are presented to illustratethe theoretical results

Vibration suppression and angle tracking of a fire-rescue ladder

This paper mainly considers vibration suppression and angle tracking of a fire-rescue ladder system. The dynamical model is regarded as a segmented Euler–Bernoulli beam with gravity and tip mass, described by a set of motion equations and boundary conditions. Based on the nonlinear Euler–Bernoulli beam model, two active boundary controllers are proposed to achieve the control objectives. The elastic deflection and the angular error in the closed-loop system are proven to converge exponentially to a small neighborhood of zero. Numerical simulations based on finite difference method verify the effectiveness and the ascendancy of active boundary controllers

When a Palearctic bacterium meets a Nearctic insect vector: Genetic and ecological insights into the emergence of the grapevine Flavescence dorée epidemics in Europe

Flavescence dorée (FD) is a European quarantine grapevine disease transmitted by the Deltocephalinae leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus. Whereas this vector had been introduced from North America, the possible European origin of FD phytoplasma needed to be challenged and correlated with ecological and genetic drivers of FD emergence. For that purpose, a survey of genetic diversity of these phytoplasmas in grapevines, S. titanus, black alders, alder leafhoppers and clematis were conducted in five European countries. Out of 132 map genotypes, only 11 were associated to FD outbreaks, three were detected in clematis, whereas 127 were detected in alder trees, alder leafhoppers or in grapevines out of FD outbreaks. Most of the alder trees were found infected, including 8% with FD genotypes M6, M38 and M50, also present in alders neighboring FD-free vineyards and vineyard-free areas. The Macropsinae Oncopsis alni could transmit genotypes unable to achieve transmission by S. titanus, while the Deltocephalinae Allygus spp. and Orientus ishidae transmitted M38 and M50 that proved to be compatible with S. titanus. Variability of vmpA and vmpB adhesin-like genes clearly discriminated 3 genetic clusters. Cluster Vmp-I grouped genotypes only transmitted by O. alni, while clusters Vmp-II and -III grouped genotypes transmitted by Deltocephalinae leafhoppers. Interestingly, adhesin repeated domains evolved independently in cluster Vmp-I, whereas in clusters Vmp-II and-III showed recent duplications. Latex beads coated with various ratio of VmpA of clusters II and I, showed that cluster II VmpA promoted enhanced adhesion to the Deltocephalinae Euscelidius variegatus epithelial cells and were better retained in both E. variegatus and S. titanus midguts. Our data demonstrate that most FD phytoplasmas are endemic to European alders. Their emergence as grapevine epidemic pathogens appeared restricted to some genetic variants pre-existing in alders, whose compatibility to S. titanus correlates with different vmp gene sequences and VmpA binding properties

Search for direct stau production in events with two hadronic tau-leptons in root s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of the supersymmetric partners ofτ-leptons (staus) in final stateswith two hadronically decayingτ-leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of139fb−1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LargeHadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant deviation from the expected StandardModel background is observed. Limits are derived in scenarios of direct production of stau pairs with eachstau decaying into the stable lightest neutralino and oneτ-lepton in simplified models where the two staumass eigenstates are degenerate. Stau masses from 120 GeV to 390 GeV are excluded at 95% confidencelevel for a massless lightest neutralino

EURADOS Working Group 12 studies in interventional radiology for medical staff dosimetry

EURADOS (European Radiation Dosimetry Group) Working Group 12 (dosimetry in medical imaging) established a subtask devoted to the dosimetry of the medical staff employed in interventional radiology practices. As it is widely known, such practices are characterized by high doses, with respect the other medical procedures, both for the patient and the radiologist. For interventional cardiology there are several publications concerning medical staff dosimetry, on the contrary, for interventional radiology, data are more limited. For that reason WG-12 decided to study the irradiation scenario, employing simplified anthropomorphic models (MIRD type) with Monte Carlo simulations, reconstructing some specific interventional radiology practices (PTC and TIPS). In these procedures, where the X-ray C-arm is mainly fixed in PA projection and the beam directed to the patient abdomen, the radiologist is next to the patient right side, in correspondence to the liver region. The usage of the ceiling shielding is not very frequent, due to the difficulties in positioning it between the radiation source (the X-ray and the patient as the scattering source) and the operator. The aim of the simulations program is: to evaluate the dose received by the radiologist, in a region simulating the presence of the dosemeter fixed on the lead apron at the breast level ; to estimate the corresponding effective dose ; to make a sensitivity analysis on different parameters affecting the calculated results (as the reciprocal position between the two operators, the beam quality and the X-ray field dimension). Indeed a particular attention is devoted to the eye lens dosimetry, that has become a “critical issue” for personnel dosimetry, after ICRP has reconsidered the radiation sensitivity of the lens of the eye. In the present work the general scheme, the assumptions and the followed methodology are presented with some very preliminary results of the simulations and the measurements

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13