Kant y la idea del progreso indefinido de la humanidad

The idea of progress that underlies Modernity (and which Kant praises) has a very singular trait: its allegedly linear, irreversible and necessary character. Here we seek to analyze the fundamental dimensions of the Kantian conception of progress, and to trace its limits, appealing to a reformulation of the notion of progress, not based on autonomy, understood in terms of self-consciousness and self-sufficiency, but on the radical interdependence and solidarity of the human being and on the recovery of the idea of the “common good”

Number conserving particle-hole RPA for superfluid nuclei

TheAuthor(s) - .Published by Elsevier B.V. "This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Funded by SCOAP"We present a number conserving particle-hole RPA theory for collective excitations in the transition from normal to superfluid nuclei. The method derives from an RPA theory developed long ago in quantum chemistry using antisymmetric geminal powers, or equivalently number projected HFB states, as reference states. We show within a minimal model of pairing plus monopole interactions that the number conserving particle-hole RPA excitations evolve smoothly across the superfluid phase transition close to the exact results, contrary to particle-hole RPA in the normal phase and quasiparticle RPA in the superfluid phase that require a change of basis at the broken symmetry point. The new formalism can be applied in a straightforward manner to study particle-hole excitations on top of a number projected HFB state.Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad de la Junta de Andalucía (Spain) FQM-160 and FQM-370Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (ERDF), ref. SOMM17/6105/UGRMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the ERDF under Projects No. FIS2015-63770-P, FIS2017-88410-P and PGC2018-094180-B-I00CEAFMC and Universidad de Huelva High Performance Computer (HPC@UHU) funded by FEDER/MINECO project UNHU-15CE-284

Number conserving particle-hole RPA for superfluid nuclei

TheAuthor(s) - .Published by Elsevier B.V. "This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Funded by SCOAP"We present a number conserving particle-hole RPA theory for collective excitations in the transition from normal to superfluid nuclei. The method derives from an RPA theory developed long ago in quantum chemistry using antisymmetric geminal powers, or equivalently number projected HFB states, as reference states. We show within a minimal model of pairing plus monopole interactions that the number conserving particle-hole RPA excitations evolve smoothly across the superfluid phase transition close to the exact results, contrary to particle-hole RPA in the normal phase and quasiparticle RPA in the superfluid phase that require a change of basis at the broken symmetry point. The new formalism can be applied in a straightforward manner to study particle-hole excitations on top of a number projected HFB state.Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad de la Junta de Andalucía (Spain) FQM-160 and FQM-370Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (ERDF), ref. SOMM17/6105/UGRMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the ERDF under Projects No. FIS2015-63770-P, FIS2017-88410-P and PGC2018-094180-B-I00CEAFMC and Universidad de Huelva High Performance Computer (HPC@UHU) funded by FEDER/MINECO project UNHU-15CE-284

Forward-backward equations for nonlinear propagation in axially-invariant optical systems

We present a novel general framework to deal with forward and backward components of the electromagnetic field in axially-invariant nonlinear optical systems, which include those having any type of linear or nonlinear transverse inhomogeneities. With a minimum amount of approximations, we obtain a system of two first-order equations for forward and backward components explicitly showing the nonlinear couplings among them. The modal approach used allows for an effective reduction of the dimensionality of the original problem from 3+1 (three spatial dimensions plus one time dimension) to 1+1 (one spatial dimension plus one frequency dimension). The new equations can be written in a spinor Dirac-like form, out of which conserved quantities can be calculated in an elegant manner. Finally, these new equations inherently incorporate spatio-temporal couplings, so that they can be easily particularized to deal with purely temporal or purely spatial effects. Nonlinear forward pulse propagation and non-paraxial evolution of spatial structures are analyzed as examples.Comment: 11 page

La dimensión moral en la configuración y evolución histórica del concepto de pobreza

En el fenómeno de la pobreza se percibe con claridad el desbordamiento de su dimensión económica hacia una poderosa dimensión moral, que ha provocado (y provoca) actitudes sociales contradictorias: de acepta- ción o rechazo; culpabilización o comprensión; caridad o derechos, responsabilidad o destino inevitable; implicación o alejamiento; visibilidad o invisibilidad. Aquí se analizan las connotaciones morales que han ido configurando históricamente el concepto de pobreza hasta desembocar en los paradigmas con los que hoy la concebimos y desde los que pretendemos afrontarla y combatirla.The phenomenon of poverty shows clear- ly the overflow of its economic dimension towards a powerful moral dimension, which has caused (and causes) contradictory social attitudes: acceptance or rejection; blaming or understanding; charity or duties, liability or inevitable fate; involvement or alienation; visibility or invisibility. This work analyzes the moral connotations that have been historically forming the concept of poverty to lead the paradigms with which today we conceive it and from which we intend to face it and fight it

Development and Evaluation of Fuzzy Logic Controllers for Improving Performance of Wind Turbines on Semi-Submersible Platforms under Different Wind Scenarios

Among renewable energy technologies, wind energy features one of the best possibilities for large-scale integration into power systems. However, there are specific restrictions regarding the installation areas for this technology, thus resulting in a growing, yet restricted, rate of penetration of the technology because of the limited viable sites onshore or in shallow waters. In this context, the use of offshore semi-submersible platforms appears as a promising option, which additionally enables the incorporation of other elements, such as wave energy converters or aquaculture. Nevertheless, this kind of offshore facility involves interactions between platform movements and the wind turbine, increasing the complexity of the system, causing traditional control techniques to not be able to fully cope with the dynamics of the system, and thus limiting the efficiency of energy extraction. On the contrary, the use of intelligent control techniques is an interesting option to take full account of the said interactions and to improve energy capture efficiency through the control of the pitch of the blades, especially under turbulent, above-rated wind profiles. This work presents an original fuzzy logic controller that has been validated by comparing it with previously validated controllers, following a developed methodology that allows comparison of controllers for wind turbines in semi-submersible platforms using performance indexes.This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Government of Spain) and European Union (RTC-2016-5712-3); by the European Union, CDTI (Spain) and BEISS (UK) through the call H2020 ERA-NET DEMOWIND (WIP10+ project); by the Regional Government of Andalusia and European Union (UMA-CEIATECH-18); and finally, by partial funding for open access charge from the Universidad de Málaga. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag