843 research outputs found
Finding largest small polygons with GloptiPoly
A small polygon is a convex polygon of unit diameter. We are interested in
small polygons which have the largest area for a given number of vertices .
Many instances are already solved in the literature, namely for all odd ,
and for and 8. Thus, for even , instances of this problem
remain open. Finding those largest small polygons can be formulated as
nonconvex quadratic programming problems which can challenge state-of-the-art
global optimization algorithms. We show that a recently developed technique for
global polynomial optimization, based on a semidefinite programming approach to
the generalized problem of moments and implemented in the public-domain Matlab
package GloptiPoly, can successfully find largest small polygons for and
. Therefore this significantly improves existing results in the domain.
When coupled with accurate convex conic solvers, GloptiPoly can provide
numerical guarantees of global optimality, as well as rigorous guarantees
relying on interval arithmetic
Exchange coupling in CaMnO and LaMnO: configuration interaction and the coupling mechanism
The equilibrium structure and exchange constants of CaMnO and LaMnO
have been investigated using total energy unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) and
localised orbital configuration interaction (CI) calculations on the bulk
compounds and MnO and MnO clusters. The
predicted structure and exchange constants for CaMnO are in reasonable
agreement with estimates based on its N\'eel temperature. A series of
calculations on LaMnO in the cubic perovskite structure shows that a
Hamiltonian with independent orbital ordering and exchange terms accounts for
the total energies of cubic LaMnO with various spin and orbital orderings.
Computed exchange constants depend on orbital ordering. UHF calculations tend
to underestimate exchange constants in LaMnO, but have the correct sign
when compared with values obtained by neutron scattering; exchange constants
obtained from CI calculations are in good agreement with neutron scattering
data provided the Madelung potential of the cluster is appropriate. Cluster CI
calculations reveal a strong dependence of exchange constants on Mn d e
orbital populations in both compounds. CI wave functions are analysed in order
to determine which exchange processes are important in exchange coupling in
CaMnO and LaMnO.Comment: 25 pages and 9 postscript figure
Counter-propagating radiative shock experiments on the Orion laser and the formation of radiative precursors
We present results from new experiments to study the dynamics of radiative
shocks, reverse shocks and radiative precursors. Laser ablation of a solid
piston by the Orion high-power laser at AWE Aldermaston UK was used to drive
radiative shocks into a gas cell initially pressurised between and $1.0 \
bar with different noble gases. Shocks propagated at {80 \pm 10 \ km/s} and
experienced strong radiative cooling resulting in post-shock compressions of {
\times 25 \pm 2}. A combination of X-ray backlighting, optical self-emission
streak imaging and interferometry (multi-frame and streak imaging) were used to
simultaneously study both the shock front and the radiative precursor. These
experiments present a new configuration to produce counter-propagating
radiative shocks, allowing for the study of reverse shocks and providing a
unique platform for numerical validation. In addition, the radiative shocks
were able to expand freely into a large gas volume without being confined by
the walls of the gas cell. This allows for 3-D effects of the shocks to be
studied which, in principle, could lead to a more direct comparison to
astrophysical phenomena. By maintaining a constant mass density between
different gas fills the shocks evolved with similar hydrodynamics but the
radiative precursor was found to extend significantly further in higher atomic
number gases (\sim4$ times further in xenon than neon). Finally, 1-D and 2-D
radiative-hydrodynamic simulations are presented showing good agreement with
the experimental data.Comment: HEDLA 2016 conference proceeding
SRAO CO Observation of 11 Supernova Remnants in l = 70 to 190 deg
We present the results of 12CO J = 1-0 line observations of eleven Galactic
supernova remnants (SNRs) obtained using the Seoul Radio Astronomy Observatory
(SRAO) 6-m radio telescope. The observation was made as a part of the SRAO CO
survey of SNRs between l = 70 and 190 deg, which is intended to identify SNRs
interacting with molecular clouds. The mapping areas for the individual SNRs
are determined to cover their full extent in the radio continuum. We used
halfbeam grid spacing (60") for 9 SNRs and full-beam grid spacing (120") for
the rest. We detected CO emission towards most of the remnants. In six SNRs,
molecular clouds showed a good spatial relation with their radio morphology,
although no direct evidence for the interaction was detected. Two SNRs are
particularly interesting: G85.4+0.7, where there is a filamentary molecular
cloud along the radio shell, and 3C434.1, where a large molecular cloud appears
to block the western half of the remnant. We briefly summarize the results
obtained for individual SNRs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science. 12 pages,
12 figures, and 3 table
Anthropogenic Space Weather
Anthropogenic effects on the space environment started in the late 19th
century and reached their peak in the 1960s when high-altitude nuclear
explosions were carried out by the USA and the Soviet Union. These explosions
created artificial radiation belts near Earth that resulted in major damages to
several satellites. Another, unexpected impact of the high-altitude nuclear
tests was the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that can have devastating effects
over a large geographic area (as large as the continental United States). Other
anthropogenic impacts on the space environment include chemical release ex-
periments, high-frequency wave heating of the ionosphere and the interaction of
VLF waves with the radiation belts. This paper reviews the fundamental physical
process behind these phenomena and discusses the observations of their impacts.Comment: 71 pages, 35 figure
The incidence of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infections among patients in Kumasi, Ghana
The incidence of urogenital chlamydia infections among selected patients in Kumasi, Ghana was evaluated using an immunofluorescent monoclonal antibody technique. Chlamydia trachomatis was identified in 4 of 110 patients presenting for prenatal care, 2 of 55 female patients with infertility and 6 of 15 males with acute urethritis. The findings demonstrate that C. trachomatis is a frequently identified pathogen among male patients presenting with symptoms of acute urethritis; however, the incidence of chlamydia infections among asymptomatic patients is relatively low.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27043/1/0000032.pd
Soil cover plants on water erosion control in the South of Minas Gerais
Water erosion is responsible for soil, water, carbon and nutrient losses, turning into the most important type of degradation of Brazilian soils. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of three cover plants under two tillage systems on water erosion control in an Argisol at south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The cover plants utilized in the study were pigeon pea, jack bean and millet, under contour seeding and downslope tillage. Experimental plots of 4 x 12 m, with 9% slope, under natural rainfall were used for the quantification of losses of soil, water, nutrients, and organic matter. One experimental plot was kept without plant cover (reference). Higher erosivity was observed in December and January, although a great quantity of erosive rainfall was detected during the whole raining period. Contour seeding provided a greater reduction of water erosion than downslope tillage, as expected. The jack bean under contour seeding revealed the lowest values of soil, water, nutrients and organic matter losses
Can forest management based on natural disturbances maintain ecological resilience?
Given the increasingly global stresses on forests, many ecologists argue that managers must maintain ecological resilience: the capacity of ecosystems to absorb disturbances without undergoing fundamental change. In this review we ask: Can the emerging paradigm of natural-disturbance-based management (NDBM) maintain ecological resilience in managed forests? Applying resilience theory requires careful articulation of the ecosystem state under consideration, the disturbances and stresses that affect the persistence of possible alternative states, and the spatial and temporal scales of management relevance. Implementing NDBM while maintaining resilience means recognizing that (i) biodiversity is important for long-term ecosystem persistence, (ii) natural disturbances play a critical role as a generator of structural and compositional heterogeneity at multiple scales, and (iii) traditional management tends to produce forests more homogeneous than those disturbed naturally and increases the likelihood of unexpected catastrophic change by constraining variation of key environmental processes. NDBM may maintain resilience if silvicultural strategies retain the structures and processes that perpetuate desired states while reducing those that enhance resilience of undesirable states. Such strategies require an understanding of harvesting impacts on slow ecosystem processes, such as seed-bank or nutrient dynamics, which in the long term can lead to ecological surprises by altering the forest's capacity to reorganize after disturbance
Observation of Scaling Violations in Scaled Momentum Distributions at HERA
Charged particle production has been measured in deep inelastic scattering
(DIS) events over a large range of and using the ZEUS detector. The
evolution of the scaled momentum, , with in the range 10 to 1280
, has been investigated in the current fragmentation region of the Breit
frame. The results show clear evidence, in a single experiment, for scaling
violations in scaled momenta as a function of .Comment: 21 pages including 4 figures, to be published in Physics Letters B.
Two references adde
D* Production in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA
This paper presents measurements of D^{*\pm} production in deep inelastic
scattering from collisions between 27.5 GeV positrons and 820 GeV protons. The
data have been taken with the ZEUS detector at HERA. The decay channel
(+ c.c.) has been used in the study. The
cross section for inclusive D^{*\pm} production with
and is 5.3 \pms 1.0 \pms 0.8 nb in the kinematic region
{ GeV and }. Differential cross
sections as functions of p_T(D^{*\pm}), and are
compared with next-to-leading order QCD calculations based on the photon-gluon
fusion production mechanism. After an extrapolation of the cross section to the
full kinematic region in p_T(D^{*\pm}) and (D^{*\pm}), the charm
contribution to the proton structure function is
determined for Bjorken between 2 10 and 5 10.Comment: 17 pages including 4 figure
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