1,843 research outputs found
Scale Factor Self-Dual Cosmological Models
We implement a conformal time scale factor duality for
Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological models, which is consistent with the
weak energy condition. The requirement for self-duality determines the
equations of state for a broad class of barotropic fluids. We study the example
of a universe filled with two interacting fluids, presenting an accelerated and
a decelerated period, with manifest UV/IR duality. The associated self-dual
scalar field interaction turns out to coincide with the "radiation-like"
modified Chaplygin gas models. We present an equivalent realization of them as
gauged K\"ahler sigma models (minimally coupled to gravity) with very specific
and interrelated K\"ahler- and super-potentials. Their applications in the
description of hilltop inflation and also as quintessence models for the late
universe are discussed.Comment: v3, improved and extended version to be published in JHEP; new
results added to sect.2; 4 figures; 17pg
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Comparison of wind turbine tower failure modes under seismic and wind loads
This paper studies the structural responses and failure modes of a 1.5-MW horizontal-axis wind turbine under strong ground motions and wind loading. Ground motions were selected and scaled to match the two design response spectra given by the seismic code, and wind loads were generated considering tropical cyclone scenarios. Nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses were conducted and structural performances under wind loads as well as short- and long-period ground motions compared. The results show that under strong wind loads the collapse of the wind turbine tower is driven by the formation of a plastic hinge at the lower section of the tower. This area is also critical when the tower is subject to most ground motions. However, some short-period earthquakes trigger the collapse of the middle and upper parts of the tower due to the increased contribution of high-order vibration modes. Although long-period ground motions tend to result in greater structural responses, short-period earthquakes may cause brittle failure modes in which the full plastic hinge develops quickly in regions of the tower with only a moderate energy dissipation capacity. Based on these results, recommendations for future turbine designs are proposed
Optical pattern formation with a 2-level nonlinearity
We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of spontaneous
pattern formation in the transverse section of a single retro-reflected laser
beam passing through a cloud of cold Rubidium atoms. In contrast to previously
investigated systems, the nonlinearity at work here is that of a 2-level atom,
which realizes the paradigmatic situation considered in many theoretical
studies of optical pattern formation. In particular, we are able to observe the
disappearance of the patterns at high intensity due to the intrinsic saturable
character of 2-level atomic transitions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Empiricism and stochastics in cellular automaton modeling of urban land use dynamics
An increasing number of models for predicting land use change in regions of rapidurbanization are being proposed and built using ideas from cellular automata (CA)theory. Calibrating such models to real situations is highly problematic and to date,serious attention has not been focused on the estimation problem. In this paper, wepropose a structure for simulating urban change based on estimating land usetransitions using elementary probabilistic methods which draw their inspiration fromBayes' theory and the related ?weights of evidence? approach. These land use changeprobabilities drive a CA model ? DINAMICA ? conceived at the Center for RemoteSensing of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (CSR-UFMG). This is based on aneight cell Moore neighborhood approach implemented through empirical land useallocation algorithms. The model framework has been applied to a medium-size townin the west of São Paulo State, Bauru. We show how various socio-economic andinfrastructural factors can be combined using the weights of evidence approach whichenables us to predict the probability of changes between land use types in differentcells of the system. Different predictions for the town during the period 1979-1988were generated, and statistical validation was then conducted using a multipleresolution fitting procedure. These modeling experiments support the essential logicof adopting Bayesian empirical methods which synthesize various information aboutspatial infrastructure as the driver of urban land use change. This indicates therelevance of the approach for generating forecasts of growth for Brazilian citiesparticularly and for world-wide cities in general
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Complete framework of wind-vehicle-bridge interaction with random road surfaces
The risk of vehicle accidents and discomfort under wind actions is key in the serviceability assessment of long-span bridges. This paper presents a complete wind-vehicle-bridge interaction (W-VBI) framework in which the pavement irregularities are simulated as random surfaces that include the bridge joints instead of traditional one-dimensional (1D) road profiles. The methodology includes a new approach to assess the safety and comfort of all the users of the bridge, including those in the vehicles and on the deck, and to account for the variability of the response. The application of the proposed W-VBI framework in the study of a long cable-stayed bridge demonstrated that the driving safety and the pedestrians’ comfort cannot be based on the analysis of a single record, and guidance is proposed to obtain results with statistical significance. Moreover, it is observed for the first time that 1D road irregularity models can significantly underpredict the risk of discomfort and of driving instabilities in bridges subjected to crosswinds. Finally, the direct connection between the quality of the road and the comfort in the vehicles is clearly established, which has potential implications on pavement monitoring programmes
Selective epitaxial growth of graphene on SiC
We present an innovative method of selective epitaxial growth of few layers
graphene (FLG) on a pre-patterned SiC substrate. The methods involves,
successively, the sputtering of a thin AlN layer on top of a mono-crystalline
SiC substrate and, then, patterning it with e-beam lithography (EBL) and wet
etching. The sublimation of few atomic layers of Si from the SiC substrate
occurs only through the selectively etched AlN layer. The presence of the Raman
G-band at ~1582 cm-1 in the AlN-free areas is used to validate the concept, it
gives absolute evidence of the selective FLG growth.Comment: comments: 3 pages, reference 3 replace
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