14,000 research outputs found
Highly conductive, ionic liquid-based polymer electrolytes
In this manuscript is reported a thermal and impedance spectroscopy investigation carried out on quaternary polymer electrolytes, to be addressed as separators for lithium solid polymer batteries, containing large amount of the N-methyl-N-propylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide ionic liquid. The target is the development of Li+ conducting membranes with enhanced ion transport even below room temperature. Polyethylene oxide and polymethyl methacrylate were selected as the polymeric hosts. A fully dry, solvent-free procedure was followed for the preparation of the polymer electrolytes, which were seen to be self-consistent and handled even upon prolonged storage periods (more than 1 year). Appealing ionic conductivities were observed especially for the PEO electrolytes, i.e., 1.6 × 10-3and 1.5 × 10-4 S cm-1 were reached at 20 and -20°C, respectively, which are ones the best, if not the best ion conduction, never detected for polymer electrolytes
A nonmonotone GRASP
A greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) is an itera-
tive multistart metaheuristic for difficult combinatorial optimization problems. Each
GRASP iteration consists of two phases: a construction phase, in which a feasible
solution is produced, and a local search phase, in which a local optimum in the
neighborhood of the constructed solution is sought. Repeated applications of the con-
struction procedure yields different starting solutions for the local search and the
best overall solution is kept as the result. The GRASP local search applies iterative
improvement until a locally optimal solution is found. During this phase, starting from
the current solution an improving neighbor solution is accepted and considered as the
new current solution. In this paper, we propose a variant of the GRASP framework that
uses a new “nonmonotone” strategy to explore the neighborhood of the current solu-
tion. We formally state the convergence of the nonmonotone local search to a locally
optimal solution and illustrate the effectiveness of the resulting Nonmonotone GRASP
on three classical hard combinatorial optimization problems: the maximum cut prob-
lem (MAX-CUT), the weighted maximum satisfiability problem (MAX-SAT), and
the quadratic assignment problem (QAP)
Hyperentanglement of two photons in three degrees of freedom
A 6-qubit hyperentangled state has been realized by entangling two photons in
three degrees of freedom. These correspond to the polarization, the
longitudinal momentum and the indistinguishable emission produced by a
2-crystal system operating with Type I phase matching in the spontaneous
parametric down conversion regime. The state has been characterized by a
chained interferometric apparatus and its complete entangled nature has been
tested by a novel witness criterium specifically introduced for hyperentangled
states. The experiment represents the first realization of a genuine
hyperentangled state with the maximum entanglement between the two particles
allowed in the given Hilbert space.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Revtex
Stochastic macromodeling for hierarchical uncertainty quantification of nonlinear electronic systems
A hierarchical stochastic macromodeling approach is proposed for the efficient variability analysis of complex nonlinear electronic systems. A combination of the Transfer Function Trajectory and Polynomial Chaos methods is used to generate stochastic macromodels. In order to reduce the computational complexity of the model generation when the number of stochastic variables increases, a hierarchical system decomposition is used. Pertinent numerical results validate the proposed methodology
Minimal model for active nematics: quasi-long-range order and giant fluctuations
We propose a minimal microscopic model for active nematic particles similar
in spirit to the Vicsek model for self-propelled polar particles. In two
dimensions, we show that this model exhibits a Kosterlitz-Thouless-like
transition to quasi-long-range orientational order and that in this
non-equilibrium context, the ordered phase is characterized by giant density
fluctuations, in agreement with the predictions of Ramaswamy {\it et al.}
[Europhys. Lett. {\bf 62}, 196 (2003)].Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages, 4 figure
External ultrasound-assisted lipectomy: effects on abdominal adipose tissue
The use of ultrasound “on the surface” was hypothesized
by Scuderi et al. in 19871 and resumed by
Zocchi in 1996.2 Ultrasound-assisted liposuction is
as a technique that can be associated with suctionassisted
lipectomy.3 This new technique is called external
ultrasound-assisted lipectomy. Whereas ultrasound-
assisted liposuction emulsifies adipose tissue
due to adipocyte membrane lysis, external ultrasound-
assisted lipectomy, being less “invasive,” induces
cell-to-cell contact loss and alters collagenic
fibers. This leads to an easier detachment of adipose
cells, which remain unaltered and can be mechanically
removed. The external ultrasound-assisted lipectomy
technique is the transcutaneous application
of ultrasound by means of high-frequency ultrasound
upon massive infiltrated tissue, followed by traditional
liposuction.
Results showed that several different effects were
detected on both adipocytes and collagen fibers
The Razumov-Stroganov conjecture: Stochastic processes, loops and combinatorics
A fascinating conjectural connection between statistical mechanics and
combinatorics has in the past five years led to the publication of a number of
papers in various areas, including stochastic processes, solvable lattice
models and supersymmetry. This connection, known as the Razumov-Stroganov
conjecture, expresses eigenstates of physical systems in terms of objects known
from combinatorics, which is the mathematical theory of counting. This note
intends to explain this connection in light of the recent papers by Zinn-Justin
and Di Francesco.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, JSTAT News & Perspective
Experimental test of the no signaling theorem
In 1981 N. Herbert proposed a gedanken experiment in order to achieve by the
''First Laser Amplified Superluminal Hookup'' (FLASH) a faster than light
communication (FTL) by quantum nonlocality. The present work reports the first
experimental realization of that proposal by the optical parametric
amplification of a single photon belonging to an entangled EPR pair into an
output field involving 5 x 10^3 photons. A thorough theoretical and
experimental analysis explains in general and conclusive terms the precise
reasons for the failure of the FLASH program as well as of any similar FTL
proposals.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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