17,024 research outputs found
Redundancy and subsumption in high-level replacement systems
System verification in the broadest sense deals with those semantic
properties that can be decided or deduced by analyzing a syntactical
description of the system. Hence, one may consider the notions of
redundancy and subsumption in this context as they are known from the
area of rule-based systems. A rule is redundant if it can be removed
without affecting the semantics of the system; it is subsumed by
another rule if each application of the former one can be replaced by
an application of the latter one with the same effect. In this paper,
redundancy and subsumption are carried over from rule-based systems to
high-level replacement systems, which in turn generalize graph and
hypergraph grammars. The main results presented in this paper are a
characterization of subsumption and a sufficient condition for
redundancy, which involves composite productions.Postprint (published version
Optical and ROSAT X-ray observations of the dwarf nova OY Carinae in superoutburst and quiescence
We present ROSAT X-ray and optical light curves of the 1994 February
superoutburst of the eclipsing SU UMa dwarf nova OY Carinae. There is no
eclipse of the flux in the ROSAT HRI light curve. Contemporaneous `wide B' band
optical light curves show extensive superhump activity and dips at superhump
maximum. Eclipse mapping of these optical light curves reveals a disc with a
considerable physical flare, even three days into the superoutburst decline.
We include a later (1994 July) ROSAT PSPC observation of OY Car that allows
us to put constraints on the quiescent X-ray spectrum. We find that while there
is little to choose between OY Car and its fellow high inclination systems with
regard to the temperature of the emitting gas and the emission measure, we have
difficulties reconciling the column density found from our X-ray observation
with the column found in HST UV observations by Horne et al. (1994). The
obvious option is to invoke time variability.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Latitudinal Variation in Seasonal Activity and Mortality in Ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta)
The ecology of ectotherms should be particularly affected by latitude because so much of their biology is temperature dependent. Current latitudinal patterns should also be informative about how ectotherms will have to modify their behavior in response to climate change. We used data from a total of 175 adult black ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta) radio tracked in Ontario, Illinois, and Texas, a latitudinal distance of \u3e 1500 km, to test predictions about how seasonal patterns of activity and mortality should vary with latitude. Despite pronounced differences in temperatures among study locations, and despite ratsnakes in Texas not hibernating and switching from diurnal to nocturnal activity in the summer, seasonal patterns of snake activity were remarkably similar during the months that snakes in all populations were active. Rather than being a function of temperature, activity may be driven by the timing of reproduction, which appears similar among populations. Contrary to the prediction that mortality should be highest in the most active population, overall mortality did not follow a clinal pattern. Winter mortality did increase with latitude, however, consistent with temperature limiting the northern distribution of ratsnakes. This result was opposite that found in the only previous study of latitudinal variation in winter mortality in reptiles, which may be a consequence of whether or not the animals exhibit true hibernation. Collectively, these results suggest that, at least in the northern part of their range, ratsnakes should be able to adjust easily to, and may benefit from, a warmer climate, although climate-based changes to the snakes\u27 prey or habitat, for example, could alter that prediction
RESIK observations of He-like Ar X-ray line emission in solar flares
The Ar XVII X-ray line group principally due to transitions 1s2 - 1s2l (l=s,
p) near 4 Anstroms was observed in numerous flares by the RESIK bent crystal
spectrometer aboard CORONAS-F between 2001 and 2003. The three line features
include the Ar XVII w (resonance line), a blend of x and y (intercombination
lines), and z (forbidden line), all of which are blended with Ar XVI
dielectronic satellites. The ratio G, equal to [I(x+y) + I(z)]/I(w), varies
with electron temperature Te mostly because of unresolved dielectronic
satellites. With temperatures estimated from GOES X-ray emission, the observed
G ratios agree fairly well with those calculated from CHIANTI and other data.
With a two-component emission measure, better agreement is achieved. Some S XV
and S XVI lines blend with the Ar lines, the effect of which occurs at
temperatures greater than 8MK, allowing the S/Ar abundance ratio to be
determined. This is found to agree with coronal values. A nonthermal
contribution is indicated for some spectra in the repeating-pulse flare of 2003
February 6.Comment: Latex file and 3 ps files. Astrophysical Journal Letters (accepted,
June 2008
Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer using microring resonators
We report a reconfigurable four-channel optical add-drop multiplexer for use in access networks. The optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM) is based on vertically coupled thermally tunable Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/--SiO/sub 2/ microring resonators (MRs) and has been realized on a footprint of 0.25 mm/sup 2/. Individual MRs in the OADM can be tuned across the full free-spectral range of 4.18 nm and have a 3-dB bandwidth of 50 GHz
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