11,814 research outputs found
Stop-list slicing.
Traditional program slicing requires two parameters: a program location and a variable, or perhaps a set of variables, of interest. Stop-list slicing adds a third parameter to the slicing criterion: those variables that are not of interest. This third parameter is called the stoplist. When a variable in the stop-list is encountered, the data-flow dependence analysis of slicing is terminated for that variable. Stop-list slicing further focuses on the computation of interest, while ignoring computations known or determined to be uninteresting. This has the potential to reduce slice size when compared to traditional forms of slicing. In order to assess the size of the reduction obtained via stop-list slicing, the paper reports the results of three empirical evaluations: a large scale empirical study into the maximum slice size reduction that can be achieved when all program variables are on the stop-list; a study on a real program, to determine the reductions that could be obtained in a typical application; and qualitative case-based studies to illustrate stop-list slicing in the small. The large-scale study concerned a suite of 42 programs of approximately 800KLoc in total. Over 600K slices were computed. Using the maximal stoplist reduced the size of the computed slices by about one third on average. The typical program showed a slice size reduction of about one-quarter. The casebased studies indicate that the comprehension effects are worth further consideration
An empirical study of computation equivalence as determined by decomposition slice equivalence.
In order to further understand and assess decomposition slicing we
characterize and evaluate the size of reductions obtained by computing
equivalent decomposition slices from the perspective of the comprehender, maintainer, tester and researcher. The analysis was performed on 68 C language systems of sizes 100 to 50,000 lines.
All decomposition slices were computed and compared for simple equality. From this data, we were able to determine with 95% confidence that the true mean percentage of equivalent decomposition
slices is between 50.0% and 60.3%, with a p-value < 0.005.
This has clear and significant impact for software testing, as any coverage method used for one of the variables used in an equivalence will apply to all variables in the class; for software comprehension as the number of items (variables) used for the understander is
substantially reduced; for the software maintenance, as the number computational relationships is reduced; and for the researcher, in attempting to ascertain the underlying cause of this phenomena
Determination of the Rb ng-series quantum defect by electric-field-induced resonant energy transfer between cold Rydberg atoms
Resonant energy transfer between cold Rydberg atoms was used to determine
Rydberg atom energy levels, at precisions approaching those obtainable in
microwave spectroscopy. Laser cooled Rb atoms from a magneto-optical trap were
optically excited to 32d Rydberg states. The two-atom process 32d(j=5/2) +
32d(j=5/2) -> 34p(j=3/2) + 30g is resonant at an electric field of
approximately 0.3 V/cm. This process is driven by the electric dipole-dipole
interaction, which is allowed due to the partial f character that the g state
acquires in an electric field. The experimentally observed resonant field,
together with the Stark map calculation is used to make a determination of the
Rb ng-series quantum defect: delta_g (n=30) = 0.00405(6)
Spectroscopic observation of resonant electric dipole-dipole interactions between cold Rydberg atoms
Resonant electric dipole-dipole interactions between cold Rydberg atoms were
observed using microwave spectroscopy. Laser-cooled Rb atoms in a
magneto-optical trap were optically excited to 45d Rydberg states using a
pulsed laser. A microwave pulse transferred a fraction of these Rydberg atoms
to the 46p state. A second microwave pulse then drove atoms in the 45d state to
the 46d state, and was used as a probe of interatomic interactions. The
spectral width of this two-photon probe transition was found to depend on the
presence of the 46p atoms, and is due to the resonant electric dipole-dipole
interaction between 45d and 46p Rydberg atoms.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett.
Titles and e-print numbers of references added to this versio
Seeking large-scale magnetic fields in a pure-disk dwarf galaxy NGC 2976
It is still unknown how magnetic field-generation mechanisms could operate in
low-mass dwarf galaxies. Here, we present a detailed study of a nearby
pure-disk dwarf galaxy NGC 2976. Unlike previously observed dwarf objects, this
galaxy possesses a clearly defined disk. For the purpose of our studies, we
performed deep multi-frequency polarimetric observations of NGC 2976 with the
VLA and Effelsberg radio telescopes. Additionally, we supplement them with
re-imaged data from the WSRT-SINGS survey. The magnetic field morphology
discovered in NGC 2976 consists of a southern polarized ridge. This structure
does not seem to be due to just a pure large-scale dynamo process (possibly
cosmic-ray driven) at work in this object, as indicated by the RM data and
dynamo number calculations. Instead, the field of NGC 2976 is modified by past
gravitational interactions and possibly also by ram pressure inside the M 81
galaxy group environment. The estimates of total (7 muG) and ordered (3 muG)
magnetic field strengths, as well as degree of field order (0.46), which is
similar to those observed in spirals, suggest that tidally generated magnetized
gas flows can further enhance dynamo action in the object. NGC 2976 is
apparently a good candidate for the efficient magnetization of its
neighbourhood. It is able to provide an ordered (perhaps also regular) magnetic
field into the intergalactic space up to a distance of about 5 kpc. Tidal
interactions (and possibly also ram pressure) can lead to the formation of
unusual magnetic field morphologies (like polarized ridges) in galaxies out of
the star-forming disks, which do not follow any observed component of the
interstellar medium (ISM), as observed in NGC 2976. These galaxies are able to
provide ordered magnetic fields far out of their main disks.Comment: 16 page
Cosmic Pathways for Compact Groups in the Milli-Millennium Simulation
We detected 10 compact galaxy groups (CGs) at in the semi-analytic
galaxy catalog of Guo et al. (2011) for the milli-Millennium Cosmological
Simulation (sCGs in mGuo2010a). We aimed to identify potential canonical
pathways for compact group evolution and thus illuminate the history of
observed nearby compact groups. By constructing merger trees for sCG
galaxies, we studied the cosmological evolution of key properties, and compared
them with Hickson CGs (HCGs). We found that, once sCG galaxies come
within 1 (0.5) Mpc of their most massive galaxy, they remain within that
distance until , suggesting sCG "birth redshifts". At stellar masses
of sCG most-massive galaxies are within . In several cases, especially in the two 4- and 5-member
systems, the amount of cold gas mass anti-correlates with stellar mass, which
in turn correlates with hot gas mass. We define the angular difference between
group members' 3D velocity vectors, , and note that
many of the groups are long-lived because their small values of
indicate a significant parallel component. For
triplets in particular, values range between
and so that galaxies are coming together along
roughly parallel paths, and pairwise separations do not show large pronounced
changes after close encounters. The best agreement between sCG and HCG physical
properties is for galaxy values, but HCG values are higher overall,
including for SFRs. Unlike HCGs, due to a tail at low SFR and , and a
lack of galaxies, only a few sCG galaxies
are on the star-forming main sequence.Comment: Style fixes to better match ApJ published version. Uses likeapj1.1
style files: 17 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables. LaTex style files available at
https://github.com/qtast/likeapj/releases/lates
Dear Wife : the Civil War letters of Chester K. Leach
Occasional paper (University of Vermont. Center for Research on Vermont) ; no. 20
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