An application of design knowledge captured from multiple sources

The Hubble Space Telescope Operational Readiness Expert Safemode Investigation System (HSTORESIS) is a reusable knowledge base shell used to demonstrate the integration and application of design knowledge captured from multiple technical domains. The design of HSTORESIS is based on a partitioning of knowledge to maximize the potential for reuse of certain types of knowledge

Small Energy Scale for Mixed-Valent Uranium Materials

We investigate a two-channel Anderson impurity model with a $5f^1$ magnetic and a $5f^2$ quadrupolar ground doublet, and a $5f^2$ excited triplet. Using the numerical renormalization group method, we find a crossover to a non-Fermi liquid state below a temperature $T^*$ varying as the $5f^2$ triplet-doublet splitting to the 7/2 power. To within numerical accuracy, the non-linear magnetic susceptibility and the $5f^1$ contribution to the linear susceptibility are given by universal one-parameter scaling functions. These results may explain UBe$_{13}$ as mixed valent with a small crossover scale $T^*$.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Parrondo-like behavior in continuous-time random walks with memory

The Continuous-Time Random Walk (CTRW) formalism can be adapted to encompass stochastic processes with memory. In this article we will show how the random combination of two different unbiased CTRWs can give raise to a process with clear drift, if one of them is a CTRW with memory. If one identifies the other one as noise, the effect can be thought as a kind of stochastic resonance. The ultimate origin of this phenomenon is the same of the Parrondo's paradox in game theoryComment: 8 pages, 3 figures, revtex; enlarged and revised versio

The incidence of mid-infrared excesses in G and K giants

Using photometric data from the 2MASS and GLIMPSE catalogues, I investigate the incidence of mid-infrared excesses (~10 microns) of G and K stars of luminosity class III. In order to obtain a large sample size, stars are selected using a near-IR colour-magnitude diagram. Sources which are candidates for showing mid-IR excess are carefully examined and modelled to determined whether they are likely to be G/K giants. It is found that mid-IR excesses are present at a level of (1.8 +/- 0.4) x 10^-3. While the origin of these excesses remains uncertain, it is plausible that they arise from debris discs around these stars. I note that the measured incidence is consistent with a scenario in which dust lifetimes in debris discs are determined by Poynting-Robertson drag rather than by collisions.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 13 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables (1 landscape table

Design and fabrication of noncondensing radiator for environmental evaluation of space power mercury Rankine system

Conceptual and mechanical design analyses, and fabrication of noncondensing radiator for environmental testing of space power mercury Rankine syste

The Milky Way's stellar halo - lumpy or triaxial?

We present minimum chi-squared fits of power law and Hernquist density profiles to F-turnoff stars in eight 2.5 deg wide stripes of SDSS data: five in the North Galactic Cap and three in the South Galactic cap. Portions of the stellar Galactic halo that are known to contain large streams of tidal debris or other lumpy structure, or that may include significant contamination from the thick disk, are avoided. The data strongly favor a model that is not symmetric about the Galaxy's axis of rotation. If included as a free parameter, the best fit to the center of the spheroid is surprisingly approx 3 kpc from the Galactic center in the direction of the Sun's motion. The model fits favor a low value of the density of halo stars at the solar position. The alternative to a non-axisymmetric stellar distribution is that our fits are contaminated by previously unidentified lumpy substructure.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figs, to appear in proceedings of conference "Physics at the end of the Galactic Cosmic Ray Spectrum", Journal of Physics: Conf. series, eds. G. Thomson and P. Sokolsk

Forensic investigations of popular ephemeral messaging applications on Android and iOS platforms

Ephemeral messaging applications are growing increasingly popular on the digital mobile market. However, they are not always used with good intentions. Criminals may see a gateway into private communication with each other through this transient application data. This could negatively impact criminal court cases for evidence, or civil matters. To find out if messages from such applications can indeed be recovered or not, a forensic examination of the device would be required by the law enforcement authority. This paper reports mobile forensic investigations of ephemeral data from a wide range of applications using both proprietary and freeware forensic tools. Both Android and iOS platforms were used in the investigation. The results from the investigation uncovered various artefacts from the iOS device including account information, contacts, and evidence of communication between users. The Android device uncovered evidence of communications, and several media files assumed to be deleted within a storage cache in the Android file system. The forensic tools used within the investigations were evaluated using parameters from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) mobile tool test assertions and test plan

The joint law of the extrema, final value and signature of a stopped random walk

A complete characterization of the possible joint distributions of the maximum and terminal value of uniformly integrable martingale has been known for some time, and the aim of this paper is to establish a similar characterization for continuous martingales of the joint law of the minimum, final value, and maximum, along with the direction of the final excursion. We solve this problem completely for the discrete analogue, that of a simple symmetric random walk stopped at some almost-surely finite stopping time. This characterization leads to robust hedging strategies for derivatives whose value depends on the maximum, minimum and final values of the underlying asset

Antenna servo control system characterization: Rate loop analysis for 34-m antenna at DSS 15

The elevation and azimuth servo rate loops at the 34-m High Efficiency Deep Space Station 15 (DSS 15) are described. Time and frequency response performance criteria were measured. The results are compared to theoretically deduced performance criteria. Unexpected anomalies in the frequency response are observed and identified

Robust pricing and hedging of double no-touch options

Double no-touch options, contracts which pay out a fixed amount provided an underlying asset remains within a given interval, are commonly traded, particularly in FX markets. In this work, we establish model-free bounds on the price of these options based on the prices of more liquidly traded options (call and digital call options). Key steps are the construction of super- and sub-hedging strategies to establish the bounds, and the use of Skorokhod embedding techniques to show the bounds are the best possible. In addition to establishing rigorous bounds, we consider carefully what is meant by arbitrage in settings where there is no {\it a priori} known probability measure. We discuss two natural extensions of the notion of arbitrage, weak arbitrage and weak free lunch with vanishing risk, which are needed to establish equivalence between the lack of arbitrage and the existence of a market model.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figure