6,937 research outputs found
The development of the Canadian Mobile Servicing System Kinematic Simulation Facility
Canada will develop a Mobile Servicing System (MSS) as its contribution to the U.S./International Space Station Freedom. Components of the MSS will include a remote manipulator (SSRMS), a Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), and a mobile base (MRS). In order to support requirements analysis and the evaluation of operational concepts related to the use of the MSS, a graphics based kinematic simulation/human-computer interface facility has been created. The facility consists of the following elements: (1) A two-dimensional graphics editor allowing the rapid development of virtual control stations; (2) Kinematic simulations of the space station remote manipulators (SSRMS and SPDM), and mobile base; and (3) A three-dimensional graphics model of the space station, MSS, orbiter, and payloads. These software elements combined with state of the art computer graphics hardware provide the capability to prototype MSS workstations, evaluate MSS operational capabilities, and investigate the human-computer interface in an interactive simulation environment. The graphics technology involved in the development and use of this facility is described
Investigations of solutions of Einstein's field equations close to lambda-Taub-NUT
We present investigations of a class of solutions of Einstein's field
equations close to the family of lambda-Taub-NUT spacetimes. The studies are
done using a numerical code introduced by the author elsewhere. One of the main
technical complication is due to the S3-topology of the Cauchy surfaces.
Complementing these numerical results with heuristic arguments, we are able to
yield some first insights into the strong cosmic censorship issue and the
conjectures by Belinskii, Khalatnikov, and Lifschitz in this class of
spacetimes. In particular, the current investigations suggest that strong
cosmic censorship holds in this class. We further identify open issues in our
current approach and point to future research projects.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures, uses psfrag and hyperref; replaced with
published version, only minor corrections of typos and reference
Simple Max-Min Ant Systems and the Optimization of Linear Pseudo-Boolean Functions
With this paper, we contribute to the understanding of ant colony
optimization (ACO) algorithms by formally analyzing their runtime behavior. We
study simple MAX-MIN ant systems on the class of linear pseudo-Boolean
functions defined on binary strings of length 'n'. Our investigations point out
how the progress according to function values is stored in pheromone. We
provide a general upper bound of O((n^3 \log n)/ \rho) for two ACO variants on
all linear functions, where (\rho) determines the pheromone update strength.
Furthermore, we show improved bounds for two well-known linear pseudo-Boolean
functions called OneMax and BinVal and give additional insights using an
experimental study.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure
Medium corrections in the formation of light charged particles in heavy ion reactions
Within a microscopic statistical description of heavy ion collisions, we
investigate the effect of the medium on the formation of light clusters. The
dominant medium effects are self-energy corrections and Pauli blocking that
produce the Mott effect for composite particles and enhanced reaction rates in
the collision integrals. Microscopic description of composites in the medium
follows the Dyson equation approach combined with the cluster mean-field
expansion. The resulting effective few-body problem is solved within a properly
modified Alt-Grassberger-Sandhas formalism. The results are incorporated in a
Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck simulation for heavy ion collisions. The number and
spectra of light charged particles emerging from a heavy ion collision changes
in a significant manner in effect of the medium modification of production and
absorption processes.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Few-Body States in Fermi-Systems and Condensation Phenomena
Residual interactions in many particle systems lead to strong correlations. A
multitude of spectacular phenomenae in many particle systems are connected to
correlation effects in such systems, e.g. pairing, superconductivity,
superfluidity, Bose-Einstein condensation etc. Here we focus on few-body bound
states in a many-body surrounding.Comment: 10 pages, proceedings 1st Asian-Pacific Few-Body Conference, needs
fbssuppl.sty of Few-Body System
Evolutionary multiobjective optimization of the multi-location transshipment problem
We consider a multi-location inventory system where inventory choices at each
location are centrally coordinated. Lateral transshipments are allowed as
recourse actions within the same echelon in the inventory system to reduce
costs and improve service level. However, this transshipment process usually
causes undesirable lead times. In this paper, we propose a multiobjective model
of the multi-location transshipment problem which addresses optimizing three
conflicting objectives: (1) minimizing the aggregate expected cost, (2)
maximizing the expected fill rate, and (3) minimizing the expected
transshipment lead times. We apply an evolutionary multiobjective optimization
approach using the strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA2), to
approximate the optimal Pareto front. Simulation with a wide choice of model
parameters shows the different trades-off between the conflicting objectives
Preparation of zirconium from zirconium tetrafluoride
Increased interest in zirconium as a material of construction has resulted in numerous attempts to develop more economical processes for its production. Currently the Kroll Process, which reduces zirconium tetrachloride with magnesium, is used. A process developed at the Ames Laboratory of the Atomic Energy Commission involves the bomb reduction of zirconium tetrafluoride with calcium. By substituting magnesium for calcium, the cost of producing zirconium by this process might be considerably reduced
Dynamics of photoinduced Charge Density Wave-metal phase transition in K0.3MoO3
We present first systematic studies of the photoinduced phase transition from
the ground charge density wave (CDW) state to the normal metallic (M) state in
the prototype quasi-1D CDW system K0.3MoO3. Ultrafast non-thermal CDW melting
is achieved at the absorbed energy density that corresponds to the electronic
energy difference between the metallic and CDW states. The results imply that
on the sub-picosecond timescale when melting and subsequent initial recovery of
the electronic order takes place the lattice remains unperturbed.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett., accepted for publicatio
Separation of hafnium from zirconium using tributyl phosphate
The separation of hafnium from zirconium using tributyl phosphate offers interesting alternatives to present methods for making reactor-grade zirconium. Feed solution for the extraction step can be prepared from the reaction product of caustic and zircon sand. The purified zirconium can be converted into a variety of compounds, depending on the process chosen for reduction to the metal. It may be that future developments will show tributyl phosphate extraction to have advantages in new plants for the production of low-hafnium zirconium metal
Photoinduced melting of superconductivity in the high-Tc superconductor La2-xSrxCuO4 probed by time-resolved optical and THz techniques
Dynamics of depletion and recovery of superconducting state in La2-xSrxCuO_4
thin films is investigated utilizing optical pump-probe and optical pump - THz
probe techniques as a function of temperature and excitation fluence. The
absorbed energy density required to suppress superconductivity is found to be
about 8 times higher than the thermodynamically determined condensation energy
density and nearly temperature independent between 4 and 25 K. These findings
indicate that during the time when superconducting state suppression takes
place (~0.7 ps), a large part (nearly 90%) of the energy is transferred to the
phonons with energy lower than twice the maximum value of of the SC gap and
only 10% is spent on Cooper pair breaking.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
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