1,145 research outputs found
Winning combinations of history-dependent games
The Parrondo effect describes the seemingly paradoxical situation in which
two losing games can, when combined, become winning [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 24
(2000)]. Here we generalize this analysis to the case where both games are
history-dependent, i.e. there is an intrinsic memory in the dynamics of each
game. New results are presented for the cases of both random and periodic
switching between the two games.Comment: (6 pages, 7 figures) Version 2: Major cosmetic changes and some minor
correction
The discovery of a low mass, pre-main-sequence stellar association around gamma Velorum
We report the serendipitous discovery of a population of low mass, pre-main
sequence stars (PMS) in the direction of the Wolf-Rayet/O-star binary system
gamma^{2} Vel and the Vela OB2 association. We argue that gamma^{2} Vel and the
low mass stars are truly associated, are approximately coeval and that both are
at distances between 360-490 pc, disagreeing at the 2 sigma level with the
recent Hipparcos parallax of gamma^{2} Vel, but consistent with older distance
estimates. Our results clearly have implications for the physical parameters of
the gamma^{2} Vel system, but also offer an exciting opportunity to investigate
the influence of high mass stars on the mass function and circumstellar disc
lifetimes of their lower mass PMS siblings.Comment: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Letters - in pres
New paradoxical games based on Brownian ratchets
Based on Brownian ratchets, a counter-intuitive phenomenon has recently
emerged -- namely, that two losing games can yield, when combined, a
paradoxical tendency to win. A restriction of this phenomenon is that the rules
depend on the current capital of the player. Here we present new games where
all the rules depend only on the history of the game and not on the capital.
This new history-dependent structure significantly increases the parameter
space for which the effect operates.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, revte
Human engineering design criteria study Final report
Human engineering design criteria for use in designing earth launch vehicle systems and equipmen
Membership, metallicity and lithium abundances for solar-type stars in NGC 6633
We present spectroscopic observations of candidate F, G and K type stars in
NGC 6633, an open cluster with a similar age to the Hyades. We identify 10 new
cluster members including one short period binary system. Combining this survey
with that of Jeffries (1997), we identify a total of 30 solar-type members. We
have used the F and early G stars to spectroscopically estimate
[Fe/H]=-0.096+/-0.081 for NGC 6633 and with more precision that NGC 6633 has
(0.074+/-0.041) dex less iron than the Pleiades and (0.206+/-0.040) dex less
iron than the Hyades. Lithium abundances have been estimated for the NGC 6633
members and compared with consistently determined Li abundances in other
clusters. Several mid F stars in NGC 6633 show strong Li depletion at
approximately the same effective temperature that this phenomenon is seen in
the Hyades. At cooler temperatures the Li abundance patterns in several open
clusters with similar ages (NGC 6633, Hyades, Praesepe and Coma Berenices) are
remarkably similar, despite their differing [Fe/H]. There is however evidence
that the late G and K stars of NGC 6633 have depleted less Li than their Hyades
counterparts. This qualitatively agrees with models for pre-main sequence Li
depletion that feature only convective mixing, but these models cannot
simultaneously explain why these stars have in turn depleted Li by more than 1
dex compared with their ZAMS counterparts in the Pleiades. Two explanations are
put forward. The first is that elemental abundance ratios, particularly [O/Fe],
may have non-solar values in NGC 6633 and would have to be higher than in
either the Hyades or Pleiades. The second is that additional non-convective
mixing, driven by angular momentum loss, causes additional photospheric Li
depletion during the first few hundred Myr of main sequence evolution.Comment: Accepted for MNRAS - some figures are compressed, a better version
can be found at http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~rdj
Channelled spectrum liquid refractometer
We describe an experimental demonstration of a novel technique for liquid refractometry. A channeled spectrum is produced from an optical beam generated by a diode laser operating below threshold by intercepting half of the beam with a liquid cell. The spectrum is analyzed using a grating and a linear CCD array and provides information on the refractive index of the liquid. The experimental results show that accuracies of better than 0.3% in the index may be obtained with the present method
Optical and Infrared Spectroscopy of the type IIn SN 1998S : Days 3-127
We present contemporary infrared and optical spectroscopic observations of
the type IIn SN 1998S for the period between 3 and 127 days after discovery. In
the first week the spectra are characterised by prominent broad emission lines
with narrow peaks superimposed on a very blue continuum(T~24000K). In the
following two weeks broad, blueshifted absorption components appeared in the
spectra and the temperature dropped. By day 44, broad emission components in H
and He reappeared in the spectra. These persisted to 100-130d, becoming
increasingly asymmetric. We agree with Leonard et al. (2000) that the broad
emission lines indicate interaction between the ejecta and circumstellar
material (CSM) and deduce that progenitor of SN 1998S appears to have gone
through at least two phases of mass loss, giving rise to two CSM zones.
Examination of the spectra indicates that the inner zone extended to <90AU,
while the outer CSM extended from 185AU to over 1800AU. Analysis of high
resolution spectra shows that the outer CSM had a velocity of 40-50 km/s.
Assuming a constant velocity, we can infer that the outer CSM wind commenced
more than 170 years ago, and ceased about 20 years ago, while the inner CSM
wind may have commenced less than 9 years ago. During the era of the outer CSM
wind the outflow was high, >2x10^{-5}M_{\odot}/yr corresponding to a mass loss
of at least 0.003M_{\odot} and suggesting a massive progenitor. We also model
the CO emission observed in SN 1998S. We deduce a CO mass of ~10^{-3} M_{\odot}
moving at ~2200km/s, and infer a mixed metal/He core of ~4M_{\odot}, again
indicating a massive progenitor.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, accepted in MNRA
Quantum field theory on quantum graphs and application to their conductance
We construct a bosonic quantum field on a general quantum graph. Consistency
of the construction leads to the calculation of the total scattering matrix of
the graph. This matrix is equivalent to the one already proposed using
generalized star product approach. We give several examples and show how they
generalize some of the scattering matrices computed in the mathematical or
condensed matter physics litterature.
Then, we apply the construction for the calculation of the conductance of
graphs, within a small distance approximation. The consistency of the
approximation is proved by direct comparison with the exact calculation for the
`tadpole' graph.Comment: 32 pages; misprints in tree graph corrected; proofs of consistency
and unitarity adde
Intermediate statistics for a system with symplectic symmetry: the Dirac rose graph
We study the spectral statistics of the Dirac operator on a rose-shaped
graph---a graph with a single vertex and all bonds connected at both ends to
the vertex. We formulate a secular equation that generically determines the
eigenvalues of the Dirac rose graph, which is seen to generalise the secular
equation for a star graph with Neumann boundary conditions. We derive
approximations to the spectral pair correlation function at large and small
values of spectral spacings, in the limit as the number of bonds approaches
infinity, and compare these predictions with results of numerical calculations.
Our results represent the first example of intermediate statistics from the
symplectic symmetry class.Comment: 26 pages, references adde
Quantum Fields on Star Graphs
We construct canonical quantum fields which propagate on a star graph
modeling a quantum wire. The construction uses a deformation of the algebra of
canonical commutation relations, encoding the interaction in the vertex of the
graph. We discuss in this framework the Casimir effect and derive the
correction to the Stefan-Boltzmann law induced by the vertex interaction. We
also generalize the algebraic setting for covering systems with integrable bulk
interactions and solve the quantum non-linear Schroedinger model on a star
graph.Comment: LaTex 23+1 pages, 4 figure
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