4,001 research outputs found
A Serendipitous XMM-Newton Observation of the Intermediate Polar WX Pyx
We briefly describe a serendipitous observation of the little-studied
intermediate polar WX Pyx using XMM-Newton. The X-ray spin period is 1557.3
sec, confirming the optical period published in 1996. An orbital period of
approximately 5.54 hr is inferred from the separation of the spin-orbit
sidelobe components. The soft and hard band spin-folded light curves are nearly
sinusoidal in shape. The best-fit spectrum is consistent with a bremsstrahlung
temperature of about 18 keV. An upper limit of approximately 300 eV is assigned
to the presence of Fe line emission. WX Pyx lies near TX and TV Col in the
P_spin-P_orb plane.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figs; accepted A&A 2004 Dec
On the work distribution for the adiabatic compression of a dilute classical gas
We consider the adiabatic and quasi-static compression of a dilute classical
gas, confined in a piston and initially equilibrated with a heat bath. We find
that the work performed during this process is described statistically by a
gamma distribution. We use this result to show that the model satisfies the
non-equilibrium work and fluctuation theorems, but not the
flucutation-dissipation relation. We discuss the rare but dominant realizations
that contribute most to the exponential average of the work, and relate our
results to potentially universal work distributions.Comment: 4 page
Orientation and Alignment Echoes
We present what is probably the simplest classical system featuring the echo
phenomenon - a collection of randomly oriented free rotors with dispersed
rotational velocities. Following excitation by a pair of time-delayed impulsive
kicks, the mean orientation/alignment of the ensemble exhibits multiple echoes
and fractional echoes. We elucidate the mechanism of the echo formation by
kick-induced filamentation of phase space, and provide the first experimental
demonstration of classical alignment echoes in a thermal gas of CO_2 molecules
excited by a pair of femtosecond laser pulses
Synchronization and Redundancy: Implications for Robustness of Neural Learning and Decision Making
Learning and decision making in the brain are key processes critical to
survival, and yet are processes implemented by non-ideal biological building
blocks which can impose significant error. We explore quantitatively how the
brain might cope with this inherent source of error by taking advantage of two
ubiquitous mechanisms, redundancy and synchronization. In particular we
consider a neural process whose goal is to learn a decision function by
implementing a nonlinear gradient dynamics. The dynamics, however, are assumed
to be corrupted by perturbations modeling the error which might be incurred due
to limitations of the biology, intrinsic neuronal noise, and imperfect
measurements. We show that error, and the associated uncertainty surrounding a
learned solution, can be controlled in large part by trading off
synchronization strength among multiple redundant neural systems against the
noise amplitude. The impact of the coupling between such redundant systems is
quantified by the spectrum of the network Laplacian, and we discuss the role of
network topology in synchronization and in reducing the effect of noise. A
range of situations in which the mechanisms we model arise in brain science are
discussed, and we draw attention to experimental evidence suggesting that
cortical circuits capable of implementing the computations of interest here can
be found on several scales. Finally, simulations comparing theoretical bounds
to the relevant empirical quantities show that the theoretical estimates we
derive can be tight.Comment: Preprint, accepted for publication in Neural Computatio
Ultimate field-free molecular alignment by combined adiabatic-impulsive field design
We show that a laser pulse designed as an adiabatic ramp followed by a kick
allows one to reach a perfect postpulse molecular alignment, free of
saturation. The mechanism is based on an optimized distribution of the energy
between a weakly efficient but non saturating adiabatic ramp and an efficient
but saturating impulsive field. Unprecedent degrees of alignment are predicted
using state-of-the-art pulse shaping techniques and non-destructive field
intensities. The scheme can be extended to reach high degrees of orientation of
polar molecules using designed half-cycle pulses.Comment: 5 pages, 4 page
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