2,298 research outputs found
Cohomogeneity one manifolds and selfmaps of nontrivial degree
We construct natural selfmaps of compact cohomgeneity one manifolds with
finite Weyl group and compute their degrees and Lefschetz numbers. On manifolds
with simple cohomology rings this yields in certain cases relations between the
order of the Weyl group and the Euler characteristic of a principal orbit. We
apply our construction to the compact Lie group SU(3) where we extend identity
and transposition to an infinite family of selfmaps of every odd degree. The
compositions of these selfmaps with the power maps realize all possible degrees
of selfmaps of SU(3).Comment: v2, v3: minor improvement
High-field fMRI reveals brain activation patterns underlying saccade execution in the human superior colliculus
Background
The superior colliculus (SC) has been shown to play a crucial role in the initiation and coordination of eye- and head-movements. The knowledge about the function of this structure is mainly based on single-unit recordings in animals with relatively few neuroimaging studies investigating eye-movement related brain activity in humans.
Methodology/Principal Findings
The present study employed high-field (7 Tesla) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate SC responses during endogenously cued saccades in humans. In response to centrally presented instructional cues, subjects either performed saccades away from (centrifugal) or towards (centripetal) the center of straight gaze or maintained fixation at the center position. Compared to central fixation, the execution of saccades elicited hemodynamic activity within a network of cortical and subcortical areas that included the SC, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), occipital cortex, striatum, and the pulvinar.
Conclusions/Significance
Activity in the SC was enhanced contralateral to the direction of the saccade (i.e., greater activity in the right as compared to left SC during leftward saccades and vice versa) during both centrifugal and centripetal saccades, thereby demonstrating that the contralateral predominance for saccade execution that has been shown to exist in animals is also present in the human SC. In addition, centrifugal saccades elicited greater activity in the SC than did centripetal saccades, while also being accompanied by an enhanced deactivation within the prefrontal default-mode network. This pattern of brain activity might reflect the reduced processing effort required to move the eyes toward as compared to away from the center of straight gaze, a position that might serve as a spatial baseline in which the retinotopic and craniotopic reference frames are aligned
Exact Equal Time Statistics of Orszag-McLaughlin Dynamics By The Hopf Characteristic Functional Approach
By employing Hopf's functional method, we find the exact characteristic
functional for a simple nonlinear dynamical system introduced by Orszag.
Steady-state equal-time statistics thus obtained are compared to direct
numerical simulation. The solution is both non-trivial and strongly
non-Gaussian.Comment: 6 pages and 2 figure
Time-stepping approach for solving upper-bound problems: Application to two-dimensional Rayleigh-Benard convection
An alternative computational procedure for numerically solving a class of variational problems arising from rigorous upper-bound analysis of forced-dissipative infinite-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems, including the Navier-Stokes and Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations, is analyzed and applied to Rayleigh-Benard convection. A proof that the only steady state to which this numerical algorithm can converge is the required global optimal of the relevant variational problem is given for three canonical flow configurations. In contrast with most other numerical schemes for computing the optimal bounds on transported quantities (e.g., heat or momentum) within the "background field" variational framework, which employ variants of Newton's method and hence require very accurate initial iterates, the new computational method is easy to implement and, crucially, does not require numerical continuation. The algorithm is used to determine the optimal background-method bound on the heat transport enhancement factor, i.e., the Nusselt number (Nu), as a function of the Rayleigh number (Ra), Prandtl number (Pr), and domain aspect ratio L in two-dimensional Rayleigh-Benard convection between stress-free isothermal boundaries (Rayleigh's original 1916 model of convection). The result of the computation is significant because analyses, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations have suggested a range of exponents alpha and beta in the presumed Nu similar to (PrRa beta)-Ra-alpha scaling relation. The computations clearly show that for Ra <= 10(10) at fixed L = 2 root 2, Nu <= 0.106Pr(0)Ra(5/12), which indicates that molecular transport cannot generally be neglected in the "ultimate" high-Ra regime.NSF DMS-0928098 DMS-1515161 DMS-0927587 PHY-1205219Simons FoundationNSFONRInstitute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES
Weak in Space, Log in Time Improvement of the Lady{\v{z}}enskaja-Prodi-Serrin Criteria
In this article we present a Lady{\v{z}}enskaja-Prodi-Serrin Criteria for
regularity of solutions for the Navier-Stokes equation in three dimensions
which incorporates weak norms in the space variables and log improvement
in the time variable.Comment: 14 pages, to appea
Communication Disability in Fiji:Community Cultural Beliefs and Attitudes
Purpose: Beliefs about communication disability vary according to the cultural context, and influence people’s attitudes and help-seeking behaviour. Little is known about Fijians with communication disability or the communities in which they live, and specialist services for people with communication disability are yet to be established in Fiji. An understanding of Fijian beliefs about the causes of communication disability and attitudes towards people with communication disability may inform future service development.
Method: An interpretivist qualitative research paradigm and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework informed this project’s design. Scenarios of adults and children with communication disability were presented to 144 participants, randomly sampled across multiple public spaces in two Fiji cities. Thematic analysis of responses to 15 survey questions revealed participant beliefs about the causes and attitudes towards people with communication disability.
Results: Three clusters describing perceived causes emerged from the analysis - internal, external, and supernatural. Major clusters across child and adult scenarios were similar; however, response categories within the scenarios differed. Community attitudes to people with communication disability were predominantly negative. These community attitudes influenced individual participants’ beliefs about educational and employment opportunities for Fijians with communication disability.
Conclusion: Determination and acknowledgement of individuals’ belief systems informs development of culturally appropriate intervention programmes and health promotion activities.
Implications: Speech-language pathologists and other professionals working with Fijian communities should acknowledge community belief systems and develop culturally-specific health promotion activities, assessments, and interventions
Cutting the same fraction of several measures
We study some measure partition problems: Cut the same positive fraction of
measures in with a hyperplane or find a convex subset of
on which given measures have the same prescribed value. For
both problems positive answers are given under some additional assumptions.Comment: 7 pages 2 figure
Quasi-Gaussian Statistics of Hydrodynamic Turbulence in 3/4+\epsilon dimensions
The statistics of 2-dimensional turbulence exhibit a riddle: the scaling
exponents in the regime of inverse energy cascade agree with the K41 theory of
turbulence far from equilibrium, but the probability distribution functions are
close to Gaussian like in equilibrium. The skewness \C S \equiv
S_3(R)/S^{3/2}_2(R) was measured as \C S_{\text{exp}}\approx 0.03. This
contradiction is lifted by understanding that 2-dimensional turbulence is not
far from a situation with equi-partition of enstrophy, which exist as true
thermodynamic equilibrium with K41 exponents in space dimension of . We
evaluate theoretically the skewness \C S(d) in dimensions ,
show that \C S(d)=0 at , and that it remains as small as \C
S_{\text{exp}} in 2-dimensions.Comment: PRL, submitted, REVTeX 4, 4 page
Classification of integrable Weingarten surfaces possessing an sl(2)-valued zero curvature representation
In this paper we classify Weingarten surfaces integrable in the sense of
soliton theory. The criterion is that the associated Gauss equation possesses
an sl(2)-valued zero curvature representation with a nonremovable parameter.
Under certain restrictions on the jet order, the answer is given by a third
order ordinary differential equation to govern the functional dependence of the
principal curvatures. Employing the scaling and translation (offsetting)
symmetry, we give a general solution of the governing equation in terms of
elliptic integrals. We show that the instances when the elliptic integrals
degenerate to elementary functions were known to nineteenth century geometers.
Finally, we characterize the associated normal congruences
The general classical solution of the superparticle
The theory of vectors and spinors in 9+1 dimensional spacetime is introduced
in a completely octonionic formalism based on an octonionic representation of
the Clifford algebra \Cl(9,1). The general solution of the classical
equations of motion of the CBS superparticle is given to all orders of the
Grassmann hierarchy. A spinor and a vector are combined into a
Grassmann, octonionic, Jordan matrix in order to construct a superspace
variable to describe the superparticle. The combined Lorentz and supersymmetry
transformations of the fermionic and bosonic variables are expressed in terms
of Jordan products.Comment: 11 pages, REVTe
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