22,342 research outputs found
Surface Critical Behavior in Systems with Absorbing States
We present a general scaling theory for the surface critical behavior of
non-equilibrium systems with phase transitions into absorbing states. The
theory allows for two independent surface exponents which satisfy generalized
hyperscaling relations. As an application we study a generalized version of
directed percolation with two absorbing states. We find two distinct surface
universality classes associated with inactive and reflective walls. Our results
indicate that the exponents associated with these two surface universality
classes are closely connected.Comment: latex, 4 pages, to appear in PR
Fluctuations and correlations in population models with age structure
We study the population profile in a simple discrete time model of population
dynamics. Our model, which is closely related to certain ``bit-string'' models
of evolution, incorporates competition for resources via a population dependent
death probability, as well as a variable reproduction probability for each
individual as a function of age. We first solve for the steady-state of the
model in mean field theory, before developing analytic techniques to compute
Gaussian fluctuation corrections around the mean field fixed point. Our
computations are found to be in good agreement with Monte-Carlo simulations.
Finally we discuss how similar methods may be applied to fluctuations in
continuous time population models.Comment: 4 page
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Correlated modal mineralogy, aqueous alteration and oxygen isotope composition of CM Chondrites
In this study we move beyond defining alteration sequences in CM chondrites towards understanding the relationship between modal mineralogy, the extent of aqueous alteration and O-isotope compositions
Submodularity and Optimality of Fusion Rules in Balanced Binary Relay Trees
We study the distributed detection problem in a balanced binary relay tree,
where the leaves of the tree are sensors generating binary messages. The root
of the tree is a fusion center that makes the overall decision. Every other
node in the tree is a fusion node that fuses two binary messages from its child
nodes into a new binary message and sends it to the parent node at the next
level. We assume that the fusion nodes at the same level use the same fusion
rule. We call a string of fusion rules used at different levels a fusion
strategy. We consider the problem of finding a fusion strategy that maximizes
the reduction in the total error probability between the sensors and the fusion
center. We formulate this problem as a deterministic dynamic program and
express the solution in terms of Bellman's equations. We introduce the notion
of stringsubmodularity and show that the reduction in the total error
probability is a stringsubmodular function. Consequentially, we show that the
greedy strategy, which only maximizes the level-wise reduction in the total
error probability, is within a factor of the optimal strategy in terms of
reduction in the total error probability
Detection Performance in Balanced Binary Relay Trees with Node and Link Failures
We study the distributed detection problem in the context of a balanced
binary relay tree, where the leaves of the tree correspond to identical and
independent sensors generating binary messages. The root of the tree is a
fusion center making an overall decision. Every other node is a relay node that
aggregates the messages received from its child nodes into a new message and
sends it up toward the fusion center. We derive upper and lower bounds for the
total error probability as explicit functions of in the case where
nodes and links fail with certain probabilities. These characterize the
asymptotic decay rate of the total error probability as goes to infinity.
Naturally, this decay rate is not larger than that in the non-failure case,
which is . However, we derive an explicit necessary and sufficient
condition on the decay rate of the local failure probabilities
(combination of node and link failure probabilities at each level) such that
the decay rate of the total error probability in the failure case is the same
as that of the non-failure case. More precisely, we show that if and only if
The Relationship of Coronal Mass Ejections to Streamers
We have examined images from the Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph
(LASCO) to study the relationship of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) to coronal
streamers. We wish to test the suggestion (Low 1996) that CMEs arise from flux
ropes embedded in a streamer erupting, thus disrupting the streamer. The data
span a period of two years near sunspot minimum through a period of increased
activity as sunspot numbers increased. We have used LASCO data from the C2
coronagraph which records Thomson scattered white light from coronal electrons
at heights between 1.5 and 6R_sun. Maps of the coronal streamers have been
constructed from LASCO C2 observations at a height of 2.5R_sun at the east and
west limbs. We have superposed the corresponding positions of CMEs observed
with the C2 coronagraph onto the synoptic maps. We identified the different
kinds of signatures CMEs leave on the streamer structure at this height
(2.5R_sun). We find four types of CMEs with respect to their effect on
streamers:
1. CMEs that disrupt the streamer 2. CMEs that have no effect on the
streamer, even though they are related to it. 3. CMEs that create streamer-like
structures 4. CMEs that are latitudinally displaced from the streamer.
This is the most extensive observational study of the relation between CMEs
and streamers to date. Previous studies using SMM data have made the general
statement that CMEs are mostly associated with streamers, and that they
frequently disrupt it. However, we find that approximately 35% of the observed
CMEs bear no relation to the pre-existing streamer, while 46% have no effect on
the observed streamer, even though they appear to be related to it. Our
conclusions thus differ considerably from those of previous studies.Comment: Accepted, Journal of Geophysical Research. 8 figs, better versions at
http://www.science.gmu.edu/~prasads/streamer.htm
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