5,280 research outputs found
Impact-induced acceleration by obstacles
We explore a surprising phenomenon in which an obstruction accelerates,
rather than decelerates, a moving flexible object. It has been claimed that the
right kind of discrete chain falling onto a table falls \emph{faster} than a
free-falling body. We confirm and quantify this effect, reveal its complicated
dependence on angle of incidence, and identify multiple operative mechanisms.
Prior theories for direct impact onto flat surfaces, which involve a single
constitutive parameter, match our data well if we account for a characteristic
delay length that must impinge before the onset of excess acceleration. Our
measurements provide a robust determination of this parameter. This supports
the possibility of modeling such discrete structures as continuous bodies with
a complicated constitutive law of impact that includes angle of incidence as an
input.Comment: small changes and corrections, added reference
Digital health regulatory gaps in the United States
Digital health in the United States is rapidly and continuously evolving to enhance patient
care and revolutionize health care delivery. This technology offers substantial promise to
both patients and providers, but lacks a comprehensive regulatory structure to ensure adequate
safety and privacy. While the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food
and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission regulate portions of the
digital health industry, their oversight is incomplete, with numerous digital health companies
falling between the cracks and assuming an unregulated status. This article analyzes
the state of digital health legal and regulatory oversight in the United States, discusses how
state legislatures and industry organizations have worked to fill existing legal gaps, and
presents strategies for encouraging compliance for unregulated entities
The Nearby and Extremely Metal-Poor Galaxy CGCG 269-049
We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Spitzer Space Telescope images
and photometry of the extremely metal-poor (Z = 0.03 Z_sol) blue dwarf galaxy
CGCG 269-049. The HST images reveal a large population of red giant and
asymptotic giant branch stars, ruling out the possibility that the galaxy has
recently formed. From the magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch, we
measure a distance to CGCG 269-049 of only 4.9 +/- 0.4 Mpc. The spectral energy
distribution of the galaxy between ~3.6 - 70 microns is also best fitted by
emission from predominantly ~10 Gyr old stars, with a component of thermal dust
emission having a temperature of 52 +/- 10 K. The HST and Spitzer photometry
indicate that more than 60% of CGCG 269-049's stellar mass consists of stars
~10 Gyr old, similar to other local blue dwarf galaxies. Our HST H-alpha image
shows no evidence of a supernova-driven outflow that could be removing metals
from the galaxy, nor do we find evidence that such outflows occurred in the
past. Taken together with CGCG 269-049's large ratio of neutral hydrogen mass
to stellar mass (~10), these results are consistent with recent simulations in
which the metal deficiency of local dwarf galaxies results mainly from
inefficient star formation, rather than youth or the escape of supernova
ejecta.Comment: 35 Pages, 7 Figures, accepted for publication in ApJ; new version
corrects errors in Table 1, Figure 3, and related calculations in tex
An Exploratory Study of Forces and Frictions affecting Large-Scale Model-Driven Development
In this paper, we investigate model-driven engineering, reporting on an
exploratory case-study conducted at a large automotive company. The study
consisted of interviews with 20 engineers and managers working in different
roles. We found that, in the context of a large organization, contextual forces
dominate the cognitive issues of using model-driven technology. The four forces
we identified that are likely independent of the particular abstractions chosen
as the basis of software development are the need for diffing in software
product lines, the needs for problem-specific languages and types, the need for
live modeling in exploratory activities, and the need for point-to-point
traceability between artifacts. We also identified triggers of accidental
complexity, which we refer to as points of friction introduced by languages and
tools. Examples of the friction points identified are insufficient support for
model diffing, point-to-point traceability, and model changes at runtime.Comment: To appear in proceedings of MODELS 2012, LNCS Springe
Two-step Photoionization Of Potassium Atoms
The cross section for photoionization of potassium atoms in the 4P2 states has been measured in a triple-crossed-beam experiment. © 1978 The American Physical Society
Practical Methods for Continuous Gravitational Wave Detection using Pulsar Timing Data
Gravitational Waves (GWs) are tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time
predicted by Einstein's General Relativity. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are
well poised to detect low frequency ( -- Hz) GWs in the near
future. There has been a significant amount of research into the detection of a
stochastic background of GWs from supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs).
Recent work has shown that single continuous sources standing out above the
background may be detectable by PTAs operating at a sensitivity sufficient to
detect the stochastic background. The most likely sources of continuous GWs in
the pulsar timing frequency band are extremely massive and/or nearby SMBHBs. In
this paper we present detection strategies including various forms of matched
filtering and power spectral summing. We determine the efficacy and
computational cost of such strategies. It is shown that it is computationally
infeasible to use an optimal matched filter including the poorly constrained
pulsar distances with a grid based method. We show that an Earth-term-matched
filter constructed using only the correlated signal terms is both
computationally viable and highly sensitive to GW signals. This technique is
only a factor of two less sensitive than the computationally unrealizable
optimal matched filter and a factor of two more sensitive than a power spectral
summing technique. We further show that a pairwise matched filter, taking the
pulsar distances into account is comparable to the optimal matched filter for
the single template case and comparable to the Earth-term-matched filter for
many search templates. Finally, using simulated data optimal quality, we place
a theoretical minimum detectable strain amplitude of from
continuous GWs at frequencies on the order .Comment: submitted to Ap
Semi-classical limit and minimum decoherence in the Conditional Probability Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
The Conditional Probability Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics replaces the
abstract notion of time used in standard Quantum Mechanics by the time that can
be read off from a physical clock. The use of physical clocks leads to apparent
non-unitary and decoherence. Here we show that a close approximation to
standard Quantum Mechanics can be recovered from conditional Quantum Mechanics
for semi-classical clocks, and we use these clocks to compute the minimum
decoherence predicted by the Conditional Probability Interpretation.Comment: 8 pages, references adde
Photoionization Of The 6P32,122 Fine-structure Levels In Cesium
The relative photoionization cross sections for cesium atoms selectively excited to the 6P32,122 states have been measured in a triple-crossed-beam experiment. A cesium discharge lamp produced resonant wavelengths of 8521 and 8944 for the excitation process. A Hg-Xe lamp combined with a grating monochromator was used for the actual ionization in the wavelength region from 2500 to 5000. Background counts due to photoionization of ground-state cesium atoms and dimers as well as various surface effects were discriminated against by chopping the excitation light source. The data are compared with results from radiative-recombination measurements in which the fine-structure levels are not resolved and with recent model-potential calculations. The wavelength () dependence of the cross section indicates a 2 dependence at threshold (5000) and a 4 behavior at lower wavelengths. © 1975 The American Physical Society
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