34,899 research outputs found
Discrete Convex Functions on Graphs and Their Algorithmic Applications
The present article is an exposition of a theory of discrete convex functions
on certain graph structures, developed by the author in recent years. This
theory is a spin-off of discrete convex analysis by Murota, and is motivated by
combinatorial dualities in multiflow problems and the complexity classification
of facility location problems on graphs. We outline the theory and algorithmic
applications in combinatorial optimization problems
Once more on the Witten index of 3d supersymmetric YM-CS theory
The problem of counting the vacuum states in the supersymmetric 3d
Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory is reconsidered. We resolve the controversy
between its original calculation by Witten at large volumes and the calculation
based on the evaluation of the effective Lagrangian in the small volume limit.
We show that the latter calculation suffers from uncertainties associated with
the singularities in the moduli space of classical vacua where the
Born-Oppenheimer approximation breaks down. We also show that these
singularities can be accurately treated in the Hamiltonian Born-Oppenheimer
method, where one has to match carefully the effective wave functions on the
Abelian valley and the wave functions of reduced non-Abelian QM theory near the
singularities. This gives the same result as original Witten's calculation.Comment: 27 page
Are older people putting themselves at risk when using their walking frames?
Background Walking aids are issued to older adults to prevent falls, however, paradoxically their use has been identified as a risk factor for falling. To prevent falls, walking aids must be used in a stable manner, but it remains unknown to what extent associated clinical guidance is adhered to at home, and whether following guidance facilitates a stable walking pattern. It was the aim of this study to investigate adherence to guidance on walking frame use, and to quantify user stability whilst using walking frames. Additionally, we explored the views of users and healthcare professionals on walking aid use, and regarding the instrumented walking frames (âSmart Walkersâ) utilized in this study.
Methods This observational study used Smart Walkers and pressure-sensing insoles to investigate usage patterns of 17 older people in their home environment; corresponding video captured contextual information. Additionally, stability when following, or not, clinical guidance was quantified for a subset of users during walking in an Activities of Daily Living Flat and in a gait laboratory. Two focus groups (users, healthcare professionals) shared their experiences with walking aids and provided feedback on the Smart Walkers.
Results Incorrect use was observed for 16% of single support periods and for 29% of dual support periods, and was associated with environmental constraints and a specific frame design feature. Incorrect use was associated with reduced stability. Participants and healthcare professionals perceived the Smart Walker technology positively.
Conclusions Clinical guidance cannot easily be adhered to and self-selected strategies reduce stability, hence are placing the user at risk. Current guidance needs to be improved to address environmental constraints whilst facilitating stable walking. The research is highly relevant considering the rising number of walking aid users, their increased falls-risk, and the costs of falls.
Trial Registration Not applicable
Gauge links for transverse momentum dependent correlators at tree-level
In this paper we discuss the incorporation of gauge links in hadronic matrix
elements that describe the soft hadronic physics in high energy scattering
processes. In this description the matrix elements appear in soft correlators
and they contain non-local combinations of quark and gluon fields. In our
description we go beyond the collinear approach in which case also the
dependence on transverse momenta of partons is taken into consideration. The
non-locality in the transverse direction leads to a complex gauge link
structure for the full process, in which color is entangled, even at
tree-level. We show that at tree-level in a 1-parton unintegrated (1PU)
situation, in which only the transverse momentum of one of the initial state
hadrons is relevant, one can get a factorized expression involving transverse
momentum dependent (TMD) distribution functions. We point out problems at the
level of two initial state hadrons, even for relatively simple processes such
as Drell-Yan scattering.Comment: 25 pages, corrected typos and updated reference
Integrated plasmonic circuitry on a vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor laser platform
Integrated plasmonic sources and detectors are imperative in the practical development of plasmonic circuitry for bio- and chemical sensing, nanoscale optical information processing, as well as transducers for high-density optical data storage. Here we show that vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) can be employed as an on-chip, electrically pumped source or detector of plasmonic signals, when operated in forward or reverse bias, respectively. To this end, we experimentally demonstrate surface plasmon polariton excitation, waveguiding, frequency conversion and detection on a VCSEL-based plasmonic platform. The coupling efficiency of the VCSEL emission to waveguided surface plasmon polariton modes has been optimized using asymmetric plasmonic nanostructures. The plasmonic VCSEL platform validated here is a viable solution for practical realizations of plasmonic functionalities for various applications, such as those requiring sub-wavelength field confinement, refractive index sensitivity or optical near-field transduction with electrically driven sources, thus enabling the realization of on-chip optical communication and lab-on-a-chip devices
Ising Model Coupled to Three-Dimensional Quantum Gravity
We have performed Monte Carlo simulations of the Ising model coupled to
three-dimensional quantum gravity based on a summation over dynamical
triangulations. These were done both in the microcanonical ensemble, with the
number of points in the triangulation and the number of Ising spins fixed, and
in the grand canoncal ensemble. We have investigated the two possible cases of
the spins living on the vertices of the triangulation (``diect'' case) and the
spins living in the middle of the tetrahedra (``dual'' case). We observed phase
transitions which are probably second order, and found that the dual
implementation more effectively couples the spins to the quantum gravity.Comment: 11 page
An approach to computing downward closures
The downward closure of a word language is the set of all (not necessarily
contiguous) subwords of its members. It is well-known that the downward closure
of any language is regular. While the downward closure appears to be a powerful
abstraction, algorithms for computing a finite automaton for the downward
closure of a given language have been established only for few language
classes.
This work presents a simple general method for computing downward closures.
For language classes that are closed under rational transductions, it is shown
that the computation of downward closures can be reduced to checking a certain
unboundedness property.
This result is used to prove that downward closures are computable for (i)
every language class with effectively semilinear Parikh images that are closed
under rational transductions, (ii) matrix languages, and (iii) indexed
languages (equivalently, languages accepted by higher-order pushdown automata
of order 2).Comment: Full version of contribution to ICALP 2015. Comments welcom
Logarithmic mathematical morphology: a new framework adaptive to illumination changes
A new set of mathematical morphology (MM) operators adaptive to illumination
changes caused by variation of exposure time or light intensity is defined
thanks to the Logarithmic Image Processing (LIP) model. This model based on the
physics of acquisition is consistent with human vision. The fundamental
operators, the logarithmic-dilation and the logarithmic-erosion, are defined
with the LIP-addition of a structuring function. The combination of these two
adjunct operators gives morphological filters, namely the logarithmic-opening
and closing, useful for pattern recognition. The mathematical relation existing
between ``classical'' dilation and erosion and their logarithmic-versions is
established facilitating their implementation. Results on simulated and real
images show that logarithmic-MM is more efficient on low-contrasted information
than ``classical'' MM
Taming the zoo of supersymmetric quantum mechanical models
We show that in many cases nontrivial and complicated supersymmetric quantum
mechanical (SQM) models can be obtained from the simple model describing free
dynamics in flat complex space by two operations: (i) Hamiltonian reduction and
(ii) similarity transformation of the complex supercharges. We conjecture that
it is true for any SQM model.Comment: final version published in JHE
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