Efficiency and Nash Equilibria in a Scrip System for P2P Networks

A model of providing service in a P2P network is analyzed. It is shown that by adding a scrip system, a mechanism that admits a reasonable Nash equilibrium that reduces free riding can be obtained. The effect of varying the total amount of money (scrip) in the system on efficiency (i.e., social welfare) is analyzed, and it is shown that by maintaining the appropriate ratio between the total amount of money and the number of agents, efficiency is maximized. The work has implications for many online systems, not only P2P networks but also a wide variety of online forums for which scrip systems are popular, but formal analyses have been lacking

Strain-induced quantum dots by self-organized stressors

Novel in situ method to produce quantum dots is reported. Three‐dimensional confinement of carriers to a GaInAs/GaAs quantum welldots is observed by photoluminescence. The confinement potential is induced by stressors, formed by self‐organizing growth of InP nanoscale islands on top barrier GaAssurface. Two transitions arising from the strain‐induced quantum dots produced by two types of InP islands are identified. The luminescence from higher electronic states of the quantum dots having a level splitting of 8 meV is also observed.Peer reviewe

Multiagent Learning in Large Anonymous Games

In large systems, it is important for agents to learn to act effectively, but sophisticated multi-agent learning algorithms generally do not scale. An alternative approach is to find restricted classes of games where simple, efficient algorithms converge. It is shown that stage learning efficiently converges to Nash equilibria in large anonymous games if best-reply dynamics converge. Two features are identified that improve convergence. First, rather than making learning more difficult, more agents are actually beneficial in many settings. Second, providing agents with statistical information about the behavior of others can significantly reduce the number of observations needed.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. To Appear in Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent System

Distance Dependence of Nonadiabaticity in the Branching Between C–Br and C–Cl Bond Fission Following 1[n(O),π∗(C=O)] Excitation in Bromopropionyl Chloride

These experiments on bromopropionyl chloride investigate a system in which the barrier to C-Br fission on the lowest 1A\u27\u27 potential energy surface is formed from a weakly avoided electronic configuration crossing, so that nonadiabatic recrossing of the barrier to C-Br fission dramatically reduces the branching to C-Br fission. The results, when compared with earlier branching ratio measurements on bromoacetyl chloride, show that the additional intervening CH2 spacer in bromopropionyl chloride reduces the splitting between the adiabatic potential energy surfaces at the barrier to C-Br fission, further suppressing C-Br fission by over an order of magnitude. The experiment measures the photofragment velocity and angular distributions from the 248 nm photodissociation of Br (CH2)2COCl, determining the branching ratio between the competing primary C-Br and C-Cl fission pathways and detecting a minor C-C bond fission pathway. While the primary C-Cl:C-Br fission branching ratio is 1:2, the distribution of relative kinetic energies impar-ted to the C-Br fission fragments show that essentially no C-Br fission results from promoting the molecule to the lowest 1A\u27\u27 potential energy surface via the 1[n(O),pi*(C-O)] transition; C-Br fission only results from an overlapping electronic transition. The results differ markedly from the predictions of statistical transition state theories which rely on the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. While such models predict that, given comparable preexponential factors, the reaction pathway with the lowest energetic barrier on the 1A\u27\u27 surface, C-Br fission, should dominate, the experimental measurements show C-Cl bond fission dominates by a ratio of C-Cl:C-Br=1.0: \u3c0.05 upon excitation of the 1[n(O),pi*(C=O)] transition. We compare this result to earlier work on bromoacetyl chloride, which evidences a less dramatic reduction in the C-Br fission pathway (C-Cl:C-Br = 1.0:0.4) upon excitation of the same transition. We discuss a model in which increasing the distance between the C-Br and C=O chromophores decreases the electronic configuration interaction matrix elements which mix and split the 1n(O)pi*(C=O) and np(Br)sigma*(C-Br) configurations at the barrier to C-Br bond fission in bromopropionyl chloride. The smaller splitting between the adiabats at the barrier to C-Br fission increases the probability of nonadiabatic recrossing of the barrier, nearly completely suppressing C-Br bond fission in bromopropionyl chloride. Preliminary ah initio calculations of the adiabatic barrier heights and the electronic configuration interaction matrix elements which split the adiabats at the barrier to C-Br and C-Cl fission in both bromopropionyl chloride and bromoacetyl chloride support the interpretation of the experimental results. We end by identifying a class of reactions, those allowed by overall electronic symmetry but Woodward-Hoffmann forbidden, in which nonadiabatic recrossing of the reaction barrier should markedly reduce the rate constant, both for ground state and excited state surfaces

Infrared Nonlinear Optics

Contains reports on one research project.U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR-76-2894

The Role of Nonequilibrium Dynamical Screening in Carrier Thermalization

We investigate the role played by nonequilibrium dynamical screening in the thermalization of carriers in a simplified two-component two-band model of a semiconductor. The main feature of our approach is the theoretically sound treatment of collisions. We abandon Fermi's Golden rule in favor of a nonequilibrium field theoretic formalism as the former is applicable only in the long-time regime. We also introduce the concept of nonequilibrium dynamical screening. The dephasing of excitonic quantum beats as a result of carrier-carrier scattering is brought out. At low densities it is found that the dephasing times due to carrier-carrier scattering is in picoseconds and not femtoseconds, in agreement with experiments. The polarization dephasing rates are computed as a function of the excited carrier density and it is found that the dephasing rate for carrier-carrier scattering is proportional to the carrier density at ultralow densities. The scaling relation is sublinear at higher densities, which enables a comparison with experiment.Comment: Revised version with additional refs. 12 pages, figs. available upon request; Submitted to Phys. Rev.