325 research outputs found
Perturbed cones for analysis of uncertain multi-criteria optimization problems
AbstractPartial ordering of two quantities x and y (i.e., the ability to declare that x is better than y with respect to some decision criteria) can be stated mathematically as: x is better than y iff x−y∈K, where K is an ordering convex cone, not necessarily pointed. Cones can be very important in representing feasible domains (i.e., {Ax⩽b}=M+G, where M is a bounded convex hull of a finite number of points and G is a convex cone). We consider specific perturbations of the Cone of Feasible Directions, which lead to a better feasible solution with respect to some decision criteria. Such cones are introduced as a tool to mitigate and analyze the effects of input data uncertainty on the solution of a given problem. Properties of this cone provide a basis to prove necessary and sufficient conditions for stable/unstable unboundedness of the multi-criteria optimization problem
Spatially-resolved potential measurement with ion crystals
We present a method to measure potentials over an extended region using
one-dimensional ion crystals in a radio frequency (RF) ion trap. The
equilibrium spacings of the ions within the crystal allow the determination of
the external forces acting at each point. From this the overall potential, and
also potentials due to specific trap features, are calculated. The method can
be used to probe potentials near proximal objects in real time, and can be
generalized to higher dimensions.Comment: 7 pages (double spaced), 3 figure
A Quantitative Model of Energy Release and Heating by Time-dependent, Localized Reconnection in a Flare with a Thermal Loop-top X-ray Source
We present a quantitative model of the magnetic energy stored and then
released through magnetic reconnection for a flare on 26 Feb 2004. This flare,
well observed by RHESSI and TRACE, shows evidence of non-thermal electrons only
for a brief, early phase. Throughout the main period of energy release there is
a super-hot (T>30 MK) plasma emitting thermal bremsstrahlung atop the flare
loops. Our model describes the heating and compression of such a source by
localized, transient magnetic reconnection. It is a three-dimensional
generalization of the Petschek model whereby Alfven-speed retraction following
reconnection drives supersonic inflows parallel to the field lines, which form
shocks heating, compressing, and confining a loop-top plasma plug. The
confining inflows provide longer life than a freely-expanding or
conductively-cooling plasma of similar size and temperature. Superposition of
successive transient episodes of localized reconnection across a current sheet
produces an apparently persistent, localized source of high-temperature
emission. The temperature of the source decreases smoothly on a time scale
consistent with observations, far longer than the cooling time of a single
plug. Built from a disordered collection of small plugs, the source need not
have the coherent jet-like structure predicted by steady-state reconnection
models. This new model predicts temperatures and emission measure consistent
with the observations of 26 Feb 2004. Furthermore, the total energy released by
the flare is found to be roughly consistent with that predicted by the model.
Only a small fraction of the energy released appears in the super-hot source at
any one time, but roughly a quarter of the flare energy is thermalized by the
reconnection shocks over the course of the flare. All energy is presumed to
ultimately appear in the lower-temperature T<20 MK, post-flare loops
Predicting impacts of chemicals from organisms to ecosystem service delivery: A case study of endocrine disruptor effects on trout
We demonstrate how mechanistic modeling can be used to predict whether and how biological responses to chemicals at (sub)organismal levels in model species (i.e., what we typically measure) translate into impacts on ecosystem service delivery (i.e., what we care about). We consider a hypothetical case study of two species of trout, brown trout (Salmo trutta; BT) and greenback cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii stomias; GCT). These hypothetical populations live in a high-altitude river system and are exposed to human-derived estrogen (17α‑ethinyl estradiol, EE2), which is the bioactive estrogen in many contraceptives. We use the individual based model in STREAM to explore how seasonally varying concentrations of EE2 could influence male spawning and sperm quality. Resulting impacts on trout recruitment and the consequences of such for anglers and for the continued viability of populations of GCT (the state fish of Colorado) are explored. in STREAM incorporates seasonally varying river flow and temperature, fishing pressure, the influence of EE2 on species-specific demography, and inter-specific competition. The model facilitates quantitative exploration of the relative importance of endocrine disruption and inter-species competition on trout population dynamics. Simulations predicted constant EE2 loading to have more impacts on GCT than BT. However, increasing removal of BT by anglers can enhance the persistence of GCT and offset some of the negative effects of EE2. We demonstrate how models that quantitatively link impacts of chemicals and other stressors on individual survival, growth, and reproduction to consequences for populations and ecosystem service delivery, can be coupled with ecosystem service valuation. The approach facilitates interpretation of toxicity data in an ecological context and gives beneficiaries of ecosystem services amore explicit role in management decisions. Although challenges remain, this type of approach may be particularly helpful for site-specific risk assessments and those in which trade offs and synergies among ecosystem services need to be considered
Abundancia y Densidad de Larvas de Gasterópodos, Strombus gigas, S. costatus y S. pugilis en Cayo Albuquerque, Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina, Colombia
Recent Advances in Understanding Particle Acceleration Processes in Solar Flares
We review basic theoretical concepts in particle acceleration, with
particular emphasis on processes likely to occur in regions of magnetic
reconnection. Several new developments are discussed, including detailed
studies of reconnection in three-dimensional magnetic field configurations
(e.g., current sheets, collapsing traps, separatrix regions) and stochastic
acceleration in a turbulent environment. Fluid, test-particle, and
particle-in-cell approaches are used and results compared. While these studies
show considerable promise in accounting for the various observational
manifestations of solar flares, they are limited by a number of factors, mostly
relating to available computational power. Not the least of these issues is the
need to explicitly incorporate the electrodynamic feedback of the accelerated
particles themselves on the environment in which they are accelerated. A brief
prognosis for future advancement is offered.Comment: This is a chapter in a monograph on the physics of solar flares,
inspired by RHESSI observations. The individual articles are to appear in
Space Science Reviews (2011
Two lectures on color superconductivity
The first lecture provides an introduction to the physics of color
superconductivity in cold dense quark matter. The main color superconducting
phases are briefly described and their properties are listed. The second
lecture covers recent developments in studies of color superconducting phases
in neutral and beta-equilibrated matter. The properties of gapless color
superconducting phases are discussed.Comment: 56 pages, 9 figures. Minor corrections and references added. Lectures
delivered at the IARD 2004 conference, Saas Fee, Switzerland, June 12 - 19,
2004, and at the Helmholtz International Summer School and Workshop on Hot
points in Astrophysics and Cosmology, JINR, Dubna, Russia, August 2 - 13,
200
A Helicity-Based Method to Infer the CME Magnetic Field Magnitude in Sun and Geospace: Generalization and Extension to Sun-Like and M-Dwarf Stars and Implications for Exoplanet Habitability
Patsourakos et al. (Astrophys. J. 817, 14, 2016) and Patsourakos and
Georgoulis (Astron. Astrophys. 595, A121, 2016) introduced a method to infer
the axial magnetic field in flux-rope coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the
solar corona and farther away in the interplanetary medium. The method, based
on the conservation principle of magnetic helicity, uses the relative magnetic
helicity of the solar source region as input estimates, along with the radius
and length of the corresponding CME flux rope. The method was initially applied
to cylindrical force-free flux ropes, with encouraging results. We hereby
extend our framework along two distinct lines. First, we generalize our
formalism to several possible flux-rope configurations (linear and nonlinear
force-free, non-force-free, spheromak, and torus) to investigate the dependence
of the resulting CME axial magnetic field on input parameters and the employed
flux-rope configuration. Second, we generalize our framework to both Sun-like
and active M-dwarf stars hosting superflares. In a qualitative sense, we find
that Earth may not experience severe atmosphere-eroding magnetospheric
compression even for eruptive solar superflares with energies ~ 10^4 times
higher than those of the largest Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite (GOES) X-class flares currently observed. In addition, the two
recently discovered exoplanets with the highest Earth-similarity index, Kepler
438b and Proxima b, seem to lie in the prohibitive zone of atmospheric erosion
due to interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs), except when they possess planetary magnetic
fields that are much higher than that of Earth.Comment: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017SoPh..292...89
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