1,909 research outputs found
A semantical approach to equilibria and rationality
Game theoretic equilibria are mathematical expressions of rationality.
Rational agents are used to model not only humans and their software
representatives, but also organisms, populations, species and genes,
interacting with each other and with the environment. Rational behaviors are
achieved not only through conscious reasoning, but also through spontaneous
stabilization at equilibrium points.
Formal theories of rationality are usually guided by informal intuitions,
which are acquired by observing some concrete economic, biological, or network
processes. Treating such processes as instances of computation, we reconstruct
and refine some basic notions of equilibrium and rationality from the some
basic structures of computation.
It is, of course, well known that equilibria arise as fixed points; the point
is that semantics of computation of fixed points seems to be providing novel
methods, algebraic and coalgebraic, for reasoning about them.Comment: 18 pages; Proceedings of CALCO 200
Neutronic analysis of a dual He/LiPb coolant breeding blanket for DEMO
A conceptual design of a DEMO fusion reactor is being developed under the Spanish Breeding Blanket Technology Programme: TECNO_FUS based on a He/LiPb dual coolant blanket as reference design option. The following issues have been analyzed to address the demonstration of the neutronic reliability of this conceptual blanket design: power amplification capacity of the blanket, tritium breeding capability for fuel self-sufficiency, power deposition due to nuclear heating in superconducting coils and material damage (dpa, gas production) to estimate the operational life of the steel-made structural components in the blanket and vacuum vessel (VV). In order to optimize the shielding of the coils different combinations of water and steel have been considered for the gap of the VV. The used neutron source is based on an axi-symmetric 2D fusion reaction profile for the given plasma equilibrium configuration. MCNPX has been used for transport calculations and ACAB has been used to handle gas production and damage energy cross sections
Sediment compaction rates and subsidence in deltaic plains : numerical constraints and stratigraphic influences
This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Basin Research 19 (2007): 19-31, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2117.2006.00310.x.Natural sediment compaction in deltaic plains influences subsidence rates and the evolution of deltaic morphology. Determining compaction rates requires detailed knowledge of subsurface geotechnical properties and depositional history, neither of which is often readily available. To overcome this lack of knowledge, we numerically forward model the incremental sedimentation and compaction of stochastically generated stratigraphies with geotechnical properties typical of modern depositional environments in the Mississippi River delta plain. Using a Monte Carlo approach, the range of probable compaction rates for stratigraphies with compacted thicknesses <150 m and accumulation times <20 kyr. varies, but maximum values rarely exceed a few mm yr-1. The fastest compacting stratigraphies are composed primarily of peat and bar sand, whereas the slowest compacting stratigraphies are composed of prodelta mud and natural levee deposits. These results suggest that compaction rates can significantly influence vertical and lateral stratigraphic trends during deltaic evolution
Scaled Correlations of Critical Points of Random Sections on Riemann Surfaces
In this paper we prove that as N goes to infinity, the scaling limit of the
correlation between critical points z1 and z2 of random holomorphic sections of
the N-th power of a positive line bundle over a compact Riemann surface tends
to 2/(3pi^2) for small sqrt(N)|z1-z2|. The scaling limit is directly calculated
using a general form of the Kac-Rice formula and formulas and theorems of Pavel
Bleher, Bernard Shiffman, and Steve Zelditch.Comment: 55 pages. LaTeX. output.txt is the output of running
heisenberg_simpler.mpl through maple. heisenberg_simpler.mpl can be run by
maple at the command line by saying 'maple -q heisenberg_simpler.mpl' to see
the maple calculations that generated the matrices U(t) and D(t) described in
the paper's appendix. It may also be run by opening it with GUI mapl
A measurement of the axial form factor of the nucleon by the p(e,e'pi+)n reaction at W=1125 MeV
The reaction p(e,e'pi+)n was measured at the Mainz Microtron MAMI at an
invariant mass of W=1125 MeV and four-momentum transfers of Q^2=0.117, 0.195
and 0.273 (GeV/c)^2. For each value of Q^2, a Rosenbluth separation of the
transverse and longitudinal cross sections was performed. An effective
Lagrangian model was used to extract the `axial mass' from experimental data.
We find a value of M_A=(1.077+-0.039) GeV which is (0.051+-0.044) GeV larger
than the axial mass known from neutrino scattering experiments. This is
consistent with recent calculations in chiral perturbation theory.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, uses elsart.cl
Equidistribution of zeros of holomorphic sections in the non compact setting
We consider N-tensor powers of a positive Hermitian line bundle L over a
non-compact complex manifold X. In the compact case, B. Shiffman and S.
Zelditch proved that the zeros of random sections become asymptotically
uniformly distributed with respect to the natural measure coming from the
curvature of L, as N tends to infinity. Under certain boundedness assumptions
on the curvature of the canonical line bundle of X and on the Chern form of L
we prove a non-compact version of this result. We give various applications,
including the limiting distribution of zeros of cusp forms with respect to the
principal congruence subgroups of SL2(Z) and to the hyperbolic measure, the
higher dimensional case of arithmetic quotients and the case of orthogonal
polynomials with weights at infinity. We also give estimates for the speed of
convergence of the currents of integration on the zero-divisors.Comment: 25 pages; v.2 is a final update to agree with the published pape
Learning Objects, Learning Objectives and Learning Design.
Educational research and development into e-learning mainly focuses on the inclusion of new technological features without taking into account psycho-pedagogical concerns that are likely to improve a learner's cognitive process in this new educational category. This paper presents an instructional model that combines objectivist and constructivist learning theories. The model is based on the concept of a learning objective which is composed of a set of learning objects. A software tool, called the Instruction Aid System (IAS), has been developed to guide instructors through the development of learning objectives and the execution of the analysis and design phases of the proposed instructional model. Additionally, a blended approach to the learning process in Web-based distance education is also presented. This approach combines various event-based activities: self-paced learning, live e-learning and the use of face-to-face contact in classrooms
Relativistic Hydrodynamic Evolutions with Black Hole Excision
We present a numerical code designed to study astrophysical phenomena
involving dynamical spacetimes containing black holes in the presence of
relativistic hydrodynamic matter. We present evolutions of the collapse of a
fluid star from the onset of collapse to the settling of the resulting black
hole to a final stationary state. In order to evolve stably after the black
hole forms, we excise a region inside the hole before a singularity is
encountered. This excision region is introduced after the appearance of an
apparent horizon, but while a significant amount of matter remains outside the
hole. We test our code by evolving accurately a vacuum Schwarzschild black
hole, a relativistic Bondi accretion flow onto a black hole, Oppenheimer-Snyder
dust collapse, and the collapse of nonrotating and rotating stars. These
systems are tracked reliably for hundreds of M following excision, where M is
the mass of the black hole. We perform these tests both in axisymmetry and in
full 3+1 dimensions. We then apply our code to study the effect of the stellar
spin parameter J/M^2 on the final outcome of gravitational collapse of rapidly
rotating n = 1 polytropes. We find that a black hole forms only if J/M^2<1, in
agreement with previous simulations. When J/M^2>1, the collapsing star forms a
torus which fragments into nonaxisymmetric clumps, capable of generating
appreciable ``splash'' gravitational radiation.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, submitted to PR
Post-Newtonian SPH calculations of binary neutron star coalescence. II. Binary mass ratio, equation of state, and spin dependence
Using our new Post-Newtonian SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) code, we
study the final coalescence and merging of neutron star (NS) binaries. We vary
the stiffness of the equation of state (EOS) as well as the initial binary mass
ratio and stellar spins. Results are compared to those of Newtonian
calculations, with and without the inclusion of the gravitational radiation
reaction. We find a much steeper decrease in the gravity wave peak strain and
luminosity with decreasing mass ratio than would be predicted by simple
point-mass formulae. For NS with softer EOS (which we model as simple
polytropes) we find a stronger gravity wave emission, with a
different morphology than for stiffer EOS (modeled as polytropes as
in our previous work). We also calculate the coalescence of NS binaries with an
irrotational initial condition, and find that the gravity wave signal is
relatively suppressed compared to the synchronized case, but shows a very
significant second peak of emission. Mass shedding is also greatly reduced, and
occurs via a different mechanism than in the synchronized case. We discuss the
implications of our results for gravity wave astronomy with laser
interferometers such as LIGO, and for theoretical models of gamma-ray bursts
(GRBs) based on NS mergers.Comment: RevTeX, 38 pages, 24 figures, Minor Corrections, to appear in Phys.
Rev.
Post-Newtonian SPH calculations of binary neutron star coalescence. I. Method and first results
We present the first results from our Post-Newtonian (PN) Smoothed Particle
Hydrodynamics (SPH) code, which has been used to study the coalescence of
binary neutron star (NS) systems. The Lagrangian particle-based code
incorporates consistently all lowest-order (1PN) relativistic effects, as well
as gravitational radiation reaction, the lowest-order dissipative term in
general relativity. We test our code on sequences of single NS models of
varying compactness, and we discuss ways to make PN simulations more relevant
to realistic NS models. We also present a PN SPH relaxation procedure for
constructing equilibrium models of synchronized binaries, and we use these
equilibrium models as initial conditions for our dynamical calculations of
binary coalescence. Though unphysical, since tidal synchronization is not
expected in NS binaries, these initial conditions allow us to compare our PN
work with previous Newtonian results.
We compare calculations with and without 1PN effects, for NS with stiff
equations of state, modeled as polytropes with . We find that 1PN
effects can play a major role in the coalescence, accelerating the final
inspiral and causing a significant misalignment in the binary just prior to
final merging. In addition, the character of the gravitational wave signal is
altered dramatically, showing strong modulation of the exponentially decaying
waveform near the end of the merger. We also discuss briefly the implications
of our results for models of gamma-ray bursts at cosmological distances.Comment: RevTeX, 37 pages, 17 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. D, minor
corrections onl
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