1,079 research outputs found
Hastings-Levitov aggregation in the small-particle limit
We establish some scaling limits for a model of planar aggregation. The model is described by the composition of a sequence of independent and identically distributed random conformal maps, each corresponding to the addition of one particle. We study the limit of small particle size and rapid aggregation. The process of growing clusters converges, in the sense of Caratheodory, to an inflating disc. A more refined analysis reveals, within the cluster, a tree structure of branching fingers, whose radial component increases deterministically with time. The arguments of any finite sample of fingers, tracked inwards, perform coalescing Brownian motions. The arguments of any finite sample of gaps between the fingers, tracked outwards, also perform coalescing Brownian motions. These properties are closely related to the evolution of harmonic measure on the boundary of the cluster, which is shown to converge to the Brownian web
One-neutron halo structure by the ratio method
We present a new observable to study halo nuclei. This new observable is a
particular ratio of angular distributions for elastic breakup and scattering.
For one-neutron halo nuclei, it is shown to be independent of the reaction
mechanism and to provide significant information about the structure of the
projectile, including binding energy, partial-wave configuration, and radial
wave function of the halo. This observable offers new capabilities for the
study of nuclear structure far from stability.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
From Greenland to Canada in Ten Days: Tracks of Bowhead Whales, Balaena mysticetus, across Baffin Bay
Five bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were instrumented with satellite transmitters in northwestern Disko Bay, West Greenland, in May 2001. Best results were obtained when tags were deployed with a pole rather than a pneumatic gun. At least three of the tagged whales remained in the northwestern part of the bay for one to two weeks after tagging. A male and a female whale moved from Disko Bay to northern Canada. They left Disko Bay 11 days apart and took different routes across Baffin Bay to the southern part of the North Water polynya, just east of the entrance to Lancaster Sound. The whales crossed the central part of Baffin Bay relatively rapidly (travel time of 9-10 days, 3.1 and 4.5 km/h). Dive behaviour of one whale was monitored and showed changes in dive depths, dive rates, and surfacing times in different localities, indicating behavioural changes probably related to feeding. The whales were presumably feeding in both Disko Bay in May and in the southern part of the North Water (southeast of Bylot Island) in June. This study confirms whalers' observations that bowhead whales move between West Greenland and the east coast of Baffin Island.En mai 2001, cinq baleines boréales (Balaena mysticetus) ont été équipées d'émetteurs spatiaux dans le nord-ouest de la baie de Disko (Groenland occidental). Les meilleurs résultats ont été obtenus lorsque les marqueurs ont été apposés avec une perche plutôt qu'avec un fusil à air comprimé. Au moins trois des baleines marquées sont restées dans la partie nord-ouest de la baie pendant une à deux semaines après le marquage. Deux individus, un mâle et une femelle, se sont déplacés de la baie de Disko au nord du Canada. Ils ont quitté la baie à 11 jours d'écart et ont emprunté des trajets différents pour traverser la baie de Baffin et rejoindre la partie méridionale de la polynie de l'Eau du Nord, située juste à l'est de l'entrée du détroit de Lancaster. Les baleines ont traversé la partie centrale de la baie de Baffin assez vite (en 9 et 10 jours, soit 3,1 et 4,5 km/h). On a suivi le comportement de plongée d'une baleine, qui a montré des changements dans la profondeur des plongées, leur fréquence et le temps en surface à divers endroits, révélant des modifications du comportement probablement associées au nourrissage. On suppose que les baleines s'alimentaient dans la baie de Disko en mai aussi bien que dans la partie méridionale de l'Eau du Nord (au sud-est de l'île Bylot) en juin. Cette étude confirme les observations des baleiniers à l'effet que les baleines boréales se déplacent entre l'ouest du Groenland et la côte est de l'île de Baffin
Strongly bound mesons at finite temperature and in magnetic fields from AdS/CFT
We study mesons in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory with fundamental flavors added
at large 't Hooft coupling using the gauge/gravity correspondence. High-spin
mesons are well described by using semiclassical string configurations. We
determine the meson spectrum at finite temperature and in a background magnetic
field.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures; v2: references adde
The growth companies puzzle: can growth opportunities measures predict firm growth?
While numerous empirical studies include proxies for growth opportunities in their analyses, there is limited evidence as to the validity of the various growth proxies used. Based on a sample of 1942 firm-years for listed UK companies over the 1990-2004 period, we assess the performance of eight growth opportunities measures. Our results show that while all the growth measures show some ability to predict growth in company sales, total assets, or equity, there are substantial differences between the various models. In particular, Tobin's Q performs poorly while dividend-based measures generally perform best. However, none of the measures has any success in predicting earnings per share growth, even when controlling for mean reversion and other time-series patterns in earnings. We term this the 'growth companies puzzle'. Growth companies do grow, but they do not grow in the key dimension (earnings) theory predicts. Whether the failure of 'growth companies' to deliver superior earnings growth is attributable to increased competition, poor investments, or behavioural biases, it is still a puzzle why growth companies on average fail to deliver superior earnings growth
Scaling exponent of the maximum growth probability in diffusion-limited aggregation
An early (and influential) scaling relation in the multifractal theory of
Diffusion Limited Aggregation(DLA) is the Turkevich-Scher conjecture that
relates the exponent \alpha_{min} that characterizes the ``hottest'' region of
the harmonic measure and the fractal dimension D of the cluster, i.e.
D=1+\alpha_{min}. Due to lack of accurate direct measurements of both D and
\alpha_{min} this conjecture could never be put to serious test. Using the
method of iterated conformal maps D was recently determined as D=1.713+-0.003.
In this Letter we determine \alpha_{min} accurately, with the result
\alpha_{min}=0.665+-0.004. We thus conclude that the Turkevich-Scher conjecture
is incorrect for DLA.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Topological Defects, Orientational Order, and Depinning of the Electron Solid in a Random Potential
We report on the results of molecular dynamics simulation (MD) studies of the
classical two-dimensional electron crystal in the presence disorder. Our study
is motivated by recent experiments on this system in modulation doped
semiconductor systems in very strong magnetic fields, where the magnetic length
is much smaller than the average interelectron spacing , as well as by
recent studies of electrons on the surface of helium. We investigate the low
temperature state of this system using a simulated annealing method. We find
that the low temperature state of the system always has isolated dislocations,
even at the weakest disorder levels investigated. We also find evidence for a
transition from a hexatic glass to an isotropic glass as the disorder is
increased. The former is characterized by quasi-long range orientational order,
and the absence of disclination defects in the low temperature state, and the
latter by short range orientational order and the presence of these defects.
The threshold electric field is also studied as a function of the disorder
strength, and is shown to have a characteristic signature of the transition.
Finally, the qualitative behavior of the electron flow in the depinned state is
shown to change continuously from an elastic flow to a channel-like, plastic
flow as the disorder strength is increased.Comment: 31 pages, RevTex 3.0, 15 figures upon request, accepted for
publication in Phys. Rev. B., HAF94MD
Convergence of the critical attractor of dissipative maps: Log-periodic oscillations, fractality and nonextensivity
For a family of logistic-like maps, we investigate the rate of convergence to
the critical attractor when an ensemble of initial conditions is uniformly
spread over the entire phase space. We found that the phase space volume
occupied by the ensemble W(t) depicts a power-law decay with log-periodic
oscillations reflecting the multifractal character of the critical attractor.
We explore the parametric dependence of the power-law exponent and the
amplitude of the log-periodic oscillations with the attractor's fractal
dimension governed by the inflexion of the map near its extremal point.
Further, we investigate the temporal evolution of W(t) for the circle map whose
critical attractor is dense. In this case, we found W(t) to exhibit a rich
pattern with a slow logarithmic decay of the lower bounds. These results are
discussed in the context of nonextensive Tsallis entropies.Comment: 8 pages and 8 fig
Spatial representation of temporal information through spike timing dependent plasticity
We suggest a mechanism based on spike time dependent plasticity (STDP) of
synapses to store, retrieve and predict temporal sequences. The mechanism is
demonstrated in a model system of simplified integrate-and-fire type neurons
densely connected by STDP synapses. All synapses are modified according to the
so-called normal STDP rule observed in various real biological synapses. After
conditioning through repeated input of a limited number of of temporal
sequences the system is able to complete the temporal sequence upon receiving
the input of a fraction of them. This is an example of effective unsupervised
learning in an biologically realistic system. We investigate the dependence of
learning success on entrainment time, system size and presence of noise.
Possible applications include learning of motor sequences, recognition and
prediction of temporal sensory information in the visual as well as the
auditory system and late processing in the olfactory system of insects.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, completely revised and augmented versio
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