7,478 research outputs found
A numerical model of twin disc test arrangement for the evaluation of railway wheel wear prediction methods
Twin disc tests are commonly used to study wear in railway materials. In this work the implementation of a numerical model of the twin disc arrangement is given, which reproduces the distribution of tangential forces over the contact patch between the two discs. Wear is subsequently calculated by relating the forces and creepage between the two discs using three different wear functions found in the literature. The resulting wear rates are compared with experimental data for discs made of common railway wheel and rail steels. This allows a comparison and assessment of the validity of the different wear algorithms considered
Spanning tree generating functions and Mahler measures
We define the notion of a spanning tree generating function (STGF) , which gives the spanning tree constant when evaluated at and gives
the lattice Green function (LGF) when differentiated. By making use of known
results for logarithmic Mahler measures of certain Laurent polynomials, and
proving new results, we express the STGFs as hypergeometric functions for all
regular two and three dimensional lattices (and one higher-dimensional
lattice). This gives closed form expressions for the spanning tree constants
for all such lattices, which were previously largely unknown in all but one
three-dimensional case. We show for all lattices that these can also be
represented as Dirichlet -series. Making the connection between spanning
tree generating functions and lattice Green functions produces integral
identities and hypergeometric connections, some of which appear to be new.Comment: 26 pages. Dedicated to F Y Wu on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
This version has additional references, additional calculations, and minor
correction
A combinatorial approach to knot recognition
This is a report on our ongoing research on a combinatorial approach to knot
recognition, using coloring of knots by certain algebraic objects called
quandles. The aim of the paper is to summarize the mathematical theory of knot
coloring in a compact, accessible manner, and to show how to use it for
computational purposes. In particular, we address how to determine colorability
of a knot, and propose to use SAT solving to search for colorings. The
computational complexity of the problem, both in theory and in our
implementation, is discussed. In the last part, we explain how coloring can be
utilized in knot recognition
Evolution of InAs branches in InAs/GaAs nanowire heterostructures
Branched nanowireheterostructures of InAs∕GaAs were observed during Au-assisted growth of InAs on GaAsnanowires. The evolution of these branches has been determined through detailed electron microscopy characterization with the following sequence: (1) in the initial stage of InAsgrowth, the Au droplet is observed to slide down the side of the GaAsnanowire, (2) the downward movement of Aunanoparticle later terminates when the nanoparticle encounters InAsgrowing radially on the GaAsnanowire sidewalls, and (3) with further supply of In and As vapor reactants, the Aunanoparticles assist the formation of InAs branches with a well-defined orientation relationship with GaAs∕InAs core/shell stems. We anticipate that these observations advance the understanding of the kink formation in axial nanowireheterostructures.The Australian Research Council is acknowledged for
the financial support of this project. One of the authors
M.P. acknowledges the support of an International Postgraduate
Research Scholarship
Two-point correlation properties of stochastic "cloud processes''
We study how the two-point density correlation properties of a point particle
distribution are modified when each particle is divided, by a stochastic
process, into an equal number of identical "daughter" particles. We consider
generically that there may be non-trivial correlations in the displacement
fields describing the positions of the different daughters of the same "mother"
particle, and then treat separately the cases in which there are, or are not,
correlations also between the displacements of daughters belonging to different
mothers. For both cases exact formulae are derived relating the structure
factor (power spectrum) of the daughter distribution to that of the mother.
These results can be considered as a generalization of the analogous equations
obtained in ref. [1] (cond-mat/0409594) for the case of stochastic displacement
fields applied to particle distributions. An application of the present results
is that they give explicit algorithms for generating, starting from regular
lattice arrays, stochastic particle distributions with an arbitrarily high
degree of large-scale uniformity.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Comorbidity and Quality of Life in Adults with Hair Pulling Disorder
Hair pulling disorder (HPD; trichotillomania) is thought to be associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity and functional impairment. However, few methodologically rigorous studies of HPD have been conducted, rendering such conclusions tenuous. The following study examined comorbidity and psychosocial functioning in a well-characterized sample of adults with HPD (N=85) who met DSM-IV criteria, had at least moderate hair pulling severity, and participated in a clinical trial. Results revealed that 38.8% of individuals with HPD had another current psychiatric diagnosis and 78.8% had another lifetime (present and/or past) psychiatric diagnosis. Specifically, HPD showed substantial overlap with depressive, anxiety, addictive, and other body-focused repetitive behavior disorders. The relationships between certain comorbidity patterns, hair pulling severity, current mood and anxiety symptoms, and quality of life were also examined. Results showed that current depressive symptoms were the only predictor of quality of life deficits. Implications of these findings for the conceptualization and treatment of HPD are discussed
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