30,350 research outputs found
Measuring collaborative emergent behavior in multi-agent reinforcement learning
Multi-agent reinforcement learning (RL) has important implications for the
future of human-agent teaming. We show that improved performance with
multi-agent RL is not a guarantee of the collaborative behavior thought to be
important for solving multi-agent tasks. To address this, we present a novel
approach for quantitatively assessing collaboration in continuous spatial tasks
with multi-agent RL. Such a metric is useful for measuring collaboration
between computational agents and may serve as a training signal for
collaboration in future RL paradigms involving humans.Comment: 1st International Conference on Human Systems Engineering and Design,
6 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl
Broadband microwave burst produced by electron beams
Theoretical and experimental study of fast electron beams attracts a lot of
attention in the astrophysics and laboratory. In the case of solar flares the
problem of reliable beam detection and diagnostics is of exceptional
importance. This paper explores the fact that the electron beams moving oblique
to the magnetic field or along the field with some angular scatter around the
beam propagation direction can generate microwave continuum bursts via
gyrosynchrotron mechanism. The characteristics of the microwave bursts produced
by beams differ from those in case of isotropic or loss-cone distributions,
which suggests a new tool for quantitative diagnostics of the beams in the
solar corona. To demonstrate the potentiality of this tool, we analyze here a
radio burst occurred during an impulsive flare 1B/M6.7 on 10 March 2001 (AR
9368, N27W42). Based on detailed analysis of the spectral, temporal, and
spatial relationships, we obtained firm evidence that the microwave continuum
burst is produced by electron beams. For the first time we developed and
applied a new forward fitting algorithm based on exact gyrosynchrotron formulae
and employing both the total power and polarization measurements to solve the
inverse problem of the beam diagnostics. We found that the burst is generated
by a oblique beam in a region of reasonably strong magnetic field ( G) and the burst is observed at a quasi-transverse viewing angle. We
found that the life time of the emitting electrons in the radio source is
relatively short, s, consistent with a single reflection
of the electrons from a magnetic mirror at the foot point with the stronger
magnetic field. We discuss the implications of these findings for the electron
acceleration in flares and for beam diagnostics.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, accepted: 26 pages, 8 figure
Dynamics of vortices in weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensates
We study the dynamics of vortices in ideal and weakly interacting
Bose-Einstein condensates using a Ritz minimization method to solve the
two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. For different initial vortex
configurations we calculate the trajectories of the vortices. We find
conditions under which a vortex-antivortex pair annihilates and is created
again. For the case of three vortices we show that at certain times two
additional vortices may be created, which move through the condensate and
annihilate each other again. For a noninteracting condensate this process is
periodic, whereas for small interactions the essential features persist, but
the periodicity is lost. The results are compared to exact numerical solutions
of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation confirming our analytical findings.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, one reference updated, typos correcte
Evidence for vortex staircases in the whole angular range due to competing correlated pinning mechanisms
We analyze the angular dependence of the irreversible magnetization of
YBaCuO crystals with columnar defects inclined from the c-axis. At
high fields a sharp maximum centered at the tracks' direction is observed. At
low fields we identify a lock-in phase characterized by an angle-independent
pinning strength and observe an angular shift of the peak towards the c-axis
that originates in the material anisotropy. The interplay among columnar
defects, twins and ab-planes generates a variety of staircase structures. We
show that correlated pinning dominates for all field orientations.Comment: 9 figures, 4 figure
Measurement of the intrinsic damping constant in individual nanodisks of YIG and YIG{\textbar}Pt
We report on an experimental study on the spin-waves relaxation rate in two
series of nanodisks of diameter 300, 500 and 700~nm, patterned out of
two systems: a 20~nm thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) film grown by pulsed laser
deposition either bare or covered by 13~nm of Pt. Using a magnetic resonance
force microscope, we measure precisely the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth of
each individual YIG and YIG{\textbar}Pt nanodisks. We find that the linewidth
in the nanostructure is sensibly smaller than the one measured in the extended
film. Analysis of the frequency dependence of the spectral linewidth indicates
that the improvement is principally due to the suppression of the inhomogeneous
part of the broadening due to geometrical confinement, suggesting that only the
homogeneous broadening contributes to the linewidth of the nanostructure. For
the bare YIG nano-disks, the broadening is associated to a damping constant
. A 3 fold increase of the linewidth is observed for
the series with Pt cap layer, attributed to the spin pumping effect. The
measured enhancement allows to extract the spin mixing conductance found to be
for our
YIG(20nm){\textbar}Pt interface, thus opening large opportunities for the
design of YIG based nanostructures with optimized magnetic losses.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
A Frequency-Controlled Magnetic Vortex Memory
Using the ultra low damping NiMnSb half-Heusler alloy patterned into
vortex-state magnetic nano-dots, we demonstrate a new concept of non-volatile
memory controlled by the frequency. A perpendicular bias magnetic field is used
to split the frequency of the vortex core gyrotropic rotation into two distinct
frequencies, depending on the sign of the vortex core polarity inside
the dot. A magnetic resonance force microscope and microwave pulses applied at
one of these two resonant frequencies allow for local and deterministic
addressing of binary information (core polarity)
Pressure Induced Quantum Critical Point and Non-Fermi-Liquid Behavior in BaVS3
The phase diagram of BaVS3 is studied under pressure using resistivity
measurements. The temperature of the metal to nonmagnetic Mott insulator
transition decreases under pressure, and vanishes at the quantum critical point
p_cr=20kbar. We find two kinds of anomalous conducting states. The
high-pressure metallic phase is a non-Fermi liquid described by Delta rho = T^n
where n=1.2-1.3 at 1K < T < 60K. At p<p_cr, the transition is preceded by a
wide precursor region with critically increasing resistivity which we ascribe
to the opening of a soft Coulomb gap.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figures, problem with figure correcte
Transport of strong-coupling polarons in optical lattices
We study the transport of ultracold impurity atoms immersed in a
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and trapped in a tight optical lattice. Within
the strong-coupling regime, we derive an extended Hubbard model describing the
dynamics of the impurities in terms of polarons, i.e. impurities dressed by a
coherent state of Bogoliubov phonons. Using a generalized master equation based
on this microscopic model we show that inelastic and dissipative phonon
scattering results in (i) a crossover from coherent to incoherent transport of
impurities with increasing BEC temperature and (ii) the emergence of a net
atomic current across a tilted optical lattice. The dependence of the atomic
current on the lattice tilt changes from ohmic conductance to negative
differential conductance within an experimentally accessible parameter regime.
This transition is accurately described by an Esaki-Tsu-type relation with the
effective relaxation time of the impurities as a temperature-dependent
parameter.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure
<i>‘What retention’ means to me</i>: the position of the adult learner in student retention
Studies of student retention and progression overwhelmingly appear adopt definitions that place the institution, rather than the student, at the centre. Retention is most often conceived in terms of linear and continuous progress between institutionally identified start and end points.
This paper reports on research that considered data from 38 in-depth interviews conducted with individuals who had characteristics often associated with non-traditional engagement in higher education who between 2006 and 2010 had studied an ‘Introduction to HE’ module at one distance higher education institution, some of whom had progressed to further study at that institution, some of whom had not. The research deployed a life histories approach to seek a finer grained understanding of how individuals conceptualise their own learning journey and experience, in order to reflect on institutional conceptions of student retention.
The findings highlight potential anomalies hidden within institutional retention rates – large proportions of the interview participants who were not ‘retained’ by the institution reported successful progression to and in other learning institutions and environments, both formal and informal. Nearly all described positive perspectives on lifelong learning which were either engendered or improved by the learning undertaken. This attests to the complexity of individuals’ lives and provides clear evidence that institution-centric definitions of retention and progression are insufficient to create truly meaningful understanding of successful individual learning journeys and experiences. It is argued that only through careful consideration of the lived experience of students and a re-conception of measures of retention, will we be able to offer real insight into improving student retention
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