Efficiency of Nonlinear Particle Acceleration at Cosmic Structure Shocks

We have calculated the evolution of cosmic ray (CR) modified astrophysical shocks for a wide range of shock Mach numbers and shock speeds through numerical simulations of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) in 1D quasi- parallel plane shocks. The simulations include thermal leakage injection of seed CRs, as well as pre-existing, upstream CR populations. Bohm-like diffusion is assumed. We model shocks similar to those expected around cosmic structure pancakes as well as other accretion shocks driven by flows with upstream gas temperatures in the range $T_0=10^4-10^{7.6}$K and shock Mach numbers spanning $M_s=2.4-133$. We show that CR modified shocks evolve to time-asymptotic states by the time injected particles are accelerated to moderately relativistic energies (p/mc \gsim 1), and that two shocks with the same Mach number, but with different shock speeds, evolve qualitatively similarly when the results are presented in terms of a characteristic diffusion length and diffusion time. For these models the time asymptotic value for the CR acceleration efficiency is controlled mainly by shock Mach number. The modeled high Mach number shocks all evolve towards efficiencies $\sim 50$%, regardless of the upstream CR pressure. On the other hand, the upstream CR pressure increases the overall CR energy in moderate strength shocks ($M_s \sim {\rm a few}$). (abridged)Comment: 23 pages, 12 ps figures, accepted for Astrophysical Journal (Feb. 10, 2005

Estimating the Distribution of Random Parameters in a Diffusion Equation Forward Model for a Transdermal Alcohol Biosensor

We estimate the distribution of random parameters in a distributed parameter model with unbounded input and output for the transdermal transport of ethanol in humans. The model takes the form of a diffusion equation with the input being the blood alcohol concentration and the output being the transdermal alcohol concentration. Our approach is based on the idea of reformulating the underlying dynamical system in such a way that the random parameters are now treated as additional space variables. When the distribution to be estimated is assumed to be defined in terms of a joint density, estimating the distribution is equivalent to estimating the diffusivity in a multi-dimensional diffusion equation and thus well-established finite dimensional approximation schemes, functional analytic based convergence arguments, optimization techniques, and computational methods may all be employed. We use our technique to estimate a bivariate normal distribution based on data for multiple drinking episodes from a single subject.Comment: 10 page

Bogoliubov Hamiltonian as Derivative of Dirac Hamiltonian via Braid Relation

In this paper we discuss a new type of 4-dimensional representation of the braid group. The matrices of braid operations are constructed by q-deformation of Hamiltonians. One is the Dirac Hamiltonian for free electron with mass m, the other, which we find, is related to the Bogoliubov Hamiltonian for quasiparticles in $^3$He-B with the same free energy and mass being m/2. In the process, we choose the free q-deformation parameter as a special value in order to be consistent with the anyon description for fractional quantum Hall effect with $\nu = 1/2$.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figure

Amorphous metallizations for high-temperature semiconductor device applications

The initial results of work on a class of semiconductor metallizations which appear to hold promise as primary metallizations and diffusion barriers for high temperature device applications are presented. These metallizations consist of sputter-deposited films of high T sub g amorphous-metal alloys which (primarily because of the absence of grain boundaries) exhibit exceptionally good corrosion-resistance and low diffusion coefficients. Amorphous films of the alloys Ni-Nb, Ni-Mo, W-Si, and Mo-Si were deposited on Si, GaAs, GaP, and various insulating substrates. The films adhere extremely well to the substrates and remain amorphous during thermal cycling to at least 500 C. Rutherford backscattering and Auger electron spectroscopy measurements indicate atomic diffussivities in the 10 to the -19th power sq cm/S range at 450 C

Weak-localization and rectification current in non-diffusive quantum wires

We show that electron transport in disordered quantum wires can be described by a modified Cooperon equation, which coincides in form with the Dirac equation for the massive fermions in a 1+1 dimensional system. In this new formalism, we calculate the DC electric current induced by electromagnetic fields in quasi-one-dimensional rings. This current changes sign, from diamagnetic to paramagnetic, depending on the amplitude and frequency of the time-dependent external electromagnetic field.Comment: changed title, added more detail, to appear in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte

A Novel Method for the Solution of the Schroedinger Eq. in the Presence of Exchange Terms

In the Hartree-Fock approximation the Pauli exclusion principle leads to a Schroedinger Eq. of an integro-differential form. We describe a new spectral noniterative method (S-IEM), previously developed for solving the Lippman-Schwinger integral equation with local potentials, which has now been extended so as to include the exchange nonlocality. We apply it to the restricted case of electron-Hydrogen scattering in which the bound electron remains in the ground state and the incident electron has zero angular momentum, and we compare the acuracy and economy of the new method to three other methods. One is a non-iterative solution (NIEM) of the integral equation as described by Sams and Kouri in 1969. Another is an iterative method introduced by Kim and Udagawa in 1990 for nuclear physics applications, which makes an expansion of the solution into an especially favorable basis obtained by a method of moments. The third one is based on the Singular Value Decomposition of the exchange term followed by iterations over the remainder. The S-IEM method turns out to be more accurate by many orders of magnitude than any of the other three methods described above for the same number of mesh points.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Computational science and re-discovery: open-source implementations of ellipsoidal harmonics for problems in potential theory

We present two open-source (BSD) implementations of ellipsoidal harmonic expansions for solving problems of potential theory using separation of variables. Ellipsoidal harmonics are used surprisingly infrequently, considering their substantial value for problems ranging in scale from molecules to the entire solar system. In this article, we suggest two possible reasons for the paucity relative to spherical harmonics. The first is essentially historical---ellipsoidal harmonics developed during the late 19th century and early 20th, when it was found that only the lowest-order harmonics are expressible in closed form. Each higher-order term requires the solution of an eigenvalue problem, and tedious manual computation seems to have discouraged applications and theoretical studies. The second explanation is practical: even with modern computers and accurate eigenvalue algorithms, expansions in ellipsoidal harmonics are significantly more challenging to compute than those in Cartesian or spherical coordinates. The present implementations reduce the "barrier to entry" by providing an easy and free way for the community to begin using ellipsoidal harmonics in actual research. We demonstrate our implementation using the specific and physiologically crucial problem of how charged proteins interact with their environment, and ask: what other analytical tools await re-discovery in an era of inexpensive computation?Comment: 25 pages, 3 figure

Combinatorial Properties of Triangle-Free Rectangle Arrangements and the Squarability Problem

We consider arrangements of axis-aligned rectangles in the plane. A geometric arrangement specifies the coordinates of all rectangles, while a combinatorial arrangement specifies only the respective intersection type in which each pair of rectangles intersects. First, we investigate combinatorial contact arrangements, i.e., arrangements of interior-disjoint rectangles, with a triangle-free intersection graph. We show that such rectangle arrangements are in bijection with the 4-orientations of an underlying planar multigraph and prove that there is a corresponding geometric rectangle contact arrangement. Moreover, we prove that every triangle-free planar graph is the contact graph of such an arrangement. Secondly, we introduce the question whether a given rectangle arrangement has a combinatorially equivalent square arrangement. In addition to some necessary conditions and counterexamples, we show that rectangle arrangements pierced by a horizontal line are squarable under certain sufficient conditions.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, extended version of a paper to appear at the International Symposium on Graph Drawing and Network Visualization (GD) 201