Computability of the causal boundary by using isocausality

Recently, a new viewpoint on the classical c-boundary in Mathematical Relativity has been developed, the relations of this boundary with the conformal one and other classical boundaries have been analyzed, and its computation in some classes of spacetimes, as the standard stationary ones, has been carried out. In the present paper, we consider the notion of isocausality given by Garc\'ia-Parrado and Senovilla, and introduce a framework to carry out isocausal comparisons with standard stationary spacetimes. As a consequence, the qualitative behavior of the c-boundary (at the three levels: point set, chronology and topology) of a wide class of spacetimes, is obtained.Comment: 44 pages, 5 Figures, latex. Version with minor changes and the inclusion of Figure

Measuring attitude toward theistic faith : assessing the Astley-Francis Scale among Christian, Muslim and secular youth in England

Empirical research within the social scientific study of religion in general and within the psychology of religion in particular remains very conscious of the complex nature of its subject matter. Empirical research in this field needs to take cognisance of the many forms in which religion is expressed (say, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism) and the many facets within the forms (say, beliefs, behaviours and affiliation). Working in the 1970s, Francis (1978a; 1978b) advanced the view that the attitudinal dimension of religion offered a particularly fruitful basis for coordinating empirical enquiry into the correlates, antecedents and consequences of religiosity across the life span

Spectral Properties of the Generalized Spin-Fermion Models

In order to account for competition and interplay of localized and itinerant magnetic behaviour in correlated many body systems with complex spectra the various types of spin-fermion models have been considered in the context of the Irreducible Green's Functions (IGF) approach. Examples are generalized d-f model and Kondo-Heisenberg model. The calculations of the quasiparticle excitation spectra with damping for these models has been performed in the framework of the equation- of-motion method for two-time temperature Green's Functions within a non-perturbative approach. A unified scheme for the construction of Generalized Mean Fields (elastic scattering corrections) and self-energy (inelastic scattering) in terms of the Dyson equation has been generalized in order to include the presence of the two interacting subsystems of localized spins and itinerant electrons. A general procedure is given to obtain the quasiparticle damping in a self-consistent way. This approach gives the complete and compact description of quasiparticles and show the flexibility and richness of the generalized spin-fermion model concept.Comment: 37 pages, Late

Analytical reliability calculation of linear dynamical systems in higher dimensions

The recent application of reliability analysis to controller synthesis has created the need for a computationally efficient method for the estimation of the first excursion probabilities for linear dynamical systems in higher dimensions. Simulation methods cannot provide an adequate solution to this specific application, which involves numerical optimization of the system reliability with respect to the controller parameters, because the total computational time needed is still prohibitive. Instead, an analytical approach is presented in this paper. The problem reduces to the calculation of the conditional upcrossing rate at each surface of the failure boundary. The correlation between upcrossings of the failure surface for the different failure events may be addressed by the introduction of a multi-dimensional integral. An efficient algorithm is adopted for the numerical calculation of this integral. Also, the problem of approximation of the conditional upcrossing rate is discussed. For the latter there is no known theoretical solution. Three of the semi-empirical corrections that have been proposed previously for scalar processes are compared and it is shown that the correction should be based on the bandwidth characteristics of the system. Finally, examples that verify the validity of the analytical approximations for systems in higher dimensions are discussed

Toward a New Distance to the Active Galaxy NGC 4258: II. Centripetal Accelerations and Investigation of Spiral Structure

We report measurements of centripetal accelerations of maser spectral components of NGC 4258 for 51 epochs spanning 1994 to 2004. This is the second paper of a series, in which the goal is determination of a new geometric maser distance to NGC 4258 accurate to possibly ~3%. We measure accelerations using a formal analysis method that involves simultaneous decomposition of maser spectra for all epochs into multiple, Gaussian components. Components are coupled between epochs by linear drifts (accelerations) from their centroid velocities at a reference epoch. For high-velocity emission, accelerations lie in the range -0.7 to +0.7 km/s/yr indicating an origin within 13 degrees of the disk midline (the perpendicular to the line-of-sight to the black hole). Comparison of high-velocity emission projected positions in VLBI images, with those derived from acceleration data, provides evidence that masers trace real gas dynamics. High-velocity emission accelerations do not support a model of trailing shocks associated with spiral arms in the disk. However, we find strengthened evidence for spatial periodicity in high-velocity emission, of wavelength 0.75 mas. This supports suggestions of spiral structure due to density waves in the nuclear accretion disk of an active galaxy. Accelerations of low-velocity (systemic) emission lie in the range 7.7 to 8.9 km/s/yr, consistent with emission originating from a concavity where the thin, warped disk is tangent to the line-of-sight. A trend in accelerations of low-velocity emission as a function of Doppler velocity may be associated with disk geometry and orientation, or with the presence of spiral structure.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 48 pages and 20 figure

A Cavitation Susceptability Meter with Optical Cavitation Monitoring-Part One: Design Concepts

This work is concerned with the design of a Cavitation Susceptibility Meter based on the use of a venturi tube for the measurement of the active cavitation nuclei concentration in water samples as a function of the applied tension. The operation of the Cavitation Susceptibility Meter is analyzed and the main considerations leading to the proposed design are illustrated and critically discussed. The results of this analysis indicate that the operational range is mainly limited by nuclei interference, flow separation and saturation (choking), and suggest to develop a Cavitation Susceptibility Meter where; (1) the flow possesses a laminar potential core throughout the venturi throat section in all operational conditions; (b) the pressure at the venturi throat is determined from the upstream pressure and the local flow velocity; (c) the detection of cavitation and the measurement of the flow velocity are carried out optically by means of a Laser Doppler Velocimeter; (d) a custom-made electronic Signal Processor incorporating a frequency counter is used for real time data generation and temporary storage; (e) a computerized system performs the final acquisition and reduction of the data