12,512 research outputs found
Asymptotic Derivation and Numerical Investigation of Time-Dependent Simplified Pn Equations
The steady-state simplified Pn (SPn) approximations to the linear Boltzmann
equation have been proven to be asymptotically higher-order corrections to the
diffusion equation in certain physical systems. In this paper, we present an
asymptotic analysis for the time-dependent simplified Pn equations up to n = 3.
Additionally, SPn equations of arbitrary order are derived in an ad hoc way.
The resulting SPn equations are hyperbolic and differ from those investigated
in a previous work by some of the authors. In two space dimensions, numerical
calculations for the Pn and SPn equations are performed. We simulate neutron
distributions of a moving rod and present results for a benchmark problem,
known as the checkerboard problem. The SPn equations are demonstrated to yield
significantly more accurate results than diffusion approximations. In addition,
for sufficiently low values of n, they are shown to be more efficient than Pn
models of comparable cost.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figure
Wake vortex encounter hazards criteria for two aircraft classes
An investigation was conducted using a piloted, motion-base simulator to determine wake vortex hazard criteria for two classes of jet transport aircraft. A light business jet and a large multiengine jet transport were represented respectively. The hazard boundaries were determined in terms of the maximum bank angle due to the vortex encounter. Upsets as small as 7 deg in bank angle were considered to be hazardous at breakout altitude (200 ft (61.0 m)) for Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) and at 50 ft (15.2 m) for Visual Flight Rule (VFR) for both aircraft classes. Proximity to the ground was the primary reason for a hazardous rating. This was reflected in the reduction in the maximum bank angle at the hazard boundary and in more consistent ratings as altitude was decreased
Validation of a smartphone app to map social networks of proximity
Social network analysis is a prominent approach to investigate interpersonal
relationships. Most studies use self-report data to quantify the connections
between participants and construct social networks. In recent years smartphones
have been used as an alternative to map networks by assessing the proximity
between participants based on Bluetooth and GPS data. While most studies have
handed out specially programmed smartphones to study participants, we developed
an application for iOS and Android to collect Bluetooth data from participants
own smartphones. In this study, we compared the networks estimated with the
smartphone app to those obtained from sociometric badges and self-report data.
Participants (n=21) installed the app on their phone and wore a sociometric
badge during office hours. Proximity data was collected for 4 weeks. A
contingency table revealed a significant association between proximity data
(rho = 0.17, p<0.0001), but the marginal odds were higher for the app (8.6%)
than for the badges (1.3%), indicating that dyads were more often detected by
the app. We then compared the networks that were estimated using the proximity
and self-report data. All three networks were significantly correlated,
although the correlation with self-reported data was lower for the app (rho =
0.25) than for badges (rho = 0.67). The scanning rates of the app varied
considerably between devices and was lower on iOS than on Android. The
association between the app and the badges increased when the network was
estimated between participants whose app recorded more regularly. These
findings suggest that the accuracy of proximity networks can be further
improved by reducing missing data and restricting the interpersonal distance at
which interactions are detected.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
Using Bluetooth Low Energy in smartphones to map social networks
Social networks have an important role in an individual's health, with the
propagation of health-related features through a network, and correlations
between network structures and symptomatology. Using Bluetooth-enabled
smartphones to measure social connectivity is an alternative to traditional
paper-based data collection; however studies employing this technology have
been restricted to limited sets of homogenous handsets. We investigated the
feasibility of using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol, present on users'
own smartphones, to measure social connectivity. A custom application was
designed for Android and iOS handsets. The app was configured to simultaneously
broadcast via BLE and perform periodic discovery scans for other nearby
devices. The app was installed on two Android handsets and two iOS handsets,
and each combination of devices was tested in the foreground, background and
locked states. Connectivity was successfully measured in all test cases, except
between two iOS devices when both were in a locked state with their screens
off. As smartphones are in a locked state for the majority of a day, this
severely limits the ability to measure social connectivity on users' own
smartphones. It is not currently feasible to use Bluetooth Low Energy to map
social networks, due to the inability of iOS devices to detect another iOS
device when both are in a locked state. While the technology was successfully
implemented on Android devices, this represents a smaller market share of
partially or fully compatible devices.Comment: 6 pages, 1 tabl
Valuation of aircraft noise by time of day: a comparison of two approaches
This paper reports an innovative application of stated preference techniques to derive values of aircraft noise by time of day and day of week. Revealed preference techniques cannot provide such segmentations which would clearly be of use in policy development especially relating to airport operations. Given the lack of research on this issue the work reported here is highly experimental. Two stated preference experiments were designed. The first focussed on a single time period whilst the second asked respondents to trade between time periods. Both approaches yielded results that are plausible and mutually consistent in terms of relative values by time period. We conclude that stated preference techniques are particularly useful in this context where the use of aggregated values may lead to non-optimal policy decisions
Instantaneous Pair Theory for High-Frequency Vibrational Energy Relaxation in Fluids
Notwithstanding the long and distinguished history of studies of vibrational
energy relaxation, exactly how it is that high frequency vibrations manage to
relax in a liquid remains somewhat of a mystery. Both experimental and
theoretical approaches seem to say that there is a natural frequency range
associated with intermolecular motions in liquids, typically spanning no more
than a few hundred cm^{-1}. Landau-Teller-like theories explain how a solvent
can absorb any vibrational energy within this "band", but how is it that
molecules can rid themselves of superfluous vibrational energies significantly
in excess of these values? We develop a theory for such processes based on the
idea that the crucial liquid motions are those that most rapidly modulate the
force on the vibrating coordinate -- and that by far the most important of
these motions are those involving what we have called the mutual nearest
neighbors of the vibrating solute. Specifically, we suggest that whenever there
is a single solvent molecule sufficiently close to the solute that the solvent
and solute are each other's nearest neighbors, then the instantaneous
scattering dynamics of the solute-solvent pair alone suffices to explain the
high frequency relaxation. The many-body features of the liquid only appear in
the guise of a purely equilibrium problem, that of finding the likelihood of
particularly effective solvent arrangements around the solute. These results
are tested numerically on model diatomic solutes dissolved in atomic fluids
(including the experimentally and theoretically interesting case of I_2 in Xe).
The instantaneous pair theory leads to results in quantitative agreement with
those obtained from far more laborious exact molecular dynamics simulations.Comment: 55 pages, 6 figures Scheduled to appear in J. Chem. Phys., Jan, 199
First Starbursts at high redshift: Formation of globular clusters
Numerical simulations of a Milky Way-size galaxy demonstrate that globular
clusters with the properties similar to observed can form naturally at z > 3 in
the concordance Lambda-CDM cosmology. The clusters in our model form in the
strongly baryon-dominated cores of supergiant molecular clouds. The first
clusters form at z = 12, while the peak formation appears to be at z = 3-5. The
zero-age mass function of globular clusters can be approximated by a power-law
dN/dM ~ M^-2, in agreement with observations of young massive star clusters.Comment: 4 pages, proceedings of the "Multi-Wavelength Cosmology" meeting,
June 200
Non-linear optomechanical measurement of mechanical motion
Precision measurement of non-linear observables is an important goal in all
facets of quantum optics. This allows measurement-based non-classical state
preparation, which has been applied to great success in various physical
systems, and provides a route for quantum information processing with otherwise
linear interactions. In cavity optomechanics much progress has been made using
linear interactions and measurement, but observation of non-linear mechanical
degrees-of-freedom remains outstanding. Here we report the observation of
displacement-squared thermal motion of a micro-mechanical resonator by
exploiting the intrinsic non-linearity of the radiation pressure interaction.
Using this measurement we generate bimodal mechanical states of motion with
separations and feature sizes well below 100~pm. Future improvements to this
approach will allow the preparation of quantum superposition states, which can
be used to experimentally explore collapse models of the wavefunction and the
potential for mechanical-resonator-based quantum information and metrology
applications.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, extensive supplementary material available with
published versio
Stable and Unstable Circular Strings in Inflationary Universes
It was shown by Garriga and Vilenkin that the circular shape of nucleated
cosmic strings, of zero loop-energy in de Sitter space, is stable in the sense
that the ratio of the mean fluctuation amplitude to the loop radius is
constant. This result can be generalized to all expanding strings (of non-zero
loop-energy) in de Sitter space. In other curved spacetimes the situation,
however, may be different.
In this paper we develop a general formalism treating fluctuations around
circular strings embedded in arbitrary spatially flat FRW spacetimes. As
examples we consider Minkowski space, de Sitter space and power law expanding
universes. In the special case of power law inflation we find that in certain
cases the fluctuations grow much slower that the radius of the underlying
unperturbed circular string. The inflation of the universe thus tends to wash
out the fluctuations and to stabilize these strings.Comment: 15 pages Latex, NORDITA 94/14-
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