208 research outputs found
Linear systems with adiabatic fluctuations
We consider a dynamical system subjected to weak but adiabatically slow
fluctuations of external origin. Based on the ``adiabatic following''
approximation we carry out an expansion in \alpha/|\mu|, where \alpha is the
strength of fluctuations and 1/|\mu| refers to the time scale of evolution of
the unperturbed system to obtain a linear differential equation for the average
solution. The theory is applied to the problems of a damped harmonic oscillator
and diffusion in a turbulent fluid. The result is the realization of
`renormalized' diffusion constant or damping constant for the respective
problems. The applicability of the method has been critically analyzed.Comment: Plain Latex, no figure, 21 page
Theory of Adiabatic fluctuations : third-order noise
We consider the response of a dynamical system driven by external adiabatic
fluctuations. Based on the `adiabatic following approximation' we have made a
systematic separation of time-scales to carry out an expansion in , where is the strength of fluctuations and is the
damping rate. We show that probability distribution functions obey the
differential equations of motion which contain third order terms (beyond the
usual Fokker-Planck terms) leading to non-Gaussian noise. The problem of
adiabatic fluctuations in velocity space which is the counterpart of Brownian
motion for fast fluctuations, has been solved exactly. The characteristic
function and the associated probability distribution function are shown to be
of stable form. The linear dissipation leads to a steady state which is stable
and the variances and higher moments are shown to be finite.Comment: Plain Latex, no figures, 28 pages; to appear in J. Phys.
Thermodynamics of adiabatic feedback control
We study adaptive control of classical ergodic Hamiltonian systems, where the
controlling parameter varies slowly in time and is influenced by system's state
(feedback). An effective adiabatic description is obtained for slow variables
of the system. A general limit on the feedback induced negative entropy
production is uncovered. It relates the quickest negentropy production to
fluctuations of the control Hamiltonian. The method deals efficiently with the
entropy-information trade off.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur
Minimal Work Principle and its Limits for Classical Systems
The minimal work principle asserts that work done on a thermally isolated
equilibrium system, is minimal for the slowest (adiabatic) realization of a
given process. This principle, one of the formulations of the second law, is
operationally well-defined for any finite (few particle) Hamiltonian system.
Within classical Hamiltonian mechanics, we show that the principle is valid for
a system of which the observable of work is an ergodic function. For
non-ergodic systems the principle may or may not hold, depending on additional
conditions. Examples displaying the limits of the principle are presented and
their direct experimental realizations are discussed.Comment: 4 + epsilon pages, 1 figure, revte
POSIWID and determinism in design for behaviour change
Copyright @ 2012 Social Services Research GroupWhen designing to influence behaviour for social or environmental benefit, does designers' intent matter? Or are the effects on behaviour more important, regardless of the intent involved? This brief paper explores -- in the context of design for behaviour change -- some treatments of design, intentionality, purpose and responsibility from a variety of fields, including Stafford Beer's "The purpose of a system is what it does" and Maurice Broady's perspective on determinism. The paper attempts to extract useful implications for designers working on behaviour-related problems, in terms of analytical or reflective questions to ask during the design process
Markov analysis of stochastic resonance in a periodically driven integrate-fire neuron
We model the dynamics of the leaky integrate-fire neuron under periodic
stimulation as a Markov process with respect to the stimulus phase. This avoids
the unrealistic assumption of a stimulus reset after each spike made in earlier
work and thus solves the long-standing reset problem. The neuron exhibits
stochastic resonance, both with respect to input noise intensity and stimulus
frequency. The latter resonance arises by matching the stimulus frequency to
the refractory time of the neuron. The Markov approach can be generalized to
other periodically driven stochastic processes containing a reset mechanism.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure
Interplay between NS3 protease and human La protein regulates translation-replication switch of Hepatitis C virus
HCV NS3 protein plays a central role in viral polyprotein processing and RNA replication. We demonstrate that the NS3 protease (NS3pro) domain alone can specifically bind to HCV-IRES RNA, predominantly in the SLIV region. The cleavage activity of the NS3 protease domain is reduced upon HCV-RNA binding. More importantly, NS3pro binding to the SLIV hinders the interaction of La protein, a cellular IRES-trans acting factor required for HCV IRES-mediated translation, resulting in inhibition of HCV-IRES activity. Although overexpression of both NS3pro as well as the full length NS3 protein decreased the level of HCV IRES mediated translation, replication of HCV replicon RNA was enhanced significantly. These observations suggest that the NS3pro binding to HCV IRES reduces translation in favor of RNA replication. The competition between the host factor (La) and the viral protein (NS3) for binding to HCV IRES might regulate the molecular switch from translation to replication of HCV
Entanglement Entropy from a Holographic Viewpoint
The entanglement entropy has been historically studied by many authors in
order to obtain quantum mechanical interpretations of the gravitational
entropy. The discovery of AdS/CFT correspondence leads to the idea of
holographic entanglement entropy, which is a clear solution to this important
problem in gravity. In this article, we would like to give a quick survey of
recent progresses on the holographic entanglement entropy. We focus on its
gravitational aspects, so that it is comprehensible to those who are familiar
with general relativity and basics of quantum field theory.Comment: Latex, 30 pages, invited review for Classical and Quantum Gravity,
minor correction
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