9,622 research outputs found
Nonlinear Rescaling of Control Laws with Application to Stabilization in the Presence of Magnitude Saturation
Motivated by some recent results on the stabilization of homogeneous systems, we present a gain-scheduling approach for the stabilization of non-linear systems. Given
a one-parameter family of stabilizing feedbacks and associated Lyapunov functions, we show how the parameter can be rescaled as a function of the state to give a new
stabilizing controller. In the case of homogeneous systems, we obtain generalizations of some existing results. We show that this approach can also be applied to nonhomogeneous
systems. In particular, the main application considered in this paper is to the problem of stabilization with magnitude limitations. For this problem, we develop a design method for single-input controllable systems with eigenvalues in the left closed plane
Excess mortality during heat waves in Ireland
Ireland is not known for having extreme high temperatures, with values above 30C uncommon. Ireland has significant excess winter mortality compared to summer. The objective of this study is to estimate the impact of nation-wide heat waves on the total, cardiovascular and respiratory relationship, for the period 1981â2003, to determine if there are any periods of excess summer mortality
Circuit approach to photonic heat transport
We discuss the heat transfer by photons between two metals coupled by a
linear element with a reactive impedance. Using a simple circuit approach, we
calculate the spectral power transmitted from one resistor to the other and
find that it is determined by the photon transmission coefficient, which
depends on the impedances of the metals and the coupling element. We study the
total photonic power flow for different coupling impedances, both in the linear
regime, where the temperature difference between the metals is small, and in
the non-linear regime of large temperature differences.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Octave Spanning Frequency Comb on a Chip
Optical frequency combs have revolutionized the field of frequency metrology
within the last decade and have become enabling tools for atomic clocks, gas
sensing and astrophysical spectrometer calibration. The rapidly increasing
number of applications has heightened interest in more compact comb generators.
Optical microresonator based comb generators bear promise in this regard.
Critical to their future use as 'frequency markers', is however the absolute
frequency stabilization of the optical comb spectrum. A powerful technique for
this stabilization is self-referencing, which requires a spectrum that spans a
full octave, i.e. a factor of two in frequency. In the case of mode locked
lasers, overcoming the limited bandwidth has become possible only with the
advent of photonic crystal fibres for supercontinuum generation. Here, we
report for the first time the generation of an octave-spanning frequency comb
directly from a toroidal microresonator on a silicon chip. The comb spectrum
covers the wavelength range from 990 nm to 2170 nm and is retrieved from a
continuous wave laser interacting with the modes of an ultra high Q
microresonator, without relying on external broadening. Full tunability of the
generated frequency comb over a bandwidth exceeding an entire free spectral
range is demonstrated. This allows positioning of a frequency comb mode to any
desired frequency within the comb bandwidth. The ability to derive octave
spanning spectra from microresonator comb generators represents a key step
towards achieving a radio-frequency to optical link on a chip, which could
unify the fields of metrology with micro- and nano-photonics and enable
entirely new devices that bring frequency metrology into a chip scale setting
for compact applications such as space based optical clocks
Spin-orbital Kondo decoherence by environmental effects in capacitively coupled quantum dot devices
Strong correlation effects in a capacitively coupled double quantum-dot setup
were previously shown to provide the possibility of both entangling spin-charge
degrees of freedom and realizing efficient spin-filtering operations by static
gate-voltage manipulations. Motivated by the use of such a device for quantum
computing, we study the influence of electromagnetic noise on a general
spin-orbital Kondo model, and investigate the conditions for observing
coherent, unitary transport, crucial to warrant efficient spin manipulations.
We find a rich phase diagram, where low-energy properties sensitively depend on
the impedance of the external environment and geometric parameters of the
system. Relevant energy scales related to the Kondo temperature are also
computed in a renormalization-group treatment, allowing to assess the
robustness of the device against environmental effects.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures. Minor modifications in V
Impact of UV wavelength and curing time on the properties of spin-coated low-k films
Advanced spin-on k 2.3 films with similar to 40% porosity were enabled by liquid phase self-assembly (LPSA) mechanism on Si substrates. UV-assisted thermal template removal is investigated as a faster alternative to the conventional thermal process. The as-deposited films were exposed to narrow-band UV light of 172 nm, 222 nm, 254 nm or 185/254 nm at 400 degrees C for different time. The optical, mechanical, chemical and electrical properties of the resulting films are discussed in this work. Photons with wavelength of about 172 nm from one side are detrimental to the electrical and chemical properties of the low-k films hut from the other side notably improve the porous low-k mechanical properties. Exposure to 222 nm light as short as 3 min, is more efficient in terms of template removal when compared to 2h thermal cure, while in both cases similar mechanical and electrical properties are reported. UV-cure using 254 nm or dual band 254/185 nm photons seem to have a minor contribution to the template removal efficiency for the applied doses. Higher doses are necessary in order to better understand the effective contribution of these photon energies. Finally, the HF etching mechanism is discussed
RKKY and magnetic field interactions in coupled Kondo quantum dots
We investigate theoretically the transport properties of two independent
artificial Kondo impurities. They are coupled together via a tunable
Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida (RKKY) interaction. For strong enough
antiferromagnetic RKKY interaction, the impurity density of states increases
with the applied in-plane magnetic field. This effect can be used to
distinguish between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic RKKY interactions.
These results may be relevant to explain some features of recent experiments by
Craig et al. (cond-mat/0404213).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Nurturing the young shoots of talent: Using action research for exploration and theory building
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(4), 433-450, 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1350293X.2011.623515.This paper reports the outcomes of a set of action research projects carried out by teacher researchers in 14 local education authorities in England, working collaboratively with university tutors, over a period of three years. The common aim of all the projects was to explore practical ways of nurturing the gifts and talents of children aged fourâseven years. The project was funded by the Department of Education and Skills in England as part of the government's gifted and talented programme. The project teachers felt that their understanding of issues relating to nurturing the gifts and talents of younger children was enhanced through their engagement in the project. It was possible to map the findings of the projects to the English government's National Quality Standards for gifted and talented education which include: (1) identification; (2) effective provision in the classroom; (3) enabling curriculum entitlement and choice; (4) assessment for learning; (5) engaging with community, families and beyond. The findings are also analysed within the framework of good practice in educating children in the first years of schooling. Participating practitioners felt that action research offered them a suitable methodology to explore the complexity of the topic of giftedness through cycles of planning, action and reflection and personal theory building
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