654 research outputs found
Structural optimization of framed structures using generalized optimality criteria
The application of a generalized optimality criteria to framed structures is presented. The optimality conditions, Lagrangian multipliers, resizing algorithm, and scaling procedures are all represented as a function of the objective and constraint functions along with their respective gradients. The optimization of two plane frames under multiple loading conditions subject to stress, displacement, generalized stiffness, and side constraints is presented. These results are compared to those found by optimizing the frames using a nonlinear mathematical programming technique
Co-creativity, well-being and agency: a case study analysis of a co-creative arts group for people with dementia
At the heart of this paper is an exploration of artistic co-creativity involving people with dementia and their partners. Co-creativity promotes a relational approach to creativity which nurtures inclusion and participation. This paper investigates how co-creativity can affect well-being from the perspectives of people with dementia and their carers; and explores how well-being and agency might be usefully reconsidered. The article draws on findings from a small-scale study ‘With All’ that focused on music and dance as non-verbal and therefore inclusive artforms. A range of disciplinary perspectives, from psychology, philosophy and social sciences, inform the study.
The research used an intrinsic case-study methodology and within this a mixed-methods approach was adopted. This included dialogic interviews, video data analysis and the Canterbury Well-being Scale (CWS). Thematic analysis of the interviews and video data revealed three key themes: autonomy, connections, and art as an enabler. These themes captured the experiences of the participants and facilitated a more nuanced understanding of wellbeing and agency in the context of living with dementia. The analysis of the CWS indicated some improvements in well-being. Following this analysis using multiple data sources, the paper argues that wellbeing and agency are best understood as relational, and ongoing, rather than completed states. Further both wellbeing and agency contain their opposites (ill-being and passivity).
This innovative exploration highlighted the importance of co-creative collaboration as a method that was considered valuable by participants, and that therefore should be further considered in future research with people living with dementia
Ab-initio Molecular Dynamics study of electronic and optical properties of silicon quantum wires: Orientational Effects
We analyze the influence of spatial orientation on the optical response of
hydrogenated silicon quantum wires. The results are relevant for the
interpretation of the optical properties of light emitting porous silicon. We
study (111)-oriented wires and compare the present results with those
previously obtained within the same theoretical framework for (001)-oriented
wires [F. Buda {\it et al.}, {\it Phys. Rev. Lett.} {\bf 69}, 1272, (1992)]. In
analogy with the (001)-oriented wires and at variance with crystalline bulk
silicon, we find that the (111)-oriented wires exhibit a direct gap at whose value is largely enhanced with respect to that found in bulk
silicon because of quantum confinement effects. The imaginary part of the
dielectric function, for the external field polarized in the direction of the
axis of the wires, shows features that, while being qualitatively similar to
those observed for the (001) wires, are not present in the bulk. The main
conclusion which emerges from the present study is that, if wires a few
nanometers large are present in the porous material, they are
optically active independently of their specific orientation.Comment: 14 pages (plus 6 figures), Revte
Direct evidence for a piezoelectriclike effect in coherently strained SiGe/Si heterostructures
A hybrid acoustic spectroscopy technique has been used to demonstrate the (reversible) conversion of high frequency electric fields into longitudinal acoustic waves within a modulation-doped pseudomorphic Si/Si0.88Ge0.12/Si heterostructure. This provides compelling evidence for the existence of a piezoelectriclike coupling within such structures
Mode tracking issues in structural optimization
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76633/1/AIAA-12747-342.pd
Massey products in symplectic manifolds
The paper is devoted to study of Massey products in symplectic manifolds.
Theory of generalized and classical Massey products and a general construction
of symplectic manifolds with nontrivial Massey products of arbitrary large
order are exposed. The construction uses the symplectic blow-up and is based on
the author results, which describe conditions under which the blow-up of a
symplectic manifold X along its submanifold Y inherits nontrivial Massey
products from X ot Y. This gives a general construction of nonformal symplectic
manifolds.Comment: LaTeX, 48 pages, 2 figure
Quantum entanglement in photosynthetic light harvesting complexes
Light harvesting components of photosynthetic organisms are complex, coupled,
many-body quantum systems, in which electronic coherence has recently been
shown to survive for relatively long time scales despite the decohering effects
of their environments. Within this context, we analyze entanglement in
multi-chromophoric light harvesting complexes, and establish methods for
quantification of entanglement by presenting necessary and sufficient
conditions for entanglement and by deriving a measure of global entanglement.
These methods are then applied to the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) protein to
extract the initial state and temperature dependencies of entanglement. We show
that while FMO in natural conditions largely contains bipartite entanglement
between dimerized chromophores, a small amount of long-range and multipartite
entanglement exists even at physiological temperatures. This constitutes the
first rigorous quantification of entanglement in a biological system. Finally,
we discuss the practical utilization of entanglement in densely packed
molecular aggregates such as light harvesting complexes.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Improved presentation, published versio
Probing Single-Electron Spin Decoherence in Quantum Dots using Charged Excitons
We propose to use optical detection of magnetic resonance (ODMR) to measure
the decoherence time T_{2} of a single electron spin in a semiconductor quantum
dot. The electron is in one of the spin 1/2 states and a circularly polarized
laser can only create an optical excitation for one of the electron spin states
due to Pauli blocking. An applied electron spin resonance (ESR) field leads to
Rabi spin flips and thus to a modulation of the photoluminescence or,
alternatively, of the photocurrent. This allows one to measure the ESR
linewidth and the coherent Rabi oscillations, from which the electron spin
decoherence can be determined. We study different possible schemes for such an
ODMR setup, including cw or pulsed laser excitation.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Proceedings of the PASPS3 conference, Santa
Barbara, CA (USA). To appear in the Journal of Superconductivit
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