275 research outputs found
A study of order based genetic and evolutionary algorithms in combinatorial optimization problems
In Genetic and Evolutionary Algorithms (GEAs) one is faced with a given number of parameters, whose possible values are coded in a binary alphabet. With Order Based Representations (OBRs) the genetic information is kept by the order of the genes and not by its value. The application of OBRs to the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a well known technique to the GEA community. In this work one intends to show that this coding scheme can be used as an indirect representation, where the chromosome is the input for the decoder. The behavior of the GEA's operators is compared under benchmarks taken from the Combinatorial Optimization arena.(undefined
White matter impairment in the speech network of individuals with autism spectrum disorder
AbstractImpairments in language and communication are core features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and a substantial percentage of children with ASD do not develop speech. ASD is often characterized as a disorder of brain connectivity, and a number of studies have identified white matter impairments in affected individuals. The current study investigated white matter integrity in the speech network of high-functioning adults with ASD. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans were collected from 18 participants with ASD and 18 neurotypical participants. Probabilistic tractography was used to estimate the connection strength between ventral premotor cortex (vPMC), a cortical region responsible for speech motor planning, and five other cortical regions in the network of areas involved in speech production. We found a weaker connection between the left vPMC and the supplementary motor area in the ASD group. This pathway has been hypothesized to underlie the initiation of speech motor programs. Our results indicate that a key pathway in the speech production network is impaired in ASD, and that this impairment can occur even in the presence of normal language abilities. Therapies that result in normalization of this pathway may hold particular promise for improving speech output in ASD
Input-output theory for fermions in an atom cavity
We generalize the quantum optical input-output theory developed for optical
cavities to ultracold fermionic atoms confined in a trapping potential, which
forms an "atom cavity". In order to account for the Pauli exclusion principle,
quantum Langevin equations for all cavity modes are derived. The dissipative
part of these multi-mode Langevin equations includes a coupling between cavity
modes. We also derive a set of boundary conditions for the Fermi field that
relate the output fields to the input fields and the field radiated by the
cavity. Starting from a constant uniform current of fermions incident on one
side of the cavity, we use the boundary conditions to calculate the occupation
numbers and current density for the fermions that are reflected and transmitted
by the cavity
A slip-based model for the size-dependent effective thermal conductivity of nanowires
The heat flux across a nanowire is computed based on the Guyer-Krumhansl
equation. Slip conditions with a slip length depending on both temperature and
nanowire radius are introduced at the outer boundary. An explicit expression
for the effective thermal conductivity is derived and compared to existing
models across a given temperature range, providing excellent agreement with
experimental data for Si nanowires
What do people do with porn? qualitative research into the consumption, use and experience of pornography and other sexually explicit media
This article reviews qualitative research into the consumption of pornography and other sexually explicit media emerging from a range of subject areas. Taking a critique of quantitative methods and a focus on measuring sexual effects and attitudes as a starting point, it considers the proposition that qualitative work is more suited to an examination of the complex social, cultural and political constructions of sexuality. Examining studies into the way men, women and young people see, experience, and use explicit media texts, the article identifies the key findings that have emerged. Qualitative work shows that sexuality explicit media texts are experienced and understood in a variety of ways and evoke strong and often contradictory reactions, not all of which are represented in public debates about pornography. These texts function in a range of different ways, depending on context; as a source of knowledge, a resource for intimate practices, a site for identity construction, and an occasion for performing gender and sexuality. The article reviews these studies and their findings, identifying what they suggest about directions for future research, both in terms of developing methodology and refining approaches to sexuality and media consumption.</p
Theory of output coupling for trapped fermionic atoms
We develop a dynamic theory of output coupling, for fermionic atoms initially
confined in a magnetic trap. We consider an exactly soluble one-dimensional
model, with a spatially localized delta-type coupling between the atoms in the
trap and a continuum of free-particle external modes. Two important special
cases are considered for the confinement potential: the infinite box and the
harmonic oscillator. We establish that in both cases a bound state of the
coupled system appears for any value of the coupling constant, implying that
the trap population does not vanish in the infinite-time limit. For weak
coupling, the energy spectrum of the outgoing beam exhibits peaks corresponding
to the initially occupied energy levels in the trap; the height of these peaks
increases with the energy. As the coupling gets stronger, the energy spectrum
is displaced towards dressed energies of the fermions in the trap. The
corresponding dressed states result from the coupling between the unperturbed
fermionic states in the trap, mediated by the coupling between these states and
the continuum. In the strong-coupling limit, there is a reinforcement of the
lowest-energy dressed mode, which contributes to the energy spectrum of the
outgoing beam more strongly than the other modes. This effect is especially
pronounced for the one-dimensional box, which indicates that the efficiency of
the mode-reinforcement mechanism depends on the steepness of the confinement
potential. In this case, a quasi-monochromatic anti-bunched atomic beam is
obtained. Results for a bosonic sample are also shown for comparison.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, added discussion on time-dependent spectral
distribution and corresponding figur
The Crystallography of Color Superconductivity
We develop the Ginzburg-Landau approach to comparing different possible
crystal structures for the crystalline color superconducting phase of QCD, the
QCD incarnation of the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell phase. In this phase,
quarks of different flavor with differing Fermi momenta form Cooper pairs with
nonzero total momentum, yielding a condensate that varies in space like a sum
of plane waves. We work at zero temperature, as is relevant for compact star
physics. The Ginzburg-Landau approach predicts a strong first-order phase
transition (as a function of the chemical potential difference between quarks)
and for this reason is not under quantitative control. Nevertheless, by
organizing the comparison between different possible arrangements of plane
waves (i.e. different crystal structures) it provides considerable qualitative
insight into what makes a crystal structure favorable. Together, the
qualitative insights and the quantitative, but not controlled, calculations
make a compelling case that the favored pairing pattern yields a condensate
which is a sum of eight plane waves forming a face-centered cubic structure.
They also predict that the phase is quite robust, with gaps comparable in
magnitude to the BCS gap that would form if the Fermi momenta were degenerate.
These predictions may be tested in ultracold gases made of fermionic atoms. In
a QCD context, our results lay the foundation for a calculation of vortex
pinning in a crystalline color superconductor, and thus for the analysis of
pulsar glitches that may originate within the core of a compact star.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl
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