A numerical method for the prediction of high-speed boundary-layer transition using linear theory

A method is described of estimating the location of transition in an arbitrary laminar boundary layer on the basis of linear stability theory. After an examination of experimental evidence for the relation between linear stability theory and transition, a discussion is given of the three essential elements of a transition calculation: (1) the interaction of the external disturbances with the boundary layer; (2) the growth of the disturbances in the boundary layer; and (3) a transition criterion. The computer program which carried out these three calculations is described. The program is first tested by calculating the effect of free-stream turbulence on the transition of the Blasius boundary layer, and is then applied to the problem of transition in a supersonic wind tunnel. The effects of unit Reynolds number and Mach number on the transition of an insulated flat-plate boundary layer are calculated on the basis of experimental data on the intensity and spectrum of free-stream disturbances. Reasonable agreement with experiment is obtained in the Mach number range from 2 to 4.5

1.4-GHz observations of extended giant radio galaxies

This paper presents 1.4-GHz radio continuum observations of 15 very extended radio galaxies. These sources are so large that most interferometers lose partly their structure and total flux density. Therefore, single-dish detections are required to fill in the central (u,v) gap of interferometric data and obtain reliable spectral index patterns across the structures, and thus also an integrated radio continuum spectrum. We have obtained such 1.4-GHz maps with the 100-m Effelsberg telescope and combined them with the corresponding maps available from the NVSS. The aggregated data allow us to produce high-quality images, which can be used to obtain physical parameters of the mapped sources. The combined images reveal in many cases extended low surface-brightness cocoons.Comment: 39 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables. Published in Ac

Deconfinement from Action Restriction

The effect of restricting the plaquette to be greater than a certain cutoff value is studied. The action considered is the standard Wilson action with the addition of a plaquette restriction, which should not affect the continuum limit of the theory. In this investigation, the strong coupling limit is also taken. It is found that a deconfining phase transition occurs as the cutoff is increased, on all lattices studied (up to $20^4$). The critical cutoff on the infinite lattice appears to be around 0.55. For cutoffs above this, a fixed point behavior is observed in the normalized fourth cumulant of the Polyakov loop, suggesting the existence of a line of critical points corresponding to a massless gluon phase, not unlike the situation in compact U(1). The Polyakov loop susceptibility also appears to be diverging with lattice size at these cutoffs. A strong finite volume behavior is observed in the pseudo-specific heat. It is discussed whether these results could still be consistent with the standard crossover picture which precludes the existence of a deconfining phase transition on an infinite symmetric lattice.Comment: 4 pages latex, 6 ps figures, uses espcrc2.sty (included). Poster presented at LATTICE96(topology

Self-consistent Calculation of Real Space Renormalization Group Flows and Effective Potentials

We show how to compute real space renormalization group flows in lattice field theory by a self-consistent method. In each step, the integration over the fluctuation field (high frequency components of the field) is performed by a saddle point method. The saddle point depends on the block-spin. Higher powers of derivatives of the field are neglected in the actions, but no polynomial approximation in the field is made. The flow preserves a simple parameterization of the action. In this paper we treat scalar field theories as an example.Comment: 52 pages, uses pstricks macro, three ps-figure

Neural multigrid for gauge theories and other disordered systems

We present evidence that multigrid works for wave equations in disordered systems, e.g. in the presence of gauge fields, no matter how strong the disorder, but one needs to introduce a "neural computations" point of view into large scale simulations: First, the system must learn how to do the simulations efficiently, then do the simulation (fast). The method can also be used to provide smooth interpolation kernels which are needed in multigrid Monte Carlo updates.Comment: 9 pages [2 figures appended in PostScript format], preprint DESY 92-126, Sept. 199

RCTS: A flexible environment for sensor integration and control of robot systems; the distributed processing approach

Most robot systems lack a suitable hardware and software environment for the efficient research of new control and sensing schemes. Typically, engineers and researchers need to be experts in control, sensing, programming, communication and robotics in order to implement, integrate and test new ideas in a robot system. In order to reduce this time, the Robot Controller Test Station (RCTS) has been developed. It uses a modular hardware and software architecture allowing easy physical and functional reconfiguration of a robot. This is accomplished by emphasizing four major design goals: flexibility, portability, ease of use, and ease of modification. An enhanced distributed processing version of RCTS is described. It features an expanded and more flexible communication system design. Distributed processing results in the availability of more local computing power and retains the low cost of microprocessors. A large number of possible communication, control and sensing schemes can therefore be easily introduced and tested, using the same basic software structure

Wind-tunnel investigation of the validity of a sonic-boom-minimization concept

The Langley unitary plan unitary plan wind tunnel was used to determine the validity of a sonic-boom-minimization theory. Five models - two reference and three low-boom constrained - were tested at design Mach numbers of 1.5 and 2.7. Results show that the pressure signatures generated by the low-boom models had significantly lower overpressure levels than those produced by the reference models and that small changes in the Mach number and/or the lift caused relatively small changes in the signature shape and overpressure level. Boundary-layer effects were found in the signature shape and overpressure level. Boundary-layer effects were found to be sizable on the low-boom models, and when viscous corrections were included in the analysis, improved agreement between the predicted and the measured signatures was noted. Since this agreement was better at Mach 1.5 than at Mach 2.7, it was concluded that the minimization method was definitely valid at Mach 1.5 and was probably valid at Mach 2.7, with further work needed to resolve the uncertainty