690 research outputs found
iPod touch vs. TI-Nspire
Im Rahmen eines Unterrichtsprojekts in der zehnten Jahrgangsstufe konnten Schüler zunächst für drei Monate mit einem iPod Touch (mit Mathematik-Apps) und später über mehrere Monate mit dem TI Nspire CAS arbeiten. Im Anschluss erfolgten Beurteilung und Vergleich beider Geräte durch die Schüler hinsichtlich ihrer Eignung für den Mathematikunterricht
Effective complexity of stationary process realizations
The concept of effective complexity of an object as the minimal description
length of its regularities has been initiated by Gell-Mann and Lloyd. The
regularities are modeled by means of ensembles, that is probability
distributions on finite binary strings. In our previous paper we propose a
definition of effective complexity in precise terms of algorithmic information
theory. Here we investigate the effective complexity of binary strings
generated by stationary, in general not computable, processes. We show that
under not too strong conditions long typical process realizations are
effectively simple. Our results become most transparent in the context of
coarse effective complexity which is a modification of the original notion of
effective complexity that uses less parameters in its definition. A similar
modification of the related concept of sophistication has been suggested by
Antunes and Fortnow.Comment: 14 pages, no figure
Randomised prospective study for the effect of therapy on residual beta cell function in type-1 diabetes mellitus [ISRCTN70703138]
BACKGROUND: Newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is characterised by a temporary recovery of endogeneous insulin ("remission") after the beginning of medical treatment with subcutaneous insulin injections. Although most diabetologists think, that insulin reserve is related to reduced occurrence of diabetic long-term complications, such as eye, nerve and kidney disease, there is only one prospective controlled clinical study (the DCCT) addressing this question, however as secondary hypothesis. METHODS/DESIGN: Therefore, we composed a trial consisting of two cohorts with two therapeutic options within each cohort (conventional versus intensive therapy) and a three-year follow-up. In one group the patients are randomly assigned to the treatment regimes to test the statistical alternative hypothesis if variable insulin dosage is superior to fixed insulin injection in preserving insulin reserve measured by C-peptide in serum. Another group includes patients who prefer one of the two therapies, decline randomisation, but consent to follow-up. Apart from the determination of insulin reserve as a biological parameter a second primary endpoint was defined as 'therapeutic failure' according to the criteria of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Patients pass a training program to help them self-manage diabetes. A standardised protocol is being set up to minimize centre effects and bias of health care providers. Potential patient dependent bias will be investigated by questionnaires measuring psychic coping processes of people with diabetes. Management of visit dates is directly navigated by the database. Automated visit-reminders are mailed to patients and caregivers to optimise the number of visits on schedule. Data quality is regularly monitored and centres are informed on the results of continuous data management
First Results of the PixelGEM Central Tracking System for COMPASS
For its physics program with a high-intensity hadron beam of up to 2e7
particles/s, the COMPASS experiment at CERN requires tracking of charged
particles scattered by very small angles with respect to the incident beam
direction. While good resolution in time and space is mandatory, the challenge
is imposed by the high beam intensity, requiring radiation-hard detectors which
add very little material to the beam path in order to minimize secondary
interactions.
To this end, a set of triple-GEM detectors with a hybrid readout structure
consisting of pixels in the beam region and 2-D strips in the periphery was
designed and built. Successful prototype tests proved the performance of this
new detector type, showing both extraordinary high rate capability and
detection efficiency. The amplitude information allowed to achieve spatial
resolutions about a factor of 10 smaller than the pitch and a time resolution
close to the theoretical limit imposed by the layout.
The PixelGEM central tracking system consisting of five detectors, slightly
improved with respect to the prototype, was completely installed in the COMPASS
spectrometer in spring 2008
Insights into ultrafast demagnetization in pseudo-gap half metals
Interest in femtosecond demagnetization experiments was sparked by Bigot's
discovery in 1995. These experiments unveil the elementary mechanisms coupling
the electrons' temperature to their spin order. Even though first quantitative
models describing ultrafast demagnetization have just been published within the
past year, new calculations also suggest alternative mechanisms.
Simultaneously, the application of fast demagnetization experiments has been
demonstrated to provide key insight into technologically important systems such
as high spin polarization metals, and consequently there is broad interest in
further understanding the physics of these phenomena. To gain new and relevant
insights, we perform ultrafast optical pump-probe experiments to characterize
the demagnetization processes of highly spin-polarized magnetic thin films on a
femtosecond time scale. Previous studies have suggested shifting the Fermi
energy into the center of the gap by tuning the number of electrons and thereby
to study its influence on spin-flip processes. Here we show that choosing
isoelectronic Heusler compounds (Co2MnSi, Co2MnGe and Co2FeAl) allows us to
vary the degree of spin polarization between 60% and 86%. We explain this
behavior by considering the robustness of the gap against structural disorder.
Moreover, we observe that Co-Fe-based pseudo gap materials, such as partially
ordered Co-Fe-Ge alloys and also the well-known Co-Fe-B alloys, can reach
similar values of the spin polarization. By using the unique features of these
metals we vary the number of possible spin-flip channels, which allows us to
pinpoint and control the half metals electronic structure and its influence
onto the elementary mechanisms of ultrafast demagnetization.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, plus Supplementary Informatio
Baryon Masses at Second Order in Chiral Perturbation Theory
We analyze the baryon mass differences up to second order in chiral
perturbation theory, including the effects of decuplet intermediate states. We
show that the Coleman--Glashow relation has computable corrections of order
. These corrections are numerically small, and in agreement
with the data. We also show that corrections to the equal-spacing rule
are dominated by electromagnetic contributions, and that the Gell-Mann--Okubo
formula has non-analytic corrections of order which cannot be
computed from known matrix elements. We also show that the baryon masses cannot
be used to extract model-independent information about the current quark
masses.Comment: 11 pages, 1 uu-encoded figure, LBL-34779, UCB-PTH-93/2
Decay of a Yukawa fermion at finite temperature and applications to leptogenesis
We calculate the decay rate of a Yukawa fermion in a thermal bath using
finite temperature cutting rules and effective Green's functions according to
the hard thermal loop resummation technique. We apply this result to the decay
of a heavy Majorana neutrino in leptogenesis. Compared to the usual approach
where thermal masses are inserted into the kinematics of final states, we find
that deviations arise through two different leptonic dispersion relations. The
decay rate differs from the usual approach by more than one order of magnitude
in the temperature range which is interesting for the weak washout regime. We
discuss how to arrive at consistent finite temperature treatments of
leptogenesis.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Comparison of Boltzmann Kinetics with Quantum Dynamics for a Chiral Yukawa Model Far From Equilibrium
Boltzmann equations are often used to describe the non-equilibrium
time-evolution of many-body systems in particle physics. Prominent examples are
the computation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe and the evolution of
the quark-gluon plasma after a relativistic heavy ion collision. However,
Boltzmann equations are only a classical approximation of the quantum
thermalization process, which is described by so-called Kadanoff-Baym
equations. This raises the question how reliable Boltzmann equations are as
approximations to the complete Kadanoff-Baym equations. Therefore, we present
in this article a detailed comparison of Boltzmann and Kadanoff-Baym equations
in the framework of a chirally invariant Yukawa-type quantum field theory
including fermions and scalars. The obtained numerical results reveal
significant differences between both types of equations. Apart from
quantitative differences, on a qualitative level the late-time universality
respected by Kadanoff-Baym equations is severely restricted in the case of
Boltzmann equations. Furthermore, Kadanoff-Baym equations strongly separate the
time scales between kinetic and chemical equilibration. In contrast to this
standard Boltzmann equations cannot describe the process of quantum-chemical
equilibration, and consequently also cannot feature the above separation of
time scales.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, REVTeX
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