150,521 research outputs found
Comparison of environmental conditions in the Bering Sea and Davis Strait and the effects on microwave signature returns; March and April, 1979
Aircraft data collected in the Bering Sea in March, 1979 using a 6.6 GH sub z (C Band) microwave radiometer and a 13.9 GH sub z (Ku Band) scatterometer, reinforce the difficulties in interpreting first year ice types found near the ice edge in a marginal ice zone. An ice interpretation scheme using data taken with a 13.3 GH sub z (Ku Band) scatterometer and a 19.4 GH sub z (K Band) radiometer in Davis Strait also shows ambiguity in the first year ice signal and indicates that ice interpretation becomes more difficult near the ice edge and under warmer conditions. This report also compares X Band SAR data taken in Davis Strait with similar imagery collected in the Bering Sea. Ice core samples from the Bering test area offer a basis for speculation on changes in ice morphology which affect the signature return at the ice edge, and help explain the difficulty of the sensors in discerning the two different ice types found on the photography and in the core samples
Assessment of W1 and W2 theories for the computation of electron affinities, ionization potentials, heats of formation, and proton affinities
The performance of two recent {\em ab initio} computational thermochemistry
schemes, W1 and W2 theory [J.M.L. Martin and G. de Oliveira, J. Chem. Phys.
111, 1843 (1999}], is assessed for an enlarged sample of thermochemical data
consisting of the ionization potentials and electron affinities in the G2-1 and
G2-2 sets, as well as the heats of formation in the G2-1 and a subset of the
G2-2 set. We find W1 theory to be several times more accurate for ionization
potentials and electron affinities than commonly used (and less expensive)
computational thermochemistry schemes such as G2, G3, and CBS-QB3: W2 theory
represents a slight improvement for electron affinities but no significant one
for ionization potentials. The use of a two-point rather than a
three-point extrapolation for the SCF component greatly enhances the
numerical stability of the W1 method for systems with slow basis set
convergence. Inclusion of first-order spin-orbit coupling is essential for
accurate ionization potentials and electron affinities involving degenerate
electronic states: inner-shell correlation is somewhat more important for
ionization potentials than for electron affinities, while scalar relativistic
effects are required for the highest accuracy. The mean deviation from
experiment for the G2-1 heats of formation is within the average experimental
uncertainty. W1 theory appears to be a valuable tool for obtaining benchmark
quality proton affinities.Comment: Journal of Chemical Physics, in press (303115JCP). 2 RevTeX files,
first is text and tables, second is E-PAPS tables S-1 through S-5. Additional
supplementary material (total energies, basis function exponents) available
at http://theochem.weizmann.ac.il/web/papers/w1w2.htm
Fully ab initio atomization energy of benzene via W2 theory
The total atomization energy at absolute zero, (TAE) of benzene,
CH, was computed fully {\em ab initio} by means of W2h theory as 1306.6
kcal/mol, to be compared with the experimentally derived value 1305.7+/-0.7
kcal/mol. The computed result includes contributions from inner-shell
correlation (7.1 kcal/mol), scalar relativistic effects (-1.0 kcal/mol), atomic
spin-orbit splitting (-0.5 kcal/mol), and the anharmonic zero-point vibrational
energy (62.1 kcal/mol). The largest-scale calculations involved are
CCSD/cc-pV5Z and CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ; basis set extrapolations account for 6.3
kcal/mol of the final result. Performance of more approximate methods has been
analyzed. Our results suggest that, even for systems the size of benzene,
chemically accurate molecular atomization energies can be obtained from fully
first-principles calculations, without resorting to corrections or parameters
derived from experiment.Comment: J. Chem. Phys., accepted. RevTeX, 12 page
On the evidence for brown-dwarf secondary stars in cataclysmic variables
We present the K-band spectrum of the cataclysmic variable LL And, obtained
using NIRSPEC on Keck-II. The spectrum shows no evidence for the absorption
features observed by Howell & Ciardi (2001), which these authors used to claim
a detection of a brown-dwarf secondary star in LL And. In light of our new
data, we review the evidence for brown-dwarf secondary stars in this and other
cataclysmic variables.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in Monthly Notices, accepte
Implicit Bayesian Inference Using Option Prices
A Bayesian approach to option pricing is presented, in which posterior inference about the underlying returns process is conducted implicitly via observed option prices. A range of models allowing for conditional leptokurtosis, skewness and time-varying volatility in returns are considered, with posterior parameter distributions and model probabilities backed out from the option prices. Models are ranked according to several criteria, including out-of-sample fit, predictive and hedging performance. The methodology accommodates heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation in the option pricing errors, as well as regime shifts across contract groups. The method is applied to intraday option price data on the S&P500 stock index for 1995. Whilst the results provide support for models which accommodate leptokurtosis, no one model dominates according to all criteria considered.Bayesian Option Pricing; Leptokurtosis; Skewness; GARCH Option Pricing; Option Price Prediction; Hedging Errors.
Semiotic Dynamics Solves the Symbol Grounding Problem
Language requires the capacity to link symbols (words, sentences) through the intermediary of internal representations to the physical world, a process known as symbol grounding. One of the biggest debates in the cognitive sciences concerns the question how human brains are able to do this. Do we need a material explanation or a system explanation? John Searle's well known Chinese Room thought experiment, which continues to generate a vast polemic literature of arguments and counter-arguments, has argued that autonomously establishing internal representations of the world (called 'intentionality' in philosophical parlance) is based on special properties of human neural tissue and that consequently an artificial system, such as an autonomous physical robot, can never achieve this. Here we study the Grounded Naming Game as a particular example of symbolic interaction and investigate a dynamical system that autonomously builds up and uses the semiotic networks necessary for performance in the game. We demonstrate in real experiments with physical robots that such a dynamical system indeed leads to a successful emergent communication system and hence that symbol grounding and intentionality can be explained in terms of a particular kind of system dynamics. The human brain has obviously the right mechanisms to participate in this kind of dynamics but the same dynamics can also be embodied in other types of physical systems
Interstellar HOCN in the Galactic center region
Aims. Our aim is to confirm the interstellar detection of cyanic acid, HOCN,
in the Galactic center clouds. It has previously been tentatively detected only
in Sgr B2(OH).
Methods. We used a complete line survey of the hot cores Sgr B2(N) and (M) in
the 3 mm range, complemented by additional observations carried out with the
IRAM 30 m telescope at selected frequencies in the 2 mm band and towards four
additional positions in the Sgr B2 cloud complex in the 2 and 3 mm bands. The
spectral survey was analysed in the local thermodynamical equilibrium
approximation (LTE) by modeling the emission of all identified molecules
simultaneously. This allowed us to distinguish weak features of HOCN from the
rich line spectrum observed in Sgr B2(N) and (M). Lines of the more stable (by
1.1 eV) isomer isocyanic acid, HNCO, in these sources, as well as those of HOCN
and HNCO towards the other positions, were analysed in the LTE approximation as
well.
Results. Four transitions of HOCN were detected in a quiescent molecular
cloud in the Galactic center at a position offset in (R.A., decl.) by
(20'',100'') from the hot core source Sgr B2(M), confirming its previous
tentative interstellar detection. Up to four transitions were detected toward
five other positions in the Sgr B2 complex, including the hot cores Sgr B2(M),
(S), and (N). A fairly constant abundance ratio of ~ 0.3 - 0.8 % for HOCN
relative to HNCO was derived for the extended gas components, suggesting a
common formation process of these isomers
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