1,672 research outputs found
Competitiveness indices: interpretation and limits
Some competitiveness indices and the rankings of countries according to these indices are widely publicized. We discuss here how they should be interpreted and their empirical robustness, focusing on the indices published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). These indices suffer from several weaknesses. First, their theoretical basis is approximate. Second, they rest on many a priori assumptions regarding growth and competitiveness factors, which may be not empirically founded. Lastly, measurement of these factors is based on questionable indicators. Such weaknesses may lead to fragile indices and rankings. This is confirmed by an empirical analysis of the building of the main index (GCI) published by the WEF. We thus attempt to reproduce WEF's construction, on a more rigorous statistical basis. Starting from the same elementary indicators as the WEF's 2001 GCI index, we aggregate them with weights chosen to maximize the correlation between the aggregate index and GDP per capita growth for the retained countries, which is the supposed aim of the GCI index. The rankings we obtain differ, sometimes considerably, from WEF's rankings, although all the considered indices are similarly correlated with GDP per capita growth. The new indices do not however pretend to replace WEF's ones. They have obviously the same limits in terms of robustness, notably a weak capacity to account precisely for between countries growth discrepancies.
Automatic eduction and statistical analysis of coherent structures in the wall region of a confine plane
This paper describes a vortex detection algorithm used to expose and statistically characterize the
coherent flow patterns observable in the velocity vector fields measured by Particle Image
Velocimetry (PIV) in the impingement region of air curtains. The philosophy and the architecture of
this algorithm are presented. Its strengths and weaknesses are discussed. The results of a
parametrical analysis performed to assess the variability of the response of our algorithm to the 3
user-specified parameters in our eduction scheme are reviewed. The technique is illustrated in the
case of a plane turbulent impinging twin-jet with an opening ratio of 10. The corresponding jet
Reynolds number, based on the initial mean flow velocity U0 and the jet width e, is 14000. The
results of a statistical analysis of the size, shape, spatial distribution and energetic content of the
coherent eddy structures detected in the impingement region of this test flow are provided.
Although many questions remain open, new insights into the way these structures might form,
organize and evolve are given. Relevant results provide an original picture of the plane turbulent
impinging jet
Skew-Unfolding the Skorokhod Reflection of a Continuous Semimartingale
The Skorokhod reflection of a continuous semimartingale is unfolded, in a
possibly skewed manner, into another continuous semimartingale on an enlarged
probability space according to the excursion-theoretic methodology of Prokaj
(2009). This is done in terms of a skew version of the Tanaka equation, whose
properties are studied in some detail. The result is used to construct a system
of two diffusive particles with rank-based characteristics and skew-elastic
collisions. Unfoldings of conventional reflections are also discussed, as are
examples involving skew Brownian Motions and skew Bessel processes.Comment: 20 pages. typos corrected, added a remark after Proposition 2.3,
simplified the last part of Example 2.
Effect of nearest neighbor repulsion on the low frequency phase diagram of a quarter-filled Hubbard-Holstein chain
We have studied the influence of nearest-neighbor (NN) repulsion on the low
frequency phase diagram of a quarter-filled Hubbard-Holstein chain. The NN
repulsion term induces the apparition of two new long range ordered phases (one
CDW for positive and one CDW for
negative ) that did not exist in the V=0 phase diagram. These results
are put into perspective with the newly observed charge ordered phases in
organic conductors and an interpretation of their origin in terms of
electron-molecular vibration coupling is suggested.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Creep stability of the proposed AIDA mission target 65803 Didymos: I. Discrete cohesionless granular physics model
As the target of the proposed Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA)
mission, the near-Earth binary asteroid 65803 Didymos represents a special
class of binary asteroids, those whose primaries are at risk of rotational
disruption. To gain a better understanding of these binary systems and to
support the AIDA mission, this paper investigates the creep stability of the
Didymos primary by representing it as a cohesionless self-gravitating granular
aggregate subject to rotational acceleration. To achieve this goal, a
soft-sphere discrete element model (SSDEM) capable of simulating granular
systems in quasi-static states is implemented and a quasi-static spin-up
procedure is carried out. We devise three critical spin limits for the
simulated aggregates to indicate their critical states triggered by reshaping
and surface shedding, internal structural deformation, and shear failure,
respectively. The failure condition and mode, and shear strength of an
aggregate can all be inferred from the three critical spin limits. The effects
of arrangement and size distribution of constituent particles, bulk density,
spin-up path, and interparticle friction are numerically explored. The results
show that the shear strength of a spinning self-gravitating aggregate depends
strongly on both its internal configuration and material parameters, while its
failure mode and mechanism are mainly affected by its internal configuration.
Additionally, this study provides some constraints on the possible physical
properties of the Didymos primary based on observational data and proposes a
plausible formation mechanism for this binary system. With a bulk density
consistent with observational uncertainty and close to the maximum density
allowed for the asteroid, the Didymos primary in certain configurations can
remain geo-statically stable without including cohesion.Comment: 66 pages, 24 figures, submitted to Icarus on 25/Aug/201
Fourier analysis of wave turbulence in a thin elastic plate
The spatio-temporal dynamics of the deformation of a vibrated plate is
measured by a high speed Fourier transform profilometry technique. The
space-time Fourier spectrum is analyzed. It displays a behavior consistent with
the premises of the Weak Turbulence theory. A isotropic continuous spectrum of
waves is excited with a non linear dispersion relation slightly shifted from
the linear dispersion relation. The spectral width of the dispersion relation
is also measured. The non linearity of this system is weak as expected from the
theory. Finite size effects are discussed. Despite a qualitative agreement with
the theory, a quantitative mismatch is observed which origin may be due to the
dissipation that ultimately absorbs the energy flux of the Kolmogorov-Zakharov
casade.Comment: accepted for publication in European Physical Journal B see
http://www.epj.or
ExTrA: Exoplanets in Transit and their Atmospheres
The ExTrA facility, located at La Silla observatory, will consist of a
near-infrared multi-object spectrograph fed by three 60-cm telescopes. ExTrA
will add the spectroscopic resolution to the traditional differential
photometry method. This shall enable the fine correction of color-dependent
systematics that would otherwise hinder ground-based observations. With both
this novel method and an infrared-enabled efficiency, ExTrA aims to find
transiting telluric planets orbiting in the habitable zone of bright nearby M
dwarfs. It shall have the versatility to do so by running its own independent
survey and also by concurrently following-up on the space candidates unveiled
by K2 and TESS. The exoplanets detected by ExTrA will be amenable to
atmospheric characterisation with VLTs, JWST, and ELTs and could give our first
peek into an exo-life laboratory.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, SPIE 201
Study of the impact of tissue density heterogeneities on 3-dimensional abdominal dosimetry: comparison between dose kernel convolution and direct monte carlo methods.
Dose kernel convolution (DK) methods have been proposed to speed up absorbed dose calculations in molecular radionuclide therapy. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of tissue density heterogeneities (TDH) on dosimetry when using a DK method and to propose a simple density-correction method.
METHODS: This study has been conducted on 3 clinical cases: case 1, non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with (131)I-tositumomab; case 2, a neuroendocrine tumor treatment simulated with (177)Lu-peptides; and case 3, hepatocellular carcinoma treated with (90)Y-microspheres. Absorbed dose calculations were performed using a direct Monte Carlo approach accounting for TDH (3D-RD), and a DK approach (VoxelDose, or VD). For each individual voxel, the VD absorbed dose, D(VD), calculated assuming uniform density, was corrected for density, giving D(VDd). The average 3D-RD absorbed dose values, D(3DRD), were compared with D(VD) and D(VDd), using the relative difference Δ(VD/3DRD). At the voxel level, density-binned Δ(VD/3DRD) and Δ(VDd/3DRD) were plotted against ρ and fitted with a linear regression.
RESULTS: The D(VD) calculations showed a good agreement with D(3DRD). Δ(VD/3DRD) was less than 3.5%, except for the tumor of case 1 (5.9%) and the renal cortex of case 2 (5.6%). At the voxel level, the Δ(VD/3DRD) range was 0%-14% for cases 1 and 2, and -3% to 7% for case 3. All 3 cases showed a linear relationship between voxel bin-averaged Δ(VD/3DRD) and density, ρ: case 1 (Δ = -0.56ρ + 0.62, R(2) = 0.93), case 2 (Δ = -0.91ρ + 0.96, R(2) = 0.99), and case 3 (Δ = -0.69ρ + 0.72, R(2) = 0.91). The density correction improved the agreement of the DK method with the Monte Carlo approach (Δ(VDd/3DRD) < 1.1%), but with a lesser extent for the tumor of case 1 (3.1%). At the voxel level, the Δ(VDd/3DRD) range decreased for the 3 clinical cases (case 1, -1% to 4%; case 2, -0.5% to 1.5%, and -1.5% to 2%). No more linear regression existed for cases 2 and 3, contrary to case 1 (Δ = 0.41ρ - 0.38, R(2) = 0.88) although the slope in case 1 was less pronounced.
CONCLUSION: This study shows a small influence of TDH in the abdominal region for 3 representative clinical cases. A simple density-correction method was proposed and improved the comparison in the absorbed dose calculations when using our voxel S value implementation
Spin-phonon coupling in epitaxial Sr0.6Ba0.4MnO3 thin films
Spin-phonon coupling is investigated in epitaxially strained Sr1-xBaxMnO3 thin films with perovskite structure by means of microwave (MW) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. In this work we focus on the Sr0.6Ba0.4MnO3 composition grown on (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 substrate. The MW complex electromagnetic response shows a decrease in the real part and a clear anomaly in the imaginary part around 150 K. Moreover, it coincides with a 17% hardening of the lowest-frequency polar phonon seen in IR reflectance spectra. In order to further elucidate this phenomenon, low-energy muon-spin spectroscopy was carried out, signaling the emergence of antiferromagnetic order with Néel temperature (TN) around 150 K. Thus, our results confirm that epitaxial Sr0.6Ba0.4MnO3 thin films display strong spin-phonon coupling below TN, which may stimulate further research on tuning the magnetoelectric coupling by controlling the epitaxial strain and chemical pressure in the Sr1-xBaxMnO3 system
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