6,943 research outputs found
Investigation of nickel hydrogen battery technology for the RADARSAT spacecraft
The low Earth orbit (LEO) operations of the RADARSAT spacecraft require high performance batteries to provide energy to the payload and platform during eclipse period. Nickel Hydrogen cells are currently competing with the more traditional Nickel Cadmium cells for high performance spacecraft applications at geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and Leo. Nickel Hydrogen cells appear better suited for high power applications where high currents and high Depths of Discharge are required. Although a number of GEO missions have flown with Nickel Hydrogen batteries, it is not readily apparent that the LEO version of the Nickel Hydrogen cell is able to withstand the extended cycle lifetime (5 years) of the RADARSAT mission. The problems associated with Nickel Hydrogen cells are discussed in the contex of RADARSAT mission and a test program designed to characterize cell performance is presented
Boundary correlation function of fixed-to-free bcc operators in square-lattice Ising model
We calculate the boundary correlation function of fixed-to-free boundary
condition changing operators in the square-lattice Ising model. The correlation
function is expressed in four different ways using block Toeplitz
determinants. We show that these can be transformed into a scalar Toeplitz
determinant when the size of the matrix is even. To know the asymptotic
behavior of the correlation function at large distance we calculate the
asymptotic behavior of this scalar Toeplitz determinant using the Szeg\"o's
theorem and the Fisher-Hartwig theorem. At the critical temperature we confirm
the power-law behavior of the correlation function predicted by conformal field
theory
The potential impact on Florida-based marina and boating industries of a post-embargo Cuba: an analysis of geographic, physical, policy and industry trends
The information in this Technical Paper addresses the future of the US-Cuban marina and recreational
boating industries from the geographic, physical, policy making and economic perspectives for a post-embargo Cuba.
Each individual paper builds on the presentations made at the workshop, the information obtained in the subsequent trip
to Cuba and presents in detailed form information which we hope is useful to all readers. (147pp.
Exact solution of a 2d random Ising model
The model considered is a d=2 layered random Ising system on a square lattice
with nearest neighbours interaction. It is assumed that all the vertical
couplings are equal and take the positive value J while the horizontal
couplings are quenched random variables which are equal in the same row but can
take the two possible values J and J-K in different rows. The exact solution is
obtained in the limit case of infinite K for any distribution of the horizontal
couplings. The model which corresponds to this limit can be seen as an ordinary
Ising system where the spins of some rows, chosen at random, are frozen in an
antiferromagnetic order. No phase transition is found if the horizontal
couplings are independent random variables while for correlated disorder one
finds a low temperature phase with some glassy properties.Comment: 10 pages, Plain TeX, 3 ps figures, submitted to Europhys. Let
Finite Temperature and Dynamical Properties of the Random Transverse-Field Ising Spin Chain
We study numerically the paramagnetic phase of the spin-1/2 random
transverse-field Ising chain, using a mapping to non-interacting fermions. We
extend our earlier work, Phys. Rev. 53, 8486 (1996), to finite temperatures and
to dynamical properties. Our results are consistent with the idea that there
are ``Griffiths-McCoy'' singularities in the paramagnetic phase described by a
continuously varying exponent , where measures the
deviation from criticality. There are some discrepancies between the values of
obtained from different quantities, but this may be due to
corrections to scaling. The average on-site time dependent correlation function
decays with a power law in the paramagnetic phase, namely
, where is imaginary time. However, the typical
value decays with a stretched exponential behavior, ,
where may be related to . We also obtain results for the full
probability distribution of time dependent correlation functions at different
points in the paramagnetic phase.Comment: 10 pages, 14 postscript files included. The discussion of the typical
time dependent correlation function has been greatly expanded. Other papers
of APY are available on-line at http://schubert.ucsc.edu/pete
Is It Time For An Exchange Traded Futures Contract Based On A Housing Price Index?
There is not a good hedging instrument to absorb housing price risk. An exchange traded futures contract based on a hedonic or repeat sale housing price index would help homeowners, originators, home builders, and others hedge housing price risk, but it does not exist, yet. We discuss the need and why it may be time for its introduction
Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine alters Ca²⁺ dynamics in cultured hippocampal neurons: mitigation by NMDA receptor blockade and GABA(A) receptor-positive modulation.
Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS) is a potent convulsant that is considered a chemical threat agent. We characterized TETS as an activator of spontaneous Ca²⁺ oscillations and electrical burst discharges in mouse hippocampal neuronal cultures at 13-17 days in vitro using FLIPR Fluo-4 fluorescence measurements and extracellular microelectrode array recording. Acute exposure to TETS (≥ 2 µM) reversibly altered the pattern of spontaneous neuronal discharges, producing clustered burst firing and an overall increase in discharge frequency. TETS also dramatically affected Ca²⁺ dynamics causing an immediate but transient elevation of neuronal intracellular Ca²⁺ followed by decreased frequency of Ca²⁺ oscillations but greater peak amplitude. The effect on Ca²⁺ dynamics was similar to that elicited by picrotoxin and bicuculline, supporting the view that TETS acts by inhibiting type A gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA(A)) receptor function. The effect of TETS on Ca²⁺ dynamics requires activation of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors, because the changes induced by TETS were prevented by MK-801 block of NMDA receptors, but not nifedipine block of L-type Ca²⁺ channels. Pretreatment with the GABA(A) receptor-positive modulators diazepam and allopregnanolone partially mitigated TETS-induced changes in Ca²⁺ dynamics. Moreover, low, minimally effective concentrations of diazepam (0.1 µM) and allopregnanolone (0.1 µM), when administered together, were highly effective in suppressing TETS-induced alterations in Ca²⁺ dynamics, suggesting that the combination of positive modulators of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA(A) receptors may have therapeutic potential. These rapid throughput in vitro assays may assist in the identification of single agents or combinations that have utility in the treatment of TETS intoxication
Exact renormalization of the random transverse-field Ising spin chain in the strongly ordered and strongly disordered Griffiths phases
The real-space renormalization group (RG) treatment of random
transverse-field Ising spin chains by Fisher ({\it Phys. Rev. B{\bf 51}, 6411
(1995)}) has been extended into the strongly ordered and strongly disordered
Griffiths phases and asymptotically exact results are obtained. In the
non-critical region the asymmetry of the renormalization of the couplings and
the transverse fields is related to a non-linear quantum control parameter,
, which is a natural measure of the distance from the quantum critical
point. , which is found to stay invariant along the RG trajectories and
has been expressed by the initial disorder distributions, stands in the
singularity exponents of different physical quantities (magnetization,
susceptibility, specific heat, etc), which are exactly calculated. In this way
we have observed a weak-universality scenario: the Griffiths-McCoy
singularities does not depend on the form of the disorder, provided the
non-linear quantum control parameter has the same value. The exact scaling
function of the magnetization with a small applied magnetic field is calculated
and the critical point magnetization singularity is determined in a simple,
direct way.Comment: 11 page
- …