7,347 research outputs found
TEM characterization of the fine scale microstructure of a Roman ferrous nail
This paper describes the microstructure of a Roman ferrous nail through its observation by transmission electron microscopy. The morphologies of pearlitic colonies and ferritic grains are detailed and the relationship between pearlitic colonies and ferrite in Roman nails is explicitly demonstrated for the first time. Observations also confirm the presence of dislocations in ferritic grains and attest to the existence of very small carbide precipitates that have not been pointed out previously in standard archaeometric studies
Connected operators for sprite creation and layered representation of image sequences
This paper proposes and discusses the use of motion-oriented connected operators for sprite creation. Motion-oriented connected operators are tools allowing the simplification of frames by removing objects that do not follow a given motion. They combine features of filtering and segmentation tools. They are, however, less computationally expensive than most motion-oriented segmentation algorithms. In this paper, we show how they can be used to efficiently remove outliers with respect to the dominant motion and to create layered representation of sequences.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Creating single time-bin entangled photon pairs
When a single emitter is excited by two phase-coherent pulses with a time
delay, each of the pulses can lead to the emission of a photon pair, thus
creating a ``time-bin entangled'' state. Double pair emission can be avoided by
initially preparing the emitter in a metastable state. We show how photons from
separate emissions can be made indistinguishable, permitting their use for
multi-photon interference. Possible realizations are discussed. The method
might also allow the direct creation of n-photon entangled states (n>2).Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Constraining the QCD phase diagram by tricritical lines at imaginary chemical potential
We present unambiguous evidence from lattice simulations of QCD with three
degenerate quark species for two tricritical points in the (T,m) phase diagram
at fixed imaginary \mu/T=i\pi/3 mod 2\pi/3, one in the light and one in the
heavy mass regime. These represent the boundaries of the chiral and
deconfinement critical lines continued to imaginary chemical potential,
respectively. It is demonstrated that the shape of the deconfinement critical
line for real chemical potentials is dictated by tricritical scaling and
implies the weakening of the deconfinement transition with real chemical
potential. The generalization to non-degenerate and light quark masses is
discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Topology in the 2d Heisenberg Model under Gradient Flow
The 2d Heisenberg model --- or 2d O(3) model --- is popular in condensed
matter physics, and in particle physics as a toy model for QCD. Along with
other analogies, it shares with 4d Yang-Mills theories, and with QCD, the
property that the configurations are divided in topological sectors. In the
lattice regularisation the topological charge can still be defined such
that . It has generally been observed, however, that the
topological susceptibility does not
scale properly in the continuum limit, i.e. that the quantity diverges for (where is the correlation length in
lattice units). Here we address the question whether or not this divergence
persists after the application of the Gradient Flow.Comment: 10 pages, LaTex, 7 figures, 2 tables, talk presented at the XXXI
Reuni\'on Anual de la Divisi\'on de Part\'iculas y Campos de la Sociedad
Mexicana de F\'isica (CINVESTAV, Mexico City
VLSI implementation of an energy-aware wake-up detector for an acoustic surveillance sensor network
We present a low-power VLSI wake-up detector for a sensor network that uses acoustic signals to localize ground-base vehicles. The detection criterion is the degree of low-frequency periodicity in the acoustic signal, and the periodicity is computed from the "bumpiness" of the autocorrelation of a one-bit version of the signal. We then describe a CMOS ASIC that implements the periodicity estimation algorithm. The ASIC is functional and its core consumes 835 nanowatts. It was integrated into an acoustic enclosure and deployed in field tests with synthesized sounds and ground-based vehicles.Fil: Goldberg, David H.. Johns Hopkins University; Estados UnidosFil: Andreou, Andreas. Johns Hopkins University; Estados UnidosFil: Julian, Pedro Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y de Computadoras; ArgentinaFil: Pouliquen, Philippe O.. Johns Hopkins University; Estados UnidosFil: Riddle, Laurence. Signal Systems Corporation; Estados UnidosFil: Rosasco, Rich. Signal Systems Corporation; Estados Unido
A survey on fiber nonlinearity compensation for 400 Gbps and beyond optical communication systems
Optical communication systems represent the backbone of modern communication
networks. Since their deployment, different fiber technologies have been used
to deal with optical fiber impairments such as dispersion-shifted fibers and
dispersion-compensation fibers. In recent years, thanks to the introduction of
coherent detection based systems, fiber impairments can be mitigated using
digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms. Coherent systems are used in the
current 100 Gbps wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) standard technology.
They allow the increase of spectral efficiency by using multi-level modulation
formats, and are combined with DSP techniques to combat the linear fiber
distortions. In addition to linear impairments, the next generation 400 Gbps/1
Tbps WDM systems are also more affected by the fiber nonlinearity due to the
Kerr effect. At high input power, the fiber nonlinear effects become more
important and their compensation is required to improve the transmission
performance. Several approaches have been proposed to deal with the fiber
nonlinearity. In this paper, after a brief description of the Kerr-induced
nonlinear effects, a survey on the fiber nonlinearity compensation (NLC)
techniques is provided. We focus on the well-known NLC techniques and discuss
their performance, as well as their implementation and complexity. An extension
of the inter-subcarrier nonlinear interference canceler approach is also
proposed. A performance evaluation of the well-known NLC techniques and the
proposed approach is provided in the context of Nyquist and super-Nyquist
superchannel systems.Comment: Accepted in the IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial
Dynamics of granular avalanches caused by local perturbations
Surface flow of granular material is investigated within a continuum approach
in two dimensions. The dynamics is described by a non-linear coupling between
the two `states' of the granular material: a mobile layer and a static bed.
Following previous studies, we use mass and momentum conservation to derive
St-Venant like equations for the evolution of the thickness R of the mobile
layer and the profile Z of the static bed. This approach allows the rheology in
the flowing layer to be specified independently, and we consider in details the
two following models: a constant plug flow and a linear velocity profile. We
study and compare these models for non-stationary avalanches triggered by a
localized amount of mobile grains on a static bed of constant slope. We solve
analytically the non-linear dynamical equations by the method of
characteristics. This enables us to investigate the temporal evolution of the
avalanche size, amplitude and shape as a function of model parameters and
initial conditions. In particular, we can compute their large time behavior as
well as the condition for the formation of shocks.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure
The chiral critical line of QCD at ero and non-zero baryon density
We present numerical results for the location of the chiral critical line at finite temperature and zero and non-zero baryon density for QCD with N_f=2+1 flavours of staggered fermions on lattices with temporal extent N_t=4. For degenerate quark masses, we compare our results obtained with the exact RHMC algorithm with earlier, inexact R-algorithm results and find a reduction of 25% in the critical quark mass, for which the first order phase transition changes to a smooth crossover. Extending our analysis to non-degenerate quark masses, we map out the chiral critical line up to the neighbourhood of the physical point, which we confirm to be in the crossover region. Our data are consistent with a tricritical point at a strange quark mass of ~500 MeV. Finally, we investigate the shift of the critical line with finite baryon density, by simulating with an imaginary chemical potential for which there is no sign problem. We observe this shift to be very small or, conversely, the critical endpoint \mu^c(m_{u,d},m_s) to be extremely quark mass sensitive. Moreover, the sign of this shift is opposite to standard expectations. If confirmed on a finer lattice, it implies the absence of a critical endpoint or phase transition for chemical potentials \mu_B < 500 MeV. We thus argue that finer lattices are required to settle even the qualitative features of the QCD phase diagram
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