172 research outputs found
Statistical Models on Spherical Geometries
We use a one-dimensional random walk on -dimensional hyper-spheres to
determine the critical behavior of statistical systems in hyper-spherical
geometries. First, we demonstrate the properties of such a walk by studying the
phase diagram of a percolation problem. We find a line of second and first
order phase transitions separated by a tricritical point. Then, we analyze the
adsorption-desorption transition for a polymer growing near the attractive
boundary of a cylindrical cell membrane. We find that the fraction of adsorbed
monomers on the boundary vanishes exponentially when the adsorption energy
decreases towards its critical value.Comment: 8 pages, latex, 2 figures in p
Detection of the tagged or untagged photons in acousto-optic imaging of thick highly scattering media by photorefractive adaptive holography
We propose an original adaptive wavefront holographic setup based on the
photorefractive effect (PR), to make real-time measurements of acousto-optic
signals in thick scattering media, with a high flux collection at high rates
for breast tumor detection. We describe here our present state of art and
understanding on the problem of breast imaging with PR detection of the
acousto-optic signal
Multi-Year Elevation Changes Near the West Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet from Satellite Radar Altimetry
Mean changes in the surface elevation near the west margin of the Greenland ice sheet are measured using Seasat altimetry and altimetry from the Geosat Exact Repeat Mission (ERM). The Seasat data extend from early July through early October 1978. The ERM data extend from winter 1986-87 through fall 1988. Both seasonal and multi-year changes are measured using altimetry referenced to GEM T2 orbits. The possible effects of orbit error are minimized by adjusting the orbits into a common ocean surface. Seasonal mean changes in the surface height are recognizable during the Geosat ERM. The multi-year measurements indicate the surface was lower by 0.4 +/- 0.4 m on average in late summer 1987 than in late summer 1978. The surface was lower by 0.2 +/- 0.5 m on average in late summer 1988 than in late summer 1978. As a control case, the computations art also carried out using altimetry referenced to orbits not adjusted into a common ocean surface
Configurational Entropy and its Crisis in Metastable States: Ideal Glass Transition in a Dimer Model as a Paragidm of a Molecular Glass
We discuss the need for discretization to evaluate the configurational
entropy in a general model. We also discuss the prescription using restricted
partition function formalism to study the stationary limit of metastable
states. We introduce a lattice model of dimers as a paradigm of molecular fluid
and study metastability in it to investigate the root cause of glassy behavior.
We demonstrate the existence of the entropy crisis in metastable states, from
which it follows that the entropy crisis is the root cause underlying the ideal
glass transition in systems with particles of all sizes. The orientational
interactions in the model control the nature of the liquid-liquid transition
observed in recent years in molecular glasses.Comment: 36 pages, 9 figure
Comparison of Surface Elevation Changes of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets from Radar and Laser Altimetry
A primary purpose of satellite altimeter measurements is determination of the mass balances of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and changes with time by measurement of changes in the surface elevations. Since the early 1990's, important measurements for this purpose have been made by radar altimeters on ERS-l and 2, Envisat, and CryoSat and a laser altimeter on ICESat. One principal factor limiting direct comparisons between radar and laser measurements is the variable penetration depth of the radar signal and the corresponding location of the effective depth of the radar-measured elevation beneath the surface, in contrast to the laser-measured surface elevation. Although the radar penetration depth varies significantly both spatially and temporally, empirical corrections have been developed to account for this effect. Another limiting factor in direct comparisons is caused by differences in the size of the laser and radar footprints and their respective horizontal locations on the surface. Nevertheless, derived changes in elevation, dHldt, and time-series of elevation, H(t), have been shown to be comparable. For comparisons at different times, corrections for elevation changes caused by variations in the rate offrrn compaction have also been developed. Comparisons between the H(t) and the average dH/dt at some specific locations, such as the Vostok region of East Antarctic, show good agreement among results from ERS-l and 2, Envisat, and ICESat. However, Greenland maps of dHidt from Envisat and ICESat for the same time periods (2003-2008) show some areas of significant differences as well as areas of good agreement. Possible causes of residual differences are investigated and described
The physical determinants of the thickness of lamellar polymer crystals
Based upon kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of crystallization in a simple
polymer model we present a new picture of the mechanism by which the thickness
of lamellar polymer crystals is constrained to a value close to the minimum
thermodynamically stable thickness. This description contrasts with those given
by the two dominant theoretical approaches.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, revte
Non-Markovian Configurational Diffusion and Reaction Coordinates for Protein Folding
The non-Markovian nature of polymer motions is accounted for in folding
kinetics, using frequency-dependent friction. Folding, like many other problems
in the physics of disordered systems, involves barrier crossing on a correlated
energy landscape. A variational transition state theory (VTST) that reduces to
the usual Bryngelson-Wolynes Kramers approach when the non-Markovian aspects
are neglected is used to obtain the rate, without making any assumptions
regarding the size of the barrier, or the memory time of the friction. The
transformation to collective variables dependent on the dynamics of the system
allows the theory to address the controversial issue of what are ``good''
reaction coordinates for folding.Comment: 9 pages RevTeX, 3 eps-figures included, submitted to PR
ICESat GLAS Altimetry Measurements: Received Signal Dynamic Range and Saturation Correction
NASAs Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which operated between 2003 and 2009, made the first satellite-based global lidar measurement of Earths ice sheet elevations, sea-ice thickness and vegetation canopy structure. The primary instrument on ICESat was the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), which measured the distance from the spacecraft to Earths surface via the roundtrip travel time of individual laser pulses. GLAS utilized pulsed lasers and a direct detection receiver consisting of a silicon avalanche photodiode (SiAPD) and a waveform digitizer. Early in the mission, the peak power of the received signal from snow and ice surfaces was found to span a wider dynamic range than planned, often exceeding the linear dynamic range of the GLAS 1064-nm detector assembly. The resulting saturation of the receiver distorted the recorded signal and resulted in range biases as large as 50 cm for ice and snow-covered surfaces. We developed a correction for this saturation range bias based on laboratory tests using a spare flight detector, and refined the correction by comparing GLAS elevation estimates to those derived from Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys over the calibration site at the salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Applying the saturation correction largely eliminated the range bias due to receiver saturation for affected ICESat measurements over Uyuni and significantly reduced the discrepancies at orbit crossovers located on flat regions of the Antarctic ice sheet
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