A universal mechanism for long-range cross-correlations

Cross-correlations are thought to emerge through interaction between particles. Here we present a universal dynamical mechanism capable of generating power-law cross-correlations between non-interacting particles exposed to an external potential. This phenomenon can occur as an ensemble property when the external potential induces intermittent dynamics of Pomeau-Manneville type, providing laminar and stochastic phases of motion in a system with a large number of particles. In this case, the ensemble of particle-trajectories forms a random fractal in time. The underlying statistical self-similarity is the origin of the observed power-law cross-correlations. Furthermore, we have strong indications that a sufficient condition for the emergence of these long-range cross-correlations is the divergence of the mean residence time in the laminar phase of the single particle motion (sporadic dynamics). We argue that the proposed mechanism may be relevant for the occurrence of collective behaviour in critical systems

Hyperacceleration in a stochastic Fermi-Ulam model

Fermi acceleration in a Fermi-Ulam model, consisting of an ensemble of particles bouncing between two, infinitely heavy, stochastically oscillating hard walls, is investigated. It is shown that the widely used approximation, neglecting the displacement of the walls (static wall approximation), leads to a systematic underestimation of particle acceleration. An improved approximative map is introduced, which takes into account the effect of the wall displacement, and in addition allows the analytical estimation of the long term behavior of the particle mean velocity as well as the corresponding probability distribution, in complete agreement with the numerical results of the exact dynamics. This effect accounting for the increased particle acceleration -Fermi hyperacceleration- is also present in higher dimensional systems, such as the driven Lorentz gas.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Recurrence of particles in static and time varying oval billiards

Dynamical properties are studied for escaping particles, injected through a hole in an oval billiard. The dynamics is considered for both static and periodically moving boundaries. For the static boundary, two different decays for the recurrence time distribution were observed after exponential decay for short times: A changeover to: (i) power law or; (ii) stretched exponential. Both slower decays are due to sticky orbits trapped near KAM islands, with the stretched exponential apparently associated with a single group of large islands. For time dependent case, survival probability leads to the conclusion that sticky orbits are less evident compared with the static case.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Phys Lett

Score-Based Bayesian Skill Learning

We extend the Bayesian skill rating system of TrueSkill to accommodate score-based match outcomes. TrueSkill has proven to be a very effective algorithm for matchmaking - the process of pairing competitors based on similar skill-level - in competitive online gaming. However, for the case of two teams/players, TrueSkill only learns from win, lose, or draw outcomes and cannot use additional match outcome information such as scores. To address this deficiency, we propose novel Bayesian graphical models as extensions of TrueSkill that (1) model player's offence and defence skills separately and (2) model how these offence and defence skills interact to generate score-based match outcomes. We derive efficient (approximate) Bayesian inference methods for inferring latent skills in these new models and evaluate them on three real data sets including Halo 2 XBox Live matches. Empirical evaluations demonstrate that the new score-based models (a) provide more accurate win/loss probability estimates than TrueSkill when training data is limited, (b) provide competitive and often better win/loss classification performance than TrueSkill, and (c) provide reasonable score outcome predictions with an appropriate choice of likelihood - prediction for which TrueSkill was not designed, but which can be useful in many applications. © 2012 Springer-Verlag

Enrichment of starch-based extruded cereals with chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) pomace: Influence of processing conditions on techno-functional and sensory related properties, dietary fibre and polyphenol content as well as in vitro digestibility

Aiming at providing prototypes for ready-to-eat texturised (RTE) cereal products with reduced glycaemic load, starch blends with chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) pomace powder (CPP) rich in dietary fibre (DF) and polyphenols (PP) were extruded using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. The CPP ratios (25%, 50%) and processing conditions applied (barrel temperature 100 °C, screw speed 200, 400, 600, 800 min−1, water content 13%, 23%) result in specific mechanical energies of 87–336 Whkg−1 and material temperatures of 111–155 °C. Extrudates containing 25% CPP still offer acceptable techno-functional and sensory related physical properties, while higher CPP ratios result in decreased expansion and cell pore size of the slightly darker and softer extrudates. The in vitro glucose release of both extruded blends is reduced by 25% and 50%, respectively. The DF contents are unaffected. As expected, anthocyanins are degraded by about 70% in both blends while phenolic acids and flavonols are fully retained. All PP are already accessible during the stomach phase of an in vitro digestion and are not changed significantly in the intestinal phases. Overall, these data substantiate, that marketable texturised RTE extruded cereals may be developed based on the results presented and on further sensory analysis

Scattering off an oscillating target: Basic mechanisms and their impact on cross sections

We investigate classical scattering off a harmonically oscillating target in two spatial dimensions. The shape of the scatterer is assumed to have a boundary which is locally convex at any point and does not support the presence of any periodic orbits in the corresponding dynamics. As a simple example we consider the scattering of a beam of non-interacting particles off a circular hard scatterer. The performed analysis is focused on experimentally accessible quantities, characterizing the system, like the differential cross sections in the outgoing angle and velocity. Despite the absence of periodic orbits and their manifolds in the dynamics, we show that the cross sections acquire rich and multiple structure when the velocity of the particles in the beam becomes of the same order of magnitude as the maximum velocity of the oscillating target. The underlying dynamical pattern is uniquely determined by the phase of the first collision between the beam particles and the scatterer and possesses a universal profile, dictated by the manifolds of the parabolic orbits, which can be understood both qualitatively as well as quantitatively in terms of scattering off a hard wall. We discuss also the inverse problem concerning the possibility to extract properties of the oscillating target from the differential cross sections.Comment: 18 page

Numerical simulation of flow and contaminant migration at a municipal landfill

The flow and transport characteristics of the Ano Liosia Landfill site i

Impact of defined thermomechanical treatment on the structure and content of dietary fiber and the stability and bioaccessibility of polyphenols of chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) pomace

Dietary fiber is a potential replacement for other ingredients such as starch in reformulated extruded breakfast cereals. Analysis of chokeberry pomace powder revealed a total dietary fiber content of 57.8 ± 2 g/100 g with 76% being insoluble, 20% high molecular soluble and 4% low molecular soluble dietary fiber. The fiber polysaccharide composition was analyzed in detail by using a variety of analytical approaches. Extrusion-like processing conditions were studies in a Closed Cavity Rheometer enabling the application of defined thermal (temperature range 100–160 °C) and mechanical treatments (shear rates between 0.1 s$^{-1}$ and 50 s$^{-1}$) to chokeberry pomace powder. Application of temperatures up to 140 °C irrespective of the mechanical treatment does not remarkably alter dietary fiber structure or content, but reduces the initial content of total polyphenols by about 40% to a final content of 3.3 ± 0.5 g/100 g including 0.63 ± 0.1 g/100 g of anthocyanins, 0.18 ± 0.02 g/100 g of phenolic acids and 0.090 ± 0.007 g/100 g of flavonols, respectively. The retained polyphenols are fully bioaccessible after in vitro digestion, and antioxidant capacity remains unchanged as compared to the untreated pomace powder. Glucose bioaccessibility remains unaffected, whereas glucose content is reduced. It is concluded that chokeberry pomace powder is a good source of dietary fiber with the potential to partially substitute starch in extruded breakfast cereals