On-line planning and scheduling: an application to controlling modular printers

We present a case study of artificial intelligence techniques applied to the control of production printing equipment. Like many other real-world applications, this complex domain requires high-speed autonomous decision-making and robust continual operation. To our knowledge, this work represents the first successful industrial application of embedded domain-independent temporal planning. Our system handles execution failures and multi-objective preferences. At its heart is an on-line algorithm that combines techniques from state-space planning and partial-order scheduling. We suggest that this general architecture may prove useful in other applications as more intelligent systems operate in continual, on-line settings. Our system has been used to drive several commercial prototypes and has enabled a new product architecture for our industrial partner. When compared with state-of-the-art off-line planners, our system is hundreds of times faster and often finds better plans. Our experience demonstrates that domain-independent AI planning based on heuristic search can flexibly handle time, resources, replanning, and multiple objectives in a high-speed practical application without requiring hand-coded control knowledge

Evolving small-world networks with geographical attachment preference

We introduce a minimal extended evolving model for small-world networks which is controlled by a parameter. In this model the network growth is determined by the attachment of new nodes to already existing nodes that are geographically close. We analyze several topological properties for our model both analytically and by numerical simulations. The resulting network shows some important characteristics of real-life networks such as the small-world effect and a high clustering.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

High Dimensional Apollonian Networks

We propose a simple algorithm which produces high dimensional Apollonian networks with both small-world and scale-free characteristics. We derive analytical expressions for the degree distribution, the clustering coefficient and the diameter of the networks, which are determined by their dimension

Exchange interactions and temperature dependence of the magnetization in half--metallic Heusler alloys

We study the exchange interactions in half-metallic Heusler alloys using first-principles calculations in conjunction with the frozen-magnon approximation. The Curie temperature is estimated within both mean-field (MF) and random-phase-approximation (RPA) approaches. For the half-Heusler alloys NiMnSb and CoMnSb the dominant interaction is between the nearest Mn atoms. In this case the MF and RPA estimations differ strongly. The RPA approach provides better agreement with experiment. The exchange interactions are more complex in the case of full-Heusler alloys Co$_2$MnSi and Co$_2$CrAl where the dominant effects are the inter-sublattice interactions between the Mn(Cr) and Co atoms and between Co atoms at different sublattices. For these compounds we find that both MF and RPA give very close values of the Curie temperature slightly underestimating experimental quantities. We study the influence of the lattice compression on the magnetic properties. The temperature dependence of the magnetization is calculated using the RPA method within both quantum mechanical and classical approaches.Comment: New figures and discussio

Pure multiplicative stochastic resonance of anti-tumor model with seasonal modulability

The effects of pure multiplicative noise on stochastic resonance in an anti-tumor system modulated by a seasonal external field are investigated by using theoretical analyses of the generalized potential and numerical simulations. For optimally selected values of the multiplicative noise intensity quasi-symmetry of two potential minima and stochastic resonance are observed. Theoretical results and numerical simulations are in good quantitative agreement.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

More on QCD Ghost Dark Energy

The difference between vacuum energy of quantum fields in Minkowski space and in Friedmann-Robterson-Walker universe might be related to the observed dark energy. The vacuum energy of the Veneziano ghost field introduced to solve the $U(1)_A$ problem in QCD is of the form, $H+ {\cal O}(H^2)$. Based on this, we study the dynamical evolution of a phenomenological dark energy model whose energy density is of the form $\alpha H+\beta H^2$. In this model, the universe approaches to a de Sitter phase at late times. We fit the model with current observational data including SnIa, BAO, CMB, BBN, Hubble parameter and growth rate of matter perturbation. It shows that the universe begins to accelerate at redshift $z\sim 0.75$ and this model is consistent with current data. In particular, this model fits the data of growth factor well as the $\Lambda CDM$ model.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Fano Effect through Parallel-coupled Double Coulomb Islands

By means of the non-equilibrium Green function and equation of motion method, the electronic transport is theoretically studied through a parallel-coupled double quantum dots(DQD) in the presence of the on-dot Coulomb correlation, with an emphasis put on the quantum interference. It has been found that in the Coulomb blockage regime, the quantum interference between the bonding and antiboding DQD states or that between their Coulomb blockade counterparts may result in the Fano resonance in the conductance spectra, and the Fano peak doublet may be observed under certain non-equilibrium condition. The possibility of manipulating the Fano lineshape is predicted by tuning the dot-lead coupling and magnetic flux threading the ring connecting the dots and leads. Similar to the case without Coulomb interaction, the direction of the asymmetric tail of Fano lineshape can be flipped by the external field. Most importantly, by tuning the magnetic flux, the function of four relevant states can be interchanged, giving rise to the swap effect, which might play a key role as a qubit in the quantum computation.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure