Micro-bias and macro-performance

We use agent-based modeling to investigate the effect of conservatism and partisanship on the efficiency with which large populations solve the density classification task--a paradigmatic problem for information aggregation and consensus building. We find that conservative agents enhance the populations' ability to efficiently solve the density classification task despite large levels of noise in the system. In contrast, we find that the presence of even a small fraction of partisans holding the minority position will result in deadlock or a consensus on an incorrect answer. Our results provide a possible explanation for the emergence of conservatism and suggest that even low levels of partisanship can lead to significant social costs.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

3D Modeling of the Magnetization of Superconducting Rectangular-Based Bulks and Tape Stacks

In recent years, numerical models have become popular and powerful tools to investigate the electromagnetic behavior of superconductors. One domain where this advances are most necessary is the 3D modeling of the electromagnetic behavior of superconductors. For this purpose, a benchmark problem consisting of superconducting cube subjected to an AC magnetic field perpendicular to one of its faces has been recently defined and successfully solved. In this work, a situation more relevant for applications is investigated: a superconducting parallelepiped bulk with the magnetic field parallel to two of its faces and making an angle with the other one without and with a further constraint on the possible directions of the current. The latter constraint can be used to model the magnetization of a stack of high-temperature superconductor tapes, which are electrically insulated in one direction. For the present study three different numerical approaches are used: the Minimum Electro-Magnetic Entropy Production (MEMEP) method, the $H$-formulation of Maxwell's equations and the Volume Integral Method (VIM) for 3D eddy currents computation. The results in terms of current density profiles and energy dissipation are compared, and the differences in the two situations of unconstrained and constrained current flow are pointed out. In addition, various technical issues related to the 3D modeling of superconductors are discussed and information about the computational effort required by each model is provided. This works constitutes a concrete result of the collaborative effort taking place within the HTS numerical modeling community and will hopefully serve as a stepping stone for future joint investigations

Temperature oscillations of magnetization observed in nanofluid ferromagnetic graphite

We report on unusual magnetic properties observed in the nanofluid room-temperature ferromagnetic graphite (with an average particle size of l=10nm). More precisely, the measured magnetization exhibits a low-temperature anomaly (attributed to manifestation of finite size effects below the quantum temperature) as well as pronounced temperature oscillations above T=50K (attributed to manifestation of the hard-sphere type pair correlations between ferromagnetic particles in the nanofluid)

Detection of the linear radical HC4N in IRC+10216

We report the detection of the linear radical HC4N in the C-rich envelope of IRC+10216. After HCCN, HC4N is the second member of the allenic chain family HC_(2n)N observed in space. The column density of HC4N is found to be 1.5 10**12 cm**(-2). The abundance ratio HC2N/HC4N is 9, a factor of two larger than the decrement observed for the cyanopolyynes HC$_(2n+1)N/HC_(2n+3)N. Linear HC_4N has a 3-Sigma electronic ground state and is one of the 3 low-energy isomeric forms of this molecule. We have searched for the bent and ringed HC4N isomers, but could only derive an upper limit to their column densities of about 3 10**(12) cm**(-2).Comment: Preprint of 10 page

Manifestation of finite temperature size effects in nanogranular magnetic graphite

In addition to the double phase transition (with the Curie temperatures T_C=300K and T_{Ct}=144K), a low-temperature anomaly in the dependence of the magnetization is observed in the bulk magnetic graphite (with an average granular size of L=10nm), which is attributed to manifestation of the size effects below the quantum temperature. The best fits of the high-temperature data (using the mean-field Curie-Weiss and Bloch expressions) produced reasonable estimates for the model parameters, such as defects mediated effective spin exchange energy J=12meV (which defines the intragranular Curie temperature T_C) and proximity mediated interactions between neighboring grains (through potential barriers created by thin layers of non-magnetic graphite) with energy J_t=exp(-d/s)J=5.8meV (which defines the intergranular Curie temperature T_{Ct}) with d=1.5nm and s=2nm being the intergranular distance and characteristic length, respectively

Structure of non-unital purely infinite simple rings

In this note, we study the notion of purely infinite simple ring in the case of nonunital rings, and we obtain an analog to Zhang's Dichotomy for σ-unital purely infinite simple C*-algebras in the purely algebraic context

Clues to NaCN formation

ALMA is providing us essential information on where certain molecules form. Observing where these molecules emission arises from, the physical conditions of the gas, and how this relates with the presence of other species allows us to understand the formation of many species, and to significantly improve our knowledge of the chemistry that occurs in the space. We studied the molecular distribution of NaCN around IRC +10216, a molecule detected previously, but whose origin is not clear. High angular resolution maps allow us to model the abundance distribution of this molecule and check suggested formation paths. We modeled the emission of NaCN assuming local thermal equilibrium (LTE) conditions. These profiles were fitted to azimuthal averaged intensity profiles to obtain an abundance distribution of NaCN. We found that the presence of NaCN seems compatible with the presence of CN, probably as a result of the photodissociation of HCN, in the inner layers of the ejecta of IRC +10216. However, similar as for CH 3 CN, current photochemical models fail to reproduce this CN reservoir. We also found that the abundance peak of NaCN appears at a radius of 3 x 10 15 cm, approximately where the abundance of NaCl, suggested to be the parent species, starts to decay. However, the abundance ratio shows that the NaCl abundance is lower than that obtained for NaCN. We expect that the LTE assumption might result in NaCN abundances higher than the real ones. Updated photochemical models, collisional rates, and reaction rates are essential to determine the possible paths of the NaCN formation.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A letter