4,941 research outputs found
Pathophysiologic correlates of exercise intolerance in adults with pulmonary hypertension and congenital heart disease
Imperial Users onl
Influence of cross-section geometry and wire orientation on the phonon shifts in ultra-scaled Si nanowires
Engineering of the cross-section shape and size of ultra-scaled Si nanowires
(SiNWs) provides an attractive way for tuning their structural properties. The
acoustic and optical phonon shifts of the free-standing circular, hexagonal,
square and triangular SiNWs are calculated using a Modified Valence Force Field
(MVFF) model. The acoustic phonon blue shift (acoustic hardening) and the
optical phonon red shift (optical softening) show a strong dependence on the
cross-section shape and size of the SiNWs. The triangular SiNWs have the least
structural symmetry as revealed by the splitting of the degenerate flexural
phonon modes and The show the minimum acoustic hardening and the maximum
optical hardening. The acoustic hardening, in all SiNWs, is attributed to the
decreasing difference in the vibrational energy distribution between the inner
and the surface atoms with decreasing cross-section size. The optical softening
is attributed to the reduced phonon group velocity and the localization of the
vibrational energy density on the inner atoms. While the acoustic phonon shift
shows a strong wire orientation dependence, the optical phonon softening is
independent of wire orientation.Comment: 10 figures, 4 Tables, submitted to JAP for revie
Monoenergetic positron conversion in heavy ion fragments
Conversion processes in light nuclei with transition energies above the e+, e- pair creation threshold are investigated within an analytical framework. In particular, we evaluate the ratio of electron transition probabilities from the negative energy continuum into the atomic K shell and into the positive energy continuum, respectively. The possible role of monoenergetic positron conversion with respect to the striking peak structures observed in e+ spectra from very heavy collision systems is examined
Inflation dynamics under optimal discretionary fiscal and monetary policies
We examine the dynamic properties of inflation in a model of optimal discretionary fiscal and monetary policies. The lack of commitment and the presence of nominally risk-free debt provide the government with an incentive to implement policies which induce positive and persistent inflation rates. We show that this property obtains already in an environment with flexible prices and perfectly competitive product markets. Introducing nominal rigidities and imperfect competition has no qualitative but important quantitative implications. In particular, with a modest degree of price stickiness our model generates inflation dynamics very similar to those experienced in the U.S. since the Volcker disinflation of the early 1980s.
Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy Without Commitment
This paper studies optimal fiscal and monetary policy in a stochastic economy with imperfectly competitive product markets and a discretionary government. We find that, in the flexible price economy, optimal time-consistent policy implements the Friedman rule independently of the degree of imperfect competition. This result is in contrast to the Ramsey literature, where the Friedman rule emerges as the optimal policy only if markets are perfectly competitive. Second, once nominal rigidities are introduced, the Friedman rule ceases to be optimal, inflation rates are low and stable, and tax rates are relatively volatile. Finally, optimal time-consistent policy under sticky prices does not generate the near-random walk behavior of taxes and real debt that can be observed under optimal policy in the Ramsey problem. A common reason for these results is that the discretionary government, in an effort to asymptotically eliminate its time-consistency problem, accumulates a large net asset position such that it can finance its expenditures via the associated interest earnings.
An Algebraic Framework for the Real-Time Solution of Inverse Problems on Embedded Systems
This article presents a new approach to the real-time solution of inverse
problems on embedded systems. The class of problems addressed corresponds to
ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with generalized linear constraints,
whereby the data from an array of sensors forms the forcing function. The
solution of the equation is formulated as a least squares (LS) problem with
linear constraints. The LS approach makes the method suitable for the explicit
solution of inverse problems where the forcing function is perturbed by noise.
The algebraic computation is partitioned into a initial preparatory step, which
precomputes the matrices required for the run-time computation; and the cyclic
run-time computation, which is repeated with each acquisition of sensor data.
The cyclic computation consists of a single matrix-vector multiplication, in
this manner computation complexity is known a-priori, fulfilling the definition
of a real-time computation. Numerical testing of the new method is presented on
perturbed as well as unperturbed problems; the results are compared with known
analytic solutions and solutions acquired from state-of-the-art implicit
solvers. The solution is implemented with model based design and uses only
fundamental linear algebra; consequently, this approach supports automatic code
generation for deployment on embedded systems. The targeting concept was tested
via software- and processor-in-the-loop verification on two systems with
different processor architectures. Finally, the method was tested on a
laboratory prototype with real measurement data for the monitoring of flexible
structures. The problem solved is: the real-time overconstrained reconstruction
of a curve from measured gradients. Such systems are commonly encountered in
the monitoring of structures and/or ground subsidence.Comment: 24 pages, journal articl
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