1,585 research outputs found
Effects of electromagnetic waves on the electrical properties of contacts between grains
A DC electrical current is injected through a chain of metallic beads. The
electrical resistances of each bead-bead contacts are measured. At low current,
the distribution of these resistances is large and log-normal. At high enough
current, the resistance distribution becomes sharp and Gaussian due to the
creation of microweldings between some beads. The action of nearby
electromagnetic waves (sparks) on the electrical conductivity of the chain is
also studied. The spark effect is to lower the resistance values of the more
resistive contacts, the best conductive ones remaining unaffected by the spark
production. The spark is able to induce through the chain a current enough to
create microweldings between some beads. This explains why the electrical
resistance of a granular medium is so sensitive to the electromagnetic waves
produced in its vicinity.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Discussion on: numerical methods in the definition of palynological assemblage zones in the Lower Karroo (Gondwana) of Rhodesia
Main articleSubsequent to the publication of the above paper (in which a number of errata appeared) certain points of discussion have been raised regarding the interpretation of the single axis spatial ordinations. In particular delineation of the numerical assemblage zones based upon the spacings between the clustered groups has been in question. In order to
understand fully the significance of these groupings the following points should be borne in mind.Non
MILES extended: Stellar population synthesis models from the optical to the infrared
We present the first single-burst stellar population models which covers the
optical and the infrared wavelength range between 3500 and 50000 Angstrom and
which are exclusively based on empirical stellar spectra. To obtain these joint
models, we combined the extended MILES models in the optical with our new
infrared models that are based on the IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility)
library. The latter are available only for a limited range in terms of both age
and metallicity. Our combined single-burst stellar population models were
calculated for ages larger than 1 Gyr, for metallicities between [Fe/H] = -0.40
and 0.26, for initial mass functions of various types and slopes, and on the
basis of two different sets of isochrones. They are available to the scientific
community on the MILES web page. We checked the internal consistency of our
models and compared their colour predictions to those of other models that are
available in the literature. Optical and near infrared colours that are
measured from our models are found to reproduce the colours well that were
observed for various samples of early-type galaxies. Our models will enable a
detailed analysis of the stellar populations of observed galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, published in A&
Formation and evolution of dwarf early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster II. Kinematic Scaling Relations
We place our sample of 18 Virgo dwarf early-type galaxies (dEs) on the V-K -
velocity dispersion, Faber-Jackson, and Fundamental Plane (FP) scaling
relations for massive early-type galaxies (Es). We use a generalized velocity
dispersion, which includes rotation, to be able to compare the location of both
rotationally and pressure supported dEs with those of early and late-type
galaxies. We find that dEs seem to bend the Faber-Jackson relation of Es to
lower velocity dispersions, being the link between Es and dwarf spheroidal
galaxies (dSphs). Regarding the FP relation, we find that dEs are significantly
offset with respect to massive hot stellar systems, and re-casting the FP into
the so-called kappa-space suggests that this offset is related to dEs having a
total mass-to-light ratio higher than Es but still significantly lower than
dSph galaxies. Given a stellar mass-to-light ratio based on the measured line
indices of dEs, the FP offset allows us to infer that the dark matter fraction
within the half light radii of dEs is on average >~ 42% (uncertainties of 17%
in the K band and 20% in the V band), fully consistent with an independent
estimate in an earlier paper in this series. We also find that dEs in the
size-luminosity relation in the near-infrared, like in the optical, are offset
from early-type galaxies, but seem to be consistent with late-type galaxies. We
thus conclude that the scaling relations show that dEs are different from Es,
and that they further strengthen our previous findings that dEs are closer to
and likely formed from late-type galaxies.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, 2 appendixes. Accepted for publication in A&
Loop Estimator for Discounted Values in Markov Reward Processes
At the working heart of policy iteration algorithms commonly used and studied
in the discounted setting of reinforcement learning, the policy evaluation step
estimates the value of states with samples from a Markov reward process induced
by following a Markov policy in a Markov decision process. We propose a simple
and efficient estimator called loop estimator that exploits the regenerative
structure of Markov reward processes without explicitly estimating a full
model. Our method enjoys a space complexity of when estimating the value
of a single positive recurrent state unlike TD with or model-based
methods with . Moreover, the regenerative structure enables
us to show, without relying on the generative model approach, that the
estimator has an instance-dependent convergence rate of
over steps on a single sample
path, where is the maximal expected hitting time to state . In
preliminary numerical experiments, the loop estimator outperforms model-free
methods, such as TD(k), and is competitive with the model-based estimator.Comment: accepted to AAAI 202
Single Stellar Populations in the Near-Infrared - I. Preparation of the IRTF spectral stellar library
We present a detailed study of the stars of the IRTF spectral library to
understand its full extent and reliability for use with Stellar Population (SP)
modeling. The library consist of 210 stars, with a total of 292 spectra,
covering the wavelength range of 0.94 to 2.41 micron at a resolution R = 2000.
For every star we infer the effective temperature (Teff), gravity (logg) and
metallicity ([Z/Zsun]) using a full-spectrum fitting approach in a section of
the K band (2.19 to 2.34 micron) and temperature-NIR colour relations. We test
the flux calibration of these stars by calculating their integrated colours and
comparing them with the Pickles library colour-temperature relations. We also
investigate the NIR colours as a function of the calculated effective
temperature and compared them in colour-colour diagrams with the Pickles
library. This latter test shows a good broad-band flux calibration, important
for the SP models. Finally, we measure the resolution R as a function of
wavelength. We find that the resolution increases as a function of lambda from
about 6 angstrom in J to 10 angstrom in the red part of the K-band. With these
tests we establish that the IRTF library, the largest currently available
general library of stars at intermediate resolution in the NIR, is an excellent
candidate to be used in stellar population models. We present these models in
the next paper of this series.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
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