23,943 research outputs found
Planck pre-launch status: Expected LFI polarisation capability
We present a system-level description of the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) considered as a differencing polarimeter, and evaluate its expected performance. The LFI is one of the two instruments on board the ESA Planck mission to study the cosmic microwave background. It consists of a set of 22 radiometers sensitive to linear polarisation, arranged in orthogonally-oriented pairs connected to 11 feed horns operating at 30, 44 and 70 GHz. In our analysis, the generic Jones and Mueller-matrix formulations for polarimetry are adapted to the special case of the LFI. Laboratory measurements of flight components are combined with optical simulations of the telescope to investigate the values and uncertainties in the system parameters affecting polarisation response. Methods of correcting residual systematic errors are also briefly discussed. The LFI has beam-integrated polarisation efficiency >99% for all detectors, with uncertainties below 0.1%. Indirect assessment of polarisation position angles suggests that uncertainties are generally less than 0Ā°.5, and this will be checked in flight using observations of the Crab nebula. Leakage of total intensity into the polarisation signal is generally well below the thermal noise level except for bright Galactic emission, where the dominant effect is likely to be spectral-dependent terms due to bandpass mismatch between the two detectors behind each feed, contributing typically 1ā3% leakage of foreground total intensity. Comparable leakage from compact features occurs due to beam mismatch, but this averages to < 5 Ć 10^(-4) for large-scale emission. An inevitable feature of the LFI design is that the two components of the linear polarisation are recovered from elliptical beams which differ substantially in orientation. This distorts the recovered polarisation and its angular power spectrum, and several methods are being developed to correct the effect, both in the power spectrum and in the sky maps. The LFI will return a high-quality measurement of the CMB polarisation, limited mainly by thermal noise. To meet our aspiration of measuring polarisation at the 1% level, further analysis of flight and ground data is required. We are still researching the most effective techniques for correcting subtle artefacts in polarisation; in particular the correction of bandpass mismatch effects is a formidable challenge, as it requires multi-band analysis to estimate the spectral indices that control the leakage
Stability of switched linear differential systems
We study the stability of switched systems where the dynamic modes are
described by systems of higher-order linear differential equations not
necessarily sharing the same state space. Concatenability of trajectories at
the switching instants is specified by gluing conditions, i.e. algebraic
conditions on the trajectories and their derivatives at the switching instant.
We provide sufficient conditions for stability based on LMIs for systems with
general gluing conditions. We also analyse the role of positive-realness in
providing sufficient polynomial-algebraic conditions for stability of two-modes
switched systems with special gluing conditions
Non-Associativity in the Clifford Bundle on the Parallelizable Torsion 7-Sphere
In this paper we discuss generalized properties of non-associativity in
Clifford bundles on the 7-sphere S7. Novel and prominent properties inherited
from the non-associative structure of the Clifford bundle on S7 are
demonstrated. They naturally lead to general transformations of the spinor
fields on S7 and have dramatic consequences for the associated Kac-Moody
current algebras. All additional properties concerning the non-associative
structure in the Clifford bundle on S7 are considered. We further discuss and
explore their applications.Comment: 16 page
A summary and update of developing annuities markets : the experience of Chile
The rapid growth of the market for retirement products in Chile has its origins in the pension reform that was implemented in 1981. But the successful development of an active annuity market also reflects many other factors. This paper summarizes and updates an earlier longer study on the development of the Chilean annuity market. The update focuses on the numerous changes that were introduced in 2008. The most striking aspect of the Chilean experience is the very high rate of annuitization. This has been linked to the restrictions that have been applied to lump-sum withdrawals, the offer of inflation-protected annuities, and the robust prudential regulation of providers. But the level of annuitization has also been supported by the annuitization incentives provided to early retirees and the influence of brokers and sales agents. The recent regulatory changes have weakened the impact of the last two factors, while strengthening the demand for annuities at normal retirement.Debt Markets,Pensions&Retirement Systems,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Emerging Markets,Non Bank Financial Institutions
On Clifford Subalgebras, Spacetime Splittings and Applications
Z2-gradings of Clifford algebras are reviewed and we shall be concerned with
an alpha-grading based on the structure of inner automorphisms, which is
closely related to the spacetime splitting, if we consider the standard
conjugation map automorphism by an arbitrary, but fixed, splitting vector.
After briefly sketching the orthogonal and parallel components of products of
differential forms, where we introduce the parallel [orthogonal] part as the
space [time] component, we provide a detailed exposition of the Dirac operator
splitting and we show how the differential operator parallel and orthogonal
components are related to the Lie derivative along the splitting vector and the
angular momentum splitting bivector. We also introduce multivectorial-induced
alpha-gradings and present the Dirac equation in terms of the spacetime
splitting, where the Dirac spinor field is shown to be a direct sum of two
quaternions. We point out some possible physical applications of the formalism
developed.Comment: 22 pages, accepted for publication in International Journal of
Geometric Methods in Modern Physics 3 (8) (2006
Anomalous temperature dependence of the band-gap in Black Phosphorus
Black Phosphorus (BP) has gained renewed attention due to its singular
anisotropic electronic and optical properties that might be exploited for a
wide range of technological applications. In this respect, the thermal
properties are particularly important both to predict its room temperature
operation and to determine its thermoelectric potential. From this point of
view, one of the most spectacular and poorly understood phenomena is, indeed,
the BP temperature-induced band-gap opening: when temperature is increased the
fundamental band-gap increases instead of decreasing. This anomalous thermal
dependence has also been observed, recently, in its monolayer counterpart. In
this work, based on \textit{ab-initio} calculations, we present an explanation
for this long known, and yet not fully explained, effect. We show that it
arises from a combination of harmonic and lattice thermal expansion
contributions, which are, in fact, highly interwined. We clearly narrow down
the mechanisms that cause this gap opening by identifying the peculiar atomic
vibrations that drive the anomaly. The final picture we give explains both the
BP anomalous band-gap opening and the frequency increase with increasing volume
(tension effect).Comment: Published in Nano Letter
Behaviour of cone penetration tests in saturated sands
Imperial Users onl
Steps in modular specifications for concurrent modules
Ā© 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.The specification of a concurrent program module is a difficult problem. The specifications must be strong enough to enable reasoning about the intended clients without reference to the underlying module implementation. We survey a range of verification techniques for specifying concurrent modules, in particular highlighting four key concepts: auxiliary state, interference abstraction, resource ownership and atomicity. We show how these concepts combine to provide powerful approaches to specifying concurrent modules
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