3,500 research outputs found
“Automation” of manufacturing in the late nineteenth century: the hand and machine labor study
Recent advances in artificial intelligence and robotics have generated a robust debate about the future of work. An analogous debate occurred in the late nineteenth century when mechanization first transformed manufacturing. We analyze an extraordinary dataset from the late nineteenth century, the Hand and Machine Labor study carried out by the US Department of Labor in the mid-1890s. We focus on transitions at the task level from hand to machine production, and on the impact of inanimate power, especially of steam power, on labor productivity. Our analysis sheds light on the ability of modern task-based models to account for the effects of historical mechanization.Published versio
Holomorphic Parafermions in the Potts model and SLE
We analyse parafermionic operators in the Q-state Potts model from three
different perspectives. First, we explicitly construct lattice holomorphic
observables in the Fortuin-Kasteleyn representation, and point out some special
simplifying features of the particular case Q=2 (Ising model). In particular,
away from criticality, we find a lattice generalisation of the massive Majorana
fermion equation. We also compare the parafermionic scaling dimensions with
known results from CFT and Coulomb gas methods in the continuum. Finally, we
show that expectation values of these parafermions correspond to local
observables of the SLE process which is conjectured to describe the scaling
limit of the Q-state Potts model.Comment: 18 pages. v2: references to related work clarified. v3: minor
corrections, version accepted for publication in JSTA
An X-ray emitting black hole in a globular cluster
We present optical and X-ray data for the first object showing strong
evidence for being a black hole in a globular cluster. We show the initial
X-ray light curve and X-ray spectrum which led to the discovery that this is an
extremely bright, highly variable source, and thus must be a black hole. We
present the optical spectrum which unambiguously identifies the optical
counterpart as a globular cluster, and which shows a strong, broad [O III]
emission line, most likely coming from an outflow driven by the accreting
source.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of IAUS 246,
"Dynamical Evolution of Dense Stellar Systems", ed. Vesperini, Giersz and
Sill
Are HI Supershells the Remnants of Gamma-Ray Bursts?
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are thought to originate at cosmological distances
from the most powerful explosions in the Universe. If GRBs are not beamed then
the distribution of their number as a function of Gamma-ray flux implies that
they occur once per (0.3-40) million years per bright galaxy and that they
deposit >10^{53} ergs into their surrounding interstellar medium. The blast
wave generated by a GRB explosion would be washed out by interstellar
turbulence only after tens of millions of years when it finally slows down to a
velocity of 10 km/s. This rather long lifetime implies that there could be up
to several tens of active GRB remnants in each galaxy at any given time. For
many years, radio observations have revealed the enigmatic presence of
expanding neutral-hydrogen (HI) supershells of kpc radius in the Milky Way and
in other nearby galaxies. The properties of some supershells cannot be easily
explained in terms of conventional sources such as stellar winds or supernova
explosions. However, the inferred energy and frequency of the explosions
required to produce most of the observed supershells agree with the above GRB
parameters. More careful observations and analysis might reveal which fraction
of these supershells are GRB remnants. We show that if this link is
established, the data on HI supershells can be used to constrain the energy
output, the rate per galaxy, the beaming factor, and the environment of GRB
sources in the Universe.Comment: 8 pages, final version, ApJ Letters, in pres
Rotation in the Orion Nebula Cluster
Eighteen fields in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) have been monitored for one
or more observing seasons from 1990-99 with a 0.6-m telescope at Wesleyan
University. Photometric data were obtained in Cousins I on 25-40 nights per
season. Results from the first 3 years of monitoring were analyzed by Choi &
Herbst (1996; CH). Here we provide an update based on 6 more years of
observation and the extensive optical and IR study of the ONC by Hillenbrand
(1997) and Hillenbrand et al. (1998). Rotation periods are now available for
134 ONC members. Of these, 67 were detected at multiple epochs with identical
periods by us and 15 more were confirmed by Stassun et al. (1999) in their
study of Ori OBIc/d. The bimodal period distribution for the ONC is confirmed,
but we also find a clear dependence of rotation period on mass. This can be
understood as an effect of deuterium burning, which temporarily slows the
contraction and thus spin-up of stars with M <0.25 solar masses and ages of ~1
My. Stars with M <0.25 solar masses have not had time to bridge the gap in the
period distribution at ~4 days. Excess H-K and I-K emission, as well as CaII
infrared triplet equivalent widths (Hillenbrand et al. 1998), show weak but
significant correlations with rotation period among stars with M >0.25 solar
masses. Our results provide new observational support for the importance of
disks in the early rotational evolution of low mass stars. [abridged]Comment: 18 pages of text, 17 figures, and 4 tables; accepted for publication
in The Astronomical Journa
Twist operator correlation functions in O(n) loop models
Using conformal field theoretic methods we calculate correlation functions of
geometric observables in the loop representation of the O(n) model at the
critical point. We focus on correlation functions containing twist operators,
combining these with anchored loops, boundaries with SLE processes and with
double SLE processes.
We focus further upon n=0, representing self-avoiding loops, which
corresponds to a logarithmic conformal field theory (LCFT) with c=0. In this
limit the twist operator plays the role of a zero weight indicator operator,
which we verify by comparison with known examples. Using the additional
conditions imposed by the twist operator null-states, we derive a new explicit
result for the probabilities that an SLE_{8/3} wind in various ways about two
points in the upper half plane, e.g. that the SLE passes to the left of both
points.
The collection of c=0 logarithmic CFT operators that we use deriving the
winding probabilities is novel, highlighting a potential incompatibility caused
by the presence of two distinct logarithmic partners to the stress tensor
within the theory. We provide evidence that both partners do appear in the
theory, one in the bulk and one on the boundary and that the incompatibility is
resolved by restrictive bulk-boundary fusion rules.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
The Effect of Substructure on Mass Estimates of Galaxies
Large galaxies are thought to form hierarchically, from the accretion and
disruption of many smaller galaxies. Such a scenario should naturally lead to
galactic phase-space distributions containing some degree of substructure. We
examine the errors in mass estimates of galaxies and their dark halos made
using the projected phase-space distribution of a tracer population (such as a
globular cluster system or planetary nebulae) due to falsely assuming that the
tracers are distributed randomly. The level of this uncertainty is assessed by
applying a standard mass estimator to samples drawn from 11 random realizations
of galaxy halos containing levels of substructure consistent with current
models of structure formation. We find that substructure will distort our mass
estimates by up to ~20% - a negligible error compared to statistical and
measurement errors in current derivations of masses for our own and other
galaxies. However, this represents a fundamental limit to the accuracy of any
future mass estimates made under the assumption that the tracer population is
distributed randomly, regardless of the size of the sample or the accuracy of
the measurements.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Astrophysical Journal, in pres
Flight Tests of the Drag and Torque of the Propeller in Terminal-Velocity Dives
The drag and torque of a controllable propeller at various blade-angle settings, and under various diving conditions, were measured by indirect method on F6C-4 airplane in flight. The object of these tests were (1) to provide data on which calculations of the terminal velocity with a throttled engine and the accompanying engine speed could be based and (2) to determine the possibility of utilizing the propeller as an air brake to reduce the terminal velocity. The data obtained were used in the establishment of propeller charts, on the basis of which the terminal velocity and engine speed could be calculated for airplanes whose characteristics fall within the range of these tests. A method is given for the calculation of the terminal velocity with throttled engine and the engine speed
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