886 research outputs found
Ecological model of extinctions
We present numerical results based on a simplified ecological system in
evolution, showing features of extinction similar to that claimed for the
biosystem on Earth. In the model each species consists of a population in
interaction with the others, that reproduces and evolves in time. Each species
is simultaneously a predator and a prey in a food chain. Mutations that change
the interactions are supposed to occur randomly at a low rate. Extinctions of
populations result naturally from the predator-prey dynamics. The model is not
pinned in a fitness variable, and natural selection arises from the dynamics.Comment: 16 pages (LaTeX type, RevTeX style), including 6 figures in gif
format. To be published in Phys. Rev. E (prob. Dic. 96
Strain balancing of MOVPE InAs/GaAs quantum dots using GaAs0.8P0.2
MOVPE growth of stacked InAs/
GaAs QDs with and without GaAs
0.8
P
0.2
strain balancing layers has been
studied. The GaAsP layers reduce the accumulated strain whilst
maintaining the electrical characteristics. This should
enable closer stacking of QD layers leading to higher gain and improved laser performance
Strain Balancing of Metal-Organic Vapour Phase Epitaxy InAs/GaAs Quantum Dot Lasers
Incorporation of a GaAs0.8P0.2 layer allows strain balancing to be achieved in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. Tuneable wavelength and high density are obtained through growth parameter optimization, with emission at 1.27 ÎĽm and QD layer density 3 Ă— 10 10 cm-2. Strain balancing allows close vertical stacking (30 nm) of the QD layers, giving the potential for increased optical gain. Modeling and device characterization indicates minimal degradation in the optical and electrical characteristics unless the phosphorus percentage is increased above 20%. Laser structures are fabricated with a layer separation of 30 nm, demonstrating low temperature lasing with a threshold current density of 100 A/cm2 at 130 K without any facet coating
Infrared Behaviour of The Gluon Propagator in Non-Equilibrium Situations
The infrared behaviour of the medium modified gluon propagator in
non-equilibrium situations is studied in the covariant gauge using the
Schwinger-Keldysh closed-time path formalism. It is shown that the magnetic
screening mass is non-zero at the one loop level whenever the initial gluon
distribution function is non isotropic with the assumption that the
distribution function of the gluon is not divergent at zero transverse
momentum. For isotropic gluon distribution functions, such as those describing
local equilibrium, the magnetic mass at one loop level is zero which is
consistent with finite temperature field theory results. Assuming that a
reasonable initial gluon distribution function can be obtained from a
perturbative QCD calculation of minijets, we determine these out of equilibrium
values for the initial magnetic and Debye screening masses at energy densities
appropriate to RHIC and LHC. We also compare the magnetic masses obtained here
with those obtained using finite temperature lattice QCD methods at similar
temperatures at RHIC and LHC.Comment: 21 pages latex, 4 figures, final version to be published in Phys.
Rev.
Habitat complexity reduces parasitoid foraging efficiency, but does not prevent orientation towards learned host plant odours
It is well known that many parasitic wasps use herbivore-induced plant odours (HIPVs) to locate their inconspicuous host insects, and are often able to distinguish between slight differences in plant odour composition. However, few studies have examined parasitoid foraging behaviour under (semi-)field conditions. In nature, food plants of parasitoid hosts are often embedded in non-host-plant assemblages that confer both structural and chemical complexity. By releasing both naĂŻve and experienced Cotesia glomerata females in outdoor tents, we studied how natural vegetation surrounding Pieris brassicae-infested Sinapis arvensis and Barbarea vulgaris plants influences their foraging efficiency as well as their ability to specifically orient towards the HIPVs of the host plant species on which they previously had a positive oviposition experience. Natural background vegetation reduced the host-encounter rate of naĂŻve C. glomerata females by 47 %. While associative learning of host plant HIPVs 1 day prior to foraging caused a 28 % increase in the overall foraging efficiency of C. glomerata, it did not reduce the negative influence of natural background vegetation. At the same time, however, females foraging in natural vegetation attacked more host patches on host-plant species on which they previously had a positive oviposition experience. We conclude that, even though the presence of natural vegetation reduces the foraging efficiency of C. glomerata, it does not prevent experienced female wasps from specifically orienting towards the host-plant species from which they had learned the HIPVs
Relative Span weighted localization of uncooperative nodes in wireless networks
Increasingly ubiquitous wireless technologies require novel localization techniques to pinpoint the position of an uncooperative node, whether the target be a malicious device engaging in a security exploit or a low-battery handset in the middle of a critical emergency. Such scenarios necessitate that a radio signal source be localized by other network nodes efficiently, using minimal information. We propose two new algorithms for estimating the position of an uncooperative transmitter, based on the received signal strength (RSS) of a single target message at a set of receivers whose coordinates are known. As an extension to the concept of centroid localization, our mechanisms weigh each receiver's coordinates based on the message's relative RSS at that receiver, with respect to the span of RSS values over all receivers. The weights may decrease from the highest RSS receiver either linearly or exponentially. Our simulation results demonstrate that for all but the most sparsely populated wireless networks, our exponentially weighted mechanism localizes a target node within the regulations stipulated for emergency services location accuracy
Self-organized criticality in deterministic systems with disorder
Using the Bak-Sneppen model of biological evolution as our paradigm, we
investigate in which cases noise can be substituted with a deterministic signal
without destroying Self-Organized Criticality (SOC). If the deterministic
signal is chaotic the universality class is preserved; some non-universal
features, such as the threshold, depend on the time correlation of the signal.
We also show that, if the signal introduced is periodic, SOC is preserved but
in a different universality class, as long as the spectrum of frequencies is
broad enough.Comment: RevTex, 8 pages, 8 figure
Geologic framework of the 2005 Keathley Canyon gas hydrate research well, northern Gulf of Mexico
This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine and Petroleum Geology 25 (2008): 906-918, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.01.012.The Keathley Canyon sites drilled in 2005 by the Chevron Joint Industry Project are located along the southeastern edge of an intraslope minibasin (Casey basin) in the northern Gulf of Mexico at 1335 m water depth. Around the drill sites, a grid of 2D high-resolution multichannel seismic data designed to image depths down to at least 1000 m sub-bottom reveals 7 unconformities and disconformities that, with the seafloor, bound 7 identifiable seismic stratigraphic units. A major disconformity in the middle of the units stands out for its angular baselapping geometry. From these data, three episodes of sedimentary deposition and deformation are inferred. The oldest episode consists of fine-grained muds deposited during a period of relative stability in the basin (units e, f, and g). Both the BSR and inferred gas hydrate occur within these older units. The gas hydrate occurs in near-vertical fractures. A second episode (units c and d) involved large vertical displacements associated with infilling and ponding of sediment. This second interval corresponds to deposition of intercalated fine and coarse-grained material that was recovered in the drill hole that penetrated the thin edges of the regionally much thicker units. The final episode of deposition (units a and b) occurred during more subdued vertical motions. Hemipelagic drape (unit a) characterizes the modern seafloor. The present-day Casey basin is mostly filled. Its sill is part of a subsiding graben structure that is only 10–20 m shallower than the deepest point in the basin, indicating that gravity-driven transport would mostly bypass the basin. Contemporary faulting along the basin margins has selectively reactivated an older group of faults. The intercalated sand and mud deposits of units c and d are tentatively correlated with Late Pleistocene deposition derived from the western shelf-edge delta/depocenter of the Mississippi River, which was probably most active from 320 ka to 70 ka [Winker, C.D., Booth, J., 2000. Sedimentary dynamics of the salt-dominated continental slope, Gulf of Mexico: integration of observations from the seafloor, near-surface, and deep subsurface. In: Proceedings of the GCSSEPM Foundation 20th Annual Research Conference, Deep-water Reservoirs of the World, pp. 1059–1086]. The presence of sand within the gas hydrate stability zone (in units c and d) is not sufficient to concentrate gas hydrate even though dispersed gas hydrate occurs deeper in the fractured mud/clay-rich sections of units e and f.Partial support for the field and interpretive aspects of this
project were provided by the Department of Energy, National Energy
Technology Lab (NETL)
HI in the Outskirts of Nearby Galaxies
The HI in disk galaxies frequently extends beyond the optical image, and can
trace the dark matter there. I briefly highlight the history of high spatial
resolution HI imaging, the contribution it made to the dark matter problem, and
the current tension between several dynamical methods to break the disk-halo
degeneracy. I then turn to the flaring problem, which could in principle probe
the shape of the dark halo. Instead, however, a lot of attention is now devoted
to understanding the role of gas accretion via galactic fountains. The current
cold dark matter theory has problems on galactic scales, such as
the core-cusp problem, which can be addressed with HI observations of dwarf
galaxies. For a similar range in rotation velocities, galaxies of type Sd have
thin disks, while those of type Im are much thicker. After a few comments on
modified Newtonian dynamics and on irregular galaxies, I close with statistics
on the HI extent of galaxies.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figures, invited review, book chapter in "Outskirts of
Galaxies", Eds. J. H. Knapen, J. C. Lee and A. Gil de Paz, Astrophysics and
Space Science Library, Springer, in pres
Closed-Time Path Integral Formalism and Medium Effects of Non-Equilibrium QCD Matter
We apply the closed-time path integral formalism to study the medium effects
of non-equilibrium gluon matter. We derive the medium modified resummed gluon
propagator to the one loop level in non-equilibrium in the covariant gauge. The
gluon propagator we derive can be used to remove the infrared divergences in
the secondary parton collisions to study thermalization of minijet parton
plasma at RHIC and LHC.Comment: Final version, To appear in Physical Review D, Minor modification,
reference adde
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