14,918 research outputs found
The far-IR spectrum of Sagittarius B2 region: Extended molecular absorption, photodissociation and photoionization
We present large scale 9'x 27'(25 pc x 70 pc) far-IR observations around Sgr
B2 using the Long-wavelength spectrometer (LWS) on board the Infrared Space
Observatory (ISO). The spectra are dominated by the strong continuum emission
of dust, the widespread molecular absorption of light hydrides (OH, CH and H2O)
and the fine structure lines of [NII], [NIII], [OIII], [CII] and [OI]. The
molecular richness in the outer layers of Sgr B2 is probed by the ISO-LWS
Fabry-Perot (35 km s^-1) detections towards Sgr B2(M), where more that 70 lines
from 15 molecular and atomic species are observed at high signal to noise
ratio.Comment: 46 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables, accepted in ApJ part I. (Figs. 1, 2,
3, 9 and 10 have been bitmapped to low resolution
HighâSpeed Data Transmission Subsystem of the SEOSAR/PAZ Satellite
This paper analyzes a digital interface and bus system modeling and optimization of the SEOSAR/PAZ Earth Observation satellite. The important part of the satellite is an Xâband Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument that integrates 384 Transmit/Receive Modules located in 12 antenna panels 7.5 m away from the central processor and controlled by a synchronous 10 Mbps bidirectional serial protocol. This type of midârange pointâtoâmultipoint transmission is affected by bit errors due to crosstalk, transmission line attenuation and impedance mismatches. The highâspeed data communication network has been designed to optimize the transmission by using a simulation model of the data distribution system which takes into account the worstâcase scenario and by developing a labâscaled prototype which exhibits BER of 10-11 for an interfering signal of 10 Vpp. The result is a pointâtoâmultipoint bidirectional transmission network optimized in both directions with optimal values of loads and equalization resistors. This highâspeed data transmission subsystem provides a compact design through a simple solution
Viscosity and tribology of copper oxide nanofluids
Nanofluids, a term proposed by Choi in 1995 [1], are composites consisting of solid nanoparticles with sizes varying generally from 1 to 100 nm dispersed in a liquid. Numerous nanoparticles used as oil additives have been investigated in recent years [2-7]. Results show that they deposit on the rubbing surface and improve the tribological properties of the base oil, displaying good friction and wear reduction characteristics even at concentrations below 2%wt. Although the viscosity of the nanofluids is a property of crucial importance for film forming, and hence friction and wear reduction, which are characteristic of lubricants, only Hwang et al. [8] have studied thermal characteristics, kinematic viscosity and tribological properties of nanofluids simultaneously. In this paper, we present measurements of dynamic viscosity of nanofluids formed by copper oxide nanoparticles dispersed in a polyalphaolefin, for temperatures and concentrations varying from 20 to 60ÂșC and 0.5 to 2% wt., respectively. Dependence of the nanofluid viscosity to the solid fraction and temperature was compared with existing models and its influence on lubrication was also analysed
CMOS-3D smart imager architectures for feature detection
This paper reports a multi-layered smart image sensor architecture for feature extraction based on detection of interest points. The architecture is conceived for 3-D integrated circuit technologies consisting of two layers (tiers) plus memory. The top tier includes sensing and processing circuitry aimed to perform Gaussian filtering and generate Gaussian pyramids in fully concurrent way. The circuitry in this tier operates in mixed-signal domain. It embeds in-pixel correlated double sampling, a switched-capacitor network for Gaussian pyramid generation, analog memories and a comparator for in-pixel analog-to-digital conversion. This tier can be further split into two for improved resolution; one containing the sensors and another containing a capacitor per sensor plus the mixed-signal processing circuitry. Regarding the bottom tier, it embeds digital circuitry entitled for the calculation of Harris, Hessian, and difference-of-Gaussian detectors. The overall system can hence be configured by the user to detect interest points by using the algorithm out of these three better suited to practical applications. The paper describes the different kind of algorithms featured and the circuitry employed at top and bottom tiers. The Gaussian pyramid is implemented with a switched-capacitor network in less than 50 ÎŒs, outperforming more conventional solutions.Xunta de Galicia 10PXIB206037PRMinisterio de Ciencia e InnovaciĂłn TEC2009-12686, IPT-2011-1625-430000Office of Naval Research N00014111031
Magnetic transitions in Pr2NiO4 single crystal
The magnetic properties of a stoichiometric Pr2NiO4 single crystal have been examined by means of the temperature dependence of the complex ac susceptibility and the isothermal magnetization in fields up to 200 kOe at T=4.2 K. Three separate phases have been identified and their anisotropic character has been analyzed. A collinear antiferromagnetic phase appears first between TN = 325 K and Tc1 = 115 K, where the Pr ions are polarized by an internal magnetic field. At Tc1 a first modification of the magnetic structure occurs in parallel with a structural phase transition (Bmab to P42/ncm). This magnetic transition has a firstâorder character and involves both the outâofâplane and the inâplane spin components (magnetic modes gx and gxcyfz, respectively). A second magnetic transition having also a firstâorder character is also clearly identified at Tc2 = 90 K which corresponds to a spin reorientation process (gxcyfz to cxgyaz magnetic modes). It should be noted as well that the outâofâphase component of Ïac shows a peak around 30 K which reflects the coexistence of both magnetic configurations in a wide temperature interval. Finally, two fieldâinduced transitions have been observed at 4.2 K when the field is directed along the c axis. We propose that the highâfield anomaly arises from a metamagnetic transition of the weak ferromagnetic component, similarly to La2CuO4
Novel metaheuristic for parameter estimation in nonlinear dynamic biological systems
BACKGROUND: We consider the problem of parameter estimation (model calibration) in nonlinear dynamic models of biological systems. Due to the frequent ill-conditioning and multi-modality of many of these problems, traditional local methods usually fail (unless initialized with very good guesses of the parameter vector). In order to surmount these difficulties, global optimization (GO) methods have been suggested as robust alternatives. Currently, deterministic GO methods can not solve problems of realistic size within this class in reasonable computation times. In contrast, certain types of stochastic GO methods have shown promising results, although the computational cost remains large. Rodriguez-Fernandez and coworkers have presented hybrid stochastic-deterministic GO methods which could reduce computation time by one order of magnitude while guaranteeing robustness. Our goal here was to further reduce the computational effort without loosing robustness. RESULTS: We have developed a new procedure based on the scatter search methodology for nonlinear optimization of dynamic models of arbitrary (or even unknown) structure (i.e. black-box models). In this contribution, we describe and apply this novel metaheuristic, inspired by recent developments in the field of operations research, to a set of complex identification problems and we make a critical comparison with respect to the previous (above mentioned) successful methods. CONCLUSION: Robust and efficient methods for parameter estimation are of key importance in systems biology and related areas. The new metaheuristic presented in this paper aims to ensure the proper solution of these problems by adopting a global optimization approach, while keeping the computational effort under reasonable values. This new metaheuristic was applied to a set of three challenging parameter estimation problems of nonlinear dynamic biological systems, outperforming very significantly all the methods previously used for these benchmark problems
Measurements of thermodynamic and transport properties of EuC: a low-temperature analogue of EuO
EuC is a ferromagnet with a Curie-temperature of K. It
is semiconducting with the particularity that the resistivity drops by about 5
orders of magnitude on cooling through , which is therefore called a
metal-insulator transition. In this paper we study the magnetization, specific
heat, thermal expansion, and the resistivity around this ferromagnetic
transition on high-quality EuC samples. At we observe well defined
anomalies in the specific heat and thermal expansion data.
The magnetic contributions of and can satisfactorily be
described within a mean-field theory, taking into account the magnetization
data. In zero magnetic field the magnetic contributions of the specific heat
and thermal expansion fulfill a Gr\"uneisen-scaling, which is not preserved in
finite fields. From an estimation of the pressure dependence of via
Ehrenfest's relation, we expect a considerable increase of under applied
pressure due to a strong spin-lattice coupling. Furthermore the influence of
weak off stoichiometries in EuC was studied. It is
found that strongly affects the resistivity, but hardly changes the
transition temperature. In all these aspects, the behavior of EuC strongly
resembles that of EuO.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
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