Phase Structure of 2-Flavor Quark Matter: Heterogeneous Superconductors

We analyze the free energy of charge and color neutral 2-flavor quark matter within the BCS approximation. We consider both the homogeneous gapless superconducting phase and the heterogeneous mixed phase where normal and BCS superconducting phases coexist. We calculate the surface tension between normal and superconducting phases and use it to compare the free energies of the gapless and mixed phases. Our calculation, which retains only the leading order gradient contribution to the free energy, indicates that the mixed phase is energetically favored over an interesting range of densities of relevance to 2 flavor quark matter in neutron stars.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Major Revisions. Includes a detailed discussion of the kinetic terms of the effective theory, instabilities of the gapless phase and the charge neutral phase diagra

ATTac-2000: An Adaptive Autonomous Bidding Agent

The First Trading Agent Competition (TAC) was held from June 22nd to July 8th, 2000. TAC was designed to create a benchmark problem in the complex domain of e-marketplaces and to motivate researchers to apply unique approaches to a common task. This article describes ATTac-2000, the first-place finisher in TAC. ATTac-2000 uses a principled bidding strategy that includes several elements of adaptivity. In addition to the success at the competition, isolated empirical results are presented indicating the robustness and effectiveness of ATTac-2000's adaptive strategy

Hybrid receiver study

The results are presented of a 4 month study to design a hybrid analog/digital receiver for outer planet mission probe communication links. The scope of this study includes functional design of the receiver; comparisons between analog and digital processing; hardware tradeoffs for key components including frequency generators, A/D converters, and digital processors; development and simulation of the processing algorithms for acquisition, tracking, and demodulation; and detailed design of the receiver in order to determine its size, weight, power, reliability, and radiation hardness. In addition, an evaluation was made of the receiver's capabilities to perform accurate measurement of signal strength and frequency for radio science missions

Effect of contrast on the perception of direction of a moving pattern

A series of experiments examining the effect of contrast on the perception of moving plaids was performed to test the hypothesis that the human visual system determines the direction of a moving plaid in a two-staged process: decomposition into component motion followed by application of the intersection-of-contraints rule. Although there is recent evidence that the first tenet of the hypothesis is correct, i.e., that plaid motion is initially decomposed into the motion of the individual grating components, the nature of the second-stage combination rule has not yet been established. It was found that when the gratings within the plaid are of different contrast the preceived direction is not predicted by the intersection-of-constraints rule. There is a strong (up to 20 deg) bias in the direction of the higher-constrast grating. A revised model, which incorporates a contrast-dependent weighting of perceived grating speed as observed for one-dimensional patterns, can quantitatively predict most of the results. The results are then discussed in the context of various models of human visual motion processing and of physiological responses of neurons in the primate visual system

An annotated bibliography and webography of sources related to practice research

This document was primarily created by Sophie Stone during June and July 2017 as a research assistant to the Centre for Practice Based Research in the Arts at Canterbury Christ Church University as part of a project examining the resources available to support Practice Researchers. The purpose of the bibliography and webography is to assist Practice Researchers (both new and experienced) in their research within academia and beyond, for example, within a methodological review chapter; when preparing written work for journals that publish Practice Research; when preparing documentation for research assessment exercises; when learning about documentation, presentation and dissemination