4,851 research outputs found
Coupling between static friction force and torque
We show that the static friction force which must be overcome to render a
sticking contact sliding is reduced if an external torque is also exerted. As a
test system we study a planar disk lying on horizontal flat surface. We perform
experiments and compare with analytical results to find that the coupling
between static friction force and torque is nontrivial: It is not determined by
the Coulomb friction laws alone, instead it depends on the microscopic details
of friction. Hence, we conclude that the macroscopic experiment presented here
reveals details about the microscopic processes lying behind friction.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, revte
Magnetic field control of cycloidal domains and electric polarization in multiferroic BiFeO
The magnetic field induced rearrangement of the cycloidal spin structure in
ferroelectric mono-domain single crystals of the room-temperature multiferroic
BiFeO is studied using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The cycloid
propagation vectors are observed to rotate when magnetic fields applied
perpendicular to the rhombohedral (polar) axis exceed a pinning threshold value
of 5\,T. In light of these experimental results, a phenomenological model
is proposed that captures the rearrangement of the cycloidal domains, and we
revisit the microscopic origin of the magnetoelectric effect. A new coupling
between the magnetic anisotropy and the polarization is proposed that explains
the recently discovered magnetoelectric polarization to the rhombohedral axis
Quadrature domains and kernel function zipping
It is proved that quadrature domains are ubiquitous in a very strong sense in
the realm of smoothly bounded multiply connected domains in the plane. In fact,
they are so dense that one might as well assume that any given smooth domain
one is dealing with is a quadrature domain, and this allows access to a host of
strong conditions on the classical kernel functions associated to the domain.
Following this string of ideas leads to the discovery that the Bergman kernel
can be zipped down to a strikingly small data set. It is also proved that the
kernel functions associated to a quadrature domain must be algebraic.Comment: 13 pages, to appear in Arkiv for matemati
Production Technology and Competitiveness In the Hungarian Manufacturing Industry
Following the big transformations of the 1990s, enterprise structure and technological level seem to
have become stabilised in Hungary. Under these circumstances it is especially interesting to identify
the elements responsible for competitiveness in general, and the role technology plays in development
in particular, according to managers experienced in production and marketing. This empirical
study – based on in-depth interviews and field research – summarises characteristics of the technological
level in the sectors examined, role of technology and labour in production, effects of foreign
direct investment, relations between competition and firm-level factors determining competitiveness,
and concludes by summing up those most frequently mentioned proposals that should be incorporated
into economic policy according to managers. Main findings indicate that more qualified,
more intensive and cheaper labour can be substituted for high technology. The competitiveness of an
enterprise is not determined by technology alone, but rather by a combination of technology, the parameters
of available labour and the costs of investment increasing productivity. The insufficiency
of inter-company relations, together with a shortage of available assets necessary for investment
constitute the major threat undermining the competitiveness of enterprises in present-day Hungary
Coupling between static friction force and torque for a tripod
If a body is resting on a flat surface, the maximal static friction force
before motion sets in is reduced if an external torque is also applied. The
coupling between the static friction force and static friction torque is
nontrivial as our studies for a tripod lying on horizontal flat surface show.
In this article we report on a series of experiments we performed on a tripod
and compare these with analytical and numerical solutions. It turns out that
the coupling between force and torque reveals information about the microscopic
properties at the onset to sliding.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, revte
An explicit solution to the weak Schottky problem
We give an explicit weak solution to the Schottky problem, in the spirit of Riemann and Schottky. For any genus g, we write down a collection of polynomials in genus g theta constants such that their common zero locus contains the locus of Jacobians of genus g curves as an irreducible component. These polynomials arise by applying a specific Schottky-Jung proportionality to an explicit collection of quartic identities for genus g - 1 theta constants
Reverse engineering of linking preferences from network restructuring
We provide a method to deduce the preferences governing the restructuring
dynamics of a network from the observed rewiring of the edges. Our approach is
applicable for systems in which the preferences can be formulated in terms of a
single-vertex energy function with f(k) being the contribution of a node of
degree k to the total energy, and the dynamics obeys the detailed balance. The
method is first tested by Monte-Carlo simulations of restructuring graphs with
known energies, then it is used to study variations of real network systems
ranging from the co-authorship network of scientific publications to the asset
graphs of the New York Stock Exchange. The empirical energies obtained from the
restructuring can be described by a universal function f(k) -k ln(k), which is
consistent with and justifies the validity of the preferential attachment rule
proposed for growing networks.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR
DNA uptake into nuclei: Numerical and analytical results
The dynamics of polymer translocation through a pore has been the subject of
recent theoretical and experimental works. We have considered theoretical
estimates and performed computer simulations to understand the mechanism of DNA
uptake into the cell nucleus, a phenomenon experimentally investigated by
attaching a small bead to the free end of the double helix and pulling this
bead with the help of an optical trap. The experiments show that the uptake is
monotonous and slows down when the remaining DNA segment becomes very short.
Numerical and analytical studies of the entropic repulsion between the DNA
filament and the membrane wall suggest a new interpretation of the experimental
observations. Our results indicate that the repulsion monotonically decreases
as the uptake progresses. Thus, the DNA is pulled in (i) either by a small
force of unknown origin, and then the slowing down can be interpreted only
statistically; (ii) or by a strong but slow ratchet mechanism, which would
naturally explain the observed monotonicity, but then the slowing down requires
additional explanations. Only further experiments can unambiguously distinguish
between these two mechanisms.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Cond. Ma
Steady states in a structured epidemic model with Wentzell boundary condition
We introduce a nonlinear structured population model with diffusion in the
state space. Individuals are structured with respect to a continuous variable
which represents a pathogen load. The class of uninfected individuals
constitutes a special compartment that carries mass, hence the model is
equipped with generalized Wentzell (or dynamic) boundary conditions. Our model
is intended to describe the spread of infection of a vertically transmitted
disease, for example Wolbachia in a mosquito population. Therefore the
(infinite dimensional) nonlinearity arises in the recruitment term. First we
establish global existence of solutions and the Principle of Linearised
Stability for our model. Then, in our main result, we formulate simple
conditions, which guarantee the existence of non-trivial steady states of the
model. Our method utilizes an operator theoretic framework combined with a
fixed point approach. Finally, in the last section we establish a sufficient
condition for the local asymptotic stability of the positive steady state
Cosmological measurements, time and observables in (2+1)-dimensional gravity
We investigate the relation between measurements and the physical observables
for vacuum spacetimes with compact spatial surfaces in (2+1)-gravity with
vanishing cosmological constant. By considering an observer who emits lightrays
that return to him at a later time, we obtain explicit expressions for several
measurable quantities as functions on the physical phase space of the theory:
the eigentime elapsed between the emission of a lightray and its return to the
observer, the angles between the directions into which the light has to be
emitted to return to the observer and the relative frequencies of the lightrays
at their emission and return. This provides a framework in which conceptual
questions about time, observables and measurements can be addressed. We analyse
the properties of these measurements and their geometrical interpretation and
show how they allow an observer to determine the values of the Wilson loop
observables that parametrise the physical phase space of (2+1)-gravity. We
discuss the role of time in the theory and demonstrate that the specification
of an observer with respect to the spacetime's geometry amounts to a gauge
fixing procedure yielding Dirac observables.Comment: 38 pages, 11 eps figures, typos corrected, references update
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