1,687 research outputs found
Halo Clustering with Non-Local Non-Gaussianity
We show how the peak-background split can be generalized to predict the
effect of non-local primordial non-Gaussianity on the clustering of halos. Our
approach is applicable to arbitrary primordial bispectra. We show that the
scale-dependence of halo clustering predicted in the peak-background split
(PBS) agrees with that of the local-biasing model on large scales. On smaller
scales, k >~ 0.01 h/Mpc, the predictions diverge, a consequence of the
assumption of separation of scales in the peak-background split. Even on large
scales, PBS and local biasing do not generally agree on the amplitude of the
effect outside of the high-peak limit. The scale dependence of the biasing -
the effect that provides strong constraints to the local-model bispectrum - is
far weaker for the equilateral and self-ordering-scalar-field models of
non-Gaussianity. The bias scale dependence for the orthogonal and folded models
is weaker than in the local model (~ 1/k), but likely still strong enough to be
constraining. We show that departures from scale-invariance of the primordial
power spectrum may lead to order-unity corrections, relative to predictions
made assuming scale-invariance - to the non-Gaussian bias in some of these
non-local models for non-Gaussianity. An Appendix shows that a non-local model
can produce the local-model bispectrum, a mathematical curiosity we uncovered
in the course of this investigation.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. D; v2: references added;
v3: some more comments on kernel-bispectrum relation in appendi
‘Younger People Have Like More of an Imagination, No Offence’: Participant Perspectives on Public Engagement
© 2012, Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. A wide range of work has reported on the outcomes of public engagement activities and the views expressed by public participants towards specific areas of science and technology. Such work has rarely gone on to explore with public participants their attitudes to the engagement experienced itself, often focusing instead on more practical or quantifiable aspects. This article draws on public participants’ reactions to 11 ‘engagement’ events, occurring across the UK in 2007–2008. Reporting on 33 semi-structured interviews, we focus on their views of participation and engagement in terms of motivations, expectations and expertise. The results suggest that participants have considerable expectations in terms of information and interaction, operate with critical but respectful notions of other ‘publics’ and expertise, and may develop habitual tendencies regarding engagement
Calibration of Traffic Simulation Models using SPSA
Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) “Γεωπληροφορική
Correlational Origin of the Roton Minimum
We present compelling evidence supporting the conjecture that the origin of
the roton in Bose-condensed systems arises from strong correlations between the
constituent particles. By studying the two dimensional bosonic dipole systems a
paradigm, we find that classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide a
faithful representation of the dispersion relation for a low- temperature
quantum system. The MD simulations allow one to examine the effect of coupling
strength on the formation of the roton minimum and to demonstrate that it is
always generated at a sufficiently high enough coupling. Moreover, the
classical images of the roton-roton, roton-maxon, etc. states also appear in
the MD simulation spectra as a consequence of the strong coupling.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Unary Pushdown Automata and Straight-Line Programs
We consider decision problems for deterministic pushdown automata over a
unary alphabet (udpda, for short). Udpda are a simple computation model that
accept exactly the unary regular languages, but can be exponentially more
succinct than finite-state automata. We complete the complexity landscape for
udpda by showing that emptiness (and thus universality) is P-hard, equivalence
and compressed membership problems are P-complete, and inclusion is
coNP-complete. Our upper bounds are based on a translation theorem between
udpda and straight-line programs over the binary alphabet (SLPs). We show that
the characteristic sequence of any udpda can be represented as a pair of
SLPs---one for the prefix, one for the lasso---that have size linear in the
size of the udpda and can be computed in polynomial time. Hence, decision
problems on udpda are reduced to decision problems on SLPs. Conversely, any SLP
can be converted in logarithmic space into a udpda, and this forms the basis
for our lower bound proofs. We show coNP-hardness of the ordered matching
problem for SLPs, from which we derive coNP-hardness for inclusion. In
addition, we complete the complexity landscape for unary nondeterministic
pushdown automata by showing that the universality problem is -hard, using a new class of integer expressions. Our techniques have
applications beyond udpda. We show that our results imply -completeness for a natural fragment of Presburger arithmetic and coNP lower
bounds for compressed matching problems with one-character wildcards
Profile of the U 5f magnetization in U/Fe multilayers
Recent calculations, concerning the magnetism of uranium in the U/Fe
multilayer system have described the spatial dependence of the 5f polarization
that might be expected. We have used the x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity
technique to obtain the profile of the induced uranium magnetic moment for
selected U/Fe multilayer samples. This study extends the use of x-ray magnetic
scattering for induced moment systems to the 5f actinide metals. The spatial
dependence of the U magnetization shows that the predominant fraction of the
polarization is present at the interfacial boundaries, decaying rapidly towards
the center of the uranium layer, in good agreement with predictions.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
The polarizability model for ferroelectricity in perovskite oxides
This article reviews the polarizability model and its applications to
ferroelectric perovskite oxides. The motivation for the introduction of the
model is discussed and nonlinear oxygen ion polarizability effects and their
lattice dynamical implementation outlined. While a large part of this work is
dedicated to results obtained within the self-consistent-phonon approximation
(SPA), also nonlinear solutions of the model are handled which are of interest
to the physics of relaxor ferroelectrics, domain wall motions, incommensurate
phase transitions. The main emphasis is to compare the results of the model
with experimental data and to predict novel phenomena.Comment: 55 pages, 35 figure
Climate change threatens polar bear populations : a stochastic demographic analysis
Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2010. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecology 91 (2010): 2883–2897, doi:10.1890/09-1641.1.The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) depends on sea ice for feeding, breeding, and movement. Significant reductions in Arctic sea ice are forecast to continue because of climate warming. We evaluated the impacts of climate change on polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea by means of a demographic analysis, combining deterministic, stochastic, environment-dependent matrix population models with forecasts of future sea ice conditions from IPCC general circulation models (GCMs). The matrix population models classified individuals by age and breeding status; mothers and dependent cubs were treated as units. Parameter estimates were obtained from a capture–recapture study conducted from 2001 to 2006. Candidate statistical models allowed vital rates to vary with time and as functions of a sea ice covariate. Model averaging was used to produce the vital rate estimates, and a parametric bootstrap procedure was used to quantify model selection and parameter estimation uncertainty. Deterministic models projected population growth in years with more extensive ice coverage (2001–2003) and population decline in years with less ice coverage (2004–2005). LTRE (life table response experiment) analysis showed that the reduction in λ in years with low sea ice was due primarily to reduced adult female survival, and secondarily to reduced breeding. A stochastic model with two environmental states, good and poor sea ice conditions, projected a declining stochastic growth rate, log λs, as the frequency of poor ice years increased. The observed frequency of poor ice years since 1979 would imply log λs ≈ − 0.01, which agrees with available (albeit crude) observations of population size. The stochastic model was linked to a set of 10 GCMs compiled by the IPCC; the models were chosen for their ability to reproduce historical observations of sea ice and were forced with “business as usual” (A1B) greenhouse gas emissions. The resulting stochastic population projections showed drastic declines in the polar bear population by the end of the 21st century. These projections were instrumental in the decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.We acknowledge primary funding for model development
and analysis from the U.S. Geological Survey and additional
funding from the National Science Foundation (DEB-0343820
and DEB-0816514), NOAA, the Ocean Life Institute and the
Arctic Research Initiative at WHOI, and the Institute of Arctic
Biology at the University of Alaska–Fairbanks. Funding for the
capture–recapture effort in 2001–2006 was provided by the U.S.
Geological Survey, the Canadian Wildlife Service, the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources of the Government
of the Northwest Territories, and the Polar Continental
Shelf Project, Ottawa, Canada
HERA Physics Beyond the Standard Model
The prospects of physics beyond the standard model in deep inelastic
scattering are reviewed, emphasizing some scenarios which attained attention
after the observation of an excess of events with large momentum transfer at
HERA.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, uses iop style files and axodraw.sty, Talk presented
at the 3rd UK Phenomenology Workshop on HERA Physics, September 1998, Durha
Dynamics of liquid 4He in Vycor
We have measured the dynamic structure factor of liquid 4He in Vycor using
neutron inelastic scattering. Well-defined phonon-roton (p-r) excitations are
observed in the superfluid phase for all wave vectors 0.3 < Q < 2.15. The p-r
energies and lifetimes at low temperature (T = 0.5 K) and their temperature
dependence are the same as in bulk liquid 4He. However, the weight of the
single p-r component does not scale with the superfluid fraction (SF) as it
does in the bulk. In particular, we observe a p-r excitation between T_c =
1.952 K, where SF = 0, and T_(lambda)=2.172 K of the bulk. This suggests, if
the p-r excitation intensity scales with the Bose condensate, that there is a
separation of the Bose-Einstein condensation temperature and the superfluid
transition temperature T_c of 4He in Vycor. We also observe a two-dimensional
layer mode near the roton wave vector. Its dispersion is consistent with
specific heat and SF measurements and with layer modes observed on graphite
surfaces.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
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