7,483 research outputs found
Memory difference control of unknown unstable fixed points: Drifting parameter conditions and delayed measurement
Difference control schemes for controlling unstable fixed points become
important if the exact position of the fixed point is unavailable or moving due
to drifting parameters. We propose a memory difference control method for
stabilization of a priori unknown unstable fixed points by introducing a memory
term. If the amplitude of the control applied in the previous time step is
added to the present control signal, fixed points with arbitrary Lyapunov
numbers can be controlled. This method is also extended to compensate arbitrary
time steps of measurement delay. We show that our method stabilizes orbits of
the Chua circuit where ordinary difference control fails.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures. See also chao-dyn/9810029 (Phys. Rev. E 70,
056225) and nlin.CD/0204031 (Phys. Rev. E 70, 046205
Dynamics towards the Feigenbaum attractor
We expose at a previously unknown level of detail the features of the
dynamics of trajectories that either evolve towards the Feigenbaum attractor or
are captured by its matching repellor. Amongst these features are the
following: i) The set of preimages of the attractor and of the repellor are
embedded (dense) into each other. ii) The preimage layout is obtained as the
limiting form of the rank structure of the fractal boundaries between attractor
and repellor positions for the family of supercycle attractors. iii) The joint
set of preimages for each case form an infinite number of families of
well-defined phase-space gaps in the attractor or in the repellor. iv) The gaps
in each of these families can be ordered with decreasing width in accord to
power laws and are seen to appear sequentially in the dynamics generated by
uniform distributions of initial conditions. v) The power law with log-periodic
modulation associated to the rate of approach of trajectories towards the
attractor (and to the repellor) is explained in terms of the progression of gap
formation. vi) The relationship between the law of rate of convergence to the
attractor and the inexhaustible hierarchy feature of the preimage structure is
elucidated.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figure
Discrete soliton ratchets driven by biharmonic fields
Directed motion of topological solitons (kinks or antikinks) in the damped
and AC-driven discrete sine-Gordon system is investigated. We show that if the
driving field breaks certain time-space symmetries, the soliton can perform
unidirectional motion. The phenomenon resembles the well known effects of
ratchet transport and nonlinear harmonic mixing. Direction of the motion and
its velocity depends on the shape of the AC drive. Necessary conditions for the
occurrence of the effect are formulated. In comparison with the previously
studied continuum case, the discrete case shows a number of new features:
non-zero depinning threshold for the driving amplitude, locking to the rational
fractions of the driving frequency, and diffusive ratchet motion in the case of
weak intersite coupling.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Preliminary design and cost of a 1-megawatt solar-pumped iodide laser space-to-space transmission station
A preliminary conceptual design of a space-based solar pumped iodide laser emitting 1 megawatt of laser power for space-to-space power transmission is described. A near parabolic solar collector focuses sunlight onto the t-C4F9I (perfluoro-t butyl iodide) lasant within a transverse flow optical cavity. Using waste heat, a thermal system was designed to supply compressor and auxiliary power. System components were designed with weight and cost estimates assigned. Although cost is very approximate, the cost comparison of individual system components leads to valuable insights for future research. In particular, it was found that laser efficiency was not a dominant cost or weight factor, the dominant factor being the laser cavity and laser transmission optics. The manufacturing cost was approx. two thirds of the total cost with transportation to orbit the remainder. The flowing nonrenewable lasant comprised 20% of the total life cycle cost of the system and thus was not a major cost factor. The station mass was 92,000 kg without lasant, requiring approx. four shuttle flights to low Earth orbit where an orbital transfer vehicle will transport it to the final altitude of 6378 km
Brachial plexus injury mimicking a spinal-cord injury.
Objective High-energy impact to the head, neck, and shoulder can result in cervical spine as well as brachial plexus injuries. Because cervical spine injuries are more common, this tends to be the initial focus for management. We present a case in which the initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was somewhat misleading and a detailed neurological exam lead to the correct diagnosis.Clinical presentation A 19-year-old man presented to the hospital following a shoulder injury during football practice. The patient immediately complained of significant pain in his neck, shoulder, and right arm and the inability to move his right arm. He was stabilized in the field for a presumed cervical-spine injury and transported to the emergency department.Intervention Initial radiographic assessment (C-spine CT, right shoulder x-ray) showed no bony abnormality. MRI of the cervical-spine showed T2 signal change and cord swelling thought to be consistent with a cord contusion. With adequate pain control, a detailed neurological examination was possible and was consistent with an upper brachial plexus avulsion injury that was confirmed by CT myelogram. The patient failed to make significant neurological recovery and he underwent spinal accessory nerve grafting to the suprascapular nerve to restore shoulder abduction and external rotation, while the phrenic nerve was grafted to the musculocutaneous nerve to restore elbow flexion.Conclusion Cervical spinal-cord injuries and brachial plexus injuries can occur by the same high energy mechanisms and can occur simultaneously. As in this case, MRI findings can be misleading and a detailed physical examination is the key to diagnosis. However, this can be difficult in polytrauma patients with upper extremity injuries, head injuries or concomitant spinal-cord injury. Finally, prompt diagnosis and early surgical renerveration have been associated with better long-term recovery with certain types of injury
The role of inhibitory feedback for information processing in thalamocortical circuits
The information transfer in the thalamus is blocked dynamically during sleep,
in conjunction with the occurence of spindle waves. As the theoretical
understanding of the mechanism remains incomplete, we analyze two modeling
approaches for a recent experiment by Le Masson {\sl et al}. on the
thalamocortical loop. In a first step, we use a conductance-based neuron model
to reproduce the experiment computationally. In a second step, we model the
same system by using an extended Hindmarsh-Rose model, and compare the results
with the conductance-based model. In the framework of both models, we
investigate the influence of inhibitory feedback on the information transfer in
a typical thalamocortical oscillator. We find that our extended Hindmarsh-Rose
neuron model, which is computationally less costly and thus siutable for
large-scale simulations, reproduces the experiment better than the
conductance-based model. Further, in agreement with the experiment of Le Masson
{\sl et al}., inhibitory feedback leads to stable self-sustained oscillations
which mask the incoming input, and thereby reduce the information transfer
significantly.Comment: 16 pages, 15eps figures included. To appear in Physical Review
Electrochemical machining of stainless steel microelements with ultrashort voltage pulses
An electrochemical pulse technique enables the fabrication of three-dimensional microelements from stainless steel. The method is based on the application of ultrashort (nanosecond) voltage pulses, whereupon electrochemical reactions are locally confined with submicrometer precision. Employing properly shaped tool electrodes enables the machining of freestanding cantilevers or microstructures directly to a metal sheet. Due to gentle removal of the material, the grain structure of the material is revealed without any chemical or mechanical modifications. This is demonstrated by measuring the vibration frequency of a cantilever, and agrees well with the value derived from the bulk material properties
New Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs with Disks in Lupus
Using the Infrared Array Camera and the Multiband Imaging Photometer aboard
the {\it Spitzer Space Telescope}, we have obtained images of the Lupus 3
star-forming cloud at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0, and 24 \micron. We present photometry
in these bands for the 41 previously known members that are within our images.
In addition, we have identified 19 possible new members of the cloud based on
red 3.6-8.0 \micron colors that are indicative of circumstellar disks. We have
performed optical spectroscopy on 6 of these candidates, all of which are
confirmed as young low-mass members of Lupus 3. The spectral types of these new
members range from M4.75 to M8, corresponding to masses of 0.2-0.03
for ages of Myr according to theoretical evolutionary models. We also
present optical spectroscopy of a candidate disk-bearing object in the vicinity
of the Lupus 1 cloud, 2M 1541-3345, which Jayawardhana & Ivanov recently
classified as a young brown dwarf ( ) with a spectral type
of M8. In contrast to their results, we measure an earlier spectral type of
M5.750.25 for this object, indicating that it is probably a low-mass star
( ). In fact, according to its gravity-sensitive absorption
lines and its luminosity, 2M 1541-3345 is older than members of the Lupus
clouds ( Myr) and instead is probably a more evolved
pre-main-sequence star that is not directly related to the current generation
of star formation in Lupus.Comment: 18 pages, 3 tables, 6 figure
Rubidium in Metal-Deficient Disk and Halo Stars
We report the first extensive study of stellar Rb abundances. High-resolution
spectra have been used to determine, or set upper limits on, the abundances of
this heavy element and the associated elements Y, Zr, and Ba in 44 dwarfs and
giants with metallicities spanning the range -2.0 <[Fe/H] < 0.0. In
metal-deficient stars Rb is systematically overabundant relative to Fe; we find
an average [Rb/Fe] of +0.21 for the 32 stars with [Fe/H] < -0.5 and measured
Rb. This behavior contrasts with that of Y, Zr, and Ba, which, with the
exception of three new CH stars (HD 23439A and B and BD +5 3640), are
consistently slightly deficient relative to Fe in the same stars; excluding the
three CH stars, we find the stars with [Fe/H] < -0.5 have average [Y/Fe],
[Zr/Fe], and [Ba/Fe] of --0.19 (24 stars), --0.12 (28 stars), and --0.06 (29
stars), respectively. The different behavior of Rb on the one hand and Y, Zr,
and Ba on the other can be attributed in part to the fact that in the Sun and
in these stars Rb has a large r-process component while Y, Zr, and Ba are
mostly s-process elements with only small r-process components. In addition,
the Rb s-process abundance is dependent on the neutron density at the
s-processing site. Published observations of Rb in s-process enriched red
giants indicate a higher neutron density in the metal-poor giants. These
observations imply a higher s-process abundance for Rb in metal-poor stars. The
calculated combination of the Rb r-process abundance, as estimated for the
stellar Eu abundances, and the s-process abundance as estimated for red giants
accounts satisfactorily for the observed run of [Rb/Fe] with [Fe/H].Comment: 23 pages, 5 tables, 7 figure
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