26,977 research outputs found
WMTrace : a lightweight memory allocation tracker and analysis framework
The diverging gap between processor and memory performance has been a well discussed aspect of computer architecture literature for some years. The use of multi-core processor designs has, however, brought new problems to the design of memory architectures - increased core density without matched improvement in memory capacity is reduc- ing the available memory per parallel process. Multiple cores accessing memory simultaneously degrades performance as a result of resource con- tention for memory channels and physical DIMMs. These issues combine to ensure that memory remains an on-going challenge in the design of parallel algorithms which scale. In this paper we present WMTrace, a lightweight tool to trace and analyse memory allocation events in parallel applications. This tool is able to dynamically link to pre-existing application binaries requiring no source code modification or recompilation. A post-execution analysis stage enables in-depth analysis of traces to be performed allowing memory allocations to be analysed by time, size or function. The second half of this paper features a case study in which we apply WMTrace to five parallel scientific applications and benchmarks, demonstrating its effectiveness at recording high-water mark memory consumption as well as memory use per-function over time. An in-depth analysis is provided for an unstructured mesh benchmark which reveals significant memory allocation imbalance across its participating processes
Towards a generalized theory of low-frequency sound source localization
Low-frequency sound source localization generates considerable amount of disagreement between audio/acoustics researchers, with some arguing that below a certain frequency humans cannot localize a source with others insisting that in certain cases localization is possible, even down to the lowest audible of frequencies. Nearly all previous work in this area depends on subjective evaluations to formulate theorems for low-frequency localization. This, of course, opens the argument of data reliability, a critical factor that may go some way to explain the reported ambiguities with regard to low-frequency localization. The resulting proposal stipulates that low-frequency source localization is highly dependent on room dimensions, source/listener location and absorptive properties. In some cases, a source can be accurately localized down to the lowest audible of frequencies, while in other situations it cannot. This is relevant as the standard procedure in live sound reinforcement, cinema sound and home-theater surround sound is to have a single mono channel for the low-frequency content, based on the assumption that human’s cannot determine direction in this band. This work takes the first steps towards showing that this may not be a universally valid simplification and that certain sound reproduction systems may actually benefit from directional low-frequency content
The rotation rates of massive stars: How slow are the slow ones?
Context: Rotation plays a key role in the life cycles of stars with masses
above 8 Msun. Hence, accurate knowledge of the rotation rates of such massive
stars is critical for understanding their properties and for constraining
models of their evolution. Aims: This paper investigates the reliability of
current methods used to derive projected rotation speeds v sin i from
line-broadening signatures in the photospheric spectra of massive stars,
focusing on stars that are not rapidly rotating. Methods: We use slowly
rotating magnetic O-stars with well-determined rotation periods to test the
Fourier transform (FT) and goodness-of-fit (GOF) methods typically used to
infer projected rotation rates of massive stars. Results: For our two magnetic
test stars with measured rotation periods longer than one year, i.e., with v
sin i < 1 km/s, we derive v sin i ~ 40-50 km/s from both the FT and GOF
methods. These severe overestimates are most likely caused by an insufficient
treatment of the competing broadening mechanisms referred to as microturbulence
and macroturbulence. Conclusions: These findings warn us not to rely
uncritically on results from current standard techniques to derive projected
rotation speeds of massive stars in the presence of significant additional line
broadening, at least when v sin i <~ 50 km/s. This may, for example, be crucial
for i) determining the statistical distribution of observed rotation rates of
massive stars, ii) interpreting the evolutionary status and spin-down histories
of rotationally braked B-supergiants, and iii) explaining the deficiency of
observed O-stars with spectroscopically inferred v sin i ~ 0 km/s. Further
investigations of potential shortcomings of the above techniques are presently
under way.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Volkov-Pankratov states in topological superconductors
We study the in-gap states that appear at the boundaries of both 1D and 2D
topological superconductors. While the massless Majorana quasiparticles are
guaranteed to arise by the bulk-edge correspondence, we find that they could be
accompanied by massive Volkov-Pankratov (VP) states which are present only when
the interface is sufficiently smooth. These predictions can be tested in an
s-wave superconductor with Rashba spin-orbit coupling placed on top of a
magnetic domain wall. We calculate the spin-resolved local density of states of
the VP states about the band inversion generated by a magnetic domain wall and
find that they are oppositely spin-polarized on either side of the topological
phase boundary. We also demonstrate that the spatial position, energy-level
spacing, and spin polarization of the VP states can be modified by the
introduction of in-plane electric fields.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
A quantum Mermin--Wagner theorem for quantum rotators on two--dimensional graphs
This is the first of a series of papers considering symmetry properties of
quantum systems over 2D graphs or manifolds, with continuous spins, in the
spirit of the Mermin--Wagner theorem. In the model considered here (quantum
rotators) the phase space of a single spin is a dimensional torus, and
spins (or particles) are attached to sites of a graph satisfying a special
bi-dimensionality property. The kinetic energy part of the Hamiltonian is minus
a half of the Laplace operator. We assume that the interaction potential is
C-smooth and invariant under the action of a connected Lie group {\ttG}.
A part of our approach is to give a definition (and a construction) of a class
of infinite-volume Gibbs states for the systems under consideration (the class
\fG). This class contains the so-called limit Gibbs states, with or without
boundary conditions. We use ideas and techniques originated from various past
papers, in combination with the Feynman--Kac representation, to prove that any
state lying in the class \fG (defined in the text) is {\ttG}-invariant. An
example is given where the interaction potential is singular and there exists a
Gibbs state which is not {\ttG}-invariant.
In the next paper under the same title we establish a similar result for a
bosonic model where particles can jump from a vertex of the graph to one of its
neighbors (a generalized Hubbard model).Comment: 27 page
Spatio-temporal bivariate statistical models for atmospheric trace-gas inversion
Atmospheric trace-gas inversion refers to any technique used to predict
spatial and temporal fluxes using mole-fraction measurements and atmospheric
simulations obtained from computer models. Studies to date are most often of a
data-assimilation flavour, which implicitly consider univariate statistical
models with the flux as the variate of interest. This univariate approach
typically assumes that the flux field is either a spatially correlated Gaussian
process or a spatially uncorrelated non-Gaussian process with prior expectation
fixed using flux inventories (e.g., NAEI or EDGAR in Europe). Here, we extend
this approach in three ways. First, we develop a bivariate model for the
mole-fraction field and the flux field. The bivariate approach allows optimal
prediction of both the flux field and the mole-fraction field, and it leads to
significant computational savings over the univariate approach. Second, we
employ a lognormal spatial process for the flux field that captures both the
lognormal characteristics of the flux field (when appropriate) and its spatial
dependence. Third, we propose a new, geostatistical approach to incorporate the
flux inventories in our updates, such that the posterior spatial distribution
of the flux field is predominantly data-driven. The approach is illustrated on
a case study of methane (CH) emissions in the United Kingdom and Ireland.Comment: 39 pages, 8 figure
How the First Stars Regulated Star Formation. II. Enrichment by Nearby Supernovae
Metals from Population III (Pop III) supernovae led to the formation of less
massive Pop II stars in the early universe, altering the course of evolution of
primeval galaxies and cosmological reionization. There are a variety of
scenarios in which heavy elements from the first supernovae were taken up into
second-generation stars, but cosmological simulations only model them on the
largest scales. We present small-scale, high-resolution simulations of the
chemical enrichment of a primordial halo by a nearby supernova after partial
evaporation by the progenitor star. We find that ejecta from the explosion
crash into and mix violently with ablative flows driven off the halo by the
star, creating dense, enriched clumps capable of collapsing into Pop II stars.
Metals may mix less efficiently with the partially exposed core of the halo, so
it might form either Pop III or Pop II stars. Both Pop II and III stars may
thus form after the collision if the ejecta do not strip all the gas from the
halo. The partial evaporation of the halo prior to the explosion is crucial to
its later enrichment by the supernova.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Kondo resonance of a Co atom exchange coupled to a ferromagnetic tip
The Kondo effect of a Co atom on Cu(100) was investigated with a
low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope using a monoatomically sharp
nickel tip. Upon a tip-Co contact, the differential conductance spectra exhibit
a spin-split asymmetric Kondo resonance. The computed ab initio value of the
exchange coupling is too small to suppress the Kondo effect, but sufficiently
large to produce the splitting observed. A quantitative analysis of the line
shape using the numerical renormalization group technique indicates that the
junction spin polarization is weak.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
- …