Closed-form solution of decomposable stochastic models

Markov and semi-Markov processes are increasingly being used in the modeling of complex reconfigurable systems (fault tolerant computers). The estimation of the reliability (or some measure of performance) of the system reduces to solving the process for its state probabilities. Such a model may exhibit numerous states and complicated transition distributions, contributing to an expensive and numerically delicate solution procedure. Thus, when a system exhibits a decomposition property, either structurally (autonomous subsystems), or behaviorally (component failure versus reconfiguration), it is desirable to exploit this decomposition in the reliability calculation. In interesting cases there can be failure states which arise from non-failure states of the subsystems. Equations are presented which allow the computation of failure probabilities of the total (combined) model without requiring a complete solution of the combined model. This material is presented within the context of closed-form functional representation of probabilities as utilized in the Symbolic Hierarchical Automated Reliability and Performance Evaluator (SHARPE) tool. The techniques adopted enable one to compute such probability functions for a much wider class of systems at a reduced computational cost. Several examples show how the method is used, especially in enhancing the versatility of the SHARPE tool

Hardware proofs using EHDM and the RSRE verification methodology

Examined is a methodology for hardware verification developed by Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) in the context of the SRI International's Enhanced Hierarchical Design Methodology (EHDM) specification/verification system. The methodology utilizes a four-level specification hierarchy with the following levels: functional level, finite automata model, block model, and circuit level. The properties of a level are proved as theorems in the level below it. This methodology is applied to a 6-bit counter problem and is critically examined. The specifications are written in EHDM's specification language, Extended Special, and the proofs are improving both the RSRE methodology and the EHDM system

Evaluation of laser-irradiated Ar clusters as a source for time-resolved x-ray studies

We have measured the absolute average photon flux, the spectral characteristics, and the time structure of x rays emitted from Ar clusters which were irradiated by a 100 fs laser with an intensity of 10(17) W/cm(2). The measured photon flux was 10(7) photons per shot in the K-alpha (at 3 keV) line in a 4 pi sr solid angle. The temporal structure was measured using a streak camera with a 10 ps time resolution. It was found that less than 1% of the photons were emitted within the 10 ps time-response function of the streak camera. The emission profile is roughly exponential with a time constant of 3 ns. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(99)03605-9]

A PVS Graph Theory Library

This paper documents the NASA Langley PVS graph theory library. The library provides fundamental definitions for graphs, subgraphs, walks, paths, subgraphs generated by walks, trees, cycles, degree, separating sets, and four notions of connectedness. Theorems provided include Ramsey's and Menger's and the equivalence of all four notions of connectedness

Ranger VII Flight Path and Its Determination from Tracking Data

Flight path and tracking study of Ranger VII LUNAR prob