837 research outputs found
Balloon platform for extended-life astronomy research
A configuration has been developed for a long-life balloon platform to carry pointing telescopes weighing as much as 80 pounds (36 kg) to point at selected celestial targets. A platform of this configuration weighs about 375 pounds (170 kg) gross and can be suspended from a high altitude super pressure balloon for a lifetime of several months. The balloon platform contains a solar array and storage batteries for electrical power, up and down link communications equipment, and navigational and attitude control systems for orienting the scientific instrument. A biaxial controller maintains the telescope attitude in response to look-angle data stored in an on-board computer memory which is updated periodically by ground command. Gimbal angles are computed by using location data derived by an on-board navigational receiver
Polydispersity Effects in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures
We study phase separation and transient gelation in a mixture consisting of
polydisperse colloids and non-adsorbing polymers, where the ratio of the
average size of the polymer to that of the colloid is approximately 0.063.
Unlike what has been reported previously for mixtures with somewhat lower
colloid polydispersity, the addition of polymers does not expand the
fluid-solid coexistence region. Instead, we find a region of fluid-solid
coexistence which has an approximately constant width but an unexpected
re-entrant shape. We detect the presence of a metastable gas-liquid binodal,
which gives rise to two-stepped crystallization kinetics that can be
rationalized as the effect of fractionation. Finally, we find that the
separation into multiple coexisting solid phases at high colloid volume
fractions predicted by equilibrium statistical mechanics is kinetically
suppressed before the system reaches dynamical arrest.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Neural surprise in somatosensory Bayesian learning
Tracking statistical regularities of the environment is important for shaping human behavior and perception. Evidence suggests that the brain learns environmental dependencies using Bayesian principles. However, much remains unknown about the employed algorithms, for somesthesis in particular. Here, we describe the cortical dynamics of the somatosensory learning system to investigate both the form of the generative model as well as its neural surprise signatures. Specifically, we recorded EEG data from 40 participants subjected to a somatosensory roving-stimulus paradigm and performed single-trial modeling across peri-stimulus time in both sensor and source space. Our Bayesian model selection procedure indicates that evoked potentials are best described by a non-hierarchical learning model that tracks transitions between observations using leaky integration. From around 70ms post-stimulus onset, secondary somatosensory cortices are found to represent confidence-corrected surprise as a measure of model inadequacy. Indications of Bayesian surprise encoding, reflecting model updating, are found in primary somatosensory cortex from around 140ms. This dissociation is compatible with the idea that early surprise signals may control subsequent model update rates. In sum, our findings support the hypothesis that early somatosensory processing reflects Bayesian perceptual learning and contribute to an understanding of its underlying mechanisms
Nonlinear evolution of surface morphology in InAs/AlAs superlattices via surface diffusion
Continuum simulations of self-organized lateral compositional modulation
growth in InAs/AlAs short-period superlattices on InP substrate are presented.
Results of the simulations correspond quantitatively to the results of
synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments. The time evolution of the
compositional modulation during epitaxial growth can be explained only
including a nonlinear dependence of the elastic energy of the growing epitaxial
layer on its thickness. From the fit of the experimental data to the growth
simulations we have determined the parameters of this nonlinear dependence. It
was found that the modulation amplitude don't depend on the values of the
surface diffusion constants of particular elements.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published in Phys. Rev. Lett.
http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v96/e13610
Liesegang patterns: Effect of dissociation of the invading electrolyte
The effect of dissociation of the invading electrolyte on the formation of
Liesegang bands is investigated. We find, using organic compounds with known
dissociation constants, that the spacing coefficient, 1+p, that characterizes
the position of the n-th band as x_n ~ (1+p)^n, decreases with increasing
dissociation constant, K_d. Theoretical arguments are developed to explain
these experimental findings and to calculate explicitly the K_d dependence of
1+p.Comment: RevTex, 8 pages, 3 eps figure
Band Formation during Gaseous Diffusion in Aerogels
We study experimentally how gaseous HCl and NH_3 diffuse from opposite sides
of and react in silica aerogel rods with porosity of 92 % and average pore size
of about 50 nm. The reaction leads to solid NH_4Cl, which is deposited in thin
sheet-like structures. We present a numerical study of the phenomenon. Due to
the difference in boundary conditions between this system and those usually
studied, we find the sheet-like structures in the aerogel to differ
significantly from older studies. The influence of random nucleation centers
and inhomogeneities in the aerogel is studied numerically.Comment: 7 pages RevTex and 8 figures. Figs. 4-8 in Postscript, Figs. 1-3 on
request from author
EEG-fMRI Based Information Theoretic Characterization of the Human Perceptual Decision System
The modern metaphor of the brain is that of a dynamic information processing device. In the current study we investigate how a core cognitive network of the human brain, the perceptual decision system, can be characterized regarding its spatiotemporal representation of task-relevant information. We capitalize on a recently developed information theoretic framework for the analysis of simultaneously acquired electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging data (fMRI) (Ostwald et al. (2010), NeuroImage 49: 498–516). We show how this framework naturally extends from previous validations in the sensory to the cognitive domain and how it enables the economic description of neural spatiotemporal information encoding. Specifically, based on simultaneous EEG-fMRI data features from n = 13 observers performing a visual perceptual decision task, we demonstrate how the information theoretic framework is able to reproduce earlier findings on the neurobiological underpinnings of perceptual decisions from the response signal features' marginal distributions. Furthermore, using the joint EEG-fMRI feature distribution, we provide novel evidence for a highly distributed and dynamic encoding of task-relevant information in the human brain
Diffusive Evolution of Stable and Metastable Phases II: Theory of Non-Equilibrium Behaviour in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures
By analytically solving some simple models of phase-ordering kinetics, we
suggest a mechanism for the onset of non-equilibrium behaviour in
colloid-polymer mixtures. These mixtures can function as models of atomic
systems; their physics therefore impinges on many areas of thermodynamics and
phase-ordering. An exact solution is found for the motion of a single, planar
interface separating a growing phase of uniform high density from a
supersaturated low density phase, whose diffusive depletion drives the
interfacial motion. In addition, an approximate solution is found for the
one-dimensional evolution of two interfaces, separated by a slab of a
metastable phase at intermediate density. The theory predicts a critical
supersaturation of the low-density phase, above which the two interfaces become
unbound and the metastable phase grows ad infinitum. The growth of the stable
phase is suppressed in this regime.Comment: 27 pages, Latex, eps
Early haemodynamic changes observed in patients with epilepsy, in a visual experiment and in simulations
Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether previously reported early blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) changes in epilepsy could occur as a result of the modelling techniques rather than physiological changes. Methods: EEG-fMRI data were analysed from seven patients with focal epilepsy, six control subjects undergoing a visual experiment, in addition to simulations. In six separate analyses the event timing was shifted by either -9,-6,-3,+3,+6 or +9 s relative to the onset of the interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) or stimulus. Results: The visual dataset and simulations demonstrated an overlap between modelled haemodynamic response function (HRF) at event onset and at \ub13 s relative to onset, which diminished at \ub16 s. Pre-spike analysis at -6 s improved concordance with the assumed IED generating lobe relative to the standard HRF in 43% of patients. Conclusion: The visual and simulated dataset findings indicate a form of "temporal bleeding", an overlap between the modelled HRF at time 0 and at \ub13 s which attenuated at \ub16 s. Pre-spike analysis at -6 s may improve concordance. Significance: This form of analysis should be performed at 6 s prior to onset of IED to minimise temporal bleeding effect. The results support the presence of relevant BOLD responses occurring prior to IEDs
3D characterization of CdSe nanoparticles attached to carbon nanotubes
The crystallographic structure of CdSe nanoparticles attached to carbon
nanotubes has been elucidated by means of high resolution transmission electron
microscopy and high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron
microscopy tomography. CdSe rod-like nanoparticles, grown in solution together
with carbon nanotubes, undergo a morphological transformation and become
attached to the carbon surface. Electron tomography reveals that the
nanoparticles are hexagonal-based with the (001) planes epitaxially matched to
the outer graphene layer.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
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