3,285 research outputs found
Relatedness among cryo-bank bulls of the Yakutian Cattle breed as estimated with microsatellite data
We analysed 30 autosomal microsatellites in order to clarify genetic relatedness between these bulls and provide recommendations for the use of their semen in conservation and breed management
Changes in zonal surface temperature gradients and Walker circulations in a wide range of climates
Variations in zonal surface temperature gradients and zonally asymmetric
tropical overturning circulations (Walker circulations) are examined over a
wide range of climates simulated with an idealized atmospheric general
circulation model (GCM). The asymmetry in the tropical climate is generated by
an imposed ocean energy flux, which does not vary with climate. The range of
climates is simulated by modifying the optical thickness of an idealized
longwave absorber (representing greenhouse gases).
The zonal surface temperature gradient in low latitudes generally decreases
as the climate warms in the idealized GCM simulations. A scaling relationship
based on a two-term balance in the surface energy budget accounts for the
changes in the zonally asymmetric component of the GCM-simulated surface
temperature gradients.
The Walker circulation weakens as the climate warms in the idealized
simulations, as it does in comprehensive simulations of climate change. The
wide range of climates allows a systematic test of energetic arguments that
have been proposed to account for these changes in the tropical circulation.
The analysis shows that a scaling estimate based on changes in the hydrological
cycle (precipitation rate and saturation specific humidity) accounts for the
simulated changes in the Walker circulation. However, it must be evaluated
locally, with local precipitation rates. If global-mean quantities are used,
the scaling estimate does not generally account for changes in the Walker
circulation, and the extent to which it does is the result of compensating
errors in changes in precipitation and saturation specific humidity that enter
the scaling estimate
Hyperparameter Estimation in Bayesian MAP Estimation: Parameterizations and Consistency
The Bayesian formulation of inverse problems is attractive for three primary
reasons: it provides a clear modelling framework; means for uncertainty
quantification; and it allows for principled learning of hyperparameters. The
posterior distribution may be explored by sampling methods, but for many
problems it is computationally infeasible to do so. In this situation maximum a
posteriori (MAP) estimators are often sought. Whilst these are relatively cheap
to compute, and have an attractive variational formulation, a key drawback is
their lack of invariance under change of parameterization. This is a
particularly significant issue when hierarchical priors are employed to learn
hyperparameters. In this paper we study the effect of the choice of
parameterization on MAP estimators when a conditionally Gaussian hierarchical
prior distribution is employed. Specifically we consider the centred
parameterization, the natural parameterization in which the unknown state is
solved for directly, and the noncentred parameterization, which works with a
whitened Gaussian as the unknown state variable, and arises when considering
dimension-robust MCMC algorithms; MAP estimation is well-defined in the
nonparametric setting only for the noncentred parameterization. However, we
show that MAP estimates based on the noncentred parameterization are not
consistent as estimators of hyperparameters; conversely, we show that limits of
finite-dimensional centred MAP estimators are consistent as the dimension tends
to infinity. We also consider empirical Bayesian hyperparameter estimation,
show consistency of these estimates, and demonstrate that they are more robust
with respect to noise than centred MAP estimates. An underpinning concept
throughout is that hyperparameters may only be recovered up to measure
equivalence, a well-known phenomenon in the context of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck
process.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figure
Atomic diffraction in counter-propagating Gaussian pulses of laser light
We present an analysis of atomic diffraction due to the interaction of an
atomic beam with a pair of Gaussian light pulses. We derive a simple analytical
expression for the populations in different diffraction orders. The validity of
the obtained solution extends beyond the Raman-Nath regime, where the kinetic
energy associated with different diffraction peaks is neglected, into the
so-called channeling regime where accurate analytical expressions have not
previously been available for the diffraction. Comparison with experimental
results and exact numerical solutions demonstrate the validity of our
analytical formula.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Coherence vortices in one spatial dimension
Coherence vortices are screw-type topological defects in the phase of
Glauber's two-point degree of quantum coherence, associated with pairs of
spatial points at which an ensemble-averaged stochastic quantum field is
uncorrelated. Coherence vortices may be present in systems whose dimensionality
is too low to support spatial vortices. We exhibit lattices of such
quantum-coherence phase defects for a one-dimensional model quantum system. We
discuss the physical meaning of coherence vortices and propose how they may be
realized experimentally.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Few-body reference data for multicomponent formalisms: Light nuclei molecules
We present full quantum statistical energetics of some electron-light nuclei
systems. This is accomplished with the path integral Monte Carlo method. The
effects on energetics arising from the change in the nuclear mass are studied.
The obtained results may serve as reference data for the multicomponent density
functional theory calculations of light nuclei system. In addition, the results
reported here will enable better fitting of todays electron-nuclear energy
functionals, for which the description of light nuclei is most challenging, in
particular
Motion of vortices in inhomogeneous Bose-Einstein condensates
We derive a general and exact equation of motion for a quantised vortex in an
inhomogeneous two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate. This equation expresses
the velocity of a vortex as a sum of local ambient density and phase gradients
in the vicinity of the vortex. We perform Gross-Pitaevskii simulations of
single vortex dynamics in both harmonic and hard-walled disk-shaped traps, and
find excellent agreement in both cases with our analytical prediction. The
simulations reveal that, in a harmonic trap, the main contribution to the
vortex velocity is an induced ambient phase gradient, a finding that
contradicts the commonly quoted result that the local density gradient is the
only relevant effect in this scenario. We use our analytical vortex velocity
formula to derive a point-vortex model that accounts for both density and phase
contributions to the vortex velocity, suitable for use in inhomogeneous
condensates. Although good agreement is obtained between Gross-Pitaevskii and
point-vortex simulations for specific few-vortex configurations, the effects of
nonuniform condensate density are in general highly nontrivial, and are thus
difficult to efficiently and accurately model using a simplified point-vortex
description.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
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