7,334 research outputs found
An Efficient Computational Approach to a Class of Minmax Optimal Control Problems with Applications
In this paper, an efficient computation method is developed for solving a general class of minmax optimal control problems, where the minimum deviation from the violation of the continuous state inequality constraints is maximized. The constraint transcription method is used to construct a smooth approximate function for each of the continuous state inequality constraints. We then obtain an approximate optimal control problem with the integral of the summation of these smooth approximate functions as its cost function. A necessary condition and a sufficient condition are derived showing the relationship between the original problem and the smooth approximate problem. We then construct a violation function from the solution of the smooth approximate optimal control problem and the original continuous state inequality constraints in such a way that the optimal control of the minmax problem is equivalent to the largest root of the violation function, and hence can be solved by the bisection search method. The control parametrization and a time scaling transform are applied to these optimal control problems. We then consider two practical problems: the obstacle avoidance optimal control problem and the abort landing of an aircraft in a windshear downburst
Nonexistence theorems for traversable wormholes
Gauss-Bonnet formula is used to derive a new and simple theorem of
nonexistence of vacuum static nonsingular lorentzian wormholes. We also derive
simple proofs for the nonexistence of lorentzian wormhole solutions for some
classes of static matter such as, for instance, real scalar fields with a
generic potential obeying and massless fermions fields
Casimir effect of electromagnetic field in Randall-Sundrum spacetime
We study the finite temperature Casimir effect on a pair of parallel
perfectly conducting plates in Randall-Sundrum model without using scalar field
analogy. Two different ways of interpreting perfectly conducting conditions are
discussed. The conventional way that uses perfectly conducting condition
induced from 5D leads to three discrete mode corrections. This is very
different from the result obtained from imposing 4D perfectly conducting
conditions on the 4D massless and massive vector fields obtained by decomposing
the 5D electromagnetic field. The latter only contains two discrete mode
corrections, but it has a continuum mode correction that depends on the
thicknesses of the plates. It is shown that under both boundary conditions, the
corrections to the Casimir force make the Casimir force more attractive. The
correction under 4D perfectly conducting condition is always smaller than the
correction under the 5D induced perfectly conducting condition. These
statements are true at any temperature.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
Conformal Mappings and Dispersionless Toda hierarchy
Let be the space consists of pairs , where is a
univalent function on the unit disc with , is a univalent function
on the exterior of the unit disc with and
. In this article, we define the time variables , on which are holomorphic with respect to the natural
complex structure on and can serve as local complex coordinates
for . We show that the evolutions of the pair with
respect to these time coordinates are governed by the dispersionless Toda
hierarchy flows. An explicit tau function is constructed for the dispersionless
Toda hierarchy. By restricting to the subspace consists
of pairs where , we obtain the integrable hierarchy
of conformal mappings considered by Wiegmann and Zabrodin \cite{WZ}. Since
every homeomorphism of the unit circle corresponds uniquely to
an element of under the conformal welding
, the space can be naturally
identified as a subspace of characterized by . We
show that we can naturally define complexified vector fields \pa_n, n\in \Z
on so that the evolutions of on
with respect to \pa_n satisfy the dispersionless Toda
hierarchy. Finally, we show that there is a similar integrable structure for
the Riemann mappings . Moreover, in the latter case, the time
variables are Fourier coefficients of and .Comment: 23 pages. This is to replace the previous preprint arXiv:0808.072
Electromagnetic Casimir piston in higher dimensional spacetimes
We consider the Casimir effect of the electromagnetic field in a higher
dimensional spacetime of the form , where is the
4-dimensional Minkowski spacetime and is an -dimensional
compact manifold. The Casimir force acting on a planar piston that can move
freely inside a closed cylinder with the same cross section is investigated.
Different combinations of perfectly conducting boundary conditions and
infinitely permeable boundary conditions are imposed on the cylinder and the
piston. It is verified that if the piston and the cylinder have the same
boundary conditions, the piston is always going to be pulled towards the closer
end of the cylinder. However, if the piston and the cylinder have different
boundary conditions, the piston is always going to be pushed to the middle of
the cylinder. By taking the limit where one end of the cylinder tends to
infinity, one obtains the Casimir force acting between two parallel plates
inside an infinitely long cylinder. The asymptotic behavior of this Casimir
force in the high temperature regime and the low temperature regime are
investigated for the case where the cross section of the cylinder in is
large. It is found that if the separation between the plates is much smaller
than the size of , the leading term of the Casimir force is the
same as the Casimir force on a pair of large parallel plates in the
-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. However, if the size of
is much smaller than the separation between the plates, the leading term of the
Casimir force is times the Casimir force on a pair of large parallel
plates in the 4-dimensional Minkowski spacetime, where is the first Betti
number of . In the limit the manifold vanishes, one
does not obtain the Casimir force in the 4-dimensional Minkowski spacetime if
is nonzero.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure
Mode summation approach to Casimir effect between two objects
In this paper, we explore the TGTG formula from the perspective of mode
summation approach. Both scalar fields and electromagnetic fields are
considered. In this approach, one has to first solve the equation of motion to
find a wave basis for each object. The two T's in the TGTG formula are
T-matrices representing the Lippmann-Schwinger T-operators, one for each of the
objects. The two G's in the TGTG formula are the translation matrices, relating
the wave basis of an object to the wave basis of the other object. After
discussing the general theory, we apply the prescription to derive the explicit
formulas for the Casimir energies for the sphere-sphere, sphere-plane,
cylinder-cylinder and cylinder-plane interactions. First the T-matrices for a
plane, a sphere and a cylinder are derived for the following cases: the object
is imposed with general Robin boundary conditions; the object is
semitransparent; and the object is magnetodielectric. Then the operator
approach is used to derive the translation matrices. From these, the explicit
TGTG formula for each of the scenarios can be written down. Besides summarizing
all the TGTG formulas that have been derived so far, we also provide the TGTG
formulas for some scenarios that have not been considered before.Comment: 42 page
A Theoretical Framework for Effective Online Learning
A key, overarching goal for any committed educator is to ensure that the learner has a meaningful and memorable learning experience while achieving the desired learning outcomes. In this paper it is argued that in order to achieve such a goal, a strategy needs to be put in place that is capable of providing students with a fully integrated, all-encompassing learning environment. The reasoning, simply, is that learning will not necessarily emanate from one specific source and when it happens, it will occur through different means, for different people. One of the great strengths of the online learning space is that, harnessing the power of the various information and communication technologies (ICTs), there is greater scope for catering for individual learning needs. With this in mind, the paper puts forward a framework that comprises a number of overlapping \u27sub-environments\u27 which, together, provide the scaffolding considered essential for the construction of a truly holistic learning environment. To illustrate how this framework for effective online learning can be operationalised, the authors refer to the case of Universitas 21 Global, an institution which offers completely online programs to post-graduate students in more than 40 countries around the world
Casimir effect of electromagnetic field in D-dimensional spherically symmetric cavities
Eigenmodes of electromagnetic field with perfectly conducting or infinitely
permeable conditions on the boundary of a D-dimensional spherically symmetric
cavity is derived explicitly. It is shown that there are (D-2) polarizations
for TE modes and one polarization for TM modes, giving rise to a total of (D-1)
polarizations. In case of a D-dimensional ball, the eigenfrequencies of
electromagnetic field with perfectly conducting boundary condition coincides
with the eigenfrequencies of gauge one-forms with relative boundary condition;
whereas the eigenfrequencies of electromagnetic field with infinitely permeable
boundary condition coincides with the eigenfrequencies of gauge one-forms with
absolute boundary condition. Casimir energy for a D-dimensional spherical shell
configuration is computed using both cut-off regularization and zeta
regularization. For a double spherical shell configuration, it is shown that
the Casimir energy can be written as a sum of the single spherical shell
contributions and an interacting term, and the latter is free of divergence.
The interacting term always gives rise to an attractive force between the two
spherical shells. Its leading term is the Casimir force acting between two
parallel plates of the same area, as expected by proximity force approximation.Comment: 28 page
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