2,277 research outputs found
Data base management system analysis and performance testing with respect to NASA requirements
Several candidate Data Base Management Systems (DBM's) that could support the NASA End-to-End Data System's Integrated Data Base Management System (IDBMS) Project, later rescoped and renamed the Packet Management System (PMS) were evaluated. The candidate DBMS systems which had to run on the Digital Equipment Corporation VAX 11/780 computer system were ORACLE, SEED and RIM. Oracle and RIM are both based on the relational data base model while SEED employs a CODASYL network approach. A single data base application which managed stratospheric temperature profiles was studied. The primary reasons for using this application were an insufficient volume of available PMS-like data, a mandate to use actual rather than simulated data, and the abundance of available temperature profile data
Classical 5D fields generated by a uniformly accelerated point source
Gauge fields associated with the manifestly covariant dynamics of particles
in spacetime are five-dimensional. In this paper we explore the old
problem of fields generated by a source undergoing hyperbolic motion in this
framework. The 5D fields are computed numerically using absolute time
-retarded Green-functions, and qualitatively compared with Maxwell fields
generated by the same motion. We find that although the zero mode of all fields
coincides with the corresponding Maxwell problem, the non-zero mode should
affect, through the Lorentz force, the observed motion of test particles.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figure
Regular modes in rotating stars
Despite more and more observational data, stellar acoustic oscillation modes
are not well understood as soon as rotation cannot be treated perturbatively.
In a way similar to semiclassical theory in quantum physics, we use acoustic
ray dynamics to build an asymptotic theory for the subset of regular modes
which are the easiest to observe and identify. Comparisons with 2D numerical
simulations of oscillations in polytropic stars show that both the frequency
and amplitude distributions of these modes can accurately be described by an
asymptotic theory for almost all rotation rates. The spectra are mainly
characterized by two quantum numbers; their extraction from observed spectra
should enable one to obtain information about stellar interiors.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, discussion adde
Errors in quantum optimal control and strategy for the search of easily implementable control pulses
We introduce a new approach to assess the error of control problems we aim to
optimize. The method offers a strategy to define new control pulses that are
not necessarily optimal but still able to yield an error not larger than some
fixed a priori threshold, and therefore provide control pulses that might be
more amenable for an experimental implementation. The formalism is applied to
an exactly solvable model and to the Landau-Zener model, whose optimal control
problem is solvable only numerically. The presented method is of importance for
applications where a high degree of controllability of the dynamics of quantum
systems is required.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Flux quantization and superfluid weight in doped antiferromagnets
Doped antiferromagnets, described by a t-t'-J model and a suitable 1/N
expansion, exhibit a metallic phase-modulated antiferromagnetic ground state
close to half-filling. Here we demonstrate that the energy of latter state is
an even periodic function of the external magnetic flux threading the square
lattice in an Aharonov-Bohm geometry. The period is equal to the flux quantum
entering the Peierls phase factor of the hopping
matrix elements. Thus flux quantization and a concomitant finite value of
superfluid weight D_s occur along with metallic antiferromagnetism. We argue
that in the context of the present effective model, whereby carriers are
treated as hard-core bosons, the charge q in the associated flux quantum might
be set equal to 2e. Finally, the superconducting transition temperature T_c is
related to D_s linearly, in accordance to the generic Kosterlitz-Thouless type
of transition in a two-dimensional system, signaling the coherence of the phase
fluctuations of the condensate. The calculated dependence of T_c on hole
concentration is qualitatively similar to that observed in the high-temperature
superconducting cuprates.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Condens. Matte
Comments on the d-wave pairing mechanism for cuprate high superconductors: Higher is different?
The question of pairing glue for the cuprate superconductors (SC)is revisited
and its determination through the angle resolved photo-emission spectroscopy
(ARPES) is discussed in detail. There are two schools of thoughts about the
pairing glue question: One argues that superconductivity in the cuprates
emerges out of doping the spin singlet resonating valence bond (RVB) state.
Since singlet pairs are already formed in the RVB state there is no need for
additional boson glue to pair the electrons. The other instead suggests that
the d-wave pairs are mediated by the collective bosons like the conventional
low SC with the alteration that the phonons are replaced by another kind
of bosons ranging from the antiferromagnetic (AF) to loop current fluctuations.
An approach to resolve this dispute is to determine the frequency and momentum
dependences of the diagonal and off-diagonal self-energies directly from
experiments like the McMillan-Rowell procedure for the conventional SC. In that
a simple d-wave BCS theory describes superconducting properties of the cuprates
well, the Eliashberg analysis of well designed high resolution experimental
data will yield the crucial frequency and momentum dependences of the
self-energies. This line of approach using ARPES are discussed in more detail
in this review, and some remaining problems are commented.Comment: Invited review article published in the Journal of Korean Physical
Society; several typos corrected and a few comments and references adde
Quantum Stratonovich Stochastic Calculus and the Quantum Wong-Zakai Theorem
We extend the Ito -to- Stratonovich analysis or quantum stochastic
differential equations, introduced by Gardiner and Collett for emission
(creation), absorption (annihilation) processes, to include scattering
(conservation) processes. Working within the framework of quantum stochastic
calculus, we define Stratonovich calculus as an algebraic modification of the
Ito one and give conditions for the existence of Stratonovich time-ordered
exponentials. We show that conversion formula for the coefficients has a
striking resemblance to Green's function formulae from standard perturbation
theory. We show that the calculus conveniently describes the Markov limit of
regular open quantum dynamical systemsin much the same way as in the Wong-Zakai
approximation theorems of classical stochastic analysis. We extend previous
limit results to multiple-dimensions with a proof that makes use of
diagrammatic conventions.Comment: 24 page
The biological context of HIV-1 host interactions reveals subtle insights into a system hijack
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to replicate, HIV, like all viruses, needs to invade a host cell and hijack it for its own use, a process that involves multiple protein interactions between virus and host. The HIV-1, Human Protein Interaction Database available at NCBI's website captures this information from the primary literature, containing over 2,500 unique interactions. We investigate the general properties and biological context of these interactions and, thus, explore the molecular specificity of the HIV-host perturbation. In particular, we investigate (i) whether HIV preferentially interacts with highly connected and 'central' proteins, (ii) known phenotypic properties of host proteins inferred from essentiality and disease-association data, and (iii) biological context (molecular function, processes and location) of the host proteins to identify attributes most strongly associated with specific HIV interactions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After correcting for ascertainment bias in the literature, we demonstrate a significantly greater propensity for HIV to interact with highly connected and central host proteins. Unexpectedly, we find there are no associations between HIV interaction and inferred essentiality. Similarly, we find a tendency for HIV not to interact with proteins encoded by genes associated with disease. Crucially, we find that functional categories over-represented in HIV-host interactions are innately enriched for highly connected and central proteins in the host system.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results imply that HIV's propensity to interact with highly connected and central proteins is a consequence of interactions with particular cellular functions, rather than being a direct effect of network topological properties. The lack of a propensity for interactions with phenotypically essential proteins suggests a selective pressure to minimise virulence in retroviral evolution. Thus, the specificity of HIV-host interactions is complex, and only superficially explained by network properties.</p
Zonal shear and super-rotation in a magnetized spherical Couette flow experiment
We present measurements performed in a spherical shell filled with liquid
sodium, where a 74 mm-radius inner sphere is rotated while a 210 mm-radius
outer sphere is at rest. The inner sphere holds a dipolar magnetic field and
acts as a magnetic propeller when rotated. In this experimental set-up called
DTS, direct measurements of the velocity are performed by ultrasonic Doppler
velocimetry. Differences in electric potential and the induced magnetic field
are also measured to characterize the magnetohydrodynamic flow. Rotation
frequencies of the inner sphere are varied between -30 Hz and +30 Hz, the
magnetic Reynolds number based on measured sodium velocities and on the shell
radius reaching to about 33. We have investigated the mean axisymmetric part of
the flow, which consists of differential rotation. Strong super-rotation of the
fluid with respect to the rotating inner sphere is directly measured. It is
found that the organization of the mean flow does not change much throughout
the entire range of parameters covered by our experiment. The direct
measurements of zonal velocity give a nice illustration of Ferraro's law of
isorotation in the vicinity of the inner sphere where magnetic forces dominate
inertial ones. The transition from a Ferraro regime in the interior to a
geostrophic regime, where inertial forces predominate, in the outer regions has
been well documented. It takes place where the local Elsasser number is about
1. A quantitative agreement with non-linear numerical simulations is obtained
when keeping the same Elsasser number. The experiments also reveal a region
that violates Ferraro's law just above the inner sphere.Comment: Phys Rev E, in pres
Whirling Hexagons and Defect Chaos in Hexagonal Non-Boussinesq Convection
We study hexagon patterns in non-Boussinesq convection of a thin rotating
layer of water. For realistic parameters and boundary conditions we identify
various linear instabilities of the pattern. We focus on the dynamics arising
from an oscillatory side-band instability that leads to a spatially disordered
chaotic state characterized by oscillating (whirling) hexagons. Using
triangulation we obtain the distribution functions for the number of pentagonal
and heptagonal convection cells. In contrast to the results found for defect
chaos in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation and in inclined-layer convection,
the distribution functions can show deviations from a squared Poisson
distribution that suggest non-trivial correlations between the defects.Comment: 4 mpg-movies are available at
http://www.esam.northwestern.edu/~riecke/lit/lit.html submitted to New J.
Physic
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