53,602 research outputs found
On the interaction of Tollmien-Schlichting waves in axisymmetric supersonic flows
Two-dimensional lower branch Tollmien-Schlichting waves described by triple-deck theory are always stable for planar supersonic flows. The possible occurrence of axisymmetric unstable modes in the supersonic flow around an axisymmetric body is investigated. In particular flows around bodies with typical radii comparable with the thickness of the upper deck are considered. It is shown that such unstable modes exist below a critical nondimensional radius of the body a sub 0. At values of the radius above a sub 0 all the modes are stable while if unstable modes exist they are found to occur in pairs. The interaction of these modes in the nonlinear regime is investigated using a weakly nonlinear approach and it is found that, dependent on the frequencies of the imposed Tollmien-Schlichting waves, either of the modes can be set up
A Bohmian approach to quantum fractals
A quantum fractal is a wavefunction with a real and an imaginary part
continuous everywhere, but differentiable nowhere. This lack of
differentiability has been used as an argument to deny the general validity of
Bohmian mechanics (and other trajectory--based approaches) in providing a
complete interpretation of quantum mechanics. Here, this assertion is overcome
by means of a formal extension of Bohmian mechanics based on a limiting
approach. Within this novel formulation, the particle dynamics is always
satisfactorily described by a well defined equation of motion. In particular,
in the case of guidance under quantum fractals, the corresponding trajectories
will also be fractal.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures (revised version
JointZone: users' view of an adaptive online learning resource for rheumatology
This paper describes an online learning resource for rheumatology that was designed for a wide constituency of users including primarily undergraduate medical students and health professionals. Although the online resources afford an informal learning environment, the site was pedagogically designed to comply with the general recommendations of the Standing Committee on Training and Education of EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism) for a rheumatology core curriculum. Any Internet user may freely browse the site content with optional registration providing access to adaptive features that personalize the user’s view, for example, providing a reading history and targeted support based on scores from completed case studies. The site has now been available since early 2003, and an online survey of site registrants indicates that well structured pedagogical materials that reflect a learners’ dominant ‘community of practice’ appear to be a successful aid to informal learning
Flight testing the fixed-wing configuration of the Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA)
The Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) is a unique research aircraft designed to flight test advanced helicopter rotor system. Its principal flight test configuration is as a compound helicopter. The fixed wing configuration of the RSRA was primarily considered an energy fly-home mode in the event it became necessary to sever an unstable rotor system in flight. While it had always been planned to flight test the fixed wing configuration, the selection of the RSRA as the flight test bed for the X-wing rotor accelerated this schedule. This paper discusses the build-up to, and the test of, the RSRA fixed wing configuration. It is written primarily from the test pilot's perspective
Cost-effective aperture arrays for SKA Phase 1: single or dual-band?
An important design decision for the first phase of the Square Kilometre
Array is whether the low frequency component (SKA1-low) should be implemented
as a single or dual-band aperture array; that is, using one or two antenna
element designs to observe the 70-450 MHz frequency band. This memo uses an
elementary parametric analysis to make a quantitative, first-order cost
comparison of representative implementations of a single and dual-band system,
chosen for comparable performance characteristics. A direct comparison of the
SKA1-low station costs reveals that those costs are similar, although the
uncertainties are high. The cost impact on the broader telescope system varies:
the deployment and site preparation costs are higher for the dual-band array,
but the digital signal processing costs are higher for the single-band array.
This parametric analysis also shows that a first stage of analogue tile
beamforming, as opposed to only station-level, all-digital beamforming, has the
potential to significantly reduce the cost of the SKA1-low stations. However,
tile beamforming can limit flexibility and performance, principally in terms of
reducing accessible field of view. We examine the cost impacts in the context
of scientific performance, for which the spacing and intra-station layout of
the antenna elements are important derived parameters. We discuss the
implications of the many possible intra-station signal transport and processing
architectures and consider areas where future work could improve the accuracy
of SKA1-low costing.Comment: 64 pages, 23 figures, submitted to the SKA Memo serie
Mission analysis of solar powered aircraft
The effect of a real mission scenario on a solar powered airplane configuration which had been developed in previous work were assessed. The mission used was surveillance of crop conditions over a route from Phoenix to Tucson to Tombstone, Arizona. Appendices are attached which address the applicability of existing platforms and payloads to do this mission
The evaluation of failure detection and isolation algorithms for restructurable control
Three failure detection and identification techniques were compared to determine their usefulness in detecting and isolating failures in an aircraft flight control system; excluding sensor and flight control computer failures. The algorithms considered were the detection filter, the Generalized Likelihood Ratio test and the Orthogonal Series Generalized Likelihood Ratio test. A modification to the basic detection filter is also considered which uses secondary filtering of the residuals to produce unidirectional failure signals. The algorithms were evaluated by testing their ability to detect and isolate control surface failures in a nonlinear simulation of a C-130 aircraft. It was found that failures of some aircraft controls are difficult to distinguish because they have a similar effect on the dynamics of the vehicle. Quantitative measures for evaluating the distinguishability of failures are considered. A system monitoring strategy for implementing the failure detection and identification techniques was considered. This strategy identified the mix of direct measurement of failures versus the computation of failure necessary for implementation of the technology in an aircraft system
Carbon Dioxide Observational Platform System (CO-OPS), feasibility study
The Carbon Dioxide Observational Platform System (CO-OPS) is a near-space, geostationary, multi-user, unmanned microwave powered monitoring platform system. This systems engineering feasibility study addressed identified existing requirements such as: carbon dioxide observational data requirements, communications requirements, and eye-in-the-sky requirements of other groups like the Defense Department, the Forestry Service, and the Coast Guard. In addition, potential applications in: earth system science, space system sciences, and test and verification (satellite sensors and data management techniques) were considered. The eleven month effort is summarized. Past work and methods of gathering the required observational data were assessed and rough-order-of magnitude cost estimates have shown the CO-OPS system to be most cost effective (less than $30 million within a 10 year lifetime). It was also concluded that there are no technical, schedule, or obstacles that would prevent achieving the objectives of the total 5-year CO-OPS program
Quark-hadron duality constraints on \gamma Z box corrections to parity-violating elastic scattering
We examine the interference \gamma Z box corrections to parity-violating
elastic electron--proton scattering in the light of the recent observation of
quark-hadron duality in parity-violating deep-inelastic scattering from the
deuteron, and the approximate isospin independence of duality in the
electromagnetic nucleon structure functions down to Q^2 \approx 1 GeV^2.
Assuming that a similar behavior also holds for the \gamma Z proton structure
functions, we find that duality constrains the \gamma Z box correction to the
proton's weak charge to be \Re e\, \square_{\gamma Z}^V = (5.4 \pm 0.4) \times
10^{-3} at the kinematics of the Q_{\text{weak}} experiment. Within the same
model we also provide estimates of the \gamma Z corrections for future
parity-violating experiments, such as MOLLER at Jefferson Lab and MESA at
Mainz.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. Final version to be published in Phys. Lett.
Bosonic field equations from an exact uncertainty principle
A Hamiltonian formalism is used to describe ensembles of fields in terms of
two canonically conjugate functionals (one being the field probability
density). The postulate that a classical ensemble is subject to nonclassical
fluctuations of the field momentum density, of a strength determined solely by
the field uncertainty, is shown to lead to a unique modification of the
ensemble Hamiltonian. The modified equations of motion are equivalent to the
quantum equations for a bosonic field, and thus this exact uncertainty
principle provides a new approach to deriving and interpreting the properties
of quantum ensembles. The examples of electromagnetic and gravitational fields
are discussed. In the latter case the exact uncertainty approach specifies a
unique operator ordering for the Wheeler-DeWitt and Ashtekar-Wheeler-DeWitt
equations.Comment: 24 pages, extended version of part (B) of hep-th/0206235, to appear
in J. Phys.
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