The Weibull-Geometric distribution

In this paper we introduce, for the first time, the Weibull-Geometric distribution which generalizes the exponential-geometric distribution proposed by Adamidis and Loukas (1998). The hazard function of the last distribution is monotone decreasing but the hazard function of the new distribution can take more general forms. Unlike the Weibull distribution, the proposed distribution is useful for modeling unimodal failure rates. We derive the cumulative distribution and hazard functions, the density of the order statistics and calculate expressions for its moments and for the moments of the order statistics. We give expressions for the R\'enyi and Shannon entropies. The maximum likelihood estimation procedure is discussed and an algorithm EM (Dempster et al., 1977; McLachlan and Krishnan, 1997) is provided for estimating the parameters. We obtain the information matrix and discuss inference. Applications to real data sets are given to show the flexibility and potentiality of the proposed distribution

On Charge-3 Cyclic Monopoles

We determine the spectral curve of charge 3 BPS su(2) monopoles with C_3 cyclic symmetry. The symmetry means that the genus 4 spectral curve covers a (Toda) spectral curve of genus 2. A well adapted homology basis is presented enabling the theta functions and monopole data of the genus 4 curve to be given in terms of genus 2 data. The Richelot correspondence, a generalization of the arithmetic mean, is used to solve for this genus 2 curve. Results of other approaches are compared.Comment: 34 pages, 16 figures. Revision: Abstract added and a few small change

Distinct Properties Underlie Flavin-Based Electron Bifurcation in a Novel Electron Transfer Flavoprotein FixAB from \u3cem\u3eRhodopseudomonas palustris\u3c/em\u3e

A newly recognized third fundamental mechanism of energy conservation in biology, electron bifurcation, uses free energy from exergonic redox reactions to drive endergonic redox reactions. Flavin-based electron bifurcation furnishes low-potential electrons to demanding chemical reactions, such as reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia. We employed the heterodimeric flavoenzyme FixAB from the diazotrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris to elucidate unique properties that underpin flavin-based electron bifurcation. FixAB is distinguished from canonical electron transfer flavoproteins (ETFs) by a second FAD that replaces the AMP of canonical ETF. We exploited near-UV–visible CD spectroscopy to resolve signals from the different flavin sites in FixAB and to interrogate the putative bifurcating FAD. CD aided in assigning the measured reduction midpoint potentials (E° values) to individual flavins, and the E° values tested the accepted model regarding the redox properties required for bifurcation. We found that the higher-E° flavin displays sequential one-electron (1-e−) reductions to anionic semiquinone and then to hydroquinone, consistent with the reactivity seen in canonical ETFs. In contrast, the lower-E° flavin displayed a single two-electron (2-e−) reduction without detectable accumulation of semiquinone, consistent with unstable semiquinone states, as required for bifurcation. This is the first demonstration that a FixAB protein possesses the thermodynamic prerequisites for bifurcating activity, and the separation of distinct optical signatures for the two flavins lays a foundation for mechanistic studies to learn how electron flow can be directed in a protein environment. We propose that a novel optical signal observed at long wavelength may reflect electron delocalization between the two flavins

Many-body interactions among adsorbed atoms and molecules within carbon nanotubes and in free space

This paper assesses the importance of three-body triple dipole interactions for quasi-one dimensional phases of He, Ne, H_2, Ar, Kr and Xe confined within interstitial channels or on the external surfaces of nanotube bundles. We find the substrate-mediated contribution to be substantial: for interstitial H_2 the well depth of the effective pair potential is reduced to approximately one half of its value in free space. We carry out ab initio calculations on linear and equilateral configurations of H_2 trimer and find that overlap interactions do not greatly change the DDD interaction in the linear configuration when the spacing is greater than about 3 A. However, the DDD interaction alone is clearly insufficient for the triangular configurations studied.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Basic Understanding of Condensed Phases of Matter via Packing Models

Packing problems have been a source of fascination for millenia and their study has produced a rich literature that spans numerous disciplines. Investigations of hard-particle packing models have provided basic insights into the structure and bulk properties of condensed phases of matter, including low-temperature states (e.g., molecular and colloidal liquids, crystals and glasses), multiphase heterogeneous media, granular media, and biological systems. The densest packings are of great interest in pure mathematics, including discrete geometry and number theory. This perspective reviews pertinent theoretical and computational literature concerning the equilibrium, metastable and nonequilibrium packings of hard-particle packings in various Euclidean space dimensions. In the case of jammed packings, emphasis will be placed on the "geometric-structure" approach, which provides a powerful and unified means to quantitatively characterize individual packings via jamming categories and "order" maps. It incorporates extremal jammed states, including the densest packings, maximally random jammed states, and lowest-density jammed structures. Packings of identical spheres, spheres with a size distribution, and nonspherical particles are also surveyed. We close this review by identifying challenges and open questions for future research.Comment: 33 pages, 20 figures, Invited "Perspective" submitted to the Journal of Chemical Physics. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1008.298

Multi-model simulations of the impact of international shipping on Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate in 2000 and 2030

The global impact of shipping on atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing, as well as the associated uncertainties, have been quantified using an ensemble of ten state-of-the-art atmospheric chemistry models and a predefined set of emission data. The analysis is performed for present-day conditions ( year 2000) and for two future ship emission scenarios. In one scenario ship emissions stabilize at 2000 levels; in the other ship emissions increase with a constant annual growth rate of 2.2% up to 2030 ( termed the "Constant Growth Scenario" (CGS)). Most other anthropogenic emissions follow the IPCC ( Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) SRES ( Special Report on Emission Scenarios) A2 scenario, while biomass burning and natural emissions remain at year 2000 levels. An intercomparison of the model results with observations over the Northern Hemisphere (25 degrees - 60 degrees N) oceanic regions in the lower troposphere showed that the models are capable to reproduce ozone (O-3) and nitrogen oxides (NOx= NO+ NO2) reasonably well, whereas sulphur dioxide (SO2) in the marine boundary layer is significantly underestimated. The most pronounced changes in annual mean tropospheric NO2 and sulphate columns are simulated over the Baltic and North Seas. Other significant changes occur over the North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and along the main shipping lane from Europe to Asia, across the Red and Arabian Seas. Maximum contributions from shipping to annual mean near-surface O-3 are found over the North Atlantic ( 5 - 6 ppbv in 2000; up to 8 ppbv in 2030). Ship contributions to tropospheric O3 columns over the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans reach 1 DU in 2000 and up to 1.8 DU in 2030. Tropospheric O-3 forcings due to shipping are 9.8 +/- 2.0 mW/m(2) in 2000 and 13.6 +/- 2.3 mW/m(2) in 2030. Whilst increasing O-3, ship NOx simultaneously enhances hydroxyl radicals over the remote ocean, reducing the global methane lifetime by 0.13 yr in 2000, and by up to 0.17 yr in 2030, introducing a negative radiative forcing. The models show future increases in NOx and O-3 burden which scale almost linearly with increases in NOx emission totals. Increasing emissions from shipping would significantly counteract the benefits derived from reducing SO2 emissions from all other anthropogenic sources under the A2 scenario over the continents, for example in Europe. Globally, shipping contributes 3% to increases in O-3 burden between 2000 and 2030, and 4.5% to increases in sulphate under A2/CGS. However, if future ground based emissions follow a more stringent scenario, the relative importance of ship emissions will increase. Inter-model differences in the simulated O-3 contributions from ships are significantly smaller than estimated uncertainties stemming from the ship emission inventory, mainly the ship emission totals, the distribution of the emissions over the globe, and the neglect of ship plume dispersion

Development of a Health-Protective Drinking Water Level for Perchlorate

We evaluated animal and human toxicity data for perchlorate and identified reduction of thyroidal iodide uptake as the critical end point in the development of a health-protective drinking water level [also known as the public health goal (PHG)] for the chemical. This work was performed under the drinking water program of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of the California Environmental Protection Agency. For dose–response characterization, we applied benchmark-dose modeling to human data and determined a point of departure (the 95% lower confidence limit for 5% inhibition of iodide uptake) of 0.0037 mg/kg/day. A PHG of 6 ppb was calculated by using an uncertainty factor of 10, a relative source contribution of 60%, and exposure assumptions specific to pregnant women. The California Department of Health Services will use the PHG, together with other considerations such as economic impact and engineering feasibility, to develop a California maximum contaminant level for perchlorate. We consider the PHG to be adequately protective of sensitive subpopulations, including pregnant women, their fetuses, infants, and people with hypothyroidism

Loop Representations

The loop representation plays an important role in canonical quantum gravity because loop variables allow a natural treatment of the constraints. In these lectures we give an elementary introduction to (i) the relevant history of loops in knot theory and gauge theory, (ii) the loop representation of Maxwell theory, and (iii) the loop representation of canonical quantum gravity. (Based on lectures given at the 117. Heraeus Seminar, Bad Honnef, Sept. 1993)Comment: 38 pages, MPI-Ph/93-9

Least-squares inversion for density-matrix reconstruction

We propose a method for reconstruction of the density matrix from measurable time-dependent (probability) distributions of physical quantities. The applicability of the method based on least-squares inversion is - compared with other methods - very universal. It can be used to reconstruct quantum states of various systems, such as harmonic and and anharmonic oscillators including molecular vibrations in vibronic transitions and damped motion. It also enables one to take into account various specific features of experiments, such as limited sets of data and data smearing owing to limited resolution. To illustrate the method, we consider a Morse oscillator and give a comparison with other state-reconstruction methods suggested recently.Comment: 16 pages, REVTeX, 6 PS figures include

Isomorphs in model molecular liquids

Isomorphs are curves in the phase diagram along which a number of static and dynamic quantities are invariant in reduced units. A liquid has good isomorphs if and only if it is strongly correlating, i.e., the equilibrium virial/potential energy fluctuations are more than 90% correlated in the NVT ensemble. This paper generalizes isomorphs to liquids composed of rigid molecules and study the isomorphs of two systems of small rigid molecules, the asymmetric dumbbell model and the Lewis-Wahnstrom OTP model. In particular, for both systems we find that the isochoric heat capacity, the excess entropy, the reduced molecular center-of-mass self part of the intermediate scattering function, the reduced molecular center-of-mass radial distribution function to a good approximation are invariant along an isomorph. In agreement with theory, we also find that an instantaneous change of temperature and density from an equilibrated state point to another isomorphic state point leads to no relaxation. The isomorphs of the Lewis-Wahnstrom OTP model were found to be more approximative than those of the asymmetric dumbbell model, which is consistent with the OTP model being less strongly correlating. For both models we find "master isomorphs", i.e., isomorphs have identical shape in the virial/potential energy phase diagram.Comment: 20 page