Censoring, Factorizations, and Spectral Analysis for Transition Matrices with Block-Repeating Entries

In this paper, we use the Markov chain censoring technique to study infinite state Markov chains whose transition matrices possess block-repeating entries. We demonstrate that a number of important probabilistic measures are invariant under censoring. Informally speaking, these measures involve first passage times or expected numbers of visits to certain levels where other levels are taboo;they are closely related to the so-called fundamental matrix of the Markov chain which is also studied here. Factorization theorems for the characteristic equation of the blocks of the transition matrix are obtained. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for such a Markov chain to be positive recurrent, null recurrent, or transient based either on spectral analysis, or on a property of the fundamental matrix. Explicit expressions are obtained for key probabilistic measures, including the stationary probability vector and the fundamental matrix, which could be potentially used to develop various recursivealgorithms for computing these measures.block-Toeplitz transition matrices, factorization of characteristic functions, spectral analysis, fundamental matrix, conditions of recurrence and transience.

The Friedberg-Lee model at finite temperature and density

The Friedberg-Lee model is studied at finite temperature and density. By using the finite temperature field theory, the effective potential of the Friedberg-Lee model and the bag constant $B(T)$ and $B(T,\mu)$ have been calculated at different temperatures and densities. It is shown that there is a critical temperature $T_{C}\simeq 106.6 \mathrm{MeV}$ when $\mu=0 \mathrm{MeV}$ and a critical chemical potential $\mu \simeq 223.1 \mathrm{MeV}$ for fixing the temperature at $T=50 \mathrm{MeV}$. We also calculate the soliton solutions of the Friedberg-Lee model at finite temperature and density. It turns out that when $T\leq T_{C}$ (or $\mu \leq \mu_C$), there is a bag constant $B(T)$ (or $B(T,\mu)$) and the soliton solutions are stable. However, when $T>T_{C}$ (or $\mu>\mu_C$) the bag constant $B(T)=0 \mathrm{MeV}$ (or $B(T,\mu)=0 \mathrm{MeV}$) and there is no soliton solution anymore, therefore, the confinement of quarks disappears quickly.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures; version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Spectral properties, generation order parameters and luminosities for spin-powered X-ray pulsars

We show the spectral properties of 15 spin-powered X-ray pulsars, and the correlation between the average power-law photon index and spin-down rate. Generation order parameters (GOPs) based on polar-cap models are introduced to characterize the X-ray pulsars. We calculate three definitions of generation order parameters due to the different effects of magnetic and electric fields on photon absorption during cascade processes, and study the relations between the GOPs and spectral properties of X-ray pulsars. There exists a possible correlation between the photon index and GOP in our pulsar sample. Furthermore, we present a method due to the concept of GOPs to estimate the non-thermal X-ray luminosity for spin-powered pulsars. Then X-ray luminosity is calculated in the context of our polar-cap accelerator model which is well consistent with the most observed X-ray pulsar data. The ratio between X-ray luminosity estimated by our method and the pulsar's spin-down power is well consistent with the $L_{\rm X}\sim 10^{-3}L_{\rm sd}$ feature.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, revised version for the publication in Ap

A Novel FastICA Method for the Reference-based Contrast Functions

This paper deals with the efficient optimization problem of Cumulant-based contrast criteria in the Blind Source Separation (BSS) framework, in which sources are retrieved by maximizing the Kurtosis contrast function. Combined with the recently proposed reference-based contrast schemes, a new fast fixed-point (FastICA) algorithm is proposed for the case of linear and instantaneous mixture. Due to its quadratic dependence on the number of searched parameters, the main advantage of this new method consists in the significant decrement of computational speed, which is particularly striking with large number of samples. The method is essentially similar to the classical algorithm based on the Kurtosis contrast function, but differs in the fact that the reference-based idea is utilized. The validity of this new method was demonstrated by simulations

Prenatal ketamine exposure causes abnormal development of prefrontal cortex in rat.

Ketamine is commonly used for anesthesia and as a recreational drug. In pregnant users, a potential neurotoxicity in offspring has been noted. Our previous work demonstrated that ketamine exposure of pregnant rats induces affective disorders and cognitive impairments in offspring. As the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critically involved in emotional and cognitive processes, here we studied whether maternal ketamine exposure influences the development of the PFC in offspring. Pregnant rats on gestational day 14 were treated with ketamine at a sedative dose for 2 hrs, and pups were studied at postnatal day 0 (P0) or P30. We found that maternal ketamine exposure resulted in cell apoptosis and neuronal loss in fetal brain. Upon ketamine exposure in utero, PFC neurons at P30 showed more dendritic branching, while cultured neurons from P0 PFC extended shorter neurites than controls. In addition, maternal ketamine exposure postponed the switch of NR2B/2A expression, and perturbed pre- and postsynaptic protein expression in the PFC. These data suggest that prenatal ketamine exposure impairs neuronal development of the PFC, which may be associated with abnormal behavior in offsprings

Deformation and orientation effects in the driving potential of the dinuclear model

A double-folding method is used to calculate the nuclear and Coulomb interaction between two deformed nuclei with arbitrary orientations. A simplified Skryme-type interaction is adopted. The contributions of nuclear interaction and Coulomb interaction due to the deformation and orientation of the nuclei are evaluated for the driving potential used in the description of heavy-ion fusion reaction. So far there is no satisfactory theory to describe the evolution of the dynamical nuclear deformation and orientations during the heavy-ion fusion process. Our results estimated the magnitude of above effects.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. Jour.

An Efficient Algorithm by Kurtosis Maximization in Reference-Based Framework

This paper deals with the optimization of kurtosis for complex-valued signals in the independent component analysis (ICA) framework, where source signals are linearly and instantaneously mixed. Inspired by the recently proposed reference-based contrast schemes, a similar contrast function is put forward, based on which a new fast fixed-point (FastICA) algorithm is proposed. The new optimization method is similar in spirit to the former classical kurtosis-based FastICA algorithm but differs in the fact that it is much more efficient than the latter in terms of computational speed, which is significantly striking with large number of samples. The performance of this new algorithm is confirmed through computer simulations

Heat conduction in graphene flakes with inhomogeneous mass interface

Using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we study the heat conduction in graphene flakes composed by two regions. One region is mass-loaded and the other one is intact. It is found that the mass interface between the two regions greatly decreases the thermal conductivity, but it would not bring thermal rectification effect. The dependence of thermal conductivity upon the heat flux and the mass difference ratio are studied to confirm the generality of the result. The interfacial scattering of solitons is studied to explain the absence of rectification effect.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Bulk experimental evidence of half-metallic ferromagnetism in doped manganites

We report precise measurements and quantitative data analysis on the low-temperature resistivity of several ferromagnetic manganite films. We clearly show that there exists a T^{4.5} term in low-temperature resistivity, and that this term is in quantitative agreement with the quantum theory of two-magnon scattering for half metallic ferromagnets. Our present results provide the first bulk experimental evidence of half-metallic ferromagnetism in doped manganites.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure