2,983 research outputs found
Turing's three philosophical lessons and the philosophy of information
In this article, I outline the three main philosophical lessons that we may learn from Turing's work, and how they lead to a new philosophy of information. After a brief introduction, I discuss his work on the method of levels of abstraction (LoA), and his insistence that questions could be meaningfully asked only by specifying the correct LoA. I then look at his second lesson, about the sort of philosophical questions that seem to be most pressing today. Finally, I focus on the third lesson, concerning the new philosophical anthropology that owes so much to Turing's work. I then show how the lessons are learned by the philosophy of information. In the conclusion, I draw a general synthesis of the points made, in view of the development of the philosophy of information itself as a continuation of Turing's work. This journal is © 2012 The Royal Society.Peer reviewe
Investigating timing properties of modern digitizers utilizing interpolating CFD algorithms and the application to digital fast-timing lifetime measurement
The performance of two implementations of digital real-time interpolating
constant fraction discriminator algorithms with respect to fast-timing lifetime
measurements are investigated. The implementations integrated in two different
digitizers were evaluated in terms of the effects of tuning parameters of the
digital CFDs and the influence of different input amplitudes on the time
resolution and time walk characteristics. Reference is made to the existing
analog standard of fast-timing techniques. The study shows, that the timing
performance of both modules is comparable to established fast-timing setups
using analog constant fraction discriminators, but with the added benefit of
digital processing. Both digitizer modules were found to be highly effective
and user-friendly instruments for modern fast-timing requirements.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figure
Jahn-Teller stabilization of a "polar" metal oxide surface: Fe3O4(001)
Using ab initio thermodynamics we compile a phase diagram for the surface of
Fe3O4(001) as a function of temperature and oxygen pressures. A hitherto
ignored polar termination with octahedral iron and oxygen forming a wave-like
structure along the [110]-direction is identified as the lowest energy
configuration over a broad range of oxygen gas-phase conditions. This novel
geometry is confirmed in a x-ray diffraction analysis. The stabilization of the
Fe3O4(001)-surface goes together with dramatic changes in the electronic and
magnetic properties, e.g., a halfmetal-to-metal transition.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Electronic Structure and Charge Dynamics of Huesler Alloy Fe2TiSn Probed by Infrared and Optical Spectroscopy
We report on the electrodynamics of a Heusler alloy Fe2TiSn probed over four
decades in energy: from the far infrared to the ultraviolet. Our results do not
support the suggestion of Kondo-lattice behavior inferred from specific heat
measurements. Instead, we find a conventional Drude-like response of free
carriers, with two additional absorption bands centered at around 0.1 and 0.87
eV. The latter feature can be interpreted as excitations across a pseudogap, in
accord with band structure calculations.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
Conjugation genes are common throughout the genus Rickettsia and are transmitted horizontally
Rickettsia are endosymbionts of arthropods, some of which are vectored to vertebrates where they cause disease. Recently, it has been found that some Rickettsia strains harbour conjugative plasmids and others encode some conjugative machinery within the bacterial genome. We investigated the distribution of these conjugation genes in a phylogenetically diverse collection of Rickettsia isolated from arthropods. We found that these genes are common throughout the genus and, in stark contrast to other genes in the genome, conjugation genes are frequently horizontally transmitted between strains. There is no evidence to suggest that these genes are preferentially transferred between phylogenetically related strains, which is surprising given that closely related strains infect similar host species. In addition to detecting patterns of horizontal transmission between diverse Rickettsia species, these findings have implications for the evolution of pathogenicity, the evolution of Rickettsia genomes and the genetic manipulation of intracellular bacteria
Atomic-scale representation and statistical learning of tensorial properties
This chapter discusses the importance of incorporating three-dimensional
symmetries in the context of statistical learning models geared towards the
interpolation of the tensorial properties of atomic-scale structures. We focus
on Gaussian process regression, and in particular on the construction of
structural representations, and the associated kernel functions, that are
endowed with the geometric covariance properties compatible with those of the
learning targets. We summarize the general formulation of such a
symmetry-adapted Gaussian process regression model, and how it can be
implemented based on a scheme that generalizes the popular smooth overlap of
atomic positions representation. We give examples of the performance of this
framework when learning the polarizability and the ground-state electron
density of a molecule
Isoflavones in Legumes as Functional Forages and Feeds in Ruminant Grazing Systems
Legumes are often utilized in livestock grazing systems to improve diet quality, diversity, and consequently animal performance. In addition to their nutritional utility, legumes contain phytoestrogenic isoflavones that have selective antimicrobial activity in the rumen and once absorbed can cause arterial vasodilation. These added bioactive functions of isoflavones suggest that legumes could be strategically utilized in grazing systems as functional forages to improve ruminant performance and health. The objective of this presentation will be to discuss past and current research on the application of isoflavones via legumes as an antimicrobial for growth promotion and as a mitigation strategy for fescue toxicosis in grazing ruminants
Magnetic and electronic structures of superconducting RuSrGdCuO
The coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in
RuSrGdCuO was reported both from experiments (by Tallon et. al.)
and first-principles calculations (by Pickett et. al.). Here we report that our
first-principles full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW)
calculations, employing the precise crystal structure with structural
distortions (i.e., RuO rotations) determined by neutron diffraction,
demonstrate that antiferromagnetic ordering of the Ru moments is energetically
favored over the previously proposed ferromagnetic ordering. Our results are
consistent with recently performed magnetic neutron diffraction experiments
(Lynn et. al). Ru states, which are responsible for the magnetism,
have only a very small interaction with Cu states, which results in a
small exchange splitting of these states. The Fermi surface, characterized by
strongly hybridized orbitals, has nesting features similar to those
in the two-dimensional high cuprate superconductors.Comment: 6 pages,6 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Point defects, ferromagnetism and transport in calcium hexaboride
The formation energy and local magnetic moment of a series of point defects
in CaB are computed using a supercell approach within the generalized
gradient approximation to density functional theory. Based on these results,
speculations are made as to the influence of these defects on electrical
transport. It is found that the substitution of Ca by La does not lead to the
formation of a local moment, while a neutral B vacancy carries a moment of
2.4 Bohr magnetons, mostly distributed over the six nearest-neighbour B atoms.
A plausible mechanism for the ferromagnetic ordering of these moments is
suggested. Since the same broken B-B bonds appear on the preferred (100)
cleavage planes of the CaB structure, it is argued that internal surfaces
in polycrystals as well as external surfaces in general will make a large
contribution to the observed magnetization.Comment: Calculated defect formation energies had to be corrected, due to the
use of a wrong reference energy for the perfect crystal in the original pape
Electric fields and valence band offsets at strained [111] heterojunctions
[111] ordered common atom strained layer superlattices (in particular the
common anion GaSb/InSb system and the common cation InAs/InSb system) are
investigated using the ab initio full potential linearized augmented plane wave
(FLAPW) method. We have focused our attention on the potential line-up at the
two sides of the homopolar isovalent heterojunctions considered, and in
particular on its dependence on the strain conditions and on the strain induced
electric fields. We propose a procedure to locate the interface plane where the
band alignment could be evaluated; furthermore, we suggest that the
polarization charges, due to piezoelectric effects, are approximately confined
to a narrow region close to the interface and do not affect the potential
discontinuity. We find that the interface contribution to the valence band
offset is substantially unaffected by strain conditions, whereas the total band
line-up is highly tunable, as a function of the strain conditions. Finally, we
compare our results with those obtained for [001] heterojunctions.Comment: 18 pages, Latex-file, to appear in Phys.Rev.
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