55,725 research outputs found
On-board processing concepts for future satellite communications systems
The initial definition of on-board processing for an advanced satellite communications system to service domestic markets in the 1990's is discussed. An exemplar system with both RF on-board switching and demodulation/remodulation baseband processing is used to identify important issues related to system implementation, cost, and technology development. Analyses of spectrum-efficient modulation, coding, and system control techniques are summarized. Implementations for an RF switch and baseband processor are described. Among the major conclusions listed is the need for high gain satellites capable of handling tens of simultaneous beams for the efficient reuse of the 2.5 GHz 30/20 frequency band. Several scanning beams are recommended in addition to the fixed beams. Low power solid state 20 GHz GaAs FET power amplifiers in the 5W range and a general purpose digital baseband processor with gigahertz logic speeds and megabits of memory are also recommended
Evaluating implicit feedback models using searcher simulations
In this article we describe an evaluation of relevance feedback (RF) algorithms using searcher simulations. Since these algorithms select additional terms for query modification based on inferences made from searcher interaction, not on relevance information searchers explicitly provide (as in traditional RF), we refer to them as implicit feedback models. We introduce six different models that base their decisions on the interactions of searchers and use different approaches to rank query modification terms. The aim of this article is to determine which of these models should be used to assist searchers in the systems we develop. To evaluate these models we used searcher simulations that afforded us more control over the experimental conditions than experiments with human subjects and allowed complex interaction to be modeled without the need for costly human experimentation. The simulation-based evaluation methodology measures how well the models learn the distribution of terms across relevant documents (i.e., learn what information is relevant) and how well they improve search effectiveness (i.e., create effective search queries). Our findings show that an implicit feedback model based on Jeffrey's rule of conditioning outperformed other models under investigation
Gravity darkening and brightening in binaries
We apply a von Zeipel gravity darkening model to corotating binaries to
obtain a simple, analytical expression for the emergent radiative flux from a
tidally distorted primary orbiting a point-mass secondary. We adopt a simple
Roche model to determine the envelope structure of the primary, assumed massive
and centrally condensed, and use the results to calculate the flux. As for
single rotating stars, gravity darkening reduces the flux along the stellar
equator of the primary, but, unlike for rotating stars, we find that gravity
brightening enhances the flux in a region around the stellar poles. We identify
a critical limiting separation beyond which hydrostatic equilibrium no longer
is possible, whereby the flux vanishes at the point on the stellar equator of
the primary facing the companion. For equal-mass binaries, the total luminosity
is reduced by about 13 % when this limiting separation is reached.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, matches version published in Astrophysical
Journa
A numerical method for determining the natural vibration characteristics of rotating nonuniform cantilever blades
A method is presented for determining the free vibration characteristics of a rotating blade having nonuniform spanwise properties and cantilever boundary conditions. The equations which govern the coupled flapwise, chordwise, and torsional motion of such a blade are solved using an integrating matrix method. By expressing the equations of motion and matrix notation, utilizing the integrating matrix as an operator, and applying the boundary conditions, the equations are formulated into an eigenvalue problem whose solutions may be determined by conventional methods. Computer results are compared with experimental data
Pulse phase spectroscopy of Hercules X-1
The 6-18 keV and the 40-60 keV X-ray spectrum of Hercules X-1 were simultaneously observed with the A-2 experiment on HEAO 1. By combining these measurements with the results of an earlier observation of this X-ray pulsar, evidence is found for a component of emission above 40 keV which is above an extrapolation from lower energies, by a factor which is pulse phase dependent. These data are compared to previous hard X-ray observations and possible models are discussed
The design, development, and flight test results of the Boeing 737 aircraft antennas for the ICAO demonstration of the TRSB microwave landing system
The Research Support Flight System, a modified Boeing 737, was used to evaluate the performance of several aircraft antennas and locations for the Time Reference Scanning Beam (TRSB) Microwave Landing System (MLS). These tests were conducted at the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC), Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 18, 1975. The flight tests measured the signal strength and all pertinent MLS data during a straight-in approach, a racetrack approach, and ICAO approach profiles using the independent antenna-receiver combinations simultaneously on the aircraft. Signal drop-outs were experienced during the various approaches but only a small percentage could be attributed to antenna pattern effects
Is Cosmology Solved?
We have fossil evidence from the thermal background radiation that our
universe expanded from a considerably hotter denser state. We have a well
defined and testable description of the expansion, the relativistic
Friedmann-Lemaitre model. Its observational successes are impressive but I
think hardly enough for a convincing scientific case. The lists of
observational constraints and free hypotheses within the model have similar
lengths. The scorecard on the search for concordant measures of the mass
density parameter and the cosmological constant shows that the high density
Einstein-de Sitter model is challenged, but that we cannot choose between low
density models with and without a cosmological constant. That is, the
relativistic model is not strongly overconstrained, the usual test of a mature
theory. Work in progress will greatly improve the situation and may at last
yield a compelling test. If so, and the relativistic model survives, it will
close one line of research in cosmology: we will know the outlines of what
happened as our universe expanded and cooled from high density. It will not end
research: some of us will occupy ourselves with the details of how galaxies and
other large-scale structures came to be the way they are, others with the issue
of what our universe was doing before it was expanding. The former is being
driven by rapid observational advances. The latter is being driven mainly by
theory, but there are hints of observational guidance.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. To be published in PASP as part of the
proceedings of the Smithsonian debate, Is Cosmology Solved
A Two-dimensional Infinte System Density Matrix Renormalization Group Algorithm
It has proved difficult to extend the density matrix renormalization group
technique to large two-dimensional systems. In this Communication I present a
novel approach where the calculation is done directly in two dimensions. This
makes it possible to use an infinite system method, and for the first time the
fixed point in two dimensions is studied. By analyzing several related blocking
schemes I find that there exists an algorithm for which the local energy
decreases monotonically as the system size increases, thereby showing the
potential feasibility of this method.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
Eating to exit: autophagy-enabled senescence revealed
Autophagy and senescence are two distinct cellular responses to stress that are also tumor suppression mechanisms. In this issue of Genes & Development, Young and colleagues ( pp. 798-803) discovered that autophagy is induced during and facilitates the process of senescence. Knowing now that these two pathways are functionally intertwined sets the stage for establishing how they function cooperatively in the cancer setting
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