Planktivores and plankton dynamics : effects of fish biomass and planktivore type

Les auteurs ont quantifié les incidences de la biomasse et du type de planctophage dans le cadre d'une étude expérimentale en mésocosmes. Cette étude était conçue en fonction d'un plan factoriel d'expérience combinant cinq niveaux de biomasse de poisson (de O, à 75 g/m3) avec deux types de planctophage, soit l'alose à gésier (#Dorosoma cepedianum), un filtreur, et le crapet arlequin (#Lepomis macrochirus), un chasseur visuel. Une augmentation de la biomasse de poisson était accompagnée d'une baisse du nombre de cladocères, de cyclopoïdes et de chironomides et de la teneur en phosphore particulaire ...; inversement l'abondance de rotifères, de flagellés unicellulaires, d'algues vertes coloniales et unicellulaires, de diatomées pennées, la productivité primaire, la turbidité et les teneurs en chlorophylle a, en phosphore total ... ont augmenté ... Bien que la chaîne des cascades trophiques de l'alose à gésier et celle du crapet soleil soient différentes, la biomasse de poisson jouait un rôle plus important que le type de planctophage comme régulateur des communautés planctoniques et de la qualité de l'eau. (D'après résumé d'auteur

A configuration space toolkit for automated spatial reasoning: Technical results and LDRD project final report

A robot`s configuration space (c-space) is the space of its kinematic degrees of freedom, e.g., the joint-space of an arm. Sets in c-space can be defined that characterize a variety of spatial relationships, such as contact between the robot and its environment. C-space techniques have been fundamental to research progress in areas such as motion planning and physically-based reasoning. However, practical progress has been slowed by the difficulty of implementing the c-space abstraction inside each application. For this reason, we proposed a Configuration Space Toolkit of high-performance algorithms and data structures meeting these needs. Our intent was to develop this robotics software to provide enabling technology to emerging applications that apply the c-space abstraction, such as advanced motion planning, teleoperation supervision, mechanism functional analysis, and design tools. This final report presents the research results and technical achievements of this LDRD project. Key results and achievements included (1) a hybrid Common LISP/C prototype that implements the basic C-Space abstraction, (2) a new, generic, algorithm for constructing hierarchical geometric representations, and (3) a C++ implementation of an algorithm for fast distance computation, interference detection, and c-space point-classification. Since the project conclusion, motion planning researchers in Sandia`s Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center have been using the CSTk libcstk.so C++ library. The code continues to be used, supported, and improved by projects in the ISRC

On the size of the smallest scales in cosmic string networks

We present a method for the calculation of the gravitational back reaction cutoff on the smallest scales of cosmic string networks taking into account that not all modes on strings interact with all other modes. This results in a small scale structure cutoff that is sensitive to the initial spectrum of perturbations present on strings. From a simple model, we compute the cutoffs in radiation- and matter-dominated universes.Comment: 4 pages, revte

Interplay disorder-interaction in one dimensional quantum models

URL: http://www-spht.cea.fr/articles/S98/116 Compétition entre le désordre et les interactions dans des modèles quantiques unidimensionnels 210th WE-Heraeus Seminar (PILS'98), Berlin, Germany, October 6-9, 1998We show that the crossover from the weak interaction limit towards the strong interaction limit may be accompanied by a delocalization effect in one dimensional disordered quantum models. The spin degrees of freedom are frozen and the spatial wave functions remain symmetric or antisymmetric when the strength $U$ of a short range interaction is varied. The study concerns the excited states for two interacting particles and the ground state for a finite density of carriers. First, for two particles in a chain of length $L$, we establish a duality transformation mapping the behavior at weak $U$ onto the behavior at strong $U$. For intermediate $U$, the mixing of the one body states and the interaction induced delocalization effect are maximum. Furthermore, if $L \approx L_1$ (the one particle localization length), the system becomes weakly chaotic with critical spectral statistics. This weak chaos is related to the multifractality of the interaction matrix. For two particles starting close to each other, localization is reached in two steps. Before the time $t_1$ necessary to propagate over $L_1$, $U$ de-favors the propagation. On the contrary, $U$ favors a very slow delocalization after $t_1$, characterized by a $\log(t)$ spreading of the center of mass. Similarly, the curvatures of the energy levels with respect to an enclosed magnetic flux decrease as a function of $U$ for $LL_1$. The changes of the curvatures can be described by a conductance-like single scaling parameter. Second, using the density renormalization group algorithm, we have studied the ground state energy of a finite density of spinless fermions and its change under twisted boundary conditions. For a large disorder, a charge reorganization is induced by the interaction: When the system becomes instable between the inhomogeneous configuration driven by the random potential (Anderson insulator) and the homogeneous one driven by repulsive interactions (Mott insulator), the ground state sensitivity can be enhanced by orders of magnitude. In contrast, no enhancement occurs at weaker disorder, when there are many particles on a scale $L_1$. ----- Cet article est une revue des résultats obtenus récemment par les auteurs sur le rôle joué par l'interaction dans des systèmes unidimensionnels désordonnés. La première partie de l'article traite le problème de deux particules en interaction dans un potentiel aléatoire. On montre que les deux particules peuvent se propager de façon cohérente sur une distance $L_2$ beaucoup plus grande que la longueur de localisation $L_1$ d'une particule sans interaction. L'effet de délocalisation maximale se manifeste pour une valeur de l'interaction $U$ intermédiaire entre les deux limites $U=0$ et $U\to\infty$ et une transformation de dualité permet de passer d'une limite à l'autre. La structure multifractale des termes d'interaction de l'hamiltonien dans la base des états sans interaction influence la relation entre $L_2$ et $L_1$ et empêche la transition, engendrée par l'interaction, à un régime complètement chaotique. En changeant $U$ on parvient à un régime de ``chaos faible'', caractérisé par une statistique spectrale critique intermédiaire entre la statistique de Poisson (systèmes intégrables) et de Wigner (systèmes ergodiques). On montre que l'interaction est favorable au transport quand la longueur de localisation $L_1$ est plus petite que la taille $L$ du système et au contraire est défavorable quand $L_1>L$. Ceci est montré dans l'étude de la dynamique d'une paire de particules et de la courbure des niveaux énergétiques pour une boucle traversée par un flux d'Aharonov--Bohm. La deuxième partie de l'article étudie les propriétés de l'état fondamental d'un système de fermions sans spin. Des effets importants de délocalisation se manifestent quand le système devient instable entre les configurations limites $U=0$ (isolant d'Anderson) et $U\to\infty$ (isolant de Mott). La réorganisation des charges d'une limite à l'autre s'accompagne d'une grande sensibilité de l'énergie de l'état fondamental quand les conditions de bord de périodiques deviennent antipériodiques. L'article montre que l'effet de délocalisation semble persister à la limite thermodynamique. \hfill{G. Benenti

PRODUÇÃO DE SEDIMENTOS SUSPENSOS NA BACIA DO RIO PARAÍBA-PB

O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar o regime hidrossedimentológico do Rio Paraíba. Foram utilizados dados disponíveis no site da ANA, e realizados tratamentos estatísticos. As maiores vazões foram nas décadas de 70 e 80, enquanto a de 90 apresentou baixos valores. A produção de sedimento suspenso no médio curso foi em média de 9,846 t/km².ano-1, enquanto no baixo foi de 1,765 t/km².ano-1. Estes dados confirmaram a forte influência dos açudes no regime hidrossedimentológico da bacia

Economic Fluctuations and Diffusion

Stock price changes occur through transactions, just as diffusion in physical systems occurs through molecular collisions. We systematically explore this analogy and quantify the relation between trading activity - measured by the number of transactions $N_{\Delta t}$ - and the price change $G_{\Delta t}$, for a given stock, over a time interval $[t, t+\Delta t]$. To this end, we analyze a database documenting every transaction for 1000 US stocks over the two-year period 1994-1995. We find that price movements are equivalent to a complex variant of diffusion, where the diffusion coefficient fluctuates drastically in time. We relate the analog of the diffusion coefficient to two microscopic quantities: (i) the number of transactions $N_{\Delta t}$ in $\Delta t$, which is the analog of the number of collisions and (ii) the local variance $w^2_{\Delta t}$ of the price changes for all transactions in $\Delta t$, which is the analog of the local mean square displacement between collisions. We study the distributions of both $N_{\Delta t}$ and $w_{\Delta t}$, and find that they display power-law tails. Further, we find that $N_{\Delta t}$ displays long-range power-law correlations in time, whereas $w_{\Delta t}$ does not. Our results are consistent with the interpretation that the pronounced tails of the distribution of $G_{\Delta t} are due to$w_{\Delta t}$, and that the long-range correlations previously found for$| G_{\Delta t} |$are due to$N_{\Delta t}$.Comment: RevTex 2 column format. 6 pages, 36 references, 15 eps figure

Gravitational Wave Bursts from Cosmic Superstring Reconnections

We compute the gravitational waveform produced by cosmic superstring reconnections. This is done by first constructing the superstring reconnection trajectory, which closely resembles that of classical, instantaneous reconnection but with the singularities smoothed out due to the string path integral. We then evaluate the graviton vertex operator in this background to obtain the burst amplitude. The result is compared to the detection threshold for current and future gravitational wave detectors, finding that neither bursts nor the stochastic background would be detectable by Advanced LIGO. This disappointing but anticipated conclusion holds even for the most optimistic values of the reconnection probability and loop sizes.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures; v2: references added and typos correcte

Continental-scale animal tracking reveals functional movement classes across marine taxa

Acoustic telemetry is a principle tool for observing aquatic animals, but coverage over large spatial scales remains a challenge. To resolve this, Australia has implemented the Integrated Marine Observing System's Animal Tracking Facility which comprises a continental-scale hydrophone array and coordinated data repository. This national acoustic network connects localized projects, enabling simultaneous monitoring of multiple species over scales ranging from 100 s of meters to 1000 s of kilometers. There is a need to evaluate the utility of this national network in monitoring animal movement ecology, and to identify the spatial scales that the network effectively operates over. Cluster analyses assessed movements and residency of 2181 individuals from 92 species, and identified four functional movement classes apparent only through aggregating data across the entire national network. These functional movement classes described movement metrics of individuals rather than species, and highlighted the plasticity of movement patterns across and within populations and species. Network analyses assessed the utility and redundancy of each component of the national network, revealing multiple spatial scales of connectivity influenced by the geographic positioning of acoustic receivers. We demonstrate the significance of this nationally coordinated network of receivers to better reveal intra-specific differences in movement profiles and discuss implications for effective management