Intelligent multimedia indexing and retrieval through multi-source information extraction and merging

This paper reports work on automated meta-data\ud creation for multimedia content. The approach results\ud in the generation of a conceptual index of\ud the content which may then be searched via semantic\ud categories instead of keywords. The novelty\ud of the work is to exploit multiple sources of\ud information relating to video content (in this case\ud the rich range of sources covering important sports\ud events). News, commentaries and web reports covering\ud international football games in multiple languages\ud and multiple modalities is analysed and the\ud resultant data merged. This merging process leads\ud to increased accuracy relative to individual sources

Defect Motion and Lattice Pinning Barrier in Josephson-Junction Ladders

We study motion of domain wall defects in a fully frustrated Josephson-unction ladder system, driven by small applied currents. For small system sizes, the energy barrier E_B to the defect motion is computed analytically via symmetry and topological considerations. More generally, we perform numerical simulations directly on the equations of motion, based on the resistively-shunted junction model, to study the dynamics of defects, varying the system size. Coherent motion of domain walls is observed for large system sizes. In the thermodynamical limit, we find E_B=0.1827 in units of the Josephson coupling energy.Comment: 7 pages, and to apear in Phys. Rev.

Critical currents for vortex defect motion in superconducting arrays

We study numerically the motion of vortices in two-dimensional arrays of resistively shunted Josephson junctions. An extra vortex is created in the ground states by introducing novel boundary conditions and made mobile by applying external currents. We then measure critical currents and the corresponding pinning energy barriers to vortex motion, which in the unfrustrated case agree well with previous theoretical and experimental findings. In the fully frustrated case our results also give good agreement with experimental ones, in sharp contrast with the existing theoretical prediction. A physical explanation is provided in relation with the vortex motion observed in simulations.Comment: To appear in Physical Review

Nonuniversal Shot Noise in Disordered Quantum Wires with Channel-Number Imbalance

The number of conducting channels for one propagating direction is equal to that for the other direction in ordinary quantum wires. However, they can be imbalanced in graphene nanoribbons with zigzag edges. Employing the model system in which a degree of channel-number imbalance can be controlled, we calculate the shot-noise power at zero frequency by using the Boltzmann-Langevin approach. The shot-noise power in an ordinary diffusive conductor is one-third of the Poisson value. We show that with increasing the degree of channel-number imbalance, the universal one-third suppression breaks down and a highly nonuniversal behavior of shot noise appears.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Anomalous Enhancement of the Boltzmann Conductivity in Disordered Zigzag Graphene Nanoribbons

We study the conductivity of disordered zigzag graphene nanoribbons in the incoherent regime by using the Boltzmann equation approach. The band structure of zigzag nanoribbons contains two energy valleys, and each valley has an excess one-way channel. The crucial point is that the numbers of conducting channels for two propagating directions are imbalanced in each valley due to the presence of an excess one-way channel. It was pointed out that as a consequence of this imbalance, a perfectly conducting channel is stabilized in the coherent regime if intervalley scattering is absent. We show that even in the incoherent regime, the conductivity is anomalously enhanced if intervalley scattering is very weak. Particularly, in the limit of no intervalley scattering, the dimensionless conductance approaches to unity with increasing ribbon length as if there exists a perfectly conducting channel. We also show that anomalous valley polarization of electron density appears in the presence of an electric field.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Digitally range-gated optical frequency domain reflectometry

We present a new optical frequency domain reflectometry technique which permits high frequency sweep repetition rates without sacrificing range. This technique could thus be adapted for remote and distributed acoustic sensing over long lengths of fibre

Observations of [C II] 158 micron Line and Far-infrared Continuum Emission toward the High-latitude Molecular Clouds in Ursa Major

We report the results of a rocket-borne observation of [C II] 158\micron line and far-infrared continuum emission at 152.5\micron toward the high latitude molecular clouds in Ursa Major. We also present the results of a follow-up observation of the millimeter ^{12}CO J=1-0 line over a selected region observed by the rocket-borne experiment. We have discovered three small CO cloudlets from the follow-up ^{12}CO observations. We show that these molecular cloudlets, as well as the MBM clouds(MBM 27/28/29/30), are not gravitationally bound. Magnetic pressure and turbulent pressure dominate the dynamic balance of the clouds. After removing the HI-correlated and background contributions, we find that the [C II] emission peak is displaced from the 152.5\micron and CO peaks, while the 152.5\micron continuum emission is spatially correlated with the CO emission. We interpret this behavior by attributing the origin of [C II] emission to the photodissociation regions around the molecular clouds illuminated by the local UV radiation field. We also find that the ratio of the molecular hydrogen column density to velocity-integrated CO intensity is 1.19+-0.29x10^{20} cm^{-2} (K kms^{-1})^{-1} from the FIR continuum and the CO data. The average [C II] /FIR intensity ratio over the MBM clouds is 0.0071, which is close to the all sky average of 0.0082 reported by the FIRAS on the COBE satellite. The average [C II]/CO ratio over the same regions is 420, which is significantly lower than that of molecular clouds in the Galactic plane.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX (aaspp4.sty) + 2 tables(apjpt4.sty) + 6 postscript figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal; Astrophys. J. in press (Vol. 490, December 1, 1997 issue

Quartic double solids with ordinary singularities

We study the mixed Hodge structure on the third homology group of a threefold which is the double cover of projective three-space ramified over a quartic surface with a double conic. We deal with the Torelli problem for such threefolds.Comment: 14 pages, presented at the Conference Arnol'd 7