11,291 research outputs found
Conjugate two-dimensional electric potential maps
Two dimensional electric potential maps based on voltage detection in
conducting paper are common practice in many physics courses in college. Most
frequently, students work on `capacitor-like' geometries with current flowing
between two opposite electrodes. A `topographical' investigation across the
embedding medium (map of equipotential curves) allows to reassure a number of
physical properties.
This paper focuses on some less common configurations that bear pedagogical
interest. We analyze `open-geometries' with electrodes in the form of long
strips with slits. They provide a natural groundwork to bring the student to
complex variable methods. Aided by this, we show that shaping the conducting
paper board one may analyze finite size effects, as well as some meaningful
discontinuities in the measured potential.
The concept of conjugate electric potentials is exploited. Equipotentials and
electric field lines acquire interchangeable roles and may be obtained in
complementary `dual' experiments. A feasible theoretical analysis based on
introductory complex variables and standardized numerics gives a remarkable
quantification of the experimental results.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure
The intrinsic three-dimensional shape of galactic bars
We present the first statistical study on the intrinsic three-dimensional
(3D) shape of a sample of 83 galactic bars extracted from the CALIFA survey. We
use the galaXYZ code to derive the bar intrinsic shape with a statistical
approach. The method uses only the geometric information (ellipticities and
position angles) of bars and discs obtained from a multi-component photometric
decomposition of the galaxy surface-brightness distributions. We find that bars
are predominantly prolate-triaxial ellipsoids (68%), with a small fraction of
oblate-triaxial ellipsoids (32%). The typical flattening (intrinsic C/A
semiaxis ratio) of the bars in our sample is 0.34, which matches well the
typical intrinsic flattening of stellar discs at these galaxy masses. We
demonstrate that, for prolate-triaxial bars, the intrinsic shape of bars
depends on the galaxy Hubble type and stellar mass (bars in massive S0 galaxies
are thicker and more circular than those in less massive spirals). The bar
intrinsic shape correlates with bulge, disc, and bar parameters. In particular
with the bulge-to-total (B/T) luminosity ratio, disc g-r color, and central
surface brightness of the bar, confirming the tight link between bars and their
host galaxies. Combining the probability distributions of the intrinsic shape
of bulges and bars in our sample we show that 52% (16%) of bulges are thicker
(flatter) than the surrounding bar at 1 level. We suggest that these
percentages might be representative of the fraction of classical and disc-like
bulges in our sample, respectively.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Dirichlet Obstruction in AdS/CFT
The obstruction for a perturbative reconstruction of the five-dimensional
bulk metric starting from the four-dimensional metric at the boundary,that is,
the Dirichlet problem, is computed in dimensions and some
comments are made on its general structure and, in particular, on its
relationship with the conformal anomaly, which we compute in dimension .Comment: 13 pages, references added (this paper supersedes hep-th/0206140, "A
Note on the Bach Tensor in AdS/CFT", which has been withdrawn
The role of working memory on dual-task cost during walking performance in childhood
This study examined the effect of a secondary motor task on walking ability, whether performance differed according to age and the possible relationship between cognitive abilities, specifically working memory, and dual-task costs in children with typical development. Fifty-three female children (mean age M = 10 \ub1 2 years), were divided into two different age groups: a young (7\u20139 years; n = 17) and an older group (10\u201313 years; n = 36). First, participants performed a Walking Test (WT) without additional tasks; afterward, they performed the same walking test while performing each of the following tasks: carrying (1) a glass of water, (2) a ball on a round tray and (3) the combination of both tasks (1) and (2). The Test of Memory and Learning were used to assess working memory. WTs under a dual-task condition generally produced worse results compared to a single-task condition [F(3,135) = 32.480, p < 0.001]. No age-related difference was observed [F(1,45) = 0.497, p = 0.485]. Age, digit forward and backward, facial memory, and paired recall accounted altogether for 28.6% of variance in dual-task ability during WT while carrying a glass of water and a ball on a round tray. Specifically, facial memory significantly accounted for the variance of DTC in WTWT (\u3b2 = 120.381, p = 0.016). Moreover, a trend toward a statistical significance was observed for digit forward (\u3b2 = 120.275, p = 0.085). Results underlined that regardless of the age, a dual-task performance might affect walking performance depending on the required secondary task. Moreover, our results showed the association between working memory skills and dual-task cost in walking abilit
Crisi e rimobilitazione: gli italiani, la politica, i partiti nelle indagini campionarie del CISE (2011-2012)
Nella primavera 2012, pochi mesi dopo l\u2019insediamento del governo Monti, i partiti italiani toccavano il punto pi\uf9 basso della loro presa sull\u2019opinione pubblica italiana: altissime percentuali di astenuti e indecisi, con un elettorato demotivato da un\u2019offerta politica ancora incerta (anche a causa della difficile convivenza con un governo tecnico) e quindi incapace di strategie innovative. Tuttavia, \ue8 forse vero che la politica ha orrore del vuoto: l\u2019imminenza delle elezioni amministrative (del maggio 2012) e soprattutto l\u2019ingresso nell\u2019ultimo anno prima delle elezioni politiche segnano una ripresa dell\u2019iniziativa politica, sia da parte dei partiti esistenti che da parte di nuovi attori politici. Il primo a muoversi \ue8 il Movimento 5 Stelle, con un\u2019aggressiva strategia per le elezioni amministrative, in cui registrer\ue0 un grande successo. Ma in secondo luogo \ue8 il centrosinistra a gettarsi in una impegnativa e rischiosa strategia politica basata sulle primarie, che otterr\ue0 tuttavia il grande risultato di una significativa rimobilitazione del proprio elettorato. Tutte queste tendenze sono state puntualmente registrate dalla serie di indagini demoscopiche Osservatorio Politico CISE, condotte ogni sei mesi a partire dalla primavera 2011. I risultati di queste indagini, gi\ue0 pubblicati sul sito web Cise nel corso del 2012, sono raccolti oggi in questo secondo Dossier CISE. Una riflessione sul clima di opinione pubblica che conduce alle elezioni politiche del 2013, che vuole fornire dati utili per interpretare le ultime fasi della campagna elettorale e per inquadrare l\u2019ormai imminente risultato delle elezioni
PARISROC, a Photomultiplier Array Integrated Read Out Chip
PARISROC is a complete read out chip, in AMS SiGe 0.35 !m technology, for
photomultipliers array. It allows triggerless acquisition for next generation
neutrino experiments and it belongs to an R&D program funded by the French
national agency for research (ANR) called PMm2: ?Innovative electronics for
photodetectors array used in High Energy Physics and Astroparticles?
(ref.ANR-06-BLAN-0186). The ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)
integrates 16 independent and auto triggered channels with variable gain and
provides charge and time measurement by a Wilkinson ADC (Analog to Digital
Converter) and a 24-bit Counter. The charge measurement should be performed
from 1 up to 300 photo- electrons (p.e.) with a good linearity. The time
measurement allowed to a coarse time with a 24-bit counter at 10 MHz and a fine
time on a 100ns ramp to achieve a resolution of 1 ns. The ASIC sends out only
the relevant data through network cables to the central data storage. This
paper describes the front-end electronics ASIC called PARISROC.Comment: IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium an Medical Imaging Conference (2009
NSS/MIC
Optimization, evaluation, and comparison of standard algorithms for image reconstruction with the VIP-PET
A novel positron emission tomography (PET) scanner design based on a room-temperature pixelated CdTe solid-state detector is being developed within the framework of the Voxel Imaging PET (VIP) Pathfinder project []. The simulation results show a great potential of the VIP to produce high-resolution images even in extremely challenging conditions such as the screening of a human head []. With unprecedented high channel density (450 channels/cm 3) image reconstruction is a challenge. Therefore optimization is needed to find the best algorithm in order to exploit correctly the promising detector potential. The following reconstruction algorithms are evaluated: 2-D Filtered Backprojection (FBP), Ordered Subset Expectation Maximization (OSEM), List-Mode OSEM (LM-OSEM), and the Origin Ensemble (OE) algorithm. The evaluation is based on the comparison of a true image phantom with a set of reconstructed images obtained by each algorithm. This is achieved by calculation of image quality merit parameters such as the bias, the variance and the mean square error (MSE). A systematic optimization of each algorithm is performed by varying the reconstruction parameters, such as the cutoff frequency of the noise filters and the number of iterations. The region of interest (ROI) analysis of the reconstructed phantom is also performed for each algorithm and the results are compared. Additionally, the performance of the image reconstruction methods is compared by calculating the modulation transfer function (MTF). The reconstruction time is also taken into account to choose the optimal algorithm. The analysis is based on GAMOS [] simulation including the expected CdTe and electronic specifics
Seismic Q estimates in Umbria-Marche (central Italy): hints for the retrieval of a new attenuation law for seismic risk
In the Umbria Marche (Central Italy) region an important earthquake sequence occurred in 1997,
characterized by nine earthquakes with magnitudes in the range between 5 and 6, that caused
important damages and causalities. In the present paper we separately estimate intrinsic- and
scattering- Q
â1
parameters, using the classical MLTWA approach in the assumption of a half space
model. The results clearly show that the attenuation parameters Qi
â1
and Qs
â1
are frequency
dependent. This estimate is compared with other attenuation studies carried out in the same area, and
with all the other MLTWA estimates obtained till now in other tectonic environments in the Earth.
The bias introduced by the half space assumption is investigated through numerical solutions of the
Energy Transport equation in the more realistic assumption of a heterogeneous crust overlying a
transparent mantle, with a Moho located at a depth ranging between 35 and 45 km below the surface.
The bias introduced by the half space assumption is significant only at high frequency. We finally
show how the attenuation estimates, calculated with different techniques, lead to different PGA decay
with distance relationships, using the well known and well proven Booreâs method. This last result
indicates that care must be used in selecting the correct estimate of the attenuation parameters for
seismic risk purposes. We also discuss the reason why MLTWA may be chosen among all the other
available techniques, due to its intrinsic stability, to obtain the right attenuation parameters
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