12,778 research outputs found
System data communication structures for active-control transport aircraft, volume 2
The application of communication structures to advanced transport aircraft are addressed. First, a set of avionic functional requirements is established, and a baseline set of avionics equipment is defined that will meet the requirements. Three alternative configurations for this equipment are then identified that represent the evolution toward more dispersed systems. Candidate communication structures are proposed for each system configuration, and these are compared using trade off analyses; these analyses emphasize reliability but also address complexity. Multiplex buses are recognized as the likely near term choice with mesh networks being desirable for advanced, highly dispersed systems
System data communication structures for active-control transport aircraft, volume 1
Candidate data communication techniques are identified, including dedicated links, local buses, broadcast buses, multiplex buses, and mesh networks. The design methodology for mesh networks is then discussed, including network topology and node architecture. Several concepts of power distribution are reviewed, including current limiting and mesh networks for power. The technology issues of packaging, transmission media, and lightning are addressed, and, finally, the analysis tools developed to aid in the communication design process are described. There are special tools to analyze the reliability and connectivity of networks and more general reliability analysis tools for all types of systems
Uncertainties of predictions from parton distribution functions II: the Hessian method
We develop a general method to quantify the uncertainties of parton
distribution functions and their physical predictions, with emphasis on
incorporating all relevant experimental constraints. The method uses the
Hessian formalism to study an effective chi-squared function that quantifies
the fit between theory and experiment. Key ingredients are a recently developed
iterative procedure to calculate the Hessian matrix in the difficult global
analysis environment, and the use of parameters defined as components along
appropriately normalized eigenvectors. The result is a set of 2d Eigenvector
Basis parton distributions (where d=16 is the number of parton parameters) from
which the uncertainty on any physical quantity due to the uncertainty in parton
distributions can be calculated. We illustrate the method by applying it to
calculate uncertainties of gluon and quark distribution functions, W boson
rapidity distributions, and the correlation between W and Z production cross
sections.Comment: 30 pages, Latex. Reference added. Normalization of Hessian matrix
changed to HEP standar
Observed Effects of a Changing Step-Edge Density on Thin-Film Growth Dynamics
We grew SrTiO3 on SrTiO3 [001] by pulsed laser deposition, while observing
x-ray diffraction at the (0 0 .5) position. The drop dI in the x-ray intensity
following a laser pulse contains information about plume-surface interactions.
Kinematic theory predicts dI/I = -4sigma(1-sigma), so that dI/I depends only on
the amount of deposited material sigma. In contrast, we observed experimentally
that |dI/I| < 4sigma(1-sigma), and that dI/I depends on the phase of x-ray
growth oscillations. The combined results suggest a fast smoothing mechanism
that depends on surface step-edge density.Comment: 4 figure
Synthesis, Structure and Properties of Tetragonal Sr2M3As2O2 (M3 = Mn3, Mn2Cu and MnZn2) Compounds Containing Alternating CuO2-Type and FeAs-Type Layers
Polycrystalline samples of Sr2Mn2CuAs2O2, Sr2Mn3As2O2, and Sr2Zn2MnAs2O2 were
synthesized. Their temperature- and applied magnetic field-dependent
structural, transport, thermal, and magnetic properties were characterized by
means of x-ray and neutron diffraction, electrical resistivity rho, heat
capacity, magnetization and magnetic susceptibility measurements. These
compounds have a body-centered-tetragonal crystal structure (space group
I4/mmm) that consists of MO2 (M = Zn and/or Mn) oxide layers similar to the
CuO2 layers in high superconducting transition temperature Tc cuprate
superconductors, and intermetallic MAs (M = Cu and/or Mn) layers similar to the
FeAs layers in high-Tc pnictides. These two types of layers alternate along the
crystallographic c-axis and are separated by Sr atoms. The site occupancies of
Mn, Cu and Zn were studied using Rietveld refinements of x-ray and neutron
powder diffraction data. The temperature dependences of rho suggest metallic
character for Sr2Mn2CuAs2O2 and semiconducting character for Sr2Mn3As2O2 and
Sr2Zn2MnAs2O2. Sr2Mn2CuAs2O2 is inferred to be a ferrimagnet with a Curie
temperature TC = 95(1) K. Remarkably, we find that the magnetic ground state
structure changes from a G-type antiferromagnetic structure in Sr2Mn3As2O2 to
an A-type ferrimagnetic structure in Sr2Mn2CuAs2O2 in which the Mn ions in each
layer are ferromagnetically aligned, but are antiferromagnetically aligned
between layers.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, 6 tables; submitted to Phys. Rev.
The design of mixed-use virtual auditory displays: Recent findings with a dual-task paradigm
Presented at the 10th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2004)In the third of an ongoing series of exploratory sound information display studies, we augmented a dual task with a mixed-use auditory display designed to provide relevant alert information for each task. The tasks entail a continuous tracking activity and a series of intermittent classification decisions that, in the present study, were presented on separate monitors that were roughly 90\,^{\circ} apart. Using a 2-by-3 design that manipulated both the use of sound in each task and where sounds for the decision task were positioned, the following principal questions were addressed: Can tracking performance be improved with a varying auditory alert tied to error? To what degree do listeners use virtual auditory deixis as a cue for improving decision reaction times? Can a previous finding involving participants' use of sound offsets (cessations) be repeated? And, last, are there performance consequences when auditory displays for separate tasks are combined? Respectively, we found that: Tracking performance as measured by RMS error was not improved and was apparently negatively affected by the use of our auditory design. Listener's use of even limited virtual auditory deixis is robust, but it is probably also sensitive to the degree it is coincident with the location of corresponding visual stimuli in the task environment. On the basis of manually collected head movement data, listeners do make opportunistic use of sound offsets. And, finally, a significant interaction, as measured by average participant reaction time, was observed between the auditory display used for one task and the manipulation of the degree of auditory deixis encoded in the auditory display used for the other task in our paradigm
Partons and Jets at the LHC
I review some issues related to short distance QCD and its relation to the
experimental program of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) now under construction
in Geneva.Comment: Talk at the conference QCD2002 at IIT Kanpur, India, November 2002.
Ten pages with 12 figure
A biophysical model of prokaryotic diversity in geothermal hot springs
Recent field investigations of photosynthetic bacteria living in geothermal
hot spring environments have revealed surprisingly complex ecosystems, with an
unexpected level of genetic diversity. One case of particular interest involves
the distribution along hot spring thermal gradients of genetically distinct
bacterial strains that differ in their preferred temperatures for reproduction
and photosynthesis. In such systems, a single variable, temperature, defines
the relevant environmental variation. In spite of this, each region along the
thermal gradient exhibits multiple strains of photosynthetic bacteria adapted
to several distinct thermal optima, rather than the expected single thermal
strain adapted to the local environmental temperature. Here we analyze
microbiology data from several ecological studies to show that the thermal
distribution field data exhibit several universal features independent of
location and specific bacterial strain. These include the distribution of
optimal temperatures of different thermal strains and the functional dependence
of the net population density on temperature. Further, we present a simple
population dynamics model of these systems that is highly constrained by
biophysical data and by physical features of the environment. This model can
explain in detail the observed diversity of different strains of the
photosynthetic bacteria. It also reproduces the observed thermal population
distributions, as well as certain features of population dynamics observed in
laboratory studies of the same organisms
X-ray scattering from surfaces: discrete and continuous components of roughness
Incoherent surface scattering yields a statistical description of the
surface, due to the ensemble averaging over many independently sampled volumes.
Depending on the state of the surface and direction of the scattering vector
relative to the surface normal, the height distribution is discrete,
continuous, or a combination of the two. We present a treatment for the
influence of multimodal surface height distributions on Crystal Truncation Rod
scattering. The effects of a multimodal height distribution are especially
evident during in situ monitoring of layer-by-layer thin-film growth via Pulsed
Laser Deposition. We model the total height distribution as a convolution of
discrete and continuous components, resulting in a broadly applicable
parameterization of surface roughness which can be applied to other scattering
probes, such as electrons and neutrons. Convolution of such distributions could
potentially be applied to interface or chemical scattering. Here we find that
this analysis describes accurately our experimental studies of SrTiO3
annealing and homoepitaxial growth.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure
Making Gestural Interaction Accessible to Visually Impaired People
International audienceAs touch screens become widely spread, making them more accessible to visually impaired people is an important task. Touch displays possess a poor accessibility for visually impaired people. One possibility to make them more accessible without sight is through gestural interaction. Yet, there are still few studies on using gestural interaction for visually impaired people. In this paper we present a comprehensive summary of existing projects investigating accessible gestural interaction. We also highlight the limits of current approaches and propose future working directions. Then, we present the design of an interactive map prototype that includes both a raised-line map overlay and gestural interaction for accessing different types of information (e.g., opening hours, distances). Preliminary results of our project show that basic gestural interaction techniques can be successfully used in interactive maps for visually impaired people
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