9,946 research outputs found
Structural instability of nonlinear plates modelling suspension bridges: mathematical answers to some long-standing questions
We model the roadway of a suspension bridge as a thin rectangular plate and
we study in detail its oscillating modes. The plate is assumed to be hinged on
its short edges and free on its long edges. Two different kinds of oscillating
modes are found: longitudinal modes and torsional modes. Then we analyze a
fourth order hyperbolic equation describing the dynamics of the bridge. In
order to emphasize the structural behavior we consider an isolated equation
with no forcing and damping. Due to the nonlinear behavior of the cables and
hangers, a structural instability appears. With a finite dimensional
approximation we prove that the system remains stable at low energies while
numerical results show that for larger energies the system becomes unstable. We
analyze the energy thresholds of instability and we show that the model allows
to give answers to several questions left open by the Tacoma collapse in 1940.Comment: 33 page
Saddle Points Stability in the Replica Approach Off Equilibrium
We study the replica free energy surface for a spin glass model near the
glassy temperature. In this model the simplicity of the equilibrium solution
hides non trivial metastable saddle points. By means of the stability analysis
performed for one and two real replicas constrained, an interpretation for some
of them is achieved.Comment: 10 pages and 3 figures upon request, Univerista` di Roma I preprint
94/100
Partial symmetry and existence of least energy solutions to some nonlinear elliptic equations on Riemannian models
We consider least energy solutions to the nonlinear equation posed on a class of Riemannian models of dimension
which include the classical hyperbolic space as well as manifolds
with unbounded sectional geometry. Partial symmetry and existence of least
energy solutions is proved for quite general nonlinearities , where
denotes the geodesic distance from the pole of
Uniqueness of the thermodynamic limit for driven disordered elastic interfaces
We study the finite size fluctuations at the depinning transition for a
one-dimensional elastic interface of size displacing in a disordered medium
of transverse size with periodic boundary conditions, where
is the depinning roughness exponent and is a finite aspect ratio
parameter. We focus on the crossover from the infinitely narrow () to
the infinitely wide () medium. We find that at the thermodynamic
limit both the value of the critical force and the precise behavior of the
velocity-force characteristics are {\it unique} and -independent. We also
show that the finite size fluctuations of the critical force (bias and
variance) as well as the global width of the interface cross over from a
power-law to a logarithm as a function of . Our results are relevant for
understanding anisotropic size-effects in force-driven and velocity-driven
interfaces.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
Orbital Polarization in Strained LaNiO: Structural Distortions and Correlation Effects
Transition-metal heterostructures offer the fascinating possibility of
controlling orbital degrees of freedom via strain. Here, we investigate
theoretically the degree of orbital polarization that can be induced by
epitaxial strain in LaNiO films. Using combined electronic structure and
dynamical mean-field theory methods we take into account both structural
distortions and electron correlations and discuss their relative influence. We
confirm that Hund's rule coupling tends to decrease the polarization and point
out that this applies to both the and local
configurations of the Ni ions. Our calculations are in good agreement with
recent experiments, which revealed sizable orbital polarization under tensile
strain. We discuss why full orbital polarization is hard to achieve in this
specific system and emphasize the general limitations that must be overcome to
achieve this goal.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Non-steady relaxation and critical exponents at the depinning transition
We study the non-steady relaxation of a driven one-dimensional elastic
interface at the depinning transition by extensive numerical simulations
concurrently implemented on graphics processing units (GPUs). We compute the
time-dependent velocity and roughness as the interface relaxes from a flat
initial configuration at the thermodynamic random-manifold critical force.
Above a first, non-universal microscopic time-regime, we find a non-trivial
long crossover towards the non-steady macroscopic critical regime. This
"mesoscopic" time-regime is robust under changes of the microscopic disorder
including its random-bond or random-field character, and can be fairly
described as power-law corrections to the asymptotic scaling forms yielding the
true critical exponents. In order to avoid fitting effective exponents with a
systematic bias we implement a practical criterion of consistency and perform
large-scale (L~2^{25}) simulations for the non-steady dynamics of the continuum
displacement quenched Edwards Wilkinson equation, getting accurate and
consistent depinning exponents for this class: \beta = 0.245 \pm 0.006, z =
1.433 \pm 0.007, \zeta=1.250 \pm 0.005 and \nu=1.333 \pm 0.007. Our study may
explain numerical discrepancies (as large as 30% for the velocity exponent
\beta) found in the literature. It might also be relevant for the analysis of
experimental protocols with driven interfaces keeping a long-term memory of the
initial condition.Comment: Published version (including erratum). Codes and Supplemental
Material available at https://bitbucket.org/ezeferrero/qe
Relaxation in yield stress systems through elastically interacting activated events
We study consequences of long-range elasticity in thermally assisted dynamics
of yield stress materials. Within a two-dimensinal mesoscopic model we
calculate the mean-square displacement and the dynamical structure factor for
tracer particle trajectories. The ballistic regime at short time scales is
associated with a compressed exponential decay in the dynamical structure
factor, followed by a subdiffusive crossover prior to the onset of diffusion.
We relate this crossover to spatiotemporal correlations and thus go beyond
established mean field predictions.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in PR
Development of Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas, Capture and Satellite Tagging Protocol in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Attempts to capture and place satellite tags on belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in Cook Inlet, Alaska were conducted during late spring and summer of 1995, 1997, and 1999. In 1995, capture attempts using a hoop net proved impractical in Cook Inlet. In 1997, capture efforts focused on driving belugas into nets. Although this method had been successful in the Canadian High Arctic, it failed in Cook Inlet due to the ability of the whales to detect and avoid nets in shallow and very turbid water. In 1999, belugas were successfully captured using a gillnet encirclement technique. A satellite tag was attached to a juvenile male, which subsequently provided the first documentation of this species’ movements within Cook Inlet during the summer months (31 May–17 September)
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