166 research outputs found
Spacecraft attitude detection system by stellar reference Patent
Attitude detection system using stellar references for three-axis control and spin stabilized spacecraf
Scaling-violation phenomena and fractality in the human posture control systems
By analyzing the movements of quiet standing persons by means of wavelet
statistics, we observe multiple scaling regions in the underlying body
dynamics. The use of the wavelet-variance function opens the possibility to
relate scaling violations to different modes of posture control. We show that
scaling behavior becomes close to perfect, when correctional movements are
dominated by the vestibular system.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Integrated random processes exhibiting long tails, finite moments and 1/f spectra
A dynamical model based on a continuous addition of colored shot noises is
presented. The resulting process is colored and non-Gaussian. A general
expression for the characteristic function of the process is obtained, which,
after a scaling assumption, takes on a form that is the basis of the results
derived in the rest of the paper. One of these is an expansion for the
cumulants, which are all finite, subject to mild conditions on the functions
defining the process. This is in contrast with the Levy distribution -which can
be obtained from our model in certain limits- which has no finite moments. The
evaluation of the power spectrum and the form of the probability density
function in the tails of the distribution shows that the model exhibits a 1/f
spectrum and long tails in a natural way. A careful analysis of the
characteristic function shows that it may be separated into a part representing
a Levy processes together with another part representing the deviation of our
model from the Levy process. This allows our process to be viewed as a
generalization of the Levy process which has finite moments.Comment: Revtex (aps), 15 pages, no figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Point-occurrence self-similarity in crackling-noise systems and in other complex systems
It has been recently found that a number of systems displaying crackling
noise also show a remarkable behavior regarding the temporal occurrence of
successive events versus their size: a scaling law for the probability
distributions of waiting times as a function of a minimum size is fulfilled,
signaling the existence on those systems of self-similarity in time-size. This
property is also present in some non-crackling systems. Here, the uncommon
character of the scaling law is illustrated with simple marked renewal
processes, built by definition with no correlations. Whereas processes with a
finite mean waiting time do not fulfill a scaling law in general and tend
towards a Poisson process in the limit of very high sizes, processes without a
finite mean tend to another class of distributions, characterized by double
power-law waiting-time densities. This is somehow reminiscent of the
generalized central limit theorem. A model with short-range correlations is not
able to escape from the attraction of those limit distributions. A discussion
on open problems in the modeling of these properties is provided.Comment: Submitted to J. Stat. Mech. for the proceedings of UPON 2008 (Lyon),
topic: crackling nois
(Quantum) Space-Time as a Statistical Geometry of Fuzzy Lumps and the Connection with Random Metric Spaces
We develop a kind of pregeometry consisting of a web of overlapping fuzzy
lumps which interact with each other. The individual lumps are understood as
certain closely entangled subgraphs (cliques) in a dynamically evolving network
which, in a certain approximation, can be visualized as a time-dependent random
graph. This strand of ideas is merged with another one, deriving from ideas,
developed some time ago by Menger et al, that is, the concept of probabilistic-
or random metric spaces, representing a natural extension of the metrical
continuum into a more microscopic regime. It is our general goal to find a
better adapted geometric environment for the description of microphysics. In
this sense one may it also view as a dynamical randomisation of the causal-set
framework developed by e.g. Sorkin et al. In doing this we incorporate, as a
perhaps new aspect, various concepts from fuzzy set theory.Comment: 25 pages, Latex, no figures, some references added, some minor
changes added relating to previous wor
Ultrametricity and Memory in a Solvable Model of Self-Organized Criticality
Slowly driven dissipative systems may evolve to a critical state where long
periods of apparent equilibrium are punctuated by intermittent avalanches of
activity. We present a self-organized critical model of punctuated equilibrium
behavior in the context of biological evolution, and solve it in the limit that
the number of independent traits for each species diverges. We derive an exact
equation of motion for the avalanche dynamics from the microscopic rules. In
the continuum limit, avalanches propagate via a diffusion equation with a
nonlocal, history-dependent potential representing memory. This nonlocal
potential gives rise to a non-Gaussian (fat) tail for the subdiffusive
spreading of activity. The probability for the activity to spread beyond a
distance in time decays as for . The potential
represents a hierarchy of time scales that is dynamically generated by the
ultrametric structure of avalanches, which can be quantified in terms of
``backward'' avalanches. In addition, a number of other correlation functions
characterizing the punctuated equilibrium dynamics are determined exactly.Comment: 44 pages, Revtex, (12 ps-figures included
Cross-protection against European swine influenza viruses in the context of infection immunity against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus : studies in the pig model of influenza
Pigs are natural hosts for the same influenza virus subtypes as humans and are a valuable model for cross-protection studies with influenza. In this study, we have used the pig model to examine the extent of virological protection between a) the 2009 pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) virus and three different European H1 swine influenza virus (SIV) lineages, and b) these H1 viruses and a European H3N2 SIV. Pigs were inoculated intranasally with representative strains of each virus lineage with 6- and 17-week intervals between H1 inoculations and between H1 and H3 inoculations, respectively. Virus titers in nasal swabs and/or tissues of the respiratory tract were determined after each inoculation. There was substantial though differing cross-protection between pH1N1 and other H1 viruses, which was directly correlated with the relatedness in the viral hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) proteins. Cross-protection against H3N2 was almost complete in pigs with immunity against H1N2, but was weak in H1N1/pH1N1-immune pigs. In conclusion, infection with a live, wild type influenza virus may offer substantial cross-lineage protection against viruses of the same HA and/or NA subtype. True heterosubtypic protection, in contrast, appears to be minimal in natural influenza virus hosts. We discuss our findings in the light of the zoonotic and pandemic risks of SIVs
Quantum dynamics in strong fluctuating fields
A large number of multifaceted quantum transport processes in molecular
systems and physical nanosystems can be treated in terms of quantum relaxation
processes which couple to one or several fluctuating environments. A thermal
equilibrium environment can conveniently be modelled by a thermal bath of
harmonic oscillators. An archetype situation provides a two-state dissipative
quantum dynamics, commonly known under the label of a spin-boson dynamics. An
interesting and nontrivial physical situation emerges, however, when the
quantum dynamics evolves far away from thermal equilibrium. This occurs, for
example, when a charge transferring medium possesses nonequilibrium degrees of
freedom, or when a strong time-dependent control field is applied externally.
Accordingly, certain parameters of underlying quantum subsystem acquire
stochastic character. Herein, we review the general theoretical framework which
is based on the method of projector operators, yielding the quantum master
equations for systems that are exposed to strong external fields. This allows
one to investigate on a common basis the influence of nonequilibrium
fluctuations and periodic electrical fields on quantum transport processes.
Most importantly, such strong fluctuating fields induce a whole variety of
nonlinear and nonequilibrium phenomena. A characteristic feature of such
dynamics is the absence of thermal (quantum) detailed balance.Comment: review article, Advances in Physics (2005), in pres
Avalanche Dynamics in Evolution, Growth, and Depinning Models
The dynamics of complex systems in nature often occurs in terms of
punctuations, or avalanches, rather than following a smooth, gradual path. A
comprehensive theory of avalanche dynamics in models of growth, interface
depinning, and evolution is presented. Specifically, we include the Bak-Sneppen
evolution model, the Sneppen interface depinning model, the Zaitsev flux creep
model, invasion percolation, and several other depinning models into a unified
treatment encompassing a large class of far from equilibrium processes. The
formation of fractal structures, the appearance of noise, diffusion with
anomalous Hurst exponents, Levy flights, and punctuated equilibria can all be
related to the same underlying avalanche dynamics. This dynamics can be
represented as a fractal in spatial plus one temporal dimension. We develop
a scaling theory that relates many of the critical exponents in this broad
category of extremal models, representing different universality classes, to
two basic exponents characterizing the fractal attractor. The exact equations
and the derived set of scaling relations are consistent with numerical
simulations of the above mentioned models.Comment: 27 pages in revtex, no figures included. Figures or hard copy of the
manuscript supplied on reques
On the continuing relevance of Mandelbrotâs non-ergodic fractional renewal models of 1963 to 1967
The problem of â1âÆâ noise has been with us for about a century. Because it is so often framed in Fourier spectral language, the most famous solutions have tended to be the stationary long range dependent (LRD) models such as Mandelbrotâs fractional Gaussian noise. In view of the increasing importance to physics of non-ergodic fractional renewal models, and their links to the CTRW, I present preliminary results of my research into the history of Mandelbrotâs very little known work in that area from 1963 to 1967. I speculate about how the lack of awareness of this work in the physics and statistics communities may have affected the development of complexity science, and I discuss the differences between the Hurst effect, â1âÆâ noise and LRD, concepts which are often treated as equivalent
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