17,897 research outputs found
Stress and Fracture Analyses Under Elastic-plastic and Creep Conditions: Some Basic Developments and Computational Approaches
A new hybrid-stress finite element algorith, suitable for analyses of large quasi-static deformations of inelastic solids, is presented. Principal variables in the formulation are the nominal stress-rate and spin. A such, a consistent reformulation of the constitutive equation is necessary, and is discussed. The finite element equations give rise to an initial value problem. Time integration has been accomplished by Euler and Runge-Kutta schemes and the superior accuracy of the higher order schemes is noted. In the course of integration of stress in time, it has been demonstrated that classical schemes such as Euler's and Runge-Kutta may lead to strong frame-dependence. As a remedy, modified integration schemes are proposed and the potential of the new schemes for suppressing frame dependence of numerically integrated stress is demonstrated. The topic of the development of valid creep fracture criteria is also addressed
Temporal Ordering in Quantum Mechanics
We examine the measurability of the temporal ordering of two events, as well
as event coincidences. In classical mechanics, a measurement of the
order-of-arrival of two particles is shown to be equivalent to a measurement
involving only one particle (in higher dimensions). In quantum mechanics, we
find that diffraction effects introduce a minimum inaccuracy to which the
temporal order-of-arrival can be determined unambiguously. The minimum
inaccuracy of the measurement is given by dt=1/E where E is the total kinetic
energy of the two particles. Similar restrictions apply to the case of
coincidence measurements. We show that these limitations are much weaker than
limitations on measuring the time-of-arrival of a particle to a fixed location.Comment: New section added, arguing that order-of-arrival can be measured more
accurately than time-of-arrival. To appear in Journal of Physics
Ergodic property of Markovian semigroups on standard forms of von Neumann algebras
We give sufficient conditions for ergodicity of the Markovian semigroups
associated to Dirichlet forms on standard forms of von Neumann algebras
constructed by the method proposed in Refs. [Par1,Par2]. We apply our result to
show that the diffusion type Markovian semigroups for quantum spin systems are
ergodic in the region of high temperatures where the uniqueness of the
KMS-state holds.Comment: 25 page
Observations and models for needle-tissue interactions
The asymmetry of a bevel-tip needle results in the needle naturally bending when it is inserted into soft tissue. In this study we present a mechanics-based model that calculates the deflection of the needle embedded in an elastic medium. Microscopic observations for several needle- gel interactions were used to characterize the interactions at the bevel tip and along the needle shaft. The model design was guided by microscopic observations of several needle- gel interactions. The energy-based model formulation incor- porates tissue-specific parameters such as rupture toughness, nonlinear material elasticity, and interaction stiffness, and needle geometric and material properties. Simulation results follow similar trends (deflection and radius of curvature) to those observed in macroscopic experimental studies of a robot- driven needle interacting with different kinds of gels. These results contribute to a mechanics-based model of robotic needle steering, extending previous work on kinematic models
From bcc to fcc: interplay between oscillating long-range and repulsive short-range forces
This paper supplements and partly extends an earlier publication, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 95, 265501 (2005). In -dimensional continuous space we describe the
infinite volume ground state configurations (GSCs) of pair interactions \vfi
and \vfi+\psi, where \vfi is the inverse Fourier transform of a nonnegative
function vanishing outside the sphere of radius , and is any
nonnegative finite-range interaction of range , where
. In three dimensions the decay of \vfi can be as slow
as , and an interaction of asymptotic form
is among the examples. At a dimension-dependent
density the ground state of \vfi is a unique Bravais lattice, and
for higher densities it is continuously degenerate: any union of Bravais
lattices whose reciprocal lattice vectors are not shorter than is a GSC.
Adding decreases the ground state degeneracy which, nonetheless, remains
continuous in the open interval , where is the
close-packing density of hard balls of diameter . The ground state is
unique at both ends of the interval. In three dimensions this unique GSC is the
bcc lattice at and the fcc lattice at .Comment: Published versio
Some remarks on quasi-Hermitian operators
A quasi-Hermitian operator is an operator that is similar to its adjoint in
some sense, via a metric operator, i.e., a strictly positive self-adjoint
operator. Whereas those metric operators are in general assumed to be bounded,
we analyze the structure generated by unbounded metric operators in a Hilbert
space. Following our previous work, we introduce several generalizations of the
notion of similarity between operators. Then we explore systematically the
various types of quasi-Hermitian operators, bounded or not. Finally we discuss
their application in the so-called pseudo-Hermitian quantum mechanics.Comment: 18page
First Records of Two Neotropical Species of Mesocyclops (Copepoda) from Yukon Territory: Cases of Passive Dispersal?
Two species of neotropical cyclopoid copepod crustaceans, Mesocyclops longisetus curvatus and Mesocyclops venezolanus, were collected from a pond at Shingle Point, Yukon Territory, Canada, in September 1974. This is the first record of M. longisetus curvatus north of the southern United States and the first record of M. venezolanus north of Honduras. We provide amplified descriptions of both species. Four additional congeners, M. americanus, M. edax, M. reidae, and M. ruttneri, are now known from the continental U.S. and Canada. We provide a key to the identification of the six species. We hypothesize that the specimens of M. longisetus curvatus and M. venezolanus may have been passively transported to Shingle Point by migrant shorebirds.Key words: Copepoda, Cyclopoida, Mesocyclops, new record, Yukon, neotropical, zoogeography, passive dispersal, identification keyEn septembre 1974, on a recueilli deux espèces de copépodes cyclopoïdes néogènes, Mesocyclops longisetus curvatus et Mesocyclops venezolanus, dans un étang situé à Shingle Point, dans le territoire du Yukon au Canada. Cela représente la première occurrence rapportée de M. longisetus curvatus au nord de la partie méridionale des États-Unis, et la première de M. venezolanus au nord du Honduras. On donne une description détaillée des deux espèces. On sait maintenant qu'il existe quatre autres congénères, M. americanus, M. edax, M. reida et M. ruttneri, aux États-Unis américains et au Canada. On fournit un code permettant d'identifier les six espèces. On émet l'hypothèse que les spécimens de M. longisetus curvatus et de M. venezolanus ont pu être transportés de façon passive à Shingle Point par des oiseaux de rivage migrateurs.Mots clés: copépodes, cyclopoïdes, Mesocyclops, nouvelle Occurrence rapportée, Yukon, néogène, zoogéographie, dispersion passive, code d'identificatio
Modeling Bitcoin Contracts by Timed Automata
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer cryptographic currency system. Since its
introduction in 2008, Bitcoin has gained noticeable popularity, mostly due to
its following properties: (1) the transaction fees are very low, and (2) it is
not controlled by any central authority, which in particular means that nobody
can "print" the money to generate inflation. Moreover, the transaction syntax
allows to create the so-called contracts, where a number of
mutually-distrusting parties engage in a protocol to jointly perform some
financial task, and the fairness of this process is guaranteed by the
properties of Bitcoin. Although the Bitcoin contracts have several potential
applications in the digital economy, so far they have not been widely used in
real life. This is partly due to the fact that they are cumbersome to create
and analyze, and hence risky to use.
In this paper we propose to remedy this problem by using the methods
originally developed for the computer-aided analysis for hardware and software
systems, in particular those based on the timed automata. More concretely, we
propose a framework for modeling the Bitcoin contracts using the timed automata
in the UPPAAL model checker. Our method is general and can be used to model
several contracts. As a proof-of-concept we use this framework to model some of
the Bitcoin contracts from our recent previous work. We then automatically
verify their security in UPPAAL, finding (and correcting) some subtle errors
that were difficult to spot by the manual analysis. We hope that our work can
draw the attention of the researchers working on formal modeling to the problem
of the Bitcoin contract verification, and spark off more research on this
topic
Parasitism, Adult Emergence, Sex Ratio, and Size of \u3ci\u3eAphidius Colemani\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) on Several Aphid Species
Aphidius colemani Viereck parasitizes several economically important aphid pests of small grain crops including the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum and the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia. The ability of A. colemani to switch from S. graminum to several species of aphids common to agricultural and associated non-agricultural ecosystems in the Great Plains, and the effects of host-change on several biological parameters that influence population growth rate were determined. Female A. colemani parasitized and developed to adulthood in nine of 14 aphid species to which they were exposed in the laboratory. All small grain feeding aphids except Sipha flava were parasitized. Two sunflower feeding species (Aphis nerii and A. helianthi) and two crucifer feeding species (Lipaphis erysimi and Brevicoryne brassicae) were parasitized, as was the cotton aphid. Aphis gossypii. The average percentage of aphids parasitized differed significantly among host aphid species. as did the percentage of parasitoids surviving from the mummy to the adult stage and the time required for immature development. The sex ratio of adults that enclosed from the various hosts did not differ significantly among species. Dry weights of adult parasitoids differed significantly among host species. Adults from S. graminum weighed most (0.054 mg) while those emerging from A. helianthi weighed least (0.020 mg). Results are discussed in terms of strategies for classical biological control of aphid pests of cereals
Self-induced decoherence approach: Strong limitations on its validity in a simple spin bath model and on its general physical relevance
The "self-induced decoherence" (SID) approach suggests that (1) the
expectation value of any observable becomes diagonal in the eigenstates of the
total Hamiltonian for systems endowed with a continuous energy spectrum, and
(2), that this process can be interpreted as decoherence. We evaluate the first
claim in the context of a simple spin bath model. We find that even for large
environments, corresponding to an approximately continuous energy spectrum,
diagonalization of the expectation value of random observables does in general
not occur. We explain this result and conjecture that SID is likely to fail
also in other systems composed of discrete subsystems. Regarding the second
claim, we emphasize that SID does not describe a physically meaningful
decoherence process for individual measurements, but only involves destructive
interference that occurs collectively within an ensemble of presupposed
"values" of measurements. This leads us to question the relevance of SID for
treating observed decoherence effects.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Final published versio
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