17,223 research outputs found
A Fresh Approach to Forecasting in Astroparticle Physics and Dark Matter Searches
We present a toolbox of new techniques and concepts for the efficient
forecasting of experimental sensitivities. These are applicable to a large
range of scenarios in (astro-)particle physics, and based on the Fisher
information formalism. Fisher information provides an answer to the question
what is the maximum extractable information from a given observation?. It is a
common tool for the forecasting of experimental sensitivities in many branches
of science, but rarely used in astroparticle physics or searches for particle
dark matter. After briefly reviewing the Fisher information matrix of general
Poisson likelihoods, we propose very compact expressions for estimating
expected exclusion and discovery limits (equivalent counts method). We
demonstrate by comparison with Monte Carlo results that they remain
surprisingly accurate even deep in the Poisson regime. We show how correlated
background systematics can be efficiently accounted for by a treatment based on
Gaussian random fields. Finally, we introduce the novel concept of Fisher
information flux. It can be thought of as a generalization of the commonly used
signal-to-noise ratio, while accounting for the non-local properties and
saturation effects of background and instrumental uncertainties. It is a
powerful and flexible tool ready to be used as core concept for informed
strategy development in astroparticle physics and searches for particle dark
matter.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figure
Supersonic airplane design optimization method for aerodynamic performance and low sonic boom
This paper presents a new methodology for the optimization of supersonic airplane designs to meet the dual design objectives of low sonic boom and high aerodynamic performance. Two sets of design parameters are used on an existing High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) configuration to maximize the aerodynamic performance and minimize the sonic boom under the flight track. One set of the parameters perturbs the camber line of the wing sections to maximize the lift-over-drag ratio (L/D). A preliminary optimization run yielded a 3.75 percent improvement in L/D over a baseline low-boom configuration. The other set of parameters modifies the fuselage area to achieve a target F-function. Starting from an initial configuration with strong bow, wing, and tail shocks, a modified design with a flat-top signature is obtained. The methods presented can easily incorporate other design variables and objective functions. Extensions to the present capability in progress are described
Representing Structural Information of Helical Charge Distributions in Cylindrical Coordinates
Structural information in the local electric field produced by helical charge
distributions, such as dissolved DNA, is revealed in a straightforward manner
employing cylindrical coordinates. Comparison of structure factors derived in
terms of cylindrical and helical coordinates is made. A simple coordinate
transformation serves to relate the Green function in cylindrical and helical
coordinates. We also compare the electric field on the central axis of a single
helix as calculated in both systems.Comment: 11 pages in plain LaTex, no figures. Accepted for publication in PRE
March, 199
Application of CFD to sonic boom near and mid flow-field prediction
A 3-D parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) code was used to calculate the supersonic overpressures from three different geometries at near- and mid-flow fields. Wind tunnel data is used for code validation. Comparison of the computed results with different grid refinements is shown. It is observed that a large number of grid points is needed to resolve the tail shock/expansion fan interaction. Therefore, an adaptive grid approach is employed to calculate the flow field. The agreement between the numerical results and the wind tunnel data confirms that computational fluid dynamics can be applied to the problem of sonic boom prediction
Exceptional Configurations with the Clover Action
We study exceptional modes of both the Wilson and the clover action in order
to understand why quenched clover spectroscopy suffers so severely from
exceptional configurations. We show that a large clover coefficient can make
the exceptional modes extremely localized and thus very sensitive to short
distance fluctuations. We contrast this with the case of the Wilson action
where exceptional modes correspond to large instantons. These modes are broadly
extended and suffer much less from discretization errors.Comment: LATTICE98(improvement
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