10,472 research outputs found
Project OASIS: The Design of a Signal Detector for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
An 8 million channel spectrum analyzer (MCSA) was designed the meet to meet the needs of a SETI program. The MCSA puts out a very large data base at very high rates. The development of a device which follows the MCSA, is presented
Polymer Adsorption on Disordered Substrate
We analyze the recently proposed "pattern-matching" phase of a Gaussian
random heteropolymer adsorbed on a disordered substrate [S. Srebnik, A.K.
Chakraborty and E.I. Shakhnovich, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3157 (1996)]. By mapping
the problem to that of a directed homopolymer in higher-dimensional random
media, we show that the pattern-matching phase is asymptotically weakly
unstable, and the large scale properties of the system are given by that of an
adsorbed homopolymer.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX, text also available at http://matisse.ucsd.edu/~hw
Squeezing out the last 1 nanometer of water: A detailed nanomechanical study
In this study, we present a detailed analysis of the squeeze-out dynamics of
nanoconfined water confined between two hydrophilic surfaces measured by
small-amplitude dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM). Explicitly considering
the instantaneous tip-surface separation during squeezeout, we confirm the
existence of an adsorbed molecular water layer on mica and at least two
hydration layers. We also confirm the previous observation of a sharp
transition in the viscoelastic response of the nanoconfined water as the
compression rate is increased beyond a critical value (previously determined to
be about 0.8 nm/s). We find that below the critical value, the tip passes
smoothly through the molecular layers of the film, while above the critical
speed, the tip encounters "pinning" at separations where the film is able to
temporarily order. Pre-ordering of the film is accompanied by increased force
fluctuations, which lead to increased damping preceding a peak in the film
stiffness once ordering is completed. We analyze the data using both
Kelvin-Voigt and Maxwell viscoelastic models. This provides a complementary
picture of the viscoelastic response of the confined water film
The fatigue behavior of materials for the supersonic transport
Crack propagation behavior, residual static strength, and base fatigue strength of supersonic transport skin materia
A PCP Characterization of AM
We introduce a 2-round stochastic constraint-satisfaction problem, and show
that its approximation version is complete for (the promise version of) the
complexity class AM. This gives a `PCP characterization' of AM analogous to the
PCP Theorem for NP. Similar characterizations have been given for higher levels
of the Polynomial Hierarchy, and for PSPACE; however, we suggest that the
result for AM might be of particular significance for attempts to derandomize
this class.
To test this notion, we pose some `Randomized Optimization Hypotheses'
related to our stochastic CSPs that (in light of our result) would imply
collapse results for AM. Unfortunately, the hypotheses appear over-strong, and
we present evidence against them. In the process we show that, if some language
in NP is hard-on-average against circuits of size 2^{Omega(n)}, then there
exist hard-on-average optimization problems of a particularly elegant form.
All our proofs use a powerful form of PCPs known as Probabilistically
Checkable Proofs of Proximity, and demonstrate their versatility. We also use
known results on randomness-efficient soundness- and hardness-amplification. In
particular, we make essential use of the Impagliazzo-Wigderson generator; our
analysis relies on a recent Chernoff-type theorem for expander walks.Comment: 18 page
De-risking the energy transition by quantifying the uncertainties in fault stability
The operations needed to decarbonise our energy systems increasingly involve faulted rocks in the subsurface. To manage the technical challenges presented by these rocks and the justifiable public concern over induced seismicity, we need to assess the risks. Widely used measures for fault stability, including slip and dilation tendency and fracture susceptibility, can be combined with Response Surface Methodology from engineering and Monte Carlo simulations to produce statistically viable ensembles for the analysis of probability. In this paper, we describe the implementation of this approach using custom-built open source Python code (pfs – probability of fault slip). The technique is then illustrated using two synthetic datasets and two case studies drawn from active or potential sites for geothermal energy in the UK, and discussed in the light of induced seismicity focal mechanisms. The analysis of probability highlights key gaps in our knowledge of the stress field, fluid pressures and rock properties. Scope exists to develop, integrate and exploit citizen science projects to generate more and better data, and simultaneously include the public in the necessary discussions about hazard and risk
Optimization of double drive pulse pumping in Ne-like Ge x-ray lasers
Pumping of the Ne-like Ge x-ray laser with two 100 ps duration pulses (a prepulse and main pulse) is investigated using a fluid and atomic physics code coupled to a 3D ray tracing postprocessor code. The modeling predicts the optimum ratio of the irradiance of the two pulses for the maximum x-ray laser output resulting from the balance between the relative lower electron density gradients and wider gain region which is produced with a larger prepulse and the higher peak gain coefficients produced with a small prepulse. With a longer pulse interval between prepulse and main pulse, a relatively lower optimum pulse ratio is found. The threshold irradiance of the main driving pulse with a prepulse required to make an order of magnitude enhancement of laser output compared to irradiation without a prepulse is also found at 3-4x10(13) W/cm(2) for Ne-like Ge. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics
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