Categorical Groups, Knots and Knotted Surfaces

We define a knot invariant and a 2-knot invariant from any finite categorical group. We calculate an explicit example for the Spun Trefoil.Comment: 40 pages, lots of figures. Second version: Added example and discussion, clarification of the fact that the maps associated with Reidemeister Moves are well define

Comment on ``Stripes and the t-J Model''

This is a comment being submitted to Physical Review Letters on a recent letter by Hellberg and Manousakis on stripes in the t-J model.Comment: One reference correcte

Social Effects in Science: Modelling Agents for a Better Scientific Practice

Science is a fundamental human activity and we trust its results because it has several error-correcting mechanisms. Its is subject to experimental tests that are replicated by independent parts. Given the huge amount of information available, scientists have to rely on the reports of others. This makes it possible for social effects to influence the scientific community. Here, an Opinion Dynamics agent model is proposed to describe this situation. The influence of Nature through experiments is described as an external field that acts on the experimental agents. We will see that the retirement of old scientists can be fundamental in the acceptance of a new theory. We will also investigate the interplay between social influence and observations. This will allow us to gain insight in the problem of when social effects can have negligible effects in the conclusions of a scientific community and when we should worry about them.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Large-Scale MDO of a Small Satellite using a Novel Framework for the Solution of Coupled Systems and their Derivatives

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106515/1/AIAA2013-1599.pd

Wetting and drying numerical treatments for the Roe Riemann scheme

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordAccurate characterization of wetting-drying fronts in free surface flows is challenging because it is difficult and computationally demanding to track the exact position of the interface. This work presents a novel numerical treatment of the wetting-drying fronts applied to an approximate Roe Riemann solver and compares it to four other approaches. The numerical treatments were implemented both for the shallow water equations and for the local inertial equations. The results of this comparison overall showed a good agreement. For the tests conducted it was verified that element removal numerical treatments with global distributing of water can introduce errors and degenerate the solution introducing or displacing water upstream. Local correction and flux restricting numerical treatments show the best results. The negative depth numerical treatments provided similar results to the local correction and flux restricting numerical treatment, although with mass conservation errors.This research was funded by the FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) through the doctoral grant [SFRH/BD/81869/2011] financed through the POPH/FSE (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano/Fundo Social Europeu) and the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted by FCT to MARE

Off-axis retrieval of orbital angular momentum of light stored in cold atoms

We report on the storage of orbital angu- lar momentum (OAM) of light of a Laguerre-Gaussian mode in an ensemble of cold cesium atoms and its re- trieval along an axis different from the incident light beam. We employed a time-delayed four-wave mixing configuration to demonstrate that at small angle (2o), after storage, the retrieved beam carries the same OAM as the one encoded in the input beam. A calculation based on mode decomposition of the retrieved beam over the Laguerre-Gaussian basis is in agreement with the experimental observations done at small angle values. However, the calculation shows that the OAM retrieving would get lost at larger angles, reducing the fidelity of such storing-retrieving process. In addition, we have also observed that by applying an external magnetic field to the atomic ensemble the retrieved OAM presents Larmor oscillations, demonstrating the possibility of its manipulation and off-axis retrieval.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Emergence of Hierarchy on a Network of Complementary Agents

Complementarity is one of the main features underlying the interactions in biological and biochemical systems. Inspired by those systems we propose a model for the dynamical evolution of a system composed by agents that interact due to their complementary attributes rather than their similarities. Each agent is represented by a bit-string and has an activity associated to it; the coupling among complementary peers depends on their activity. The connectivity of the system changes in time respecting the constraint of complementarity. We observe the formation of a network of active agents whose stability depends on the rate at which activity diffuses in the system. The model exhibits a non-equilibrium phase transition between the ordered phase, where a stable network is generated, and a disordered phase characterized by the absence of correlation among the agents. The ordered phase exhibits multi-modal distributions of connectivity and activity, indicating a hierarchy of interaction among different populations characterized by different degrees of activity. This model may be used to study the hierarchy observed in social organizations as well as in business and other networks.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, submitte