39,202 research outputs found
Observable Graphs
An edge-colored directed graph is \emph{observable} if an agent that moves
along its edges is able to determine his position in the graph after a
sufficiently long observation of the edge colors. When the agent is able to
determine his position only from time to time, the graph is said to be
\emph{partly observable}. Observability in graphs is desirable in situations
where autonomous agents are moving on a network and one wants to localize them
(or the agent wants to localize himself) with limited information. In this
paper, we completely characterize observable and partly observable graphs and
show how these concepts relate to observable discrete event systems and to
local automata. Based on these characterizations, we provide polynomial time
algorithms to decide observability, to decide partial observability, and to
compute the minimal number of observations necessary for finding the position
of an agent. In particular we prove that in the worst case this minimal number
of observations increases quadratically with the number of nodes in the graph.
From this it follows that it may be necessary for an agent to pass through
the same node several times before he is finally able to determine his position
in the graph. We then consider the more difficult question of assigning colors
to a graph so as to make it observable and we prove that two different versions
of this problem are NP-complete.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure
On the Finiteness Property for Rational Matrices
We analyze the periodicity of optimal long products of matrices. A set of
matrices is said to have the finiteness property if the maximal rate of growth
of long products of matrices taken from the set can be obtained by a periodic
product. It was conjectured a decade ago that all finite sets of real matrices
have the finiteness property. This conjecture, known as the ``finiteness
conjecture", is now known to be false but no explicit counterexample to the
conjecture is available and in particular it is unclear if a counterexample is
possible whose matrices have rational or binary entries. In this paper, we
prove that finite sets of nonnegative rational matrices have the finiteness
property if and only if \emph{pairs} of \emph{binary} matrices do. We also show
that all {pairs} of binary matrices have the finiteness property.
These results have direct implications for the stability problem for sets of
matrices. Stability is algorithmically decidable for sets of matrices that have
the finiteness property and so it follows from our results that if all pairs of
binary matrices have the finiteness property then stability is decidable for
sets of nonnegative rational matrices. This would be in sharp contrast with the
fact that the related problem of boundedness is known to be undecidable for
sets of nonnegative rational matrices.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
On the Identification of Symmetric Quadrature Rules for Finite Element Methods
In this paper we describe a methodology for the identification of symmetric
quadrature rules inside of quadrilaterals, triangles, tetrahedra, prisms,
pyramids, and hexahedra. The methodology is free from manual intervention and
is capable of identifying an ensemble of rules with a given strength and a
given number of points. We also present polyquad which is an implementation of
our methodology. Using polyquad we proceed to derive a complete set of
symmetric rules on the aforementioned domains. All rules possess purely
positive weights and have all points inside the domain. Many of the rules
appear to be new, and an improvement over those tabulated in the literature.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
Observations and a model of gravity-wave variability in the middle atmosphere
A major goal was to determine what portion of the gravity-wave frequency spectrum accounted for the majority of the momentum flux and divergence, as this has important implications for the middle atmosphere response. It was found that approx. 70% of the total flux and divergence was due to wave motions with observed periods less than 1 hour, consistent with expectations based on the shape of the observed gravity-wave spectrum (FrItts, 1984). This dominance of the momentum flux and divergence by high-frequency motions implies a potential for the modulation of those quantities by large-amplitude motions at lower frequencies. A second, striking aspect of the velocity and momentum flux data is its dramatic diurnal variability, particularly at certain levels. This variability is illustrated with the momentum flux, computed in 8-hr blocks. The dominant contributions here are due to waves with periods less than 1 hr. The variability with height and size of the mean square velocity in the west beam and the momentum flux, energed over the 3-day period. A detailed analysis of the various tidal motions present during this data interval was performed, and it was determined that variations in the zontal wind profile imposed by the diurnal tidal motion are probably responsible for the modulation of the gravity-wave amplitudes and momentum fluxes
On the complexity of computing the capacity of codes that avoid forbidden difference patterns
We consider questions related to the computation of the capacity of codes
that avoid forbidden difference patterns. The maximal number of -bit
sequences whose pairwise differences do not contain some given forbidden
difference patterns increases exponentially with . The exponent is the
capacity of the forbidden patterns, which is given by the logarithm of the
joint spectral radius of a set of matrices constructed from the forbidden
difference patterns. We provide a new family of bounds that allows for the
approximation, in exponential time, of the capacity with arbitrary high degree
of accuracy. We also provide a polynomial time algorithm for the problem of
determining if the capacity of a set is positive, but we prove that the same
problem becomes NP-hard when the sets of forbidden patterns are defined over an
extended set of symbols. Finally, we prove the existence of extremal norms for
the sets of matrices arising in the capacity computation. This result makes it
possible to apply a specific (even though non polynomial) approximation
algorithm. We illustrate this fact by computing exactly the capacity of codes
that were only known approximately.Comment: 7 pages. Submitted to IEEE Trans. on Information Theor
Flow Motifs Reveal Limitations of the Static Framework to Represent Human interactions
Networks are commonly used to define underlying interaction structures where
infections, information, or other quantities may spread. Although the standard
approach has been to aggregate all links into a static structure, some studies
suggest that the time order in which the links are established may alter the
dynamics of spreading. In this paper, we study the impact of the time ordering
in the limits of flow on various empirical temporal networks. By using a random
walk dynamics, we estimate the flow on links and convert the original
undirected network (temporal and static) into a directed flow network. We then
introduce the concept of flow motifs and quantify the divergence in the
representativity of motifs when using the temporal and static frameworks. We
find that the regularity of contacts and persistence of vertices (common in
email communication and face-to-face interactions) result on little differences
in the limits of flow for both frameworks. On the other hand, in the case of
communication within a dating site (and of a sexual network), the flow between
vertices changes significantly in the temporal framework such that the static
approximation poorly represents the structure of contacts. We have also
observed that cliques with 3 and 4 vertices con- taining only low-flow links
are more represented than the same cliques with all high-flow links. The
representativity of these low-flow cliques is higher in the temporal framework.
Our results suggest that the flow between vertices connected in cliques depend
on the topological context in which they are placed and in the time sequence in
which the links are established. The structure of the clique alone does not
completely characterize the potential of flow between the vertices
The Richtmyer–Meshkov instability in magnetohydrodynamics
In ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability can be suppressed by the presence of a magnetic field. The interface still undergoes some growth, but this is bounded for a finite magnetic field. A model for this flow has been developed by considering the stability of an impulsively accelerated, sinusoidally perturbed density interface in the presence of a magnetic field that is parallel to the acceleration. This was accomplished by analytically solving the linearized initial value problem in the framework of ideal incompressible MHD. To assess the performance of the model, its predictions are compared to results obtained from numerical simulation of impulse driven linearized, shock driven linearized, and nonlinear compressible MHD for a variety of cases. It is shown that the analytical linear model collapses the data from the simulations well. The predicted interface behavior well approximates that seen in compressible linearized simulations when the shock strength, magnetic field strength, and perturbation amplitude are small. For such cases, the agreement with interface behavior that occurs in nonlinear simulations is also reasonable. The effects of increasing shock strength, magnetic field strength, and perturbation amplitude on both the flow and the performance of the model are investigated. This results in a detailed exposition of the features and behavior of the MHD Richtmyer–Meshkov flow. For strong shocks, large initial perturbation amplitudes, and strong magnetic fields, the linear model may give a rough estimate of the interface behavior, but it is not quantitatively accurate. In all cases examined the accuracy of the model is quantified and the flow physics underlying any discrepancies is examine
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