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2000-02-28
The Rest-Frame Optical Spectrum of MS 1512-cB58
Moderate resolution, near-IR spectroscopy of MS1512-cB58 is presented, obtained during commissioning of the the Near IR Spectrometer (NIRSPEC) on the Keck II telescope. The strong lensing of this z=2.72 galaxy by the foreground cluster MS1512+36 makes it the best candidate for detailed study of the rest-frame optical properties of Lyman Break Galaxies. A redshift of z=2.7290+/-0.0007 is inferred from the emission lines, in contrast to the z=2.7233 calculated from UV observations of interstellar absorption lines. Using the Balmer line ratios, we find an extinction of E(B-V)=0.27. Using the line strengths, we infer an SFR=620+/-18 Msun/yr (H_0=75, q_0=0.1, Lambda =0), a factor of 2 higher than that measured from narrow-band imaging observations of the galaxy, but a factor of almost 4 lower than the SFR inferred from the UV continuum luminosity. The width of the Balmer lines yields a mass of M_vir=1.2x10^10 Msun. We find that the oxygen abundance is 1/3 solar, in good agreement with other estimates of the metallicity. However, we infer a high nitrogen abundance, which may argue for the presence of an older stellar population.
0002508v1
2000-03-06
The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect in Abell 370
We present interferometric measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect towards the galaxy cluster Abell 370. These measurements, which directly probe the pressure of the cluster's gas, show the gas distribution to be strongly aspherical, as do the x-ray and gravitational lensing observations. We calculate the cluster's gas mass fraction in two ways. We first compare the gas mass derived from the SZ measurements to the lensing-derived gravitational mass near the critical lensing radius. We also calculate the gas mass fraction from the SZ data by deprojecting the three-dimensional gas density distribution and deriving the total mass under the assumption that the gas is in hydrostatic equilibrium (HSE). We test the assumptions in the HSE method by comparing the total cluster mass implied by the two methods and find that they agree within the errors of the measurement. We discuss the possible systematic errors in the gas mass fraction measurement and the constraints it places on the matter density parameter, OmegaM.
0003085v1
2000-12-04
Galaxy Cluster Gas Mass Fractions from Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Measurements: Constraints on Omega_M
Using sensitive centimeter-wave receivers mounted on the Owens Valley Radio Observatory and Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland-Association millimeter arrays, we have obtained interferometric measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect toward massive galaxy clusters. We use the SZ data to determine the pressure distribution of the cluster gas and, in combination with published X-ray temperatures, to infer the gas mass and total gravitational mass of 18 clusters. The gas mass fraction, f_g, is calculated for each cluster, and is extrapolated to the fiducial radius r_{500} using the results of numerical simulations. The mean f_g within r_{500} is 0.081+0.009 -0.011/(h_{100} (statistical uncertainty at 68% confidence level, assuming OmegaM=0.3, OmegaL=0.7). We discuss possible sources of systematic errors in the mean f_g measurement. We derive an upper limit for OmegaM from this sample under the assumption that the mass composition of clusters within r_{500} reflects the universal mass composition: Omega_M h < Omega_B/f_g. The gas mass fractions depend on cosmology through the angular diameter distance and the r_{500} correction factors. For a flat universe (OmegaL = 1 - OmegaM) and h=0.7, we find the measured gas mass fractions are consistent with Omegam less than 0.40, at 68% confidence. Including estimates of the baryons contained in galaxies and the baryons which failed to become bound during the cluster formation process, we find OmegaM \~0.25.
0012067v1
2001-01-02
Science Prospects for SPI
After the recent beautiful results on gamma-ray lines obtained with CGRO, the INTEGRAL mission with the imaging-spectrometer SPI will set the next milestone, combining improved sensitivity and angular resolution with a considerable increase in spectral resolution. SPI is expected to provide significant new information on galactic nucleosynthesis processes and star formation activity, as traced by the distributions of annihilation radiation and radioactive isotopes such as 26Al and 60Fe. The unprecedented spectral resolution will allow the study of dynamic processes in stellar mass ejections and will provide access to kinematic distance estimates for gamma-ray line sources. The study of supernovae and their remnants will be prime objectives for SPI observations. Nearby type Ia SN, within 15 Mpc or so, are in reach of the instrument and a few such events are expected during the lifetime of INTEGRAL. Young galactic supernova remnants, possibly hidden by interstellar dust, may be unveiled by their characteristic gamma-ray line signature from the radioactive decay of 44Ti, as has been demonstrated by COMPTEL for Cas A and possibly RX J0852.0-4622. Classical novae are also among the SPI targets, which may observe the gamma-ray lines from radioactive 7Be and 22Na. Such observations can constrain the physics of the nova explosions and will allow to evaluate their role as nucleosynthesis sites. The interaction of cosmic rays with the dense matter in molecular clouds may be another source of gamma-ray lines that is potentially accessible to SPI. Finally after the SIGMA results on Nova Muscae and 1E1740.7-2942, and a possible 2.223 MeV line detection by COMPTEL, the search for lines from X novae is another way to participate in the understanding of the physical conditions in these close binary systems.
0101018v1
2002-08-07
Massive Stars in the Arches Cluster
We present and use new spectra and narrow-band images, along with previously published broad-band images, of stars in the Arches cluster to extract photometry, astrometry, equivalent width, and velocity information. The data are interpreted with a wind/atmosphere code to determine stellar temperatures, luminosities, mass-loss rates, and abundances. We have doubled the number of known emission-line stars, and we have also made the first spectroscopic identification of the main sequence for any population in the Galactic Center. We conclude that the most massive stars are bona-fide Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and are some of the most massive stars known, having M_{initial} > 100 Msun, and prodigious winds, Mdot > 10^{-5} Msun yr^{-1}, that are enriched with helium and nitrogen; with these identifications, the Arches cluster contains about 5% of all known WR stars in the Galaxy. We find an upper limit to the velocity dispersion of 22 kms^{-1}, implying an upper limit to the cluster mass of 7(10^4) Msun within a radius of 0.23 pc; we also estimate the bulk heliocentric velocity of the cluster to be v_{cluster,odot} approximately +95 kms^{-1}.
0208145v1
2003-01-31
Ultraviolet spectroscopy of narrow coronal mass ejections
We present Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) observations of 5 narrow coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that were among 15 narrow CMEs originally selected by Gilbert et al. (2001). Two events (1999 March 27, April 15) were "structured", i.e. in white light data they exhibited well defined interior features, and three (1999 May 9, May 21, June 3) were "unstructured", i.e. appeared featureless. In UVCS data the events were seen as 4-13 deg wide enhancements of the strongest coronal lines HI Ly-alpha and OVI (1032,1037 A). We derived electron densities for several of the events from the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) C2 white light observations. They are comparable to or smaller than densities inferred for other CMEs. We modeled the observable properties of examples of the structured (1999 April 15) and unstructured (1999 May 9) narrow CMEs at different heights in the corona between 1.5 and 2 R(Sun). The derived electron temperatures, densities and outflow speeds are similar for those two types of ejections. They were compared with properties of polar coronal jets and other CMEs. We discuss different scenarios of narrow CME formation either as a jet formed by reconnection onto open field lines or CME ejected by expansion of closed field structures. Overall, we conclude that the existing observations do not definitively place the narrow CMEs into the jet or the CME picture, but the acceleration of the 1999 April 15 event resembles acceleration seen in many CMEs, rather than constant speeds or deceleration observed in jets.
0301649v1
2003-02-05
Cluster Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect Scaling Relations
X-ray observations of an "entropy floor" in nearby groups and clusters of galaxies offer evidence that important non-gravitational processes, such as radiative cooling and/or "preheating", have strongly influenced the evolution of the intracluster medium (ICM). We examine how the presence of an entropy floor modifies the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect. A detailed analysis of scaling relations between X-ray and SZ effect observables and also between the two primary SZ effect observables is presented. We find that relationships between the central Compton parameter and the temperature or mass of a cluster are extremely sensitive to the presence of an entropy floor. The same is true for correlations between the integrated Compton parameter and the X-ray luminosity or the central Compton parameter. In fact, if the entropy floor is as high as inferred in recent analyses of X-ray data, a comparison of these correlations with both current and future SZ effect observations should show a clear signature of this excess entropy. Moreover, because the SZ effect is redshift-independent, the relations can potentially be used to track the evolution of the cluster gas and possibly discriminate between the possible sources of the excess entropy. To facilitate comparisons with observations, we provide analytic fits to these scaling relations.
0302087v1
2003-03-20
The SZ Effect Signature of Excess Entropy in Distant, Massive Clusters
Studies of cluster X-ray scaling relations have led to suggestions that non-gravitational processes, e.g., radiative cooling and/or "preheating", have significantly modified the entropy of the intracluster medium (ICM). For the first time, we test this hypothesis through a comparison of predicted thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect scaling relations with available data from the literature. One of the relations that we explore, in principle, depends solely on SZ effect observations, thus offering an X-ray independent probe of the ICM. A detailed comparison of the theoretical relations with the largest compilation of high redshift SZ effect data to date indicates that the presence of an entropy floor is favored by the data. Furthermore, the inferred level of that floor, 300 keV cm^2 or higher, is comparable to that found in studies of X-ray scaling relations of nearby massive clusters. Thus, we find no evidence for significant evolution of the entropy floor out to z = 0.7. We further demonstrate that the high quality data to be obtained from the upcoming Sunyaev-Zeldovich Array (SZA) and the (soon-to-be) upgraded Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) array will open powerful new windows into the properties of the ICM. Specifically, the new measurements will allow for accurate measurements of the ICM entropy for even the most distant galaxy clusters.
0303451v2
2005-08-01
Transit Photometry of the Core-Dominated Planet HD 149026b
We report g, V, and r photometric time series of HD 149026 spanning predicted times of transit of the Saturn-mass planetary companion, which was recently discovered by Sato and collaborators. We present a joint analysis of our observations and the previously reported photometry and radial velocities of the central star. We refine the estimate of the transit ephemeris to Tc [HJD] = 2453527.87455^{+0.00085}_{-0.00091} + N * 2.87598^{+0.00012}_{-0.00017}. Assuming that the star has a radius of 1.45 +/- 0.10 R_Sun and a mass of 1.30 +/- 0.10 M_Sun, we estimate the planet radius to be 0.726 +/- 0.064 R_Jup, which implies a mean density of 1.07^{+0.42}_{-0.30} g/cm^3. This density is significantly greater than that predicted for models which include the effects of stellar insolation and for which the planet has only a small core of solid material. Thus we confirm that this planet likely contains a large core, and that the ratio of core mass to total planet mass is more akin to that of Uranus and Neptune than that of either Jupiter or Saturn.
0508051v1
2005-10-28
Photoionized HBeta Emission in NGC 5548: It Breathes!
Emission-line regions in active galactic nuclei and other photoionized nebulae should become larger in size when the ionizing luminosity increases. This 'breathing' effect is observed for the Hbeta emission in NGC 5548 by using Hbeta and optical continuum lightcurves from the 13-year 1989-2001 AGN Watch monitoring campaign. To model the breathing, we use two methods to fit the observed lightcurves in detail: (i) parameterized models and, (ii) the MEMECHO reverberation mapping code. Our models assume that optical continuum variations track the ionizing radiation, and that the Hbeta variations respond with time delays due to light travel time. By fitting the data using a delay map that is allowed to change with continuum flux, we find that the strength of the Hbeta response decreases and the time delay increases with ionizing luminosity. The parameterized breathing models allow the time delay and the Hbeta flux to depend on the continuum flux so that, the time delay is proportional to the continuum flux to the power beta, and the Hbeta flux is proportional to the continuum flux to the power alpha. Our fits give 0.1 < beta < 0.46 and 0.57 < alpha < 0.66. alpha is consistent with previous work by Gilbert and Peterson (2003) and Goad, Korista and Knigge (2004). Although we find beta to be flatter than previously determined by Peterson et al. (2002) using cross-correlation methods, it is closer to the predicted values from recent theoretical work by Korista and Goad (2004).
0510800v1
2006-07-25
The Transit Light Curve (TLC) Project. I. Four Consecutive Transits of the Exoplanet XO-1b
We present RIz photometry of four consecutive transits of the newly discovered exoplanet XO-1b. We improve upon the estimates of the transit parameters, finding the planetary radius to be R_P = 1.184 +0.028/-0.018 R_Jupiter and the stellar radius to be R_S = 0.928 +0.018/-0.013 R_Sun, assuming a stellar mass of M_S = 1.00 +/- 0.03 M_Sun. The uncertainties in the planetary and stellar radii are dominated by the uncertainty in the stellar mass. These uncertainties increase by a factor of 2-3 if a more conservative uncertainty of 0.10 M_Sun is assumed for the stellar mass. Our estimate of the planetary radius is smaller than that reported by McCullough et al. (2006) and yields a mean density that is comparable to that of TrES-1 and HD 189733b. The timings of the transits have an accuracy ranging from 0.2 to 2.5 minutes, and are marginally consistent with a uniform period.
0607571v1
2006-09-12
TrES-2: The First Transiting Planet in the Kepler Field
We announce the discovery of the second transiting hot Jupiter discovered by the Trans-atlantic Exoplanet Survey. The planet, which we dub TrES-2, orbits the nearby star GSC 03549-02811 every 2.47063 days. From high-resolution spectra, we determine that the star has T_eff = 5960 +/- 100 K and log(g) = 4.4 +/- 0.2, implying a spectral type of G0V and a mass of 1.08 +0.11/-0.05 M_sun. High-precision radial-velocity measurements confirm a sinusoidal variation with the period and phase predicted by the photometry, and rule out the presence of line-bisector variations that would indicate that the spectroscopic orbit is spurious. We estimate a planetary mass of 1.28 +0.09/-0.04 M_Jup. We model B, r, R, and I photometric timeseries of the 1.4%-deep transits and find a planetary radius of 1.24 +0.09/-0.06 R_Jup. This planet lies within the field of view of the NASA Kepler mission, ensuring that hundreds of upcoming transits will be monitored with exquisite precision and permitting a host of unprecedented investigations.
0609335v1
2006-10-19
Precise Radius Estimates for the Exoplanets WASP-1b and WASP-2b
We present precise z-band photometric time series spanning times of transit of the two exoplanets recently discovered by the SuperWASP collaboration. We find planetary radii of 1.44 +/- 0.08 R_J and 1.04 +/- 0.06 R_J for WASP-1b and WASP-2b, respectively. These error estimates include both random errors in the photometry and also the uncertainty in the stellar masses. Our results are 5 times more precise than the values derived from the discovery data alone. Our measurement of the radius of WASP-2b agrees with previously published models of hot Jupiters that include both a 20-M_Earth core of solid material and the effects of stellar insolation. In contrast, we find that the models cannot account for the large size of WASP-1b, even if the planet has no core. Thus, we add WASP-1b to the growing list of hot Jupiters that are larger than expected. This suggests that ``inflated'' hot Jupiters are more common than previously thought, and that any purported explanations involving highly unusual circumstances are disfavored.
0610589v1
2007-02-16
The Extended Star Formation History of the Andromeda Spheroid at Twenty One Kiloparsecs on the Minor Axis
Using the HST ACS, we have obtained deep optical images of a southeast minor-axis field in the Andromeda Galaxy, 21 kpc from the nucleus. In both star counts and metallicity, this field represents a transition zone between the metal-rich, highly-disturbed inner spheroid that dominates within 15 kpc and the metal-poor, diffuse population that dominates beyond 30 kpc. The color-magnitude diagram reaches well below the oldest main-sequence turnoff in the population, allowing a reconstruction of the star formation history in this field. Compared to the spheroid population at 11 kpc, the population at 21 kpc is ~1.3 Gyr older and ~0.2 dex more metal-poor, on average. However, like the population at 11 kpc, the population at 21 kpc exhibits an extended star formation history; one third of the stars are younger than 10 Gyr, although only a few percent are younger than 8 Gyr. The relatively wide range of metallicity and age is inconsistent with a single, rapid star-formation episode, and instead suggests that the spheroid even at 21 kpc is dominated by the debris of earlier merging events likely occurring more than 8 Gyr ago.
0702448v1
2007-02-23
Discovery of Andromeda XIV: A Dwarf Spheroidal Dynamical Rogue in the Local Group?
In the course of our survey of the outer halo of the Andromeda Galaxy we have discovered a remote, possible satellite of that system at a projected 162 kpc (11.7 degrees) radius. The fairly elongated (0.31 +/- 0.09 ellipticity) dwarf can be fit with a King profile of 1.07 kpc (d/784 kpc) limiting radius, where the satellite distance, d, is estimated at ~630-850 kpc from the tip of the red giant branch. The newfound galaxy, ``Andromeda XIV'' (``AndXIV''), distinguishes itself from other Local Group galaxies by its extreme dynamics: Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy reveals it to have a large heliocentric radial velocity (-481 km/s), or -206 km/s velocity relative to M31. Even at its projected radius AndXIV already is at the M31 escape velocity based on the latest M31 mass models. If AndXIV is bound to M31, then recent models with reduced M31 virial masses need revision upward. If not bound to M31, then AndXIV is just now falling into the Local Group for the first time and represents a dwarf galaxy that formed and spent almost its entire life in isolation.
0702635v2
1998-05-27
Survival Analysis, Master Equation, Efficient Simulation of Path-Related Quantities, and Hidden State Concept of Transitions
This paper presents and derives the interrelations between survival analysis and master equation. Survival analysis deals with modeling the transitions between succeeding states of a system in terms of hazard rates. Questions related with this are the timing and sequencing of the states of a time series. The frequency and characteristics of time series can be investigated by Monte-Carlo simulations. If one is interested in cross-sectional data connected with the stochastic process under consideration, one needs to know the temporal evolution of the distribution of states. This can be obtained by simulation of the associated master equation. Some new formulas allow the determination of path-related (i.e. longitudinal) quantities like the occurence probability, the occurence time distribution, or the effective cumulative life-time distribution of a certain sequencing of states (path). These can be efficiently evaluated with a recently developed simulation tool (EPIS). The effective cumulative life-time distribution facilitates the formulation of a hidden state concept of behavioral changes which allows an interpretation of the respective time-dependence of hazard rates. Hidden states represent states which are either not phenomenological distinguishable from other states, not externally measurable, or simply not detected.
9805361v1
1999-09-09
Micromagnetic simulations of thermally activated magnetization reversal of nanoscale magnets
Numerical integration of a stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation is used to study dynamic processes in single-domain nanoscale magnets at nonzero temperatures. Special attention is given to including thermal fluctuations as a Langevin term, and the Fast Multipole Method is used to calculate dipole-dipole interactions. It is feasible to simulate these dynamics on the nanosecond time scale for spatial discretizations that involve on the order of 10000 nodes using a desktop workstation. The nanoscale magnets considered here are single pillars with large aspect ratio. Hysteresis-loop simulations are employed to study the stable and metastable configurations of the magnetization. Each pillar has magnetic end caps. In a time-dependent field the magnetization of the pillars is observed to reverse via nucleation, propagation, and coalescence of the end caps. In particular, the end caps propagate into the magnet and meet near the middle. A relatively long-lived defect is formed when end caps with opposite vorticity meet. Fluctuations are more important in the reversal of the magnetization for fields weaker than the zero-temperature coercive field, where the reversal is thermally activated. In this case, the process must be described by its statistical properties, such as the distribution of switching times, averaged over a large number of independent thermal histories.
9909136v2
2000-10-12
Thermal Magnetization Reversal in Arrays of Nanoparticles
The results of large-scale simulations investigating the dynamics of magnetization reversal in arrays of single-domain nanomagnets after a rapid reversal of the applied field at nonzero temperature are presented. The numerical micromagnetic approach uses the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation including contributions from thermal fluctuations and long-range dipole-dipole demagnetizing effects implemented using a fast-multipole expansion. The individual model nanomagnets are 9 nm x 9 nm x 150 nm iron pillars similar to those fabricated on a surface with STM-assisted chemical vapor deposition [S. Wirth, et al., J. Appl. Phys {\bf 85}, 5249 (1999)]. Nanomagnets oriented perpendicular to the surface and spaced 300 nm apart in linear arrays are considered. The applied field is always oriented perpendicular to the surface. When the magnitude of the applied field is less than the coercive value, about 2000 Oe for an individual nanomagnet, magnetization reversal in the nanomagnets can only occur by thermally activated processes. Even though the interaction from the dipole moment of neighboring magnets in this geometry is only about 1 Oe, less than 1% of the coercive field, it can have a large impact on the switching dynamics. What determines the height of the free-energy barrier is the difference between the coercive and applied fields, and 1 Oe can be a significant fraction of that. The magnetic orientations of the neighbors are seen to change the behavior of the nanomagnets in the array significantly.
0010184v2
2001-12-12
High Magnetic Field NMR Studies of LiVGe$_2$O$_6$, a quasi 1-D Spin $S = 1$ System
We report $^{7}$Li pulsed NMR measurements in polycrystalline and single crystal samples of the quasi one-dimensional S=1 antiferromagnet LiVGe$_2$O$_6$, whose AF transition temperature is $T_{\text{N}}\simeq 24.5$ K. The field ($B_0$) and temperature ($T$) ranges covered were 9-44.5 T and 1.7-300 K respectively. The measurements included NMR spectra, the spin-lattice relaxation rate ($T_1^{-1}$), and the spin-phase relaxation rate ($T_2^{-1}$), often as a function of the orientation of the field relative to the crystal axes. The spectra indicate an AF magnetic structure consistent with that obtained from neutron diffraction measurements, but with the moments aligned parallel to the c-axis. The spectra also provide the $T$-dependence of the AF order parameter and show that the transition is either second order or weakly first order. Both the spectra and the $T_1^{-1}$ data show that $B_0$ has at most a small effect on the alignment of the AF moment. There is no spin-flop transition up to 44.5 T. These features indicate a very large magnetic anisotropy energy in LiVGe$_2$O$_6$ with orbital degrees of freedom playing an important role. Below 8 K, $T_1^{-1}$ varies substantially with the orientation of $B_0$ in the plane perpendicular to the c-axis, suggesting a small energy gap for magnetic fluctuations that is very anisotropic.
0112203v1
2003-10-07
Endogenous Versus Exogenous Shocks in Complex Networks: an Empirical Test Using Book Sale Ranking
Are large biological extinctions such as the Cretaceous/Tertiary KT boundary due to a meteorite, extreme volcanic activity or self-organized critical extinction cascades? Are commercial successes due to a progressive reputation cascade or the result of a well orchestrated advertisement? Determining the chain of causality for extreme events in complex systems requires disentangling interwoven exogenous and endogenous contributions with either no clear or too many signatures. Here, we study the precursory and recovery signatures accompanying shocks, that we test on a unique database of the Amazon sales ranking of books. We find clear distinguishing signatures classifying two types of sales peaks. Exogenous peaks occur abruptly and are followed by a power law relaxation, while endogenous sale peaks occur after a progressively accelerating power law growth followed by an approximately symmetrical power law relaxation which is slower than for exogenous peaks. These results are rationalized quantitatively by a simple model of epidemic propagation of interactions with long memory within a network of acquaintances. The slow relaxation of sales implies that the sales dynamics is dominated by cascades rather than by the direct effects of news or advertisements, indicating that the social network is close to critical.
0310135v2
2004-08-18
Irreversible spin-transfer and magnetization reversal under spin-injection
In the context of spin electronics, the two spin-channel model assumes that the spin carriers are composed of two distinct populations: the conduction electrons of spin up, and the conduction electrons of spin down. In order to distinguish the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic contributions in spin injection, we describe the current injection with four channels : the two spin populations of the conduction bands ($s$ or paramagnetic) and the two spin populations of the more correlated electrons ($d$ or ferromagnetic). The redistribution of the conduction electrons at the interface is described by relaxation mechanisms between the channels. Providing that the $d$ majority-spin band is frozen, $s-d$ relaxation essentially concerns the minority-spin channels. Accordingly, even in the abscence of spin-flip scattering (i.e. without standard spin-accumulation or giant magnetoresistance), the $s-d$ relaxation leads to a $d$ spin accumulation effect. The coupled diffusion equations for the two relaxation processes ($s-d$ and spin-flip) are derived. The link with the ferromagnetic order parameter $\vec{M}$ is performed by assuming that only the $d$ channel contributes to the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The effect of magnetization reversal induced by spin injection is explained by these relaxations under the assumption that the spins of the conduction electrons act as environmental degrees of freedom on the magnetization.
0408410v1
2004-12-02
Dielectric resonances in disordered media
Binary disordered systems are usually obtained by mixing two ingredients in variable proportions: conductor and insulator, or conductor and super-conductor. and are naturally modeled by regular bi-dimensional or tri-dimensional lattices, on which sites or bonds are chosen randomly with given probabilities. In this article, we calculate the impedance of the composite by two independent methods: the so-called spectral method, which diagonalises Kirchhoff's Laws via a Green function formalism, and the Exact Numerical Renormalization method (ENR). These methods are applied to mixtures of resistors and capacitors (R-C systems), simulating e.g. ionic conductor-insulator systems, and to composites consituted of resistive inductances and capacitors (LR-C systems), representing metal inclusions in a dielectric bulk. The frequency dependent impedances of the latter composites present very intricate structures in the vicinity of the percolation threshold. We analyse the LR-C behavior of compounds formed by the inclusion of small conducting clusters (``$n$-legged animals'') in a dielectric medium. We investigate in particular their absorption spectra who present a pattern of sharp lines at very specific frequencies of the incident electromagnetic field, the goal being to identify the signature of each animal. This enables us to make suggestions of how to build compounds with specific absorption or transmission properties in a given frequency domain.
0412061v1
2005-01-12
Current induced magnetization switching in exchange biased spin-valves for CPP-GMR heads
In contrast to earlier studies performed on simple Co/Cu/Co sandwiches, we have investigated spin transfer effects in complex spin-valve pillars with a diameter of 130nm developed for current-perpendicular to the plane (CPP) magneto-resistive heads. The structure of the samples included an exchange biased synthetic pinned layer and a free layer both laminated by insertion of several ultrathin Cu layers. Despite the small thickness of the polarizing layer, our results show that the free layer can be switched between the parallel (P) and the antiparallel (AP) states by applying current densities of the order of 10^7 A/cm^2. A strong asymmetry is observed between the two critical currents IcAP-P and IcP-AP, as predicted by the model of Slonczewski model. Thanks to the use of exchange biased structures, the stability phase diagrams could be obtained in the four quadrants of the (H, I) plan. The critical lines derived from the magnetoresistance curves measured with different sense currents, and from the resistance versus current curves measured for different applied fields, match each other very well. The main features of the phase diagrams can be reproduced by investigating the stability of the solutions of the Landau Lifshitz Gilbert equation including spin torque term within a macrospin model. A spin-transfer saturation effect was observed in the positive currents range. We attribute it to a de-depolarization effect which appears as a consequence of the asymmetric heating of the pillars, whose top and the bottom leads are made of different materials.
0501281v1
2005-12-20
Theory of Spin Torque in a nanomagnet
We present a complete theory of the spin torque phenomena in a ultrasmall nanomagnet coupled to non-collinear ferromagnetic electrodes through tunnelling junctions. This model system can be described by a simple microscopic model which captures many physical effects characteristic of spintronics: tunneling magneto resistance, intrinsic and transport induced magnetic relaxation, current induced magnetization reversal and spin accumulation. Treating on the same footing the magnetic and transport degrees of freedom, we arrive at a closed equation for the time evolution of the magnetization. This equation is very close to the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation used in spin valves structures. We discuss how the presence of the Coulomb blockade phenomena and the discretization of the one-body spectrum gives some additional features to the current induced spin torque. Depending on the regime, the dynamic induced by the coupling to electrode can be viewed either as a spin torque or as a relaxation process. In addition to the possibility of stabilizing uniform spin precession states, we find that the system is highly hysteretic: up to three different magnetic states can be simultaneously stable in one region of the parameter space (magnetic field and bias voltage).We also discuss how the magneto-resistance can be used to provide additional information on the non-equilibrium peaks present in the nanomagnet spectroscopy experiments.
0512508v1
2005-09-19
Capacity-Achieving Codes with Bounded Graphical Complexity on Noisy Channels
We introduce a new family of concatenated codes with an outer low-density parity-check (LDPC) code and an inner low-density generator matrix (LDGM) code, and prove that these codes can achieve capacity under any memoryless binary-input output-symmetric (MBIOS) channel using maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding with bounded graphical complexity, i.e., the number of edges per information bit in their graphical representation is bounded. In particular, we also show that these codes can achieve capacity on the binary erasure channel (BEC) under belief propagation (BP) decoding with bounded decoding complexity per information bit per iteration for all erasure probabilities in (0, 1). By deriving and analyzing the average weight distribution (AWD) and the corresponding asymptotic growth rate of these codes with a rate-1 inner LDGM code, we also show that these codes achieve the Gilbert-Varshamov bound with asymptotically high probability. This result can be attributed to the presence of the inner rate-1 LDGM code, which is demonstrated to help eliminate high weight codewords in the LDPC code while maintaining a vanishingly small amount of low weight codewords.
0509062v3
2006-07-20
List decoding of noisy Reed-Muller-like codes
First- and second-order Reed-Muller (RM(1) and RM(2), respectively) codes are two fundamental error-correcting codes which arise in communication as well as in probabilistically-checkable proofs and learning. In this paper, we take the first steps toward extending the quick randomized decoding tools of RM(1) into the realm of quadratic binary and, equivalently, Z_4 codes. Our main algorithmic result is an extension of the RM(1) techniques from Goldreich-Levin and Kushilevitz-Mansour algorithms to the Hankel code, a code between RM(1) and RM(2). That is, given signal s of length N, we find a list that is a superset of all Hankel codewords phi with dot product to s at least (1/sqrt(k)) times the norm of s, in time polynomial in k and log(N). We also give a new and simple formulation of a known Kerdock code as a subcode of the Hankel code. As a corollary, we can list-decode Kerdock, too. Also, we get a quick algorithm for finding a sparse Kerdock approximation. That is, for k small compared with 1/sqrt{N} and for epsilon > 0, we find, in time polynomial in (k log(N)/epsilon), a k-Kerdock-term approximation s~ to s with Euclidean error at most the factor (1+epsilon+O(k^2/sqrt{N})) times that of the best such approximation.
0607098v2
1994-05-31
The Behavior of a Spherical Hole in an Infinite Uniform Universe
In this paper, the behavior of a spherical hole in an otherwise infinite and uniform universe is investigated. First, the Newtonian theory is developed. The concept of negative gravity, an outward gravitational force acting away from the center of the spherical hole, is presented, and the resulting expansion of the hole is investigated. Then, the same result is derived using the techniques of Einstein's theory of general relativity. The field equations are solved for an infinite uniform universe and then for an infinite universe in which matter is uniformly distributed except for a spherical hole. Negative pressure caused by negative gravity is utilized. The physical significance of the cosmological constant is explained, and a new physical concept, that of the gravitational potential of a hole, is discussed. The relationship between the Newtonian potential for a hole and the Schwarzschild solution of the field equations is explored. Finally, the geodesic equations are considered. It is shown that photons and particles are deflected away from the hole. An application of this idea is pursued, in which a new cosmology based upon expanding holes in a uniform universe is developed. The microwave background radiation and Hubble's Law, among others, are explained. Finally, current astronomical data are used to compute a remarkably accurate value of Hubble's constant, as well as estimates of the average mass density of the universe and the cosmological constant.
9405075v1
2002-11-21
SuSpect: a Fortran Code for the Supersymmetric and Higgs Particle Spectrum in the MSSM
We present the Fortran code SuSpect version 2.3, which calculates the Supersymmetric and Higgs particle spectrum in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The calculation can be performed in constrained models with universal boundary conditions at high scales such as the gravity (mSUGRA), anomaly (AMSB) or gauge (GMSB) mediated breaking models, but also in the non-universal MSSM case with R-parity and CP conservation. Care has been taken to treat important features such as the renormalization group evolution of parameters between low and high energy scales, the consistent implementation of radiative electroweak symmetry breaking and the calculation of the physical masses of the Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles taking into account the dominant radiative corrections. Some checks of important theoretical and experimental features, such as the absence of non desired minima, large fine-tuning in the electroweak symmetry breaking condition, as well as agreement with precision measurements can be performed. The program is user friendly, simple to use, self-contained and can easily be linked with other codes; it is rather fast and flexible, thus allowing scans of the parameter space with several possible options and choices for model assumptions and approximations.
0211331v2
2004-11-04
Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of a Randomized Algorithm for Sparse Fourier Transform Analysis
We analyze a sublinear RAlSFA (Randomized Algorithm for Sparse Fourier Analysis) that finds a near-optimal B-term Sparse Representation R for a given discrete signal S of length N, in time and space poly(B,log(N)), following the approach given in \cite{GGIMS}. Its time cost poly(log(N)) should be compared with the superlinear O(N log N) time requirement of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). A straightforward implementation of the RAlSFA, as presented in the theoretical paper \cite{GGIMS}, turns out to be very slow in practice. Our main result is a greatly improved and practical RAlSFA. We introduce several new ideas and techniques that speed up the algorithm. Both rigorous and heuristic arguments for parameter choices are presented. Our RAlSFA constructs, with probability at least 1-delta, a near-optimal B-term representation R in time poly(B)log(N)log(1/delta)/ epsilon^{2} log(M) such that ||S-R||^{2}<=(1+epsilon)||S-R_{opt}||^{2}. Furthermore, this RAlSFA implementation already beats the FFTW for not unreasonably large N. We extend the algorithm to higher dimensional cases both theoretically and numerically. The crossover point lies at N=70000 in one dimension, and at N=900 for data on a N*N grid in two dimensions for small B signals where there is noise.
0411102v2
2006-12-04
Krull dimension and deviation in certain parafree groups
Hanna Neumann asked whether it was possible for two non-isomorphic residually nilpotent finitely generated (fg) groups, one of them free, to share the lower central sequence. Gilbert Baumslag answered the question in the affirmative and thus gave rise to parafree groups. A group G is termed parafree of rank n if it is residually nilpotent and shares the lower central sequence with a free group of rank n. The deviation of a finitely generated (fg) parafree group G is the difference between the minimum possible number of generators of G and the rank of G. Let G be a fg group, then Hom(G,SL(2, C)) inherits the structure of an algebraic variety, denoted by R(G), and known as its "representation variety". If G is an n generated parafree group, then the deviation of G is 0 iff Dim(R(G))=3n. It is known that for n \ge 2 there exist infinitely many parafree groups of rank n and deviation 1 with non-isomorphic representation varieties of dimension 3n. In this paper it is shown that given integers n \ge 2, and k \ge 1, there exist infinitely many parafree groups of rank n and deviation k with non-isomorphic representation varieties of dimension different from 3n; in particular, it is shown that there exist infinitely many parafree groups G of rank n with Dim(R(G))> q, where q \ge 3n is an arbitrary integer.
0612102v2
2004-07-27
Domain wall dynamics driven by adiabatic spin transfer torques
In a first approximation, known as the adiabatic process, the direction of the spin polarization of currents is parallel to the local magnetization vector in a domain wall. Thus the spatial variation of the direction of the spin current inside the domain wall results in an adiabatical spin transfer torque on the magnetization. We show that domain wall motion driven by this spin torque has many unique features that do not exist in the conventional wall motion driven by a magnetic field. By analytically and numerically solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation along with the adiabatic spin torque in magnetic nanowires, we find the domain wall has its maximum velocity at the initial application of the current but the velocity decreases to zero as the domain wall begins to deform during its motion. We have computed domain wall displacement and domain wall deformation of nanowires, and concluded that the spin torque based on the adiabatic propagation of the spin current in the domain wall is unable to maintain wall movement. We also introduce a novel concept of domain wall inductance to characterize the capacity of the spin-torque induced magnetic energy stored in a domain wall. In the presence of domain wall pinning centers, we construct a phase diagram for the domain wall depinning by the combined action of the magnetic field and the spin current.
0407064v1
1997-02-07
Two-pion correlations in Au+Au collisions at 10.8 GeV/c per nucleon
Two-particle correlation functions for positive and negative pions have been measured in Au+Au collisions at 10.8~GeV/c per nucleon. The data were analyzed using one- and three-dimensional correlation functions. From the results of the three-dimensional fit the phase space density of pions was calculated. It is consistent with local thermal equilibrium.
9702008v1
2007-01-30
Huddling behavior in emperor penguins : dynamics of huddling
Although huddling was shown to be the key by which emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) save energy and sustain their breeding fast during the Antarctic winter, the intricacies of this social behavior have been poorly studied. We recorded abiotic variables with data loggers glued to the feathers of eight individually marked emperor penguins to investigate their thermoregulatory behavior and to estimate their "huddling time budget" throughout the breeding season (pairing and incubation period). Contrary to the classic view, huddling episodes were discontinuous and of short and variable duration, lasting 1.6+/-1.7 (S.D.) h on average. Despite heterogeneous huddling groups, birds had equal access to the warmth of the huddles. Throughout the breeding season, males huddled for 38+/-18% (S.D.) of their time, which raised the ambient temperature that birds were exposed to above 0 degrees C (at average external temperatures of -17 degrees C). As a consequence of tight huddles, ambient temperatures were above 20 degrees C during 13+/-12% (S.D.) of their huddling time. Ambient temperatures increased up to 37.5 degrees C, close to birds' body temperature. This complex social behavior therefore enables all breeders to get a regular and equal access to an environment which allows them to save energy and successfully incubate their eggs during the Antarctic winter.
0701051v1
2003-10-14
The Minimum Distance Problem for Two-Way Entanglement Purification
Entanglement purification takes a number of noisy EPR pairs and processes them to produce a smaller number of more reliable pairs. If this is done with only a forward classical side channel, the procedure is equivalent to using a quantum error-correcting code (QECC). We instead investigate entanglement purification protocols with two-way classical side channels (2-EPPs) for finite block sizes. In particular, we consider the analog of the minimum distance problem for QECCs, and show that 2-EPPs can exceed the quantum Hamming bound and the quantum Singleton bound. We also show that 2-EPPs can achieve the rate k/n = 1 - (t/n) \log_2 3 - h(t/n) - O(1/n) (asymptotically reaching the quantum Hamming bound), where the EPP produces at least k good pairs out of n total pairs with up to t arbitrary errors, and h(x) = -x \log_2 x - (1-x) \log_2 (1-x) is the usual binary entropy. In contrast, the best known lower bound on the rate of QECCs is the quantum Gilbert-Varshamov bound k/n \geq 1 - (2t/n) \log_2 3 - h(2t/n). Indeed, in some regimes, the known upper bound on the asymptotic rate of good QECCs is strictly below our lower bound on the achievable rate of 2-EPPs.
0310097v4
2005-06-02
Enhanced algorithms for Local Search
Let G=(V,E) be a finite graph, and f:V->N be any function. The Local Search problem consists in finding a local minimum of the function f on G, that is a vertex v such that f(v) is not larger than the value of f on the neighbors of v in G. In this note, we first prove a separation theorem slightly stronger than the one of Gilbert, Hutchinson and Tarjan for graphs of constant genus. This result allows us to enhance a previously known deterministic algorithm for Local Search with query complexity O(\log n)\cdot d+O(\sqrt{g})\cdot\sqrt{n}, so that we obtain a deterministic query complexity of d+O(\sqrt{g})\cdot\sqrt{n}, where n is the size of G, d is its maximum degree, and $g$ is its genus. We also give a quantum version of our algorithm, whose query complexity is of O(\sqrt{d})+O(\sqrt[4]{g})\cdot\sqrt[4]{n}\log\log n. Our deterministic and quantum algorithms have query complexities respectively smaller than the generic algorithms of Aldous and of Aaronson for large classes of graphs, including graphs of bounded genus and planar graphs. Independently from this work, Zhang has recently given a quantum algorithm which finds a local minimum on the planar grid over \{1,...,\sqrt{n}\}^2 using O(\sqrt[4]{n}(\log\log n)^2) queries. Our quantum algorithm can be viewed as a strongly generalized, and slightly enhanced version of this algorithm.
0506019v1
2007-09-27
Predictions of the causal entropic principle for environmental conditions of the universe
The causal entropic principle has been proposed as a superior alternative to the anthropic principle for understanding the magnitude of the cosmological constant. In this approach, the probability to create observers is assumed to be proportional to the entropy production \Delta S in a maximal causally connected region -- the causal diamond. We improve on the original treatment by better quantifying the entropy production due to stars, using an analytic model for the star formation history which accurately accounts for changes in cosmological parameters. We calculate the dependence of \Delta S on the density contrast Q=\delta\rho/\rho, and find that our universe is much closer to the most probable value of Q than in the usual anthropic approach and that probabilities are relatively weakly dependent on this amplitude. In addition, we make first estimates of the dependence of \Delta S on the baryon fraction and overall matter abundance. Finally, we also explore the possibility that decays of dark matter, suggested by various observed gamma ray excesses, might produce a comparable amount of entropy to stars.
0709.4443v2
2007-10-24
The Impact of Halo Properties, Energy Feedback and Projection Effects on the Mass-SZ Flux Relation
We present a detailed analysis of the intrinsic scatter in the integrated SZ effect - cluster mass (Y-M) relation, using semi-analytic and simulated cluster samples. Specifically, we investigate the impact on the Y-M relation of energy feedback, variations in the host halo concentration and substructure populations, and projection effects due to unresolved clusters along the line of sight (the SZ background). Furthermore, we investigate at what radius (or overdensity) one should measure the integrated SZE and define cluster mass so as to achieve the tightest possible scaling. We find that the measure of Y with the least scatter is always obtained within a smaller radius than that at which the mass is defined; e.g. for M_{200} (M_{500}) the scatter is least for Y_{500} (Y_{1100}). The inclusion of energy feedback in the gas model significantly increases the intrinsic scatter in the Y-M relation due to larger variations in the gas mass fraction compared to models without feedback. We also find that variations in halo concentration for clusters of a given mass may partly explain why the integrated SZE provides a better mass proxy than the central decrement. Substructure is found to account for approximately 20% of the observed scatter in the Y-M relation. Above M_{200} = 2x10^{14} h^{-1} msun, the SZ background does not significantly effect cluster mass measurements; below this mass, variations in the background signal reduce the optimal angular radius within which one should measure Y to achieve the tightest scaling with M_{200}.
0710.4555v1
2007-10-31
Spin-Torque Driven Magnetization Dynamics: Micromagnetic Modelling
In this paper we present an overview of recent progress made in the understanding of the spin-torque induced magnetization dynamics in nanodevices using mesoscopic micromagnetic simulations. We first specify how a spin-torque term may be added to the usual Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of magnetization motion and detail its physical meaning. After a brief description of spin-torque driven dynamics in the macrospin approximation, we discuss the validity of this approximation for various experimentally relevant geometries. Next, we perform a detailed comparison between accurate experimental data obtained from nanopillar devices and corresponding numerical modelling. We show that, on the one hand, many qualitatively important features of the observed magnetization dynamics (e.g., non-linear frequency shift and frequency jumps with increasing current) can be satisfactory explained by sophisticated micromagnetic models, but on the other hand, understanding of these experiments is still far from being complete. We proceed with the numerical analysis of point-contact experiments, where an even more complicated magnetization dynamics is observed. Simulations reveal that such a rich behaviour is due to the formation of several strongly non-linear oscillation modes. In the last part of the paper we emphasize the importance of sample characterization and conclude with some important remarks concerning the relation between micromagnetic modelling and real experiments.
0710.5924v1
2007-11-19
The Kohn-Sham system in one-matrix functional theory
A system of electrons in a local or nonlocal external potential can be studied with 1-matrix functional theory (1MFT), which is similar to density functional theory (DFT) but takes the one-particle reduced density matrix (1-matrix) instead of the density as its basic variable. Within 1MFT, Gilbert derived [PRB 12, 2111 (1975)] effective single-particle equations analogous to the Kohn-Sham (KS) equations in DFT. The self-consistent solution of these 1MFT-KS equations reproduces not only the density of the original electron system but also its 1-matrix. While in DFT it is usually possible to reproduce the density using KS orbitals with integer (0 or 1) occupancy, in 1MFT reproducing the 1-matrix requires in general fractional occupancies. The variational principle implies that the KS eigenvalues of all fractionally occupied orbitals must collapse at self-consistency to a single level, equal to the chemical potential. We show that as a consequence of the degeneracy the iteration of the KS equations is intrinsically divergent. Fortunately, the level shifting method, commonly introduced in Hartree-Fock calculations, is always able to force convergence. We introduce an alternative derivation of the 1MFT-KS equations that allows control of the eigenvalue collapse by constraining the occupancies. As an explicit example, we apply the 1MFT-KS scheme to calculate the ground state 1-matrix of an exactly solvable two-site Hubbard model.
0711.2996v1
2007-12-01
On Myopic Sensing for Multi-Channel Opportunistic Access: Structure, Optimality, and Performance
We consider a multi-channel opportunistic communication system where the states of these channels evolve as independent and statistically identical Markov chains (the Gilbert-Elliot channel model). A user chooses one channel to sense and access in each slot and collects a reward determined by the state of the chosen channel. The problem is to design a sensing policy for channel selection to maximize the average reward, which can be formulated as a multi-arm restless bandit process. In this paper, we study the structure, optimality, and performance of the myopic sensing policy. We show that the myopic sensing policy has a simple robust structure that reduces channel selection to a round-robin procedure and obviates the need for knowing the channel transition probabilities. The optimality of this simple policy is established for the two-channel case and conjectured for the general case based on numerical results. The performance of the myopic sensing policy is analyzed, which, based on the optimality of myopic sensing, characterizes the maximum throughput of a multi-channel opportunistic communication system and its scaling behavior with respect to the number of channels. These results apply to cognitive radio networks, opportunistic transmission in fading environments, and resource-constrained jamming and anti-jamming.
0712.0035v3
2007-12-12
Two-connected graphs with prescribed three-connected components
We adapt the classical 3-decomposition of any 2-connected graph to the case of simple graphs (no loops or multiple edges). By analogy with the block-cutpoint tree of a connected graph, we deduce from this decomposition a bicolored tree tc(g) associated with any 2-connected graph g, whose white vertices are the 3-components of g (3-connected components or polygons) and whose black vertices are bonds linking together these 3-components, arising from separating pairs of vertices of g. Two fundamental relationships on graphs and networks follow from this construction. The first one is a dissymmetry theorem which leads to the expression of the class B=B(F) of 2-connected graphs, all of whose 3-connected components belong to a given class F of 3-connected graphs, in terms of various rootings of B. The second one is a functional equation which characterizes the corresponding class R=R(F) of two-pole networks all of whose 3-connected components are in F. All the rootings of B are then expressed in terms of F and R. There follow corresponding identities for all the associated series, in particular the edge index series. Numerous enumerative consequences are discussed.
0712.1869v2
2008-03-13
Optimal spatial transportation networks where link-costs are sublinear in link-capacity
Consider designing a transportation network on $n$ vertices in the plane, with traffic demand uniform over all source-destination pairs. Suppose the cost of a link of length $\ell$ and capacity $c$ scales as $\ell c^\beta$ for fixed $0<\beta<1$. Under appropriate standardization, the cost of the minimum cost Gilbert network grows essentially as $n^{\alpha(\beta)}$, where $\alpha(\beta) = 1 - \frac{\beta}{2}$ on $0 < \beta \leq {1/2}$ and $\alpha(\beta) = {1/2} + \frac{\beta}{2}$ on ${1/2} \leq \beta < 1$. This quantity is an upper bound in the worst case (of vertex positions), and a lower bound under mild regularity assumptions. Essentially the same bounds hold if we constrain the network to be efficient in the sense that average route-length is only $1 + o(1)$ times average straight line length. The transition at $\beta = {1/2}$ corresponds to the dominant cost contribution changing from short links to long links. The upper bounds arise in the following type of hierarchical networks, which are therefore optimal in an order of magnitude sense. On the large scale, use a sparse Poisson line process to provide long-range links. On the medium scale, use hierachical routing on the square lattice. On the small scale, link vertices directly to medium-grid points. We discuss one of many possible variant models, in which links also have a designed maximum speed $s$ and the cost becomes $\ell c^\beta s^\gamma$.
0803.2037v1
2008-03-24
Was the Andromeda Stream Produced by a Disk Galaxy?
The halo region of M31 exhibits a startling level of stellar inhomogeneities, the most prominent of which is the "giant southern stream". Our previous analysis indicates that this stream, as well as several other observed features, are products of the tidal disruption of a single satellite galaxy with stellar mass ~10^9 solar masses less than 1 Gyr ago. Here we show that the specific observed morphology of the stream and halo debris favors a cold, rotating, disk-like progenitor over a dynamically hot, non-rotating one. These observed characteristics include the asymmetric distribution of stars along the stream cross-section and its metal-rich core/metal-poor sheath structure. We find that a disk-like progenitor can also give rise to arc-like features on the minor axis at certain orbital phases that resemble the recently discovered minor-axis "streams", even reproducing the lower observed metallicity of these streams. Though interpreted by the discoverers as new, independent tidal streams, our analysis suggests that these minor-axis streams may alternatively arise from the progenitor of the giant southern stream. Overall, our study points the way to a more complete reconstruction of the stream progenitor and its merger with M31, based on the emerging picture that most of the major inhomogeneities observed in the M31 halo share a common origin with the giant stream.
0803.3476v2
2008-04-23
Geometric dynamics of Vlasov kinetic theory and its moments
The Vlasov equation of kinetic theory is introduced and the Hamiltonian structure of its moments is presented. Then we focus on the geodesic evolution of the Vlasov moments. As a first step, these moment equations generalize the Camassa-Holm equation to its multi-component version. Subsequently, adding electrostatic forces to the geodesic moment equations relates them to the Benney equations and to the equations for beam dynamics in particle accelerators. Next, we develop a kinetic theory for self assembly in nano-particles. Darcy's law is introduced as a general principle for aggregation dynamics in friction dominated systems (at different scales). Then, a kinetic equation is introduced for the dissipative motion of isotropic nano-particles. The zeroth-moment dynamics of this equation recovers the classical Darcy's law at the macroscopic level. A kinetic-theory description for oriented nano-particles is also presented. At the macroscopic level, the zeroth moments of this kinetic equation recover the magnetization dynamics of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The moment equations exhibit the spontaneous emergence of singular solutions (clumpons) that finally merge in one singularity. This behaviour represents aggregation and alignment of oriented nano-particles. Finally, the Smoluchowski description is derived from the dissipative Vlasov equation for anisotropic interactions. Various levels of approximate Smoluchowski descriptions are proposed as special cases of the general treatment. As a result, the macroscopic momentum emerges as an additional dynamical variable that in general cannot be neglected.
0804.3676v1
2008-05-05
On Expanded Cyclic Codes
The paper has a threefold purpose. The first purpose is to present an explicit description of expanded cyclic codes defined in $\GF(q^m)$. The proposed explicit construction of expanded generator matrix and expanded parity check matrix maintains the symbol-wise algebraic structure and thus keeps many important original characteristics. The second purpose of this paper is to identify a class of constant-weight cyclic codes. Specifically, we show that a well-known class of $q$-ary BCH codes excluding the all-zero codeword are constant-weight cyclic codes. Moreover, we show this class of codes achieve the Plotkin bound. The last purpose of the paper is to characterize expanded cyclic codes utilizing the proposed expanded generator matrix and parity check matrix. We characterize the properties of component codewords of a codeword and particularly identify the precise conditions under which a codeword can be represented by a subbasis. Our developments reveal an alternative while more general view on the subspace subcodes of Reed-Solomon codes. With the new insights, we present an improved lower bound on the minimum distance of an expanded cyclic code by exploiting the generalized concatenated structure. We also show that the fixed-rate binary expanded Reed-Solomon codes are asymptotically "bad", in the sense that the ratio of minimum distance over code length diminishes with code length going to infinity. It overturns the prevalent conjecture that they are "good" codes and deviates from the ensemble of generalized Reed-Solomon codes which asymptotically achieves the Gilbert-Varshamov bound.
0805.0615v2
2008-05-14
Path Diversity over Packet Switched Networks: Performance Analysis and Rate Allocation
Path diversity works by setting up multiple parallel connections between the end points using the topological path redundancy of the network. In this paper, \textit{Forward Error Correction} (FEC) is applied across multiple independent paths to enhance the end-to-end reliability. Network paths are modeled as erasure Gilbert-Elliot channels. It is known that over any erasure channel, \textit{Maximum Distance Separable} (MDS) codes achieve the minimum probability of irrecoverable loss among all block codes of the same size. Based on the adopted model for the error behavior, we prove that the probability of irrecoverable loss for MDS codes decays exponentially for an asymptotically large number of paths. Then, optimal rate allocation problem is solved for the asymptotic case where the number of paths is large. Moreover, it is shown that in such asymptotically optimal rate allocation, each path is assigned a positive rate \textit{iff} its quality is above a certain threshold. The quality of a path is defined as the percentage of the time it spends in the bad state. Finally, using dynamic programming, a heuristic suboptimal algorithm with polynomial runtime is proposed for rate allocation over a finite number of paths. This algorithm converges to the asymptotically optimal rate allocation when the number of paths is large. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm approximates the optimal rate allocation (found by exhaustive search) very closely for practical number of paths, and provides significant performance improvement compared to the alternative schemes of rate allocation.
0805.2185v1
2008-06-25
HAT-P-9b: A Low Density Planet Transiting a Moderately Faint F star
We report the discovery of a planet transiting a moderately faint (V=12.3 mag) late F star, with an orbital period of 3.92289 +/- 0.00004 days. From the transit light curve and radial velocity measurements we determine that the radius of the planet is R_p = 1.40 +/- 0.06 R_Jup and that the mass is M_p = 0.78 +/- 0.09 M_Jup. The density of the new planet, rho = 0.35 +/- 0.06 g cm^{-3}, fits to the low-density tail of the currently known transiting planets. We find that the center of transit is at T_c = 2454417.9077 +/- 0.0003 (HJD), and the total transit duration is 0.143 +/- 0.004 days. The host star has M_s = 1.28 +/- 0.13 M_Sun and R_s = 1.32 +/- 0.07 R_Sun.
0806.4008v2
2008-07-07
Micropropagation of three genotypes of Indian mustard [{Brassica juncea} (L.) Czern.] using seedling-derived transverse thin cell layer (tTCL) explants
Micropropagation of three genotypes of Indian mustard [\textit{Brassica juncea} (L.) Czern.] using 7-days old seedling-derived transverse thin cell layer (tTCL) explants was accomplished. The genotype, explant source and addition of silver nitrate to the medium significantly influenced shoot bud induction. MS medium with 26.6 $\mu$M of 6-Benzylaminopurin (BAP) and 3.22 $\mu$M of 1-naphtaleneacetic acid (NAA) was identical (in the case of cotyledon tTCLs whatever the organ) and superior for the induction of buds (in the cases of petiole tTCL explants of genotypes 1 and 2 and hypocotyl tTCL explants of genotypes 1 and 3) than 53.3 $\mu$M of BAP and 3.22 $\mu$M of NAA. However, 53.3 $\mu$M of BAP was superior for the induction of buds than 26.6 $\mu$M in the presence of the same concentration of NAA for petiole tTCL explants of genotype 3 and hypocotyl tTCL explants of genotype 2. The addition of silver nitrate significantly enhanced the rate of shoot induction in all genotypes. Cotyledon-derived tTCL explants exhibited the highest shoot bud induction potential and was followed by petiole- and hypocotyl-derived ones. Addition of 10 $\mu$M of silver nitrate to BAP and NAA supplemented medium induced higher frequency shoot bud induction (up to 100 %) with the highest means of 4.45 shoots per cotyledon-derived tTCL explants obtained with the genotype 2. Shoot regenerated were rooted on MS basal medium without PGRs which induced 99 % of roots per shoot. The plantlets established in greenhouse conditions with 99 % survival, flowered normally and set seeds.
0807.1061v1
2008-07-18
On Probability Distributions for Trees: Representations, Inference and Learning
We study probability distributions over free algebras of trees. Probability distributions can be seen as particular (formal power) tree series [Berstel et al 82, Esik et al 03], i.e. mappings from trees to a semiring K . A widely studied class of tree series is the class of rational (or recognizable) tree series which can be defined either in an algebraic way or by means of multiplicity tree automata. We argue that the algebraic representation is very convenient to model probability distributions over a free algebra of trees. First, as in the string case, the algebraic representation allows to design learning algorithms for the whole class of probability distributions defined by rational tree series. Note that learning algorithms for rational tree series correspond to learning algorithms for weighted tree automata where both the structure and the weights are learned. Second, the algebraic representation can be easily extended to deal with unranked trees (like XML trees where a symbol may have an unbounded number of children). Both properties are particularly relevant for applications: nondeterministic automata are required for the inference problem to be relevant (recall that Hidden Markov Models are equivalent to nondeterministic string automata); nowadays applications for Web Information Extraction, Web Services and document processing consider unranked trees.
0807.2983v1
2008-11-02
Stretch-Twist torus dynamo in compact Riemannian manifolds
Earlier Arnold, Zeldovich, Ruzmaikin and Sokoloff [\textbf{JETP (1982)}] have computed the eigenvalue of a uniform stretching torus transformation which result on the first Riemann metric solution of the dynamo action problem. Recently some other attempts to obtain Riemann metrics representing dynamo action through conformal maps have been undertaken [{\textbf{Phys. Plasmas 14 (2007)}]. Earlier, Gilbert [\textbf{Proc. Roy. Soc. London A(2003)}] has investigated a more realistic dynamo map solution than the one presented by Arnold et al by producing a shearing of the Arnold's cat map, by eigenvalue problem of a dynamo operator. In this paper, the eigenvalue of the Riemann twisted torus dynamo flow metric is obtained as the ratio between the poloidal and toroidal components of the flow. This result is obtained from the Euler equation. In the twisted torus, the eigenvalue of the Riemann metric is ${m}_{\pm}=\frac{1\pm{\sqrt{5}}}{2}$, which is quite close to the value obtained by Arnold. In the case the viscosity Reynolds number $Re\to{\infty}$, the torus flow is unstable as one approaches the torus axis. In Arnold's dynamo metric the eigenvalues are ${\chi}_{\pm}=\frac{3\pm{\sqrt{5}}}{2}$ which are very close to the above value. Eigenvalues determine the growth rates of the velocity ratio between poloidal and toroidal components of the flow. The curved flow in torus follow previous work by Chen et al [\textbf{Phys Fluids (2006)}]. The ${\alpha}$-effect dynamo is shown to be a second-order effect in the torus curvature and velocity flow. Loop dynamo flows and maps are also discussed.
0811.0142v1
2008-11-21
Geodesic dynamo chaotic flows and non-Anosov maps in twisted magnetic flux tubes
Recently Tang and Boozer [{\textbf{Phys. Plasmas (2000)}}], have investigated the anisotropies in magnetic field dynamo evolution, from local Lyapunov exponents, giving rise to a metric tensor, in the Alfven twist in magnetic flux tubes (MFTs). Thiffeault and Boozer [\textbf{Chaos}(2001)] have investigated the how the vanishing of Riemann curvature constrained the Lyapunov exponential stretching of chaotic flows. In this paper, Tang-Boozer-Thiffeault differential geometric framework is used to investigate effects of twisted magnetic flux tube filled with helical chaotic flows on the Riemann curvature tensor. When Frenet torsion is positive, the Riemann curvature is unstable, while the negative torsion induces an stability when time $t\to{\infty}$. This enhances the dynamo action inside the MFTs. The Riemann metric, depends on the radial random flows along the poloidal and toroidal directions. The Anosov flows has been applied by Arnold, Zeldovich, Ruzmaikin and Sokoloff [\textbf{JETP (1982)}] to build a uniformly stretched dynamo flow solution, based on Arnold's Cat Map. It is easy to show that when the random radial flow vanishes, the magnetic field vanishes, since the exponential Lyapunov stretches vanishes. This is an example of the application of the Vishik's anti-fast dynamo theorem in the magnetic flux tubes. Geodesic flows of both Arnold and twisted MFT dynamos are investigated. It is shown that a constant random radial flow can be obtained from the geodesic equation. Throughout the paper one assumes, the reasonable plasma astrophysical hypothesis of the weak torsion. Pseudo-Anosov dynamo flows and maps have also been addressed by Gilbert [\textbf{Proc Roy Soc A London (1993)}
0811.3630v1
2008-12-03
Gravitino Dark Matter and the Cosmic Lithium Abundances
Supersymmetric extensions of the standard model of particle physics assuming the gravitino to be the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), and with the next-to-LSP decaying to the gravitino during Big Bang nucleosynthesis, are analyzed. Particular emphasis is laid on their potential to solve the "Li7 problem", an apparent factor 2-4 overproduction of Li7 in standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), their production of cosmologically important amounts of Li6, as well as the resulting gravitino dark matter densities in these models. The study includes several improvements compared to prior studies. Heavy gravitinos in the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model (CMMSM) are reanalyzed, whereas light gravitinos in gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking scenarios (GMSB) are studied for the first time. It is confirmed that decays of NLSP staus to heavy gravitinos, while producing all the dark matter, may at the same time resolve the Li7 problem. For NLSP decay times ~ 1000 sec, such scenarios also lead to cosmologically important Li6 (and possibly Be9) abundances. However, as such scenarios require heavy > 1 TeV staus they are likely not testable at the LHC. It is found that decays of NLSP staus to light gravitinos may lead to significant Li6 (and Be9) abundances, whereas NLSP neutralinos decaying into light gravitinos may solve the Li7 problem. Though both scenarios are testable at the LHC they may not lead to the production of the bulk of the dark matter. A section of the paper outlines particle properties required to significantly reduce the Li7 abundance, and/or enhance the Li6 (and possibly Be9) abundances, by the decay of an arbitrary relic particle.
0812.0788v2
2009-01-26
A Bayesian framework for estimating vaccine efficacy per infectious contact
In vaccine studies for infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the frequency and type of contacts between study participants and infectious sources are among the most informative risk factors, but are often not adequately adjusted for in standard analyses. Such adjustment can improve the assessment of vaccine efficacy as well as the assessment of risk factors. It can be attained by modeling transmission per contact with infectious sources. However, information about contacts that rely on self-reporting by study participants are subject to nontrivial measurement error in many studies. We develop a Bayesian hierarchical model fitted using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling to estimate the vaccine efficacy controlled for exposure to infection, while adjusting for measurement error in contact-related factors. Our method is used to re-analyze two recent HIV vaccine studies, and the results are compared with the published primary analyses that used standard methods. The proposed method could also be used for other vaccines where contact information is collected, such as human papilloma virus vaccines.
0901.4025v1
2009-01-28
Theoretical characterization of a model of aragonite crystal orientation in red abalone nacre
Nacre, commonly known as mother-of-pearl, is a remarkable biomineral that in red abalone consists of layers of 400-nm thick aragonite crystalline tablets confined by organic matrix sheets, with the $(001)$ crystal axes of the aragonite tablets oriented to within $\pm$ 12 degrees from the normal to the layer planes. Recent experiments demonstrate that this orientational order develops over a distance of tens of layers from the prismatic boundary at which nacre formation begins. Our previous simulations of a model in which the order develops because of differential tablet growth rates (oriented tablets growing faster than misoriented ones) yield patterns of tablets that agree qualitatively and quantitatively with the experimental measurements. This paper presents an analytical treatment of this model, focusing on how the dynamical development and eventual degree of order depend on model parameters. Dynamical equations for the probability distributions governing tablet orientations are introduced whose form can be determined from symmetry considerations and for which substantial analytic progress can be made. Numerical simulations are performed to relate the parameters used in the analytic theory to those in the microscopic growth model. The analytic theory demonstrates that the dynamical mechanism is able to achieve a much higher degree of order than naive estimates would indicate.
0901.4482v1
2009-02-07
Partially-erupting prominences: a comparison between observations and model-predicted observables
AIM: To investigate several partially-erupting prominences to study their relationship with other CME-associated phenomena and to compare these observations with observables predicted by a model of partially-expelled flux ropes (Gibson & Fan, 2006a, b). METHODS: We have studied 6 selected events with partially-erupting prominences using multi wavelength observations recorded by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT), Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO), Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) and soft X-ray telescope (SXT). The observational features associated with partially-erupting prominences were then compared with the predicted observables from the model. RESULTS: The partially-expelled-flux-rope (PEFR) model of Gibson & Fan (2006a, b) can explain the partial eruption of these prominences, and in addition predicts a variety of other CME-related observables that provide evidence for internal reconnection during eruption. We find that all of the partially-erupting prominences studied in this paper exhibit indirect evidence for internal reconnection. Moreover, all cases showed evidence of at least one observable unique to the PEFR model, e.g., dimmings external to the source region, and/or a soft X-ray cusp overlying a reformed sigmoid. CONCLUSIONS: The PEFR model provides a plausible mechanism to explain the observed evolution of partially-erupting-prominence-associated CMEs in our study.
0902.1228v1
2009-03-03
Proportional hazards models with continuous marks
For time-to-event data with finitely many competing risks, the proportional hazards model has been a popular tool for relating the cause-specific outcomes to covariates [Prentice et al. Biometrics 34 (1978) 541--554]. This article studies an extension of this approach to allow a continuum of competing risks, in which the cause of failure is replaced by a continuous mark only observed at the failure time. We develop inference for the proportional hazards model in which the regression parameters depend nonparametrically on the mark and the baseline hazard depends nonparametrically on both time and mark. This work is motivated by the need to assess HIV vaccine efficacy, while taking into account the genetic divergence of infecting HIV viruses in trial participants from the HIV strain that is contained in the vaccine, and adjusting for covariate effects. Mark-specific vaccine efficacy is expressed in terms of one of the regression functions in the mark-specific proportional hazards model. The new approach is evaluated in simulations and applied to the first HIV vaccine efficacy trial.
0903.0487v1
2009-03-06
Five More Massive Binaries in the Cygnus OB2 Association
We present the orbital solutions for four OB spectroscopic binaries, MT145, GSC 03161-00815, 2MASS J20294666+4105083, and Schulte 73, and the partial orbital solution to the B spectroscopic binary, MT372, as part of an ongoing study to determine the distribution of orbital parameters for massive binaries in the Cygnus OB2 Association. MT145 is a new, single-lined, moderately eccentric (e=0.291+/-0.009) spectroscopic binary with period of 25.140+/-0.008 days. GSC 03161-00815 is a slightly eccentric (e=0.10+/-0.01), eclipsing, interacting and double-lined spectroscopic binary with a period of 4.674+/-0.004 days. 2MASS J20294666+4105083 is a moderately eccentric (e=0.273+/-0.002) double-lined spectroscopic binary with a period of 2.884+/-0.001 days. Schulte 73 is a slightly eccentric (e=0.169+/-0.009), double-lined spectroscopic binary with a period of 17.28+/-0.03 days and the first "twin" in our survey with a mass ratio of q=0.99+/-0.02. MT372 is a single-lined, eclipsing system with a period of 2.228 days and low eccentricity (e~0). Of the now 18 known OB binaries in Cyg OB2, 14 have periods and mass ratios. Emerging evidence also shows that the distribution of log(P) is flat and consistent with Oepik's Law.
0903.1265v1
2009-03-16
The Transit Light Curve Project. XII. Six Transits of the Exoplanet XO-2b
We present photometry of six transits of the exoplanet XO-2b. By combining the light-curve analysis with theoretical isochrones to determine the stellar properties, we find the planetary radius to be 0.996 +0.031/-0.018 rjup and the planetary mass to be 0.565 +/- 0.054 mjup. These results are consistent with those reported previously, and are also consistent with theoretical models for gas giant planets. The mid-transit times are accurate to within 1 min and are consistent with a constant period. However, the period we derive differs by 2.5 sigma from the previously published period. More data are needed to tell whether the period is actually variable (as it would be in the presence of an additional body) or if the timing errors have been underestimated.
0903.2687v1
2009-03-19
Approximation of Bounds on Mixed Level Orthogonal Arrays
Mixed level orthogonal arrays are basic structures in experimental design. We develop three algorithms that compute Rao and Gilbert-Varshamov type bounds for mixed level orthogonal arrays. The computational complexity of the terms involved in these bounds can grow fast as the parameters of the arrays increase and this justifies the construction of these algorithms. The first is a recursive algorithm that computes the bounds exactly, the second is based on an asymptotic analysis and the third is a simulation algorithm. They are all based on the representation of the combinatorial expressions that appear in the bounds as expectations involving a symmetric random walk. The Markov property of the underlying random walk gives the recursive formula to compute the expectations. A large deviation (LD) analysis of the expectations provide the asymptotic algorithm. The asymptotically optimal importance sampling (IS) of the same expectation provides the simulation algorithm. Both the LD analysis and the construction of the IS algorithm uses a representation of these problems as a sequence of stochastic optimal control problems converging to a limit calculus of variations problem. The construction of the IS algorithm uses a recently discovered method of using subsolutions to the Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equation associated with the limit problem.
0903.3438v2
2009-10-10
Multi-channel Opportunistic Access: A Case of Restless Bandits with Multiple Plays
This paper considers the following stochastic control problem that arises in opportunistic spectrum access: a system consists of n channels (Gilbert-Elliot channels)where the state (good or bad) of each channel evolves as independent and identically distributed Markov processes. A user can select exactly k channels to sense and access (based on the sensing result) in each time slot. A reward is obtained whenever the user senses and accesses a good channel. The objective is to design a channel selection policy that maximizes the expected discounted total reward accrued over a finite or infinite horizon. In our previous work we established the optimality of a greedy policy for the special case of k = 1 (i.e., single channel access) under the condition that the channel state transitions are positively correlated over time. In this paper we show under the same condition the greedy policy is optimal for the general case of k >= 1; the methodology introduced here is thus more general. This problem may be viewed as a special case of the restless bandit problem, with multiple plays. We discuss connections between the current problem and existing literature on this class of problems.
0910.1954v1
2010-03-12
Anosov branches of dynamo spectra in one dimensional plasmas
Recently Guenther et al the globally diagonalized ${\alpha}^{2}$ dynamo operator spectrum [J Phys A 2007) in mean field media, and its Krein space related perturbation theory [J Phys A 2006). Earlier, an example of fast dynamos in stretch shear and fold Anosov maps have been given by Gilbert [PRSA [1993)). In this paper, analytical solutions representing general turbulent dynamo filaments are obtained in resistive plasmas. When turbulent diffusivity is present and kinetic helicity vanishes, a fast dynamo mode is obtained, and the Anosov eigenvalue obtained. The magnetic field lays down on a Frenet 2 plane along the filaments embedded in a 3D flow. Curvature effects on fast dynamo are also investigate. In case of weak curvature filaments the one dimensional manifolds in plasmas present a fast dynamo action. A parallel result has been obtained by Chicone et al [Comm Math Phys), in the case fast dynamo spectrum in two dimensional compact Riemannian manifolds of negative constant curvature, called Anosov spaces. While problems of embedding may appear in their case here no embedding problems appear since the one dimensional curved plasmas are embedded in three dimensional Euclidean spaces. In the examples considered here, equipartion between normal and binormal components of the magnetic field components is considered. In the opposite case, non Anosov oscillatory, purely imaginary, branches of the spectrum are found in dynamo manifold. Negative constant curvature non-compact $\textbf{H}^{2}$ manifold, has also been used in one-component electron 2D plasma by Fantoni and Tellez (Stat. Phys, (2008))
1003.2482v1
2010-04-05
A Prograde, Low-Inclination Orbit for the Very Hot Jupiter WASP-3b
We present new spectroscopic and photometric observations of the transiting exoplanetary system WASP-3. Spectra obtained during two separate transits exhibit the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect and allow us to estimate the sky-projected angle between the planetary orbital axis and the stellar rotation axis, lambda = 3.3^{+2.5}_{-4.4} degrees. This alignment between the axes suggests that WASP-3b has a low orbital inclination relative to the equatorial plane of its parent star. During our first night of spectroscopic measurements, we observed an unexpected redshift briefly exceeding the expected sum of the orbital and RM velocities by 140 m/s. This anomaly could represent the occultation of material erupting from the stellar photosphere, although it is more likely to be an artifact caused by moonlight scattered into the spectrograph.
1004.0692v2
2010-06-09
NLTT 41135: a field M-dwarf + brown dwarf eclipsing binary in a triple system, discovered by the MEarth observatory
We report the discovery of an eclipsing companion to NLTT 41135, a nearby M5 dwarf that was already known to have a wider, slightly more massive common proper motion companion, NLTT 41136, at 2.4 arcsec separation. Analysis of combined-light and radial velocity curves of the system indicates that NLTT 41135B is a 31-34 +/- 3 MJup brown dwarf (where the range depends on the unknown metallicity of the host star) on a circular orbit. The visual M-dwarf pair appears to be physically bound, so the system forms a hierarchical triple, with masses approximately in the ratio 8:6:1. The eclipses are grazing, preventing an unambiguous measurement of the secondary radius, but follow-up observations of the secondary eclipse (e.g. with the James Webb Space Telescope) could permit measurements of the surface brightness ratio between the two objects, and thus place constraints on models of brown dwarfs.
1006.1793v1
2010-09-28
Connectivity in Sub-Poisson Networks
We consider a class of point processes (pp), which we call {\em sub-Poisson}; these are pp that can be directionally-convexly ($dcx$) dominated by some Poisson pp. The $dcx$ order has already been shown useful in comparing various point process characteristics, including Ripley's and correlation functions as well as shot-noise fields generated by pp, indicating in particular that smaller in the $dcx$ order processes exhibit more regularity (less clustering, less voids) in the repartition of their points. Using these results, in this paper we study the impact of the $dcx$ ordering of pp on the properties of two continuum percolation models, which have been proposed in the literature to address macroscopic connectivity properties of large wireless networks. As the first main result of this paper, we extend the classical result on the existence of phase transition in the percolation of the Gilbert's graph (called also the Boolean model), generated by a homogeneous Poisson pp, to the class of homogeneous sub-Poisson pp. We also extend a recent result of the same nature for the SINR graph, to sub-Poisson pp. Finally, as examples we show that the so-called perturbed lattices are sub-Poisson. More generally, perturbed lattices provide some spectrum of models that ranges from periodic grids, usually considered in cellular network context, to Poisson ad-hoc networks, and to various more clustered pp including some doubly stochastic Poisson ones.
1009.5696v1
2010-10-23
Closure method for spatially averaged dynamics of particle chains
We study the closure problem for continuum balance equations that model mesoscale dynamics of large ODE systems. The underlying microscale model consists of classical Newton equations of particle dynamics. As a mesoscale model we use the balance equations for spatial averages obtained earlier by a number of authors: Murdoch and Bedeaux, Hardy, Noll and others. The momentum balance equation contains a flux (stress), which is given by an exact function of particle positions and velocities. We propose a method for approximating this function by a sequence of operators applied to average density and momentum. The resulting approximate mesoscopic models are systems in closed form. The closed from property allows one to work directly with the mesoscale equaitons without the need to calculate underlying particle trajectories, which is useful for modeling and simulation of large particle systems. The proposed closure method utilizes the theory of ill-posed problems, in particular iterative regularization methods for solving first order linear integral equations. The closed from approximations are obtained in two steps. First, we use Landweber regularization to (approximately) reconstruct the interpolants of relevant microscale quantitites from the average density and momentum. Second, these reconstructions are substituted into the exact formulas for stress. The developed general theory is then applied to non-linear oscillator chains. We conduct a detailed study of the simplest zero-order approximation, and show numerically that it works well as long as fluctuations of velocity are nearly constant.
1010.4832v1
2010-10-26
Dualities and Identities for Entanglement-Assisted Quantum Codes
The dual of an entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting (EAQEC) code is the code resulting from exchanging the original code's information qubits with its ebits. To introduce this notion, we show how entanglement-assisted (EA) repetition codes and accumulator codes are dual to each other, much like their classical counterparts, and we give an explicit, general quantum shift-register circuit that encodes both classes of codes.We later show that our constructions are optimal, and this result completes our understanding of these dual classes of codes. We also establish the Gilbert-Varshamov bound and the Plotkin bound for EAQEC codes, and we use these to examine the existence of some EAQEC codes. Finally, we provide upper bounds on the block error probability when transmitting maximal-entanglement EAQEC codes over the depolarizing channel, and we derive variations of the hashing bound for EAQEC codes, which is a lower bound on the maximum rate at which reliable communication over Pauli channels is possible with the use of pre-shared entanglement.
1010.5506v4
2010-11-12
Magnetization Dynamics, Bennett Clocking and Associated Energy Dissipation in Multiferroic Logic
It has been recently shown that multiferroic logic - where logic bits are encoded in the magnetization orientation of a nanoscale magnetostrictive layer elastically coupled to a piezoelectric layer - can be Bennett clocked with small electrostatic potentials of few tens of mV applied to the piezoelectric layer. The potential generates stress in the magnetostrictive layer and rotates its magnetization by a large angle to carry out Bennett clocking. This method of clocking is far more energy-efficient than using spin transfer torque. In order to assess if such a clocking scheme can be also reasonably fast, we have studied the magnetization dynamics of a multiferroic logic array with nearest neighbor dipole coupling using the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation. We find that switching delays of ~ 3 ns (clock rates of 0.33 GHz) can be achieved with proper design provided we clock non-adiabatically and dissipate ~48,000 kT (at room temperature) of energy per clock cycle per bit flip in the clocking circuit. This dissipation far exceeds the energy barrier separating the two logic states, which we assumed to be 32 kT to yield a bit error probability of . Had we used spin transfer torque to switch with the same ~ 3 ns delay, the energy dissipation would have been much larger (~ $6 \times 106$ kT). This shows that spin transfer torque, widely used in magnetic random access memory, is an inefficient way to switch a magnet, and multiferroic logic clocked with voltage-induced stress is a superior nanomagnetic logic scheme.
1011.2914v2
2010-12-30
One-dimensional Gromov minimal filling
The present paper opens a new branch in the theory of variational problems with branching extremals, the investigation of one-dimensional minimal fillings of finite pseudo-metric spaces. On the one hand, this problem is a one-dimensional version of a generalization of Gromov's minimal fillings problem to the case of stratified manifolds (the filling in our case is a weighted graph). On the other hand, this problem is interesting in itself and also can be considered as a generalization of another classical problem, namely, the Steiner problem on the construction of a shortest network joining a given set of terminals. Besides the statement of the problem, we discuss several properties of the minimal fillings, describe minimal fillings of additive spaces, and state several conjectures. We also include some announcements concerning the very recent results obtained in our group, including a formula calculating the weight of the minimal filling for an arbitrary finite pseudo-metric space and the concept of pseudo-additive space which generalizes the classical concept of additive space. We hope that the theory of one-dimensional minimal fillings refreshes the interest in the Steiner problem and gives an opportunity to solve several long standing problems, such as the calculation of the Steiner ratio, in particular the verification of the Gilbert--Pollack conjecture on the Steiner ratio of the Euclidean plane.
1101.0106v2
2011-02-02
Kepler Input Catalog: Photometric Calibration and Stellar Classification
We describe the photometric calibration and stellar classification methods used to produce the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC). The KIC is a catalog containing photometric and physical data for sources in the Kepler Mission field of view; it is used by the mission to select optimal targets. We derived atmospheric extinction corrections from hourly observations of secondary standard fields within the Kepler field of view. Repeatability of absolute photometry for stars brighter than magnitude 15 is typically 2%. We estimated stellar parameters Teff, log(g), log (Z), E_{B-V} using Bayesian posterior probability maximization to match observed colors to Castelli stellar atmosphere models. We applied Bayesian priors describing the distribution of solar-neighborhood stars in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD), in log (Z)$, and in height above the galactic plane. Comparisons with samples of stars classified by other means indicate that in most regions of the CMD, our classifications are reliable within about +/- 200 K and +/- 0.4 dex in log (g). It is difficult to assess the reliability of our log(Z) estimates, but there is reason to suspect that it is poor, particularly at extreme Teff. Of great importance for the Kepler Mission, for Teff <= 5400 K, the distinction between main-sequence stars and giants has proved to be reliable with better than 98% confidence. The KIC is available through the MAST data archive.
1102.0342v2
2011-05-10
Interstellar Solid Hydrogen
We consider the possibility that solid molecular hydrogen is present in interstellar space. If so cosmic-rays and energetic photons cause ionisation in the solid leading to the formation of H6+. This ion is not produced by gas-phase reactions and its radiative transitions therefore provide a signature of solid H2 in the astrophysical context. The vibrational transitions of H6+ are yet to be observed in the laboratory, but we have characterised them in a quantum-theoretical treatment of the molecule; our calculations include anharmonic corrections, which are large. Here we report on those calculations and compare our results with astronomical data. In addition to the H6+ isotopomer, we focus on the deuterated species (HD)3+ which is expected to dominate at low ionisation rates as a result of isotopic condensation reactions. We can reliably predict the frequencies of the fundamental bands for five modes of vibration. For (HD)3+ all of these are found to lie close to some of the strongest of the pervasive mid-infrared astronomical emission bands, making it difficult to exclude hydrogen precipitates on observational grounds. By the same token these results suggest that (HD)3+ could be the carrier of the observed bands. We consider this possibility within the broader picture of ISM photo-processes and we conclude that solid hydrogen may indeed be abundant in astrophysical environments.
1105.1861v1
2011-05-12
The History of Star Formation in Galaxy Disks in the Local Volume as Measured by the ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury
We present a measurement of the age distribution of stars residing in spiral disks and dwarf galaxies. We derive a complete star formation history of the ~140 Mpc^3 covered by the volume-limited sample of galaxies in the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury (ANGST). The total star formation rate density history is dominated by the large spirals in the volume, although the sample consists mainly of dwarf galaxies. Our measurement shows a factor of ~3 drop at z~2, in approximate agreement with results from other measurement techniques. While our results show that the overall star formation rate density has decreased since z~1, the measured rates during this epoch are higher than those obtained from other measurement techniques. This enhanced recent star formation rate appears to be largely due to an increase in the fraction of star formation contained in low-mass disks at recent times. Finally, our results indicate that despite the differences at recent times, the epoch of formation of ~50% of the stellar mass in dwarf galaxies was similar to that of ~50% of the stellar mass in large spiral galaxies (z>~2), despite the observed galaxy-to-galaxy diversity among the dwarfs.
1105.2571v1
2011-06-30
Revisiting No-Scale Supergravity Inspired Scenarios: Updated Theoretical and Phenomenological Constraints
We consider no-scale inspired supergravity scenarios, where the gravitino mass and related soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are determined dynamically by radiative corrections to an essentially flat tree-level potential in the supersymmetry breaking hidden sector. We examine the theoretical and phenomenological viability of such a mechanism, when including up-to-date calculations of the low energy sparticle spectrum and taking into account the latest LHC results and other experimental constraints. We (re)emphasize the role of the scale-dependent vacuum energy contribution to the effective potential, in obtaining realistic no-scale electroweak minima, examining carefully the impact of boundary conditions and of variants of the minimization procedure. We also discuss and implement the B_0 (soft breaking Higgs mixing parameter) input boundary condition at high scale, therefore fixing tan beta(B_0) at low scales. For general high scale boundary conditions with non-vanishing B_0, m_0..., our analysis provides theoretical correlations among the supersymmetric, soft and vacuum energy parameters and related phenomenological consequences at the LHC. For instance, a zero vacuum energy at the GUT scale would lead to a decoupled supersymmetric spectrum, together with a light standard model-like Higgs boson at the electroweak scale. Given the experimental exclusion limits, a substantial class of the boundary conditions, and in particular the strict no-scale with m_0=A_0=B_0=0, are only compatible with a stau being the lightest MSSM particle. Then an enlarged allowed parameter space emerges when assuming a gravitino LSP to account for the observed dark matter relic density.
1106.6325v2
2012-02-21
Making Evildoers Pay: Resource-Competitive Broadcast in Sensor Networks
Consider a time-slotted, single-hop, wireless sensor network (WSN) consisting of n correct devices and and t=f*n Byzantine devices where f>=0 is any constant; that is, the Byzantine devices may outnumber the correct ones. There exists a trusted sender Alice who wishes to deliver a message m over a single channel to the correct devices. There also exists a malicious user Carol who controls the t Byzantine devices and uses them to disrupt the communication channel. For a constant k>=2, the correct and Byzantine devices each possess a meager energy budget of O(n^{1/k}), Alice and Carol each possess a limited budget of \tilde{O}(n^{1/k}), and sending or listening in a slot incurs unit cost. This general setup captures the inherent challenges of guaranteeing communication despite scarce resources and attacks on the network. Given this Alice versus Carol scenario, we ask: Is communication of m feasible and, if so, at what cost? We develop a protocol which, for an arbitrarily small constant \epsilon>0, ensures that at least (1-\epsilon)n correct devices receive m with high probability. Furthermore, if Carol's devices expend T energy jamming the channel, then Alice and the correct devices each spend only \tilde{O}(T^{1/(k+1)}). In other words, delaying the transmission of m forces a jammer to rapidly deplete its energy supply and, consequently, cease attacks on the network.
1202.4576v4
2012-03-28
Bispectrum of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
We perform a detailed study of the bispectrum of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. Using an analytical model for the pressure profiles of the intracluster medium, we demonstrate the SZ bispectrum to be a sensitive probe of the amplitude of the matter power spectrum parameter sigma_8. We find that the bispectrum amplitude scales as B_SZ ~ sigma_8^{11-12}, compared to that of the power spectrum, which scales as A_tSZ ~ sigma_8^{7-9}. We show that the SZ bispectrum is principally sourced by massive clusters at redshifts around z~0.4, which have been well-studied observationally. This is in contrast to the SZ power spectrum, which receives a significant contribution from less-well understood low-mass and high-redshift groups and clusters. Therefore, the amplitude of the bispectrum at l~3000 is less sensitive to astrophysical uncertainties than the SZ power spectrum. We show that current high resolution CMB experiments should be able to detect the SZ bispectrum amplitude with high significance, in part due to the low contamination from extra-galactic foregrounds. A combination of the SZ bispectrum and the power spectrum can sharpen the measurements of thermal and kinetic SZ components and help distinguish cosmological and astrophysical information from high-resolution CMB maps.
1203.6368v3
2012-05-01
A quasi-analytical model for energy-delay-reliability tradeoff studies during write operations in perpendicular STT-RAM cell
One of the biggest challenges the current STT-RAM industry faces is maintaining a high thermal stability while trying to switch within a given voltage pulse and energy cost. In this paper, we present a physics based analytical model that uses a modified Simmons' tunneling expression to capture the spin dependent tunneling in a magnetic tunnel junction(MTJ). Coupled with an analytical derivation of the critical switching current based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, and the write error rate derived from a solution to the Fokker-Planck equation, this model provides us a quick estimate of the energydelay- reliability tradeoffs in perpendicular STTRAMs due to thermal fluctuations. In other words, the model provides a simple way to calculate the energy consumed during a write operation that ensures a certain error rate and delay time, while being numerically far less intensive than a full-fledged stochastic calculation. We calculate the worst case energy consumption during anti-parallel (AP) to parallel (P) and P to AP switchings and quantify how increasing the anisotropy field HK and lowering the saturation magnetization MS, can significantly reduce the energy consumption. A case study on how manufacturing variations of the MTJ cell can affect the energy consumption and delay is also reported.
1205.0183v1
2012-05-16
Transients in porous media: asymptotic time-domain Green functions and limits of current frequency-domain models
Time domain responses of porous media have been studied by some authors, but generally the possible descriptions have been given in the frequency domain. The aim of this paper, limited to materials with rigid skeleton considered as equivalent fluids, is to compare the descriptions by Johnson-Allard ($JA$%) as well as by Pride-Lafarge ($PL$) with i) some analytical, approximate formulas, based upon asymptotic high frequency expansion ; ii) the exact formula by Zwikker and Kosten for the case of cylindrical pores. The paper starts with a short summary of the statement of the different general full frequency models ($JA$ and $PL).$ The Green function in the time domain is shown to exhibit interesting properties of materials. In particular the maximum response depends on one dimensionless parameter only, which is denoted $\xi $ and is the ratio of the travelled distance to the product of the \textquotedblleft frozen\textquotedblright\ sound speed and a characteristic viscous relaxation time. The distance $\xi $ is related to a time domain Stokes number. The numerical computation of the Green function is done by FFT, with some precautions, because of the importance of the higher frequencies on the response shape. The $PL$ description is shown to be the best full frequency general model, but some discrepancies with the exact model appear at short times or short distances. When the distance $\xi $ increases from zero, the asymptotic expansion shows that the maximum of the Green function decreases first as $1/\xi ^{2}$, then exponentially.
1205.3775v2
2012-05-20
Externally-driven transformations of vortex textures in flat submicrometer magnets
Two effects of oscillatory transformations of vortex textures in flat nanomagnets due to the application of an external field or a spin-polarized electric current are analytically described with relevance to soft-magnetic structures of submicrometer sizes (whose thickness is significantly bigger than the magnetostatic exchange length). These are changes of a domain wall (DW) structure in a long magnetic stripe (oscillations between a transverse DW, a vortex DW, and an antivortex DW) and periodic vortex-core reversals in a circular magnetic dot which are accompanied by oscillatory displacements of the vortex from the dot center. In nanostructures of smaller thicknesses (comparable to the exchange length), where nonlocal magnetostatic effects are very strong because of fast spatial variation of the magnetization, similar phenomena have been widely studied previously. Here, the dynamics is investigated within a local approach including magnetostatic field via boundary conditions on solutions to the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation only. Both the DWs in stripes and vortex states of the dot are treated as fragments of a cross-tie DW. Despite similarity of the cyclic transformations of the ordering to the dynamics of more strongly confined nanomagnets, details of motion (trajectories) of the vortices and antivortices (Bloch lines) of the textures under study are different, which is related to prohibition of rapid jumps of the polarization of Bloch lines. In addition to the magnetization rotation about the direction of magnetic field or current polarization, the evolution of textures is shown to relate to oscillatory changes of the direction of a cross-tie DW with respect to any arbitrary axis in the magnet plane accompanied by oscillations of the DW width.
1205.5008v1
2012-06-11
Multi-Gigabit Wireless data transfer at 60 GHz
In this paper we describe the status of the first prototype of the 60 GHz wireless Multi-gigabit data transfer topology currently under development at University of Heidelberg using IBM 130 nm SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology. The 60 GHz band is very suitable for high data rate and short distance applications as for example needed in the HEP experments. The wireless transceiver consist of a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter includes an On-Off Keying (OOK) modulator, an Local Oscillator (LO), a Power Amplifier (PA) and a BandPass Filter (BPF). The receiver part is composed of a BandPass- Filter (BPF), a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), a double balanced down-convert Gilbert mixer, a Local Oscillator (LO), then a BPF to remove the mixer introduced noise, an Intermediate Amplifier (IF), an On-Off Keying demodulator and a limiting amplifier. The first prototype would be able to handle a data-rate of about 3.5 Gbps over a link distance of 1 m. The first simulations of the LNA show that a Noise Figure (NF) of 5 dB, a power gain of 21 dB at 60 GHz with a 3 dB bandwidth of more than 20 GHz with a power consumption 11 mW are achieved. Simulations of the PA show an output referred compression point P1dB of 19.7 dB at 60 GHz.
1206.2287v1
2012-08-08
RMR-Efficient Randomized Abortable Mutual Exclusion
Recent research on mutual exclusion for shared-memory systems has focused on "local spin" algorithms. Performance is measured using the "remote memory references" (RMRs) metric. As common in recent literature, we consider a standard asynchronous shared memory model with N processes, which allows atomic read, write and compare-and-swap (short: CAS) operations. In such a model, the asymptotically tight upper and lower bound on the number of RMRs per passage through the Critical Section is Theta(log N) for the optimal deterministic algorithms (see Yang and Anderson,1995, and Attiya, Hendler and Woelfel, 2008). Recently, several randomized algorithms have been devised that break the Omega(log N) barrier and need only o(log N) RMRs per passage in expectation (see Hendler and Woelfel, 2010, Hendler and Woelfel, 2011, and Bender and Gilbert, 2011). In this paper we present the first randomized "abortable" mutual exclusion algorithm that achieves a sub-logarithmic expected RMR complexity. More precisely, against a weak adversary (which can make scheduling decisions based on the entire past history, but not the latest coin-flips of each process) every process needs an expected number of O(log N/ log log N) RMRs to enter end exit the critical section. If a process receives an abort-signal, it can abort an attempt to enter the critical section within a finite number of its own steps and by incurring O(log N/ log log N) RMRs.
1208.1723v1
2012-08-16
QIRAL: A High Level Language for Lattice QCD Code Generation
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of subnuclear physics, aiming at mod- eling the strong nuclear force, which is responsible for the interactions of nuclear particles. Lattice QCD (LQCD) is the corresponding discrete formulation, widely used for simula- tions. The computational demand for the LQCD is tremendous. It has played a role in the history of supercomputers, and has also helped defining their future. Designing efficient LQCD codes that scale well on large (probably hybrid) supercomputers requires to express many levels of parallelism, and then to explore different algorithmic solutions. While al- gorithmic exploration is the key for efficient parallel codes, the process is hampered by the necessary coding effort. We present in this paper a domain-specific language, QIRAL, for a high level expression of parallel algorithms in LQCD. Parallelism is expressed through the mathematical struc- ture of the sparse matrices defining the problem. We show that from these expressions and from algorithmic and preconditioning formulations, a parallel code can be automatically generated. This separates algorithms and mathematical formulations for LQCD (that be- long to the field of physics) from the effective orchestration of parallelism, mainly related to compilation and optimization for parallel architectures.
1208.4035v1
2012-08-22
Entanglement Spectrum Classification of $C_n$-invariant Noninteracting Topological Insulators in Two Dimensions
We study the single particle entanglement spectrum in 2D topological insulators which possess $n$-fold rotation symmetry. By defining a series of special choices of subsystems on which the entanglement is calculated, or real space cuts, we find that the number of protected in-gap states for each type of these real space cuts is a quantum number indexing (if any) non-trivial topology in these insulators. We explicitly show the number of protected in-gap states is determined by a $Z^n$-index, $(z_1,...,z_n)$, where $z_m$ is the number of occupied states that transform according to $m$-th one-dimensional representation of the $C_n$ point group. We find that the entanglement spectrum contains in-gap states pinned in an interval of entanglement eigenvalues $[1/n,1-1/n]$. We determine the number of such in-gap states for an exhaustive variety of cuts, in terms of the $Z_m$ quantum numbers. Furthermore, we show that in a homogeneous system, the $Z^n$ index can be determined through an evaluation of the eigenvalues of point group symmetry operators at all high-symmetry points in the Brillouin zone. When disordered $n$-fold rotationally symmetric systems are considered, we find that the number of protected in-gap states is identical to that in the clean limit as long as the disorder preserves the underlying point group symmetry and does not close the bulk insulating gap.
1208.4603v1
2012-09-25
Multiscale modeling in micromagnetics: existence of solutions and numerical integration
Various applications ranging from spintronic devices, giant magnetoresistance sensors, and magnetic storage devices, include magnetic parts on very different length scales. Since the consideration of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation (LLG) constrains the maximum element size to the exchange length within the media, it is numerically not attractive to simulate macroscopic parts with this approach. On the other hand, the magnetostatic Maxwell equations do not constrain the element size, but cannot describe the short-range exchange interaction accurately. A combination of both methods allows to describe magnetic domains within the micromagnetic regime by use of LLG and also considers the macroscopic parts by a non-linear material law using the Maxwell equations. In our work, we prove that under certain assumptions on the non-linear material law, this multiscale version of LLG admits weak solutions. Our proof is constructive in the sense that we provide a linear-implicit numerical integrator for the multiscale model such that the numerically computable finite element solutions admit weak $H^1$-convergence (at least for a subsequence) towards a weak solution.
1209.5548v2
2012-10-05
Rapid Size-Controlled Synthesis of Dextran-Coated, 64Cu-Doped Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Research into developing dual modality probes enabled for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) has been on the rise recently due to the potential to combine the high resolution of MRI and the high sensitivity of PET. Current synthesis techniques for developing multimodal probes is largely hindered in part by prolonged reaction times during radioisotope incorporation - leading to a weakening of the radioactivity. Along with a time-efficient synthesis, the resulting products must fit within a critical size range (between 20-100nm) to increase blood retention time. In this work, we describe a novel, rapid, microwave-based synthesis technique to grow dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles doped with copper (DIO/Cu). Traditional methods for coprecipitation of dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles require refluxing for 2 hours and result in approximately 50 nm diameter particles. We demonstrate that microwave synthesis can produce 50 nm nanoparticles with 5 minutes of heating. We discuss the various parameters used in the microwave synthesis protocol to vary the size distribution of DIO/Cu, and demonstrate the successful incorporation of 64Cu into these particles with the aim of future use for dual-mode MR/PET imaging.
1210.1823v1
2012-10-05
Rapid Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Dextran-Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Currently, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are the only nano-sized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents approved for clinical use, yet commercial manufacturing of these agents has been limited or discontinued. Though there is still widespread demand for these particles both for clinical use and research, they are difficult to obtain commercially, and complicated syntheses make in-house preparation infeasible for most biological research labs or clinics. To make commercial production viable and increase accessibility of these products, it is crucial to develop simple, rapid, and reproducible preparations of biocompatible iron oxide nanoparticles. Here, we report a rapid, straightforward microwave-assisted synthesis of superparamagnetic dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were produced in two hydrodynamic sizes with differing core morphologies by varying the synthetic method as either a two-step or single step process. A striking benefit of these methods is the ability to obtain swift and consistent results without the necessity for air, pH, or temperature sensitive techniques; therefore, reaction times and complex manufacturing processes are greatly reduced as compared to conventional synthetic methods. This is a great benefit for cost-effective translation to commercial production. The nanoparticles are found to be superparamagnetic and exhibit properties consistent for use in MRI. In addition, the dextran coating imparts the water-solubility and biocompatibility necessary for in vivo utilization.
1210.1827v1
2012-10-16
Dark Matter Substructure Detection Using Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of Lensed Dusty Galaxies
We investigate how strong lensing of dusty, star-forming galaxies by foreground galaxies can be used as a probe of dark matter halo substructure. We find that spatially resolved spectroscopy of lensed sources allows dramatic improvements to measurements of lens parameters. In particular we find that modeling of the full, three-dimensional (angular position and radial velocity) data can significantly facilitate substructure detection, increasing the sensitivity of observables to lower mass subhalos. We carry out simulations of lensed dusty sources observed by early ALMA (Cycle 1) and use a Fisher matrix analysis to study the parameter degeneracies and mass detection limits of this method. We find that, even with conservative assumptions, it is possible to detect galactic dark matter subhalos of ~ 10^8 M_{\odot} with high significance in most lensed DSFGs. Specifically, we find that in typical DSFG lenses, there is a ~ 55 % probability of detecting a substructure with M>10^8 M_{\odot} with more than 5 sigma detection significance in each lens, if the abundance of substructure is consistent with previous lensing results. The full ALMA array, with its significantly enhanced sensitivity and resolution, should improve these estimates considerably. Given the sample of ~100 lenses provided by surveys like the South Pole Telescope, our understanding of dark matter substructure in typical galaxy halos is poised to improve dramatically over the next few years.
1210.4562v1
2012-10-22
Shared Information -- New Insights and Problems in Decomposing Information in Complex Systems
How can the information that a set ${X_{1},...,X_{n}}$ of random variables contains about another random variable $S$ be decomposed? To what extent do different subgroups provide the same, i.e. shared or redundant, information, carry unique information or interact for the emergence of synergistic information? Recently Williams and Beer proposed such a decomposition based on natural properties for shared information. While these properties fix the structure of the decomposition, they do not uniquely specify the values of the different terms. Therefore, we investigate additional properties such as strong symmetry and left monotonicity. We find that strong symmetry is incompatible with the properties proposed by Williams and Beer. Although left monotonicity is a very natural property for an information measure it is not fulfilled by any of the proposed measures. We also study a geometric framework for information decompositions and ask whether it is possible to represent shared information by a family of posterior distributions. Finally, we draw connections to the notions of shared knowledge and common knowledge in game theory. While many people believe that independent variables cannot share information, we show that in game theory independent agents can have shared knowledge, but not common knowledge. We conclude that intuition and heuristic arguments do not suffice when arguing about information.
1210.5902v1
2012-10-23
Lensing Noise in mm-wave Galaxy Cluster Surveys
We study the effects of gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters of the background of dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) and the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), and examine the implications for Sunyaev-Zel'dovich-based (SZ) galaxy cluster surveys. At the locations of galaxy clusters, gravitational lensing modifies the probability distribution of the background flux of the DSFGs as well as the CMB. We find that, in the case of a single-frequency 150 GHz survey, lensing of DSFGs leads to both a slight increase (~10%) in detected cluster number counts (due to a ~ 50% increase in the variance of the DSFG background, and hence an increased Eddington bias), as well as to a rare (occurring in ~2% of clusters) "filling-in" of SZ cluster signals by bright strongly lensed background sources. Lensing of the CMB leads to a ~55% reduction in CMB power at the location of massive galaxy clusters in a spatially-matched single-frequency filter, leading to a net decrease in detected cluster number counts. We find that the increase in DSFG power and decrease in CMB power due to lensing at cluster locations largely cancel, such that the net effect on cluster number counts for current SZ surveys is sub-dominant to Poisson errors.
1210.6354v1
2012-10-29
Spin-Transfer Torque Magnetization Reversal in Uniaxial Nanomagnets with Thermal Noise
We consider the general Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) dynamical theory underlying the magnetization switching rates of a thin film uniaxial magnet subject to spin-torque effects and thermal fluctuations (thermal noise). After discussing the various dynamical regimes governing the switching phenomena, we present analytical results for the mean switching time behavior. Our approach, based on explicitly solving the first passage time problem, allows for a straightforward analysis of the thermally assisted, low spin-torque, switching asymptotics of thin film magnets. To verify our theory, we have developed an efficient GPU-based micromagnetic code to simulate the stochastic LLG dynamics out to millisecond timescales. We explore the effects of geometrical tilts between the spin-current and uniaxial anisotropy axes on the thermally assisted dynamics. We find that even in the absence of axial symmetry, the switching times can be functionally described in a form virtually identical to the collinear case. We further verify that asymptotic behavior is reached fairly slowly, thus quantifying the role of thermal noise in the crossover regime linking deterministic to thermally assisted magnetization reversal.
1210.7675v3
2012-12-06
Splittings and automorphisms of relatively hyperbolic groups
We study automorphisms of a relatively hyperbolic group G. When G is one-ended, we describe Out(G) using a preferred JSJ tree over subgroups that are virtually cyclic or parabolic. In particular, when G is toral relatively hyperbolic, Out(G) is virtually built out of mapping class groups and subgroups of GL_n(Z) fixing certain basis elements. When more general parabolic groups are allowed, these subgroups of GL_n(Z) have to be replaced by McCool groups: automorphisms of parabolic groups acting trivially (i.e. by conjugation) on certain subgroups. Given a malnormal quasiconvex subgroup P of a hyperbolic group G, we view G as hyperbolic relative to P and we apply the previous analysis to describe the group Out(P to G) of automorphisms of P that extend to G: it is virtually a McCool group. If Out(P to G) is infinite, then P is a vertex group in a splitting of G. If P is torsion-free, then Out(P to G) is of type VF, in particular finitely presented. We also determine when Out(G) is infinite, for G relatively hyperbolic. The interesting case is when G is infinitely-ended and has torsion. When G is hyperbolic, we show that Out(G) is infinite if and only if G splits over a maximal virtually cyclic subgroup with infinite center. In general we show that infiniteness of Out(G) comes from the existence of a splitting with infinitely many twists, or having a vertex group that is maximal parabolic with infinitely many automorphisms acting trivially on incident edge groups.
1212.1434v3
2013-01-23
Localization, metabelian groups, and the isomorphism problem
If G and H are finitely generated, residually nilpotent metabelian groups, H is termed para-G if there is a homomorphism of G into H which induces an isomorphism between the corresponding terms of their lower central quotient groups. We prove that this is an equivalence relation. It is a much coarser relation than isomorphism, our ultimate concern. It turns out that many of the groups in a given equivalence class share various properties including finite presentability. There are examples, such as the lamplighter group, where an equivalence class consists of a single isomorphism class and others where this is not the case. We give several examples where we solve the Isomorphism Problem. We prove also that the sequence of torsion-free ranks of the lower central quotients of a finitely generated metabelian group is computable. In a future paper we plan on proving that there is an algorithm to compute the numerator and denominator of the rational Poincar\'e series of a finitely generated metabelian group and will carry out this computation in a number of examples, which may shed a tiny bit of light on the Isomorphism Problem. Our proofs use localization, class field theory and some constructive commutative algebra.
1301.5533v2
2013-01-26
Crystal nucleation and near-epitaxial growth in nacre
Nacre is a layered, iridescent lining found inside many mollusk shells, with a unique brick-and-mortar periodic structure at the sub-micron scale, and remarkable resistance to fracture. Despite extensive studies, it remains unclear how nacre forms. Here we present 20-nm, 2{\deg}-resolution Polarization-dependent Imaging Contrast (PIC) images of shells from 15 mollusk shell species, mapping nacre tablets and their orientation patterns, showing where new crystal orientations appear and how they propagate across organic sheets as nacre grows. In all shells we found stacks of co-oriented aragonite (CaCO3) tablets arranged into vertical columns or staggered diagonally. Only near the nacre-prismatic boundary are disordered crystals nucleated, as spherulitic aragonite. Overgrowing nacre tablet crystals are most frequently co-oriented with the underlying spherulitic aragonite or with another tablet, connected by mineral bridges. Therefore aragonite crystal growth in nacre is epitaxial or near-epitaxial, with abrupt or gradual changes in orientation, with c-axes within 20{\deg}. Based on these data, we propose that there is one mineral bridge per tablet, and that "bridge-tilting" is a possible mechanism to introduce small, gradual or abrupt changes in the orientation of crystals within a stack of tablets as nacre grows.
1301.6273v2
2013-02-03
A generalization of variable elimination for separable inverse problems beyond least squares
In linear inverse problems, we have data derived from a noisy linear transformation of some unknown parameters, and we wish to estimate these unknowns from the data. Separable inverse problems are a powerful generalization in which the transformation itself depends on additional unknown parameters and we wish to determine both sets of parameters simultaneously. When separable problems are solved by optimization, convergence can often be accelerated by elimination of the linear variables, a strategy which appears most prominently in the variable projection methods due to Golub, Pereyra, and Kaufman. Existing variable elimination methods require an explicit formula for the optimal value of the linear variables, so they cannot be used in problems with Poisson likelihoods, bound constraints, or other important departures from least squares. To address this limitation, we propose a generalization of variable elimination in which standard optimization methods are modified to behave as though a variable has been eliminated. We verify that this approach is a proper generalization by using it to re-derive several existing variable elimination techniques. We then extend the approach to bound-constrained and Poissonian problems, showing in the process that many of the best features of variable elimination methods can be duplicated in our framework. Tests on difficult exponential sum fitting and blind deconvolution problems indicate that the proposed approach can have significant speed and robustness advantages over standard methods.
1302.0441v2
2013-04-05
City versus wetland: Predicting urban growth in the Vecht area with a cellular automaton model
There are many studies dealing with the protection or restoration of wetlands and the sustainable economic growth of cities as separate subjects. This study investigates the conflict between the two in an area where city growth is threatening a protected wetland area. We develop a stochastic cellular automaton model for urban growth and apply it to the Vecht area surrounding the city of Hilversum in the Netherlands, using topographic maps covering the past 150 years. We investigate the dependence of the urban growth pattern on the values associated with the protected wetland and other types of landscape surrounding the city. The conflict between city growth and wetland protection is projected to occur before 2035, assuming full protection of the wetland. Our results also show that a milder protection policy, allowing some of the wetland to be sacrificed, could be beneficial for maintaining other valuable landscapes. This insight would be difficult to achieve by other analytical means. We conclude that even slight changes in usage priorities of landscapes can significantly affect the landscape distribution in near future. Our results also point to the importance of a protection policy to take the value of surrounding landscapes and the dynamic nature of urban areas into account.
1304.1609v1
2013-04-22
Topological Insulators with Commensurate Antiferromagnetism
We study the topological features of non-interacting insulators subject to an antiferromangetic (AFM) Zeeman field, or AFM insulators, the period of which is commensurate with the lattice period. These insulators can be classified by the presence/absence of an emergent anti-unitary symmetry: the combined operation of time-reversal and a lattice translation by vector $\mathbf{D}$. For AFM insulators that preserve this combined symmetry, regardless of any details in lattice structure or magnetic structure, we show that (i) there is a new type of Kramers' degeneracy protected by the combined symmetry; (ii) a new $Z_2$ index may be defined for 3D AFM insulators, but not for those in lower dimensions and (iii) in 3D AFM insulators with a non-trivial $Z_2$ index, there are odd number of gapless surface modes if and only if the surface termination also preserves the combined symmetry, but the dispersion of surface states becomes highly anisotropic if the AFM propagation vector becomes small compared with the reciprocal lattice vectors. We numerically demonstrate the theory by calculating the spectral weight of the surface states of a 3D TI in the presence of AFM fields with different propagation vectors, which may be observed by ARPES in Bi$_2$Se$_3$ or Bi$_2$Te$_3$ with induced antiferromagnetism.
1304.6081v3
2013-05-17
Spectral gap for stochastic energy exchange model with nonuniformly positive rate function
We give a lower bound on the spectral gap for a class of stochastic energy exchange models. In 2011, Grigo et al. introduced the model and showed that, for a class of stochastic energy exchange models with a uniformly positive rate function, the spectral gap of an $N$-component system is bounded from below by a function of order $N^{-2}$. In this paper, we consider the case where the rate function is not uniformly positive. For this case, the spectral gap depends not only on $N$ but also on the averaged energy $\mathcal{E}$, which is the conserved quantity under the dynamics. Under some assumption, we obtain a lower bound of the spectral gap which is of order $C(\mathcal{E})N^{-2}$ where $C(\mathcal{E})$ is a positive constant depending on $\mathcal {E}$. As a corollary of the result, a lower bound of the spectral gap for the mesoscopic energy exchange process of billiard lattice studied by Gaspard and Gilbert [J. Stat. Mech. Theory Exp. 2008 (2008) p11021, J. Stat. Mech. Theory Exp. 2009 (2009) p08020] and the stick process studied by Feng et al. [Stochastic Process. Appl. 66 (1997) 147-182] are obtained.
1305.4066v3
2013-08-18
Layered Constructions for Low-Delay Streaming Codes
We propose a new class of error correction codes for low-delay streaming communication. We consider an online setup where a source packet arrives at the encoder every $M$ channel uses, and needs to be decoded with a maximum delay of $T$ packets. We consider a sliding-window erasure channel --- $\cC(N,B,W)$ --- which introduces either up to $N$ erasures in arbitrary positions, or $B$ erasures in a single burst, in any window of length $W$. When $M=1$, the case where source-arrival and channel-transmission rates are equal, we propose a class of codes --- MiDAS codes --- that achieve a near optimal rate. Our construction is based on a {\em layered} approach. We first construct an optimal code for the $\cC(N=1,B,W)$ channel, and then concatenate an additional layer of parity-check symbols to deal with $N>1$. When $M > 1$, the case where source-arrival and channel-transmission rates are unequal, we characterize the capacity when $N=1$ and $W \ge M(T+1),$ and for $N>1$, we propose a construction based on a layered approach. Numerical simulations over Gilbert-Elliott and Fritchman channel models indicate significant gains in the residual loss probability over baseline schemes. We also discuss the connection between the error correction properties of the MiDAS codes and their underlying column distance and column span.
1308.3827v1
2013-08-31
Delay Minimization for Instantly Decodable Network Coding in Persistent Channels with Feedback Intermittence
In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing the multicast decoding delay of generalized instantly decodable network coding (G-IDNC) over persistent forward and feedback erasure channels with feedback intermittence. In such an environment, the sender does not always receive acknowledgement from the receivers after each transmission. Moreover, both the forward and feedback channels are subject to persistent erasures, which can be modelled by a two state (good and bad states) Markov chain known as Gilbert-Elliott channel (GEC). Due to such feedback imperfections, the sender is unable to determine subsequent instantly decodable packets combination for all receivers. Given this harsh channel and feedback model, we first derive expressions for the probability distributions of decoding delay increments and then employ these expressions in formulating the minimum decoding problem in such environment as a maximum weight clique problem in the G-IDNC graph. We also show that the problem formulations in simpler channel and feedback models are special cases of our generalized formulation. Since this problem is NP-hard, we design a greedy algorithm to solve it and compare it to blind approaches proposed in literature. Through extensive simulations, our adaptive algorithm is shown to outperform the blind approaches in all situations and to achieve significant improvement in the decoding delay, especially when the channel is highly persistent
1309.0145v2
2013-09-06
Energy release from impacting prominence material following the 2011 June 7 eruption
Solar filaments exhibit a range of eruptive-like dynamic activity, ranging from the full or partial eruption of the filament mass and surrounding magnetic structure as a coronal mass ejection (CME), to a fully confined or 'failed' eruption. On 2011 June 7, a dramatic partial eruption of a filament was observed by multiple instruments on SDO and STEREO. One of the interesting aspects of this event is the response of the solar atmosphere as non-escaping material falls inward under the influence of gravity. The impact sites show clear evidence of brightening in the observed EUV wavelengths due to energy release. Two plausible physical mechanisms explaining the brightening are considered: heating of the plasma due to the kinetic energy of impacting material compressing the plasma, or reconnection between the magnetic field of low-lying loops and the field carried by the impacting material. By analyzing the emission of the brightenings in several SDO/AIA wavelengths, and comparing the kinetic energy of the impacting material (7.6 x 10^26 - 5.8 x 10^27 ergs) to the radiative energy (1.9 x 10^25 - 2.5 x 10^26 ergs) we find the dominant mechanism of energy release involved in the observed brightening is plasma compression.
1309.1769v1
2013-09-26
Constraints on a second planet in the WASP-3 system
There have been previous hints that the transiting planet WASP-3 b is accompanied by a second planet in a nearby orbit, based on small deviations from strict periodicity of the observed transits. Here we present 17 precise radial velocity measurements and 32 transit light curves that were acquired between 2009 and 2011. These data were used to refine the parameters of the host star and transiting planet. This has resulted in reduced uncertainties for the radii and masses of the star and planet. The radial-velocity data and the transit times show no evidence for an additional planet in the system. Therefore, we have determined the upper limit on the mass of any hypothetical second planet, as a function of its orbital period.
1309.6733v1
2013-09-28
Synthetic Multiferroic Interconnects for Magnetic Logic Circuits
In this work, we consider the possibility of using synthetic multiferroics comprising piezoelectric and magnetostrictive materials as an interconnect for nano magnetic logic circuits. The proposed interconnect resembles a parallel plate capacitor filled with a piezoelectric, where one of the plates is made of a magnetoelastic material. The operation of the interconnect is based on the effect of stress-mediated anisotropy modulation, where an electric field applied across the piezoelectric material produces stress, which, in turn, affects the anisotropy field in the magnetostrictive material. We present the results of numerical modeling illustrating signal propagation through the interconnect. The model combines electric and magnetic parts, where the electric part describes the distribution of an electric field through the piezoelectric and the magnetic part describes the change of magnetization in the magnetoelastic layer. The model is based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation with the electric field dependent anisotropy term included. The utilization of the electro-magnetic coupling makes it possible to amplify magnetic signal during its propagation via energy conversion from the electric to magnetic domains. Potentially, synthetic multiferroic interconnects can be implemented in a variety of spin-based devices ensuring reliable and low-energy consuming data transmission. According to the estimates, the group velocity of magnetic signals may be up to 100 km/s with energy dissipation less than aJ per bit per 100nm. The fundamental limits and practical shortcoming of the proposed approach are also discussed.
1309.7399v1