Time-resolved reflectance at null source-detector separation: improving contrast and resolution in diffuse optical imaging

We propose a novel approach to imaging in diffusive media based on time-resolved reflectance measurements at null source-detector separation. This approach yields better spatial resolution and contrast as compared to the classical approach, which typically employs a separation of 20-40 mm. Results are obtained by an analytical perturbation approach to diffusion theory and on Monte Carlo simulations. Practical implementation with state-of-the-art technology and performance of a complementary approach based on the use of small but not null source-detector separation are also discussed.     

Comparison of frequency-domain and time-domain fluorescence lifetime tomography

We compare frequency-and time-domain formulations of deep-tissue fluorescence imaging of turbid media. Simulations are used to show that time-domain fluorescence tomography, implemented via the asymptotic lifetime-based approach, offers a significantly better separability of multiple lifetime targets than a frequency-domain approach. We also demonstrate experimentally, using complex-shaped phantoms, the advantages of the asymptotic time-domain approach over a Fourier-based approach for analyzing time-domain fluorescence data.     

Structure of nuclei far from the stability in relativistic approach

The recent progress of the relativistic many-body approach by the group at Peking University will be reviewed. In particular, axially deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov approach in Woods-Saxon basis aiming at halo nucleus, time-odd triaxial RMF approach, the adiabatic and configuration-fixed constrained triaxial RMF approaches, a Reflection ASymmetric RMF (RAS-RMF) approach, and a new relativistic Hartree-Fock (RHF) approach with density-dependent σ,ω,ρ and π meson-nucleon couplings for finite nuclei and nuclear matter, will be highlighted.     

Modal flexibility-based damage detection of cantilever beam-type structures using baseline modification

This paper presents a new damage detection approach for cantilever beam-type structures using the damage-induced inter-storey deflection (DIID) estimated by modal flexibility matrix. This approach can be utilized for damage detection of cantilever beam-type structures such as super high-rise buildings, high-rise apartment buildings, etc. Analytical studies on the DIID of cantilever beam-type structures have shown that the DIID abruptly occurs from damage location. Baseline modification concept was newly introduced to detect multiple damages in cantilever beam-type structures by changing the baseline to the prior damage location. This approach has a clear theoretical base and directly identifies damage location(s) without the use of a finite element (FE) model. For validating the applicability of the proposed approach to cantilever beam-type structures, a series of numerical and experimental studies on a 10-storey building model were carried out. From the tests, it was found that the damage locations can be successfully identified by the proposed approach for multiple damages as well as a single damage. In order to confirm the superiority of the proposed approach, a comparative study was carried out on two well-known damage metrics such as modal strain-based damage index approach and uniform load surface curvature approach.     

Vibration analysis of a beam with PCLD Patch

An analytical approach for vibration response analysis of a beam with single passive constrained layer damping (PCLD) patch is presented. The governing equation of motion of the beam is firstly derived on the basis of an energy approach and the Lagrange equation. The noval contribution is that a third admissible function is introduced to represent the longitudinal displacements of the constraining layer in the PCLD patch when the assumed-modes method is applied for discretizing the governing equation. In conventional analytical approaches, only two admissible functions are used together with a longitudinal static equilibrium equation of a section of base beam or constraining layer. Comparison of the computational results from the proposed analytical approach and the conventional analytical approach as well as a commercial FEM code reveals that the proposed analytical approach can describe the vibration responses of the damped beam more accurately for commonly used viscoelastic material (VEM) layer in the PCLD patch while the conventional analytical approach, in general, overestimates the damping effects of the PCLD patch. The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed analytical approach and conventional analytical approach are discussed through some case studies.     

Nonparametric NMR spectroscopy

The parametric (or model-based) approach to NMR spectroscopy suffers from two general problems: it is sensitive to modeling errors and requires knowledge of the number of resonances present in the compound(s) under analysis. The nonparametric approach has neither of these drawbacks and it may also be computationally simpler than the parametric approach. However, if not applied properly, the nonparametric approach may yield significantly less accurate spectroscopic results than the parametric approach. In this paper we introduce a high-resolution nonparametric methodology for NMR spectroscopy based on the adaptive filter bank approach. The main salient feature of the new approach is that it provides 2D spectra versus both frequency and damping, as opposed to the classical 1D frequency spectra routinely used in NMR spectroscopy. To show the power of our new nonparametric approach we compare its performance with the ultimate performance of the parametric approach. We use both simulated and real NMR signals in our numerical performance study.     

Accurate radial basis function based neural network approach for analysis of photonic crystal fibers

In this paper, a new and an accurate artificial neural network approach (ANN) is presented for the analysis and design of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). The new ANN approach is based on the radial basis functions which offer a very quick convergence and high efficiency during the ANN learning. The accuracy of the suggested approach is demonstrated via the excellent agreement between the results obtained using the presented approach and the results of the full vectorial finite difference method (FVFDM). In addition, a new design of highly birefringence PCF with low losses for the two polarized modes is presented using the proposed approach.     

Development and application of the hadronic event generators in HEP

We have suggested a new approach to the development and use of Monte Carlo event generators in high-energy physics (HEP). It is a component approach where a complex numerical model is composed from standardized components. Our approach opens a way to organize a library of HEP model components and provides a great deal of flexibility for the construction of powerful and realistic numerical models. To support this approach, we have designed the NiMax software system (framework) that is written in C++.     

A multivariate quadrature based moment method for LES based modeling of supersonic combustion

The transported probability density function (PDF) approach is a powerful technique for large eddy simulation (LES) based modeling of scramjet combustors. In this approach, a high-dimensional transport equation for the joint composition-enthalpy PDF needs to be solved. Quadrature based approaches provide deterministic Eulerian methods for solving the joint-PDF transport equation. In this work, it is first demonstrated that the numerical errors associated with LES require special care in the development of PDF solution algorithms. The direct quadrature method of moments (DQMOM) is one quadrature-based approach developed for supersonic combustion modeling. This approach is shown to generate inconsistent evolution of the scalar moments. Further, gradient-based source terms that appear in the DQMOM transport equations are severely underpredicted in LES leading to artificial mixing of fuel and oxidizer. To overcome these numerical issues, a semi-discrete quadrature method of moments (SeQMOM) is formulated. The performance of the new technique is compared with the DQMOM approach in canonical flow configurations as well as a three-dimensional supersonic cavity stabilized flame configuration. The SeQMOM approach is shown to predict subfilter statistics accurately compared to the DQMOM approach.     

Optimized swimmer tracking system based on a novel multi-related-targets approach

Robust tracking is a crucial step in automatic swimmer evaluation from video sequences. We designed a robust swimmer tracking system using a new multi-related-targets approach. The main idea is to consider the swimmer as a bloc of connected subtargets that advance at the same speed. If one of the subtargets is partially or totally occluded, it can be localized by knowing the position of the others. In this paper, we first introduce the two-dimensional direct linear transformation technique that we used to calibrate the videos. Then, we present the classical tracking approach based on dynamic fusion. Next, we highlight the main contribution of our work, which is the multi-related-targets tracking approach. This approach, the classical head-only approach and the ground truth are then compared, through testing on a database of high-level swimmers in training, national and international competitions (French National Championships, Limoges 2015, and World Championships, Kazan 2015). Tracking percentage and the accuracy of the instantaneous speed are evaluated and the findings show that our new appraoach is significantly more accurate than the classical approach.     

A note on rotor-bearing stability

In a recent paper by the author in this Journal, one of several ideas put forth was an unconventional approach to study rotor-bearing stability. The approach would appear to be considerably more accurate than conventional approaches and overall significantly enhance study of the subject. However, the experiment that was proposed to implement the approach has since been found to contain a fundamental flaw. This short note has been written primarily to point out that flaw and to propose an experiment in which the approach previously presented is correctly implemented.     

Glafka 2004: The Decoherent Histories Approach to the Quantization of Cosmological Models

The decoherent histories approach is a particularly useful approach to quantum theory especially when time enters in a non-trivial way, or indeed, when there is no physical time coordinate at all, as is the case in quantum cosmology. Here, attempts to apply the decoherent histories approach to quantum cosmology are described.     

Real-time path integral approach to nonequilibrium many-body quantum systems

A real-time path-integral Monte Carlo approach is developed to study the dynamics in a many-body quantum system coupled to a phonon background until reaching a nonequilibrium stationary state. The approach is based on augmenting an exact reduced equation for the evolution of the system in the interaction picture which is amenable to an efficient path integral (worldline) Monte Carlo approach. Results obtained for a model of inelastic tunneling spectroscopy reveal the applicability of the approach to a wide range of physically important regimes, including high (classical) and low (quantum) temperatures, and weak (perturbative) and strong electron-phonon couplings.     

On geometric approach to Lie symmetries of differential-difference equations

Based upon Cartan's geometric formulation of differential equations, Harrison and Estabrook proposed a geometric approach for the symmetries of differential equations. In this Letter, we extend Harrison and Estabrook's approach to analyze the symmetries of differential-difference equations. The discrete exterior differential technique is applied in our approach. The Lie symmetry of (2+1)-dimensional Toda equation is investigated by means of our approach.     

Synergetic approach to studying material sputtering under ion bombardment

The use of the synergetic approach to studying the sputtering of materials under ion bombardment is considered. The applicability of this approach is based on complete correspondence between the main concepts of ion sputtering and synergetics, i.e., the disequilibrium and nonlinearity of multiparticle processes. The systematic application of synergetic methods within a uniform approach allow us to analyze such characteristics as the formation of mass and energy distributions (mass and energy spectra), and to develop a universal approach to studying the processes of elastic displacements and thermal spike based on the principles of nonlinear dynamics. A conclusion is drawn regarding the usefulness of the synergetic approach to the whole spectrum of problems of radiation physics.     

消声器传递损失预测的边界元模态展开混合方法

将边界元法和解析方法结合形成一种混合方法用于计算消声器的传递损失,消声器被划分成若干个子结构,解析方法和边界元方法被分别用于计算规则结构和不规则结构的阻抗矩阵,不同子结构之间通过阻抗矩阵连接起来。为减少计算时间,采用一种基于模态配点法的简化方法。对单级膨胀腔、双级膨胀腔和穿孔管阻性消声器的传递损失进行了计算,混合方法计算结果与解析方法和三维数值方法计算结果吻合良好。分析了混合方法的计算效率并与传统子结构方法进行了比较,混合方法能明显节省计算时间。      

Asymmetric and axisymmetric vibrations of finite transversely isotropic circular cylinders

This paper presents an approach for obtaining the exact frequency equations of axisymmetric and asymmetric free vibrations of transversely isotropic circular cylinders. The solution method is based on the three dimensional theory of linear elasticity and uses potential functions. Using this approach, the frequency spectra and vibration mode shapes are plotted for a number of transversely isotropic cylinders. The proposed approach introduces a number of merits compared to earlier approximate and exact solution methods. First, unlike numerically complicated series methods that provide approximate solutions, the proposed approach is exact. Second, combination of scalar functions employed for representing the displacement field is consistent with the physics of the problem. One scalar potential function has been considered for each component of the wave field inside the elastic cylinder. As a result, the solution is systematically divided into coupled and decoupled equations. In addition, by using this approach, there is no need to guess the final of the solution a priori. These merits make the proposed approach suitable for other vibration problems of anisotropic materials.     

Conditional probability on a quantum logic

We analyze two approaches to conditional probability. The first approach follows Gudder and Marchand, Maczysky, Cassinelli and Beltrametti, Cassinelli and Truini. The second approach follows Rényi and Kalmár. The main result is a characterization of the first approach with the help of a function, similarly as in the second approach.     

浅海环境下数据同化声层析方法研究

讨论了适用于浅海的基于声速局部测量模型、声传播模型及声压场局部测量模型的声学数据同化方法,并给出了具体的执行算法。该算法根据最优化准则把局部声速和声压场的先验测量信息,以及声传播模型进行了有效地融合,提高了海洋环境参数估计的精度,为浅海声层析提供了新思路。同时,利用实验浅海声速测量数据,通过经验正交函数对实际海洋声速剖面进行了估计,并分析了各类噪声对水体声速场及海底声学参数估计精度的影响,验证了该执行算法的有效性。