Emergence of acronyms in a community of language users

Language is a complex system that evolves over time, due to several phenomena. In recent years, new communication media are affecting interpersonal written communication. In particular, mobile phones and internet-based communication media are leading people to use a small number of characters when writing messages. Hence, acronyms or abbreviations are used in most cases. In particular, a mobile phone message is usually composed by short phrases, the social network Twitter only allows 140 characters per message and in many online forums users have limited space for questions and answers. Although the use of acronyms dates back to ancient times, nowadays this type of linguistic sign is gaining prestige. In this work, we study the introduction of acronyms in social systems. In particular, we define a simple game for the purpose of analyzing how the use of an acronym spreads in a population, considering its ability to create a shared meaning. We performed many numerical simulations according to the proposed model, showing the creation of acronyms to be the result of collective dynamics in a population.     

An Effective Simulation of Aqueous Micellar Aggregates by Computational Models

Summary We have computationally studied the interaction modes, localization and orientation of a benzene (Bz) molecule on the surface of micelles formed by cetyltrimethylammonium salts CTAX. Experimental ¹H-NMR data on complexation shifts induced by Bz on the polar head hydrogens and on the adjacent methylene hydrogens of CTAX have been interpreted using a computational approach that combines an automatic molecular docking procedure with a calculation module that accounts for NMR complexation shifts due to ring current diamagnetic anisotropy. Three different models were used to reduce the complexity of the micellar system. Computational results, in good agreement with available experimental data, point to a preferential localization of the Bz molecule along the CTAX alkyl tail, about 3.9 Å away from the charged nitrogen. The Bz molecular plane is predicted perpendicular to the C-H bonds of the alkyl tail. The good results obtained with the simplest model suggest that it could be used to study more complex systems involving surfactants endowed with molecular recognition or catalytic abilities.     

Modules Over Group Rings with Restrictions on Some Factor-Modules

Let D be a Dedekind domain and G be a group. In this paper we study DG-modules in which every proper factor-module, a part from the trivial one, is D-artinian. In particular, we prove that if such modules are not D-torsion-free, then their study can be traced back to the already known study of FG-modules (here F is a field) with each proper factor-module having finite F-dimension. Finally, we obtain a good picture of D-torsion-free, factorially D-artinian DG-modules, when G is a locally soluble FC-hypercentral group.     

Non-Adiabatic Surface Effects on Step-Induced Boundary-Layer Transition

The effect on step-induced boundary-layer transition of surface temperatures different from the adiabatic-wall temperature was investigated for a (quasi-) two-dimensional flow at large Reynolds numbers and at both low and high subsonic Mach numbers. Sharp forward-facing steps were mounted on a flat plate and transition was studied non-intrusively by means of the temperature-sensitive paint technique. The experiments were conducted in the Cryogenic Ludwieg-Tube Göttingen with various streamwise pressure gradients and temperature differences between flow and model surface. A reduction of the ratio between surface and adiabatic-wall temperatures had a favorable influence on step-induced transition up to moderate values of the step Reynolds number and of the step height relative to the boundary-layer displacement thickness, leading to larger transition Reynolds numbers. However, at larger values of the non-dimensional step parameters, the increase in transition Reynolds number for a given reduction in the wall temperature ratio became smaller. Transition was found to be insensitive to changes in the wall temperature ratio for step Reynolds numbers above a certain value. Up to this limiting value, the relation between the relative change in transition location (with respect to its value for a smooth surface) and the non-dimensional step parameter was essentially unaffected by variations in the wall temperature ratio. The present choice of non-dimensional parameters allows the effect of the steps on transition to be isolated from the influence of variations in the other factors, provided that both transition locations on the step and smooth configurations are measured at the same conditions.     

<Superscript>151</Superscript>Eu Mössbauer study of multiferroic Eu<Subscript>0.75</Subscript>Y<Subscript>0.25</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

We are herewith reporting the ¹⁵¹Eu Mössbauer spectra collected on a polycrystalline powder sample of Eu_0.75Y_0.25MnO₃ from 15 K to room temperature. All the spectra consist of a single line, whose shape and related sample thickness are dependent on the temperature T. The thermal trend of the mean square displacement of Eu ion, obtained from the spectra analysis, clearly reveals a large low-temperature anharmonicity and in concomitance with the onset of the magnetic ordering consists in a linear strong decrease interrupted by two narrow wells at 29.5 K and 40 K. This behavior is interpreted in connection with the transfer of spectral weight from the 120 cm^-1 optical phonon to the electromagnonic modes. The T-trend of the central shift shows that Eu³⁺ electronic ground state in the magnetically ordered phase differs from the one in the paramagnetic state. Finally, the temperature dependence of the hyperfine field under T _N gives a contribution to interpret some controversial features regarding the phase-diagram.     

Path integral computation of phonon anharmonicity

The partition function of an oscillator disturbed by a set of electron particle paths has been computed by a path integral formalism which permits to evaluate at any temperature the relevant cumulant terms in the series expansion. The low temperature cutoffs in the anharmonic cumulant series are determined fulfilling the constraint of the third law of thermodynamics. The general method here proposed has been applied to the semiclassical Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model whose time dependent source current is linear in the oscillator displacement field. We find that this peculiar current induces large electron-phonon anharmonicities on the phonon subsystem. As a signature of anharmonicity the phonon heat capacity shows a peak whose temperature location strongly varies with the strength of the e-ph coupling. Since the electron hopping potential provides a sizeable background in the low and intermediate temperature range, such a peak is partly smeared in the total heat capacity. Low energy oscillators are more sensitive to anharmonic perturbations.Received: 7 January 2004, Published online: 3 August 2004PACS: 71.20.Rv Polymers and organic compounds - 31.15.Kb Path-integral methods - 63.20.Kr Phonon-electron and phonon-phonon interactions     

Strongly subharmonic functions,graphs, and their asymptotic growth

Let G be an infinite connected graph with uniformly bounded vertex degree, and let denote the Laplace operator corresponding to the simple random walk on it. In this paper we obtain relations between the structure of the graph and the qualitative behaviour of the class of functions u satisfying ub>0, namely we relate the asymptotic growth of the function u and that of the cardinality of balls in G.Acknowledgement We wish to thank the referee for her/his precise comments and helpful suggestions.     

Padua2DM: fast interpolation and cubature at the Padua points in Matlab/Octave

We have implemented in Matlab/Octave two fast algorithms for bivariate Lagrange interpolation at the so-called Padua points on rectangles, and the corresponding versions for algebraic cubature.     

Electron-phonon interaction in carbon clathrate hex- $\mathsf{C_{40}}$

We investigate an extended spin ladder with diagonal frustrated exchanges in a wide parameter regime. By representing the model as a sum of semidefinite positive projection operators, we prove that this model has exactly a dimer ground state. Smoothly changing parameters may lead the model cover several exactly known models. Starting from this ladder model, we proposed two two-dimensional net models with exact ground states. The quantum phase transition of the ground state, due to the change of exchange strengths along perpendicular rungs, is also discussed. Received 13 October 2002 Published online 27 January 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: schen@thphy.uni.duesseldorf.de