The transfer-matrix and max-plus algebra method for global combinatorial optimization: Application to cyclic and polyhedral water clusters

A new method for the combinatorial optimization of quasi-one-dimensional systems is presented. This method is in close analogy with the well-known transfer-matrix method. The method allows for the calculation of the lowest energy levels of the system. However, when finding the ground and some low-lying states of large complex systems, this method is more economical when compared to the standard transfer-matrix method. The method presented here is based on max-plus algebra, which has maximization and addition as its basic arithmetic operations. For the explanation of this method we use cyclic water clusters as simple examples. The efficiency of the max-plus-algebraic method is demonstrated in the course of global combinatorial optimization of hydrogen bond arrangements in large polyhedral water clusters with fixed positions of the oxygen atoms. The energy of the clusters is estimated using approximate discrete models for the intermolecular interactions.     

Dynamic bifurcation and sensitivity analysis of non-linear non-planar vibrations of geometrically imperfect cantilevered beams

The non-linear non-planar dynamic responses of a near-square cantilevered (a special case of inextensional beams) geometrically imperfect (i.e., slightly curved) and perfect beam under harmonic primary resonant base excitation with a one-to-one internal resonance is investigated. The sensitivity of limit-cycles predicted by the perfect beam model to small geometric imperfections is analyzed and the importance of taking into account the small geometric imperfections is investigated. This was carried out by assuming two different geometric imperfection shapes, fixing the corresponding frequency detuning parameters and continuation of sample limit-cycles versus the imperfection parameter. The branches of periodic responses for perfect and imperfect (i.e. small geometric imperfection) beams are determined and compared. It is shown that branches of periodic solutions associated with similar limit-cycles of the imperfect and perfect beams have a frequency shift with respect to each other and may undergo different bifurcations which results in different dynamic responses. Furthermore, the imperfect beam model predicts more dynamic attractors than the perfect one. Also, it is shown that depending on the magnitude of geometric imperfection, some of the attractors predicted by the perfect beam model may collapse. Ignoring the small geometric imperfections and applying the perfect beam model is shown to contribute to erroneous results.     

Optimal design of FIR beamformer with frequency invariant patterns

Two approaches to the optimal design of FIR beamformers with frequency invariant patterns using second-order cone programming (SOCP) are proposed. The first approach is a two-step method, which is implemented via separately optimal array pattern synthesis and optimal FIR filters design. The array weights for each frequency bin within the working frequency band are designed to insure that the array patterns approximate the reference ones. And the FIR filter corresponding to each sensor is designed to insure that the frequency responses approximate the array weights. The second approach is a direct method, in which the beam response is expressed as a linear function of FIR filter tap weights and the filters are designed by jointly optimizing the spatial and frequency responses to achieve the desired array patterns. All the optimal design problems (array pattern synthesis, FIR filter design and joint optimization) are formulated as the SOCP, which can be solved efficiently using the well-developed interior-point methods. Results of computer simulations and lake experiment for a twelve-element semicircular array confirm satisfactory performance of the two approaches proposed in this paper.     

Influence of current pulse shape on directly modulated system performance in metro area optical networks

Due to the fact that a metro network market is very cost sensitive, direct modulated schemes appear attractive. In this paper a CWDM (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing) system is studied in detail by means of an Optical Communication System Design Software; a detailed study of the modulated current shape (exponential, sine and gaussian) for 2.5 Gb/s CWDM Metropolitan Area Networks is performed to evaluate its tolerance to linear impairments such as signal-to-noise-ratio degradation and dispersion. Point-to-point links are investigated and optimum design parameters are obtained. Through extensive sets of simulation results, it is shown that some of these shape pulses are more tolerant to dispersion when compared with conventional gaussian shape pulses. In order to achieve a low Bit Error Rate (BER), different types of optical transmitters are considered including strongly adiabatic and transient chirp dominated Directly Modulated Lasers (DMLs). We have used fibers with different dispersion characteristics, showing that the system performance depends, strongly, on the chosen DML-fiber couple.     

Some remarks on the meaning of equality in Diophantos’s Arithmetica

Diophantos in Arithmetica, without having defined previously any concept of “equality” or “equation,” employs a concept of the unknown number as a tool for solving problems and finds its value from an equality ad hoc created. In this paper we analyze Diophantos’s practices in the creation and simplification of such equalities, aiming to adduce more evidence on certain issues arising in recent historical research on the meaning of the “equation” in Diophantos’s work.     

Recent progress in controlled radical polymerization of N-vinyl monomers

This review summarizes recent advances in the controlled radical polymerization of N-vinyl monomers, such as N-vinylcarbazole, N-vinylindole derivatives, N-vinylpyrrolidone, N-vinylcaprolactam, N-vinylformamide, N-vinylacetoamide derivatives, N-vinyl(na)phthalimides, N-vinylimidazolium salts, and N-vinyltriazoles. Recent significant progress of controlled radical polymerization of these N-vinyl monomers has allowed for the synthesis of well-defined functional polymers having various architectures, including block copolymers, branched polymers (stars, star block copolymers, miktoarm star copolymers, and graft copolymers), and hybrids. Characteristic properties, assembled structures, and three-dimensional architectures of these functional polymers derived from N-vinyl monomers are briefly introduced.