Spectroscopy of the hyperfine structure of antiprotonic 4He and 3He

The spin magnetic moment $\mu^{\overline{p}}_{s}$ of the antiproton can be determined by comparing the measured transition frequencies in $\overline{p}^4$ He^?+? with three-body QED calculations. A comparison between the proton and antiproton can then be used as a test of CPT invariance. The highest measurement precision of the difference between the proton and the antiproton spin magnetic moments to date is 0.3%. A new experimental value of the spin magnetic moment of the antiproton was obtained as $\mu^{\overline{p}}_{s} = -2.7862(83)\mu_{N}$ , slightly better than the previously best measurement. This agrees with $\mu^{p}_{s}$ within 0.24%. In 2009, a new measurement with antiprotonic ³He has been started. A comparison between the theoretical calculations and experimental results would lead to a stronger test of the theory and address systematic errors therein. A measurement of this state will be the first HF measurement on $\overline{p}^3$ He^?+?. We report here on the new experimental setup and the first tests.     

Loss analysis and increasing of the fabrication tolerance of resonant coupling by tapering the mode beating section

The film mode matching method was used to analyze the inter waveguide coupling losses in a passive asymmetric twin waveguide caused by waveguide width and refractive index variation for both resonant and adiabatic coupling at a wavelength of 1,550 nm. The reasons for power losses are shown. It is demonstrated that tapering the mode beating section of the resonant coupler can increase the fabrication tolerance of resonant coupling without increasing the coupling length.     

In vivo SNR in DENSE MRI; temporal and regional effects of field strength, receiver coil sensitivity and flip angle strategies

Aim

The influences on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of Displacement ENcoding with Stimulated Echoes (DENSE) MRI of field strength, receiver coil sensitivity and choice of flip angle strategy have been previously investigated individually. In this study, all of these parameters have been investigated in the same setting, and a mutual comparison of their impact on SNR is presented.

Materials and methods

Ten healthy volunteers were imaged in a 1.5 T and a 3 T MRI system, using standard five- or six-channel cardiac coils as well as 32-channel coils, with four different excitation patterns. Variation of spatial coil sensitivity was assessed by regional SNR analysis.

Results

SNR ranging from 2.8 to 30.5 was found depending on the combination of excitation patterns, coil sensitivity and field strength. The SNR at 3 T was 53±26% higher than at 1.5 T (P<.001), whereas spatial differences of 59±26% were found in the ventricle (P<.001). Thirty-two-channel coils provided 52±29% higher SNR compared to standard five- or six-channel coils (P<.001). A fixed flip angle strategy provided an excess of 50% higher SNR in half of the imaged cardiac cycle compared to a sweeping flip angle strategy, and a single-phase acquisition provided a sixfold increase of SNR compared to a cine acquisition.

Conclusion

The effect of field strength and receiver coil sensitivity influences the SNR with the same order of magnitude, whereas flip angle strategy can have a larger effect on SNR. Thus, careful choice of imaging hardware in combination with adaptation of the acquisition protocol is crucial in order to realize sufficient SNR in DENSE MRI.     

Timing and eco(nomic) efficiency of climate-friendly investments in supply chains

Emission trading schemes such as the European Union Emissions Trading System (EUETS) attempt to reconcile economic efficiency with ecological efficiency by creating financial incentives for companies to invest in climate-friendly innovations. Using real options methodology, we demonstrate that under uncertainty, economic and ecological efficiency continue to be mutually exclusive. This problem is even worse if a climate-friendly project depends on investing in of a whole supply chain. We model a sequential bargaining game in a supply chain where the parties negotiate over implementation of a carbon dioxide (CO₂) saving investment project. We show that the outcome of their bargaining is not economically efficient and even less ecologically efficient. Furthermore, we show that a supply chain becomes less economically efficient and less ecologically efficient with every additional chain link. Finally, we make recommendations for how managers or politicians can improve the situation and thereby increase economic as well as ecological efficiency and thus also the eco-efficiency of supply chains.     

Aggregation of Malmquist productivity indexes allowing for reallocation of resources

In this paper we consider aggregate Malmquist productivity index measures which allow inputs to be reallocated within the group (when in output orientation). This merges the single period aggregation results allowing input reallocation of Nesterenko and Zelenyuk (2007) with the aggregate Malmquist productivity index results of Zelenyuk (2006) to determine aggregate Malmquist productivity indexes that are justified by economic theory, consistent with previous aggregation results, and which maintain analogous decompositions to the original measures. Such measures are of direct relevance to firms or countries who have merged (making input reallocation possible), allowing them to measure potential productivity gains and how these have been realised (or not) over time.     

Polynomials in operator space theory

The aim of this article is to start a metric theory of homogeneous polynomials in the category of operator spaces. For this purpose we take advantage of the basic fact that the space P^m(E)$P^m(E)$ of all m-homogeneous polynomials on a vector space E can be identified with the algebraic dual of the m  -th symmetric tensor product ⊗^m,sE${\otimes }^{m,s}E$. Given an operator space V, we study several different types of completely bounded polynomials on V   which form the operator space duals of ⊗^m,sV${\otimes }^{m,s}V$ endowed with related operator structures. Of special interest are what we call Haagerup, Kronecker, and Schur polynomials – polynomials associated with different types of matrix products.     

A Capped Optimal Stopping Problem for the Maximum Process

This paper concerns an optimal stopping problem driven by the running maximum of a spectrally negative Lévy process X. More precisely, we are interested in capped versions of the American lookback optimal stopping problem (Gapeev in J. Appl. Probab. 44:713–731, 2007; Guo and Shepp in J. Appl. Probab. 38:647–658, 2001; Pedersen in J. Appl. Probab. 37:972–983, 2000), which has its origins in mathematical finance, and provide semi-explicit solutions in terms of scale functions. The optimal stopping boundary is characterised by an ordinary first-order differential equation involving scale functions and, in particular, changes according to the path variation of X. Furthermore, we will link these capped problems to Peskir’s maximality principle (Peskir in Ann. Probab. 26:1614–1640, 1998).     

Toward a formalism of modeling and simulation using model theory

This article proposes a Modeling and Simulation (M&S) formalism using Model Theory. The article departs from the premise that M&S is the science that studies the nature of truth using models and simulations. Truth in models and simulations is relative as they seek to answer specific modeling questions. Consequently, truth in M&S is relative because every model is a purposeful abstraction of reality. We use Model Theory to express the proposed formalism because it is built from the premise that truth is relative. The proposed formalism allows us to: (1) deduce formal definitions and explanations of areas of study in M&S, including conceptual modeling, validity, and interoperability, and (2) gain insight into which tools can be used to semi‐automate validation and interoperation processes. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 19: 56–63, 2014     

A thermodynamically consistent constitutive model for fluid mud

In this contribution, an approach towards a thermodynamically consistent constitutive model for fluid mud is presented. Fluid mud exhibits highly non-Newtonian, thixotropic behaviour. It can be classified as a structured fluid. Typically, its viscosity is modeled using Bingham-type rheological models of different complexity [1, 2]. Here, the three-dimensional non-Newtonian constitutive behaviour will be modeled based on a visco-elasto-plastic model. At the current stage, a Drucker-Prager-like yield function has been formulated. Viscosity is assumed to be a function of shear viscosity. First results show the general ability to represent experimental data. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)