Structure and dynamics of fractal aerogels

Silica aerogels form mutually self-similar fractal structures for a broad range of densities and preparation conditions. This allows to scale dynamical results obtained on longitudinal acoustic waves up to the onset of the phonon to fracton crossover. An effective value of the fracton dimension is found, and various possible interpretations of that value are discussed.Dedicated to Professor Harry Thomas on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Baryons as rotating excitations of the chiral soliton

We show that the usual ansatz used for quantizing the collective coordinates corresponding to a rotation of chiral soliton does not satisfy the equations of motion. We suggest a more general ansatz that admits the separation of rotational degrees of freedom and does not contradict the equations of motion.Presented at the symposium Mesons and Light Nuclei, Bechyn, Czechoslovakia, May 27–June 1, 1985.     

Elliptic semiplanes and group divisible designs with orthogonal resolutions

In this paper we prove that there exists an elliptic semiplaneS(v, k, m) withk –m 2 if and only if there exists a group divisible design GDD _k ((k –m)(k – 1);k –m; 0, 1) withm pairwise orthogonal resolutions. As an example of this theorem, we construct an elliptic semiplaneW(45, 7, 3) and show thatW is isomorphic to the elliptic semiplaneS(45, 7, 3) given by R. D. Baker.     

On the multiplicative group generated by a dense sequence of integers

The subgroup of the positive rationals, generated by a sequence of upper density , has index essentially not exceeding ^–1.In honor of the seventieth birthday of Professor E. HlawkaPartially supported by N.S.F. Contract No. DMS-8500949.     

A two-stage nonlinear cochlear model possesses automatic gain control

A model of the cochlea is explored using as stimuli two simultaneously presented sinusoids of equal amplitude. The model consists of two stages: a linear bandpass filter, followed by a reservoir-type representation of the hair-cell/nerve-fiber complex. Fast Fourier transforms of the model's output were computed. While the amplitudes of the individual response components were strongly nonlinear functions of intensity, the ratio of the magnitudes of the response components at the frequencies of the two stimulating sinusoids was found to be nearly equal, over a wide intensity range, to the ratio of the amplitudes which those stimulating sinusoids possessed at the output of the filter. Thus the reservoir stage exerts "automatic gain control".     

Confusion effects with sinusoidal and narrow-band noise forward maskers

In some forward-masking conditions, signal thresholds may be elevated by the listener's inability to distinguish the signal from the preceding masker. In this study, such "confusion" effects are investigated for both sinusoidal and narrow-band noise forward maskers combined with sinusoidal signals of varying duration. Results for the sinusoidal maskers show effects of off-frequency listening for brief signals and possibly small effects of confusion for longer signals. Results for the narrow-band noise maskers show a marked influence of confusion over a wide range of signal durations. This range is in good agreement with that predicted from previous work with "pulsing" maskers [D. Neff, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 78, 1966-1976 (1985)]. These results suggest that studies using narrow-band noise forward maskers or studies of psychophysical suppression should include direct tests for confusion effects in key conditions.     

Al2O3-supported Fe?Ni catalysts for CO hydrogenation, I. Catalytic properties

CO conversion to hydrocarbons at various reaction temperatures and atmospheric pressure has been investigated on alumina-supported Fe, Ni and Fe–Ni catalysts. Maxima of activity and selectivity were obtained in hydrocarbon formation as a function of Fe content in the samples, which corresponds to a certain stoichiometry of metallic components.