The Effect of Multiple Buckling Modes on the Postbuckling Behavior of Plane Elastic Frames. Part I. Symmetric Frames

The postbuckling behavior of a one-bay, two-storey frame with built-in edges and symmetric with respect to midspan is analyzed. Columns are assumed to be inextensible and shear-undeformable, and beams are rigid. Then two buckling modes are possible, that is, sidesway of the lower floor with rigid horizontal displacement of the top floor and sidesway of the top floor with the lower floor undergoing no displacement. Obviously, the two buckling modes occur simultaneously if the ratios EI/h⁷ (EI being the bending stiffness of a column and h its length) are properly selected. Within the framework of a Koiter-type energy approach a suitable perturbation formulation is derived from a “hybrid” functional which is obtained by adding to the potential energy certain extra terms which account for the nonlinear energy associated with the internal forces applied to the beam at the joints. Results show that the postbuckling behavior of a single buckling mode can be stable or unstable according to the value of the ratio h/l, where l is the frame span. In the case of simultaneous buckling modes the structural behavior in the postbuckling range never improves, but no severe changes are noticed in comparison with the preceding case.     

Does the PBR Theorem Rule out a Statistical Understanding of QM?

The PBR theorem gives insight into how quantum mechanics describes a physical system. This paper explores PBRs’ general result and shows that it does not disallow the ensemble interpretation of quantum mechanics and maintains, as it must, the fundamentally statistical character of quantum mechanics. This is illustrated by drawing an analogy with an ideal gas. An ensemble interpretation of the Schrödinger cat experiment that does not violate the PBR conclusion is also given. The ramifications, limits, and weaknesses of the PBR assumptions, especially in light of lessons learned from Bell’s theorem, are elucidated. It is shown that, if valid, PBRs’ conclusion specifies what type of ensemble interpretations are possible. The PBR conclusion would require a more direct correspondence between the quantum state (e.g., \( \left| {\psi \rangle } \right. \)) and the reality it describes than might otherwise be expected. A simple terminology is introduced to clarify this greater correspondence.     

On the Essential Self-Adjointness of Singular Sub-Laplacians

Potential Analysis - We prove a general essential self-adjointness criterion for sub-Laplacians on complete sub-Riemannian manifolds, defined with respect to singular measures. We also show that,...     

Combinatorial optimization - Polyhedra and efficiency: A book review

We review the recent three-volume monograph authored by Alexander Schrijver, Combinatorial Optimization - Polyhedra and Efficiency, Springer-Verlag, 2003, ISBN 3-540-44389-4, 1881 pages (in a slip-case), price: € 89,95 .Received: November 2003, Revised: January 2004, AMS classification: 90C57, 68R10, 05C99     

Approximating the maximum 3-edge-colorable subgraph problem

We offer the following structural result: every triangle-free graph G of maximum degree 3 has 3 matchings which collectively cover at least of its edges, where γ_o(G) denotes the odd girth of G. In particular, every triangle-free graph G of maximum degree 3 has 3 matchings which cover at least 13/15 of its edges. The Petersen graph, where we can 3-edge-color at most 13 of its 15 edges, shows this to be tight. We can also cover at least 6/7 of the edges of any simple graph of maximum degree 3 by means of 3 matchings; again a tight bound.For a fixed value of a parameter k≥1, the Maximum k-Edge-Colorable Subgraph Problem asks to k-edge-color the most of the edges of a simple graph received in input. The problem is known to be APX-hard for all k≥2. However, approximation algorithms with approximation ratios tending to 1 as k goes to infinity are also known. At present, the best known performance ratios for the cases k=2 and k=3 were 5/6 and 4/5, respectively. Since the proofs of our structural result are algorithmic, we obtain an improved approximation algorithm for the case k=3, achieving approximation ratio of 6/7. Better bounds, and allowing also for parallel edges, are obtained for graphs of higher odd girth (e.g., a bound of 13/15 when the input multigraph is restricted to be triangle-free, and of 19/21 when C₅’s are also banned).     

A polynomial case of the parsimony haplotyping problem

The parsimony haplotyping problem was shown to be NP-hard when each genotype had k?3ambiguous positions, while the case for k?2 was open. In this paper, we show that the case for k?2 is polynomial, and we give approximation and FPT algorithms for the general case of k?0 ambiguous positions.     

A Direct Kinematical Derivation of the Relativistic Sagnac Effect for Light or Matter Beams

The Sagnac time delay and the corresponding Sagnac phase shift, for relativistic matter and electromagnetic beams counter-propagating in a rotating interferometer, are deduced on the ground of relativistic kinematics. This purely kinematical approach allows to explain the universality of the effect, namely the fact that the Sagnac time difference does not depend on the physical nature of the interfering beams. The only prime requirement is that the counter-propagating beams have the same velocity with respect to any Einstein synchronized local co-moving inertial frame.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of Mo clusters grown on TiO2(1 1 0)

Molybdenum was deposited in two steps (3 eq. ML and 1 eq. ML) on the light blue rutile TiO₂(1 1 0) (1 × 1) surface at room temperature, each Mo deposition cycle being followed by an annealing up to 950-1000 K. This procedure was found to lead to formation of separated clusters having a size in very wide range (1-20 nm). Scanning tunneling microscopy showed a dependence of the cluster morphology as a function of the size. The scanning tunneling spectra of Mo clusters was studied as a function of cluster dimensions and discussed in comparison with photoelectron spectroscopy results previously obtained for homogeneous Mo films. The dI/dV curves do not display the valence band structure of deposited material, which could be explained by the Schottky barrier formation.