Chemical composition and reaction analysis of single aerosol particles

In situ measurements of gas-liquid surface reactions of single aerosol microdroplets are presented. By means of optical levitation in combination with elastic (Mie) and inelastic (Raman) light scattering it is possible to get information on the chemistry of e.g. acid/base reactions as well as the physical behavior of single microparticles.     

Localising gravity in composite monopole brane worlds without bulk cosmological constant

We study a 7-dimensional brane world scenario with a Ricci-flat 3-brane residing in the core of a composite monopole defect, i.e., a defect composed of a 't Hooft–Polyakov and a global monopole. Admitting a direct interaction between the two bosonic sectors of the theory, we analyse the structure of the space–time in the limits of small, respectively large direct interaction coupling constant. For large direct interaction, the global monopole disappears from the system and leaves behind a negative cosmological constant in the bulk such that gravity-localising solutions are possible without a priori introduction of a bulk cosmological constant.     

Zur Stetigkeit in kompakten projektiven Ebenen

Abhandlungen aus dem Mathematischen Seminar der Universität Hamburg -     

The Cross-Entropy Method for Continuous Multi-Extremal Optimization

In recent years, the cross-entropy method has been successfully applied to a wide range of discrete optimization tasks. In this paper we consider the cross-entropy method in the context of continuous optimization. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the cross-entropy method for solving difficult continuous multi-extremal optimization problems, including those with non-linear constraints.      

Temperature dependence of pressure broadening of NH3 perturbed by H2 and N2

The temperature dependence of pressure broadening of 134 rovibrational transitions of several branches in the ν₄ and 2ν₂ bands of ammonia perturbed by H₂ and N₂ has been measured using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer. The temperature range covered during the experiments was between 235 and 296 K. The pressure-broadening linewidths were obtained using the method of multipressure fitting to the measured shapes of the lines. These broadenings were also calculated using a semiclassical model leading to a reasonable agreement with the observations and reproduces well the strong systematic experimental J and K quantum number dependencies. The retrieved values of the linewidths, along with those previously determined from the spectra at room temperature, were used to derive the temperature dependence of both H₂ and N₂ broadening of NH₃ lines. The broadening coefficients were shown to fit closely the well-known exponential law. For both experimental and theoretical results, the temperature exponent n has been obtained. Careful inspection of the experimental values shows that, contrary to the linewidths, the coefficient n is nearly K independent within each J multiplet. Also for a given J it does not seem to exhibit any noticeable variation with the type of rotational transition. On the other hand, the calculated n values exhibit a strong J and K systematic dependencies. n increases with K for a given J, decreases with J for a given K and are independent of the type of rotational transition.     

A Generalized Markov Sampler

A recent development of the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique is the emergence of MCMC samplers that allow transitions between different models. Such samplers make possible a range of computational tasks involving models, including model selection, model evaluation, model averaging and hypothesis testing. An example of this type of sampler is the reversible jump MCMC sampler, which is a generalization of the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. Here, we present a new MCMC sampler of this type. The new sampler is a generalization of the Gibbs sampler, but somewhat surprisingly, it also turns out to encompass as particular cases all of the well-known MCMC samplers, including those of Metropolis, Barker, and Hastings. Moreover, the new sampler generalizes the reversible jump MCMC. It therefore appears to be a very general framework for MCMC sampling. This paper describes the new sampler and illustrates its use in three applications in Computational Biology, specifically determination of consensus sequences, phylogenetic inference and delineation of isochores via multiple change-point analysis.