The frequency scale of speech intonation.

In intonation research, prominence-lending pitch movements have either been described on a linear or on a logarithmic frequency scale. An experiment has been carried out to check whether pitch movements in speech intonation are perceived on one of these two scales or on a psychoacoustic scale representing the frequency selectivity of the auditory system. This last scale is intermediary between the other two scales. Subjects matched the excursion size of prominence-lending pitch movements in utterances resynthesized in different pitch registers. Their task was to adjust the excursion size in a comparison stimulus in such a way that it lent equal prominence to the corresponding syllable in a fixed test stimulus. The comparison stimulus and the test stimulus had pitches running parallel on either the logarithmic frequency scale, the psychoacoustic scale, or the linear frequency scale. In one-half of the experimental sessions, the test stimulus was presented in the low register, while the comparison stimulus was presented in the high register, and, conversely, for the other half of the sessions. The result is that, in all cases, stimuli are matched in such a way that the average excursion sizes in different registers are equal on the psychoacoustic scale.     

State space and wave equation for Boson string with nontrivial topology of world sheet

We show that the wave functions of a string with nontrivial topology of the world sheet should be considered as sections of line bundles over the space of conformal classes of Riemann surfaces. We construct a BRST operator for the case of arbitrary topology and give it a geometric interpretation.Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov Leningradskogo Otdeleniya Matematicheskogo Instituta im. V. A. Steklova AN SSSR, Vol. 169, pp. 107–121, 1988.     

Christoffel-Darboux-type formulae and a recurrence for biorthogonal polynomials

It is proved that biorthogonal polynomials obey two different kinds of Christoffel-Darboux-type formulae, one linking polynomials with a different parameter and one combining polynomials with different degrees. This is used to produce a mixed recurrence relation, which is valid for all biorthogonal polynomials. This recurrence relation establishes several results on interlacing property of zeros of successive biorthogonal polynomials and leads to a new result on the interlace of zeros of orthogonal polynomials (of equal degrees) with respect to two distributionsdψ(x) andx ^p dψ(x), 0<p≤1, with support in either [0, 1] or [1, ∞).     

Angular dependent rayleigh scattering of Mössbauer radiation on proteins

RSMR experiments with⁵⁷Fe radiation were performed on myoglobin. An areasensitive detector was employed for simultaneous angular dependent collection of the scattered quanta up to a maximum angle 2θ of 17‡. Experimental data of polycrystalline and lyophilized myoglobin are compared with computer calculations of the scattering which are based on the atomic coordinates determined by X-ray structure analysis. Special attention has been paid to the influence of coherence effects from collectively moving parts of the protein. A simple model is introduced in order to take into account these segmental motions. Our first results indicate that the sizes of collectively moving segments are comparable with spheres of about 6 å in diameter in dry myoglobin. In myoglobin crystals, where the molecules are surrounded by large hydration shells, the movements appear to be correlated in segments with sizes comparable to helices.

     

A search technique for global optimization in a chaotic environment

We describe a new algorithm which uses the trajectories of a discrete dynamical system to sample the domain of an unconstrained objective function in search of global minima. The algorithm is unusually adept at avoiding nonoptimal local minima and successfully converging to a global minimum. Trajectories generated by the algorithm for objective functions with many local minima exhibit chaotic behavior, in the sense that they are extremely sensitive to changes in initial conditions and system parameters. In this context, chaos seems to have a beneficial effect: failure to converge to a global minimum from a given initial point can often be rectified by making arbitrarily small changes in the system parameters.     

The diffraction of plane gravitational waves by the edge of an ice cover

The diffraction of plane surface gravitational waves by the edge of an ice cover lying on the surface of an incompressible fluid of infinitely great depth is considered. The ice cover is simulated by a thin elastic plate. The wave reflection and transmission coefficients are determined when it interacts with the ice cover. A wave field is constructed in the fluid under the conditions that a periodic lumped force and a lumped moment act on the edge of the ice cover. It is shown that as the incident wavelength increases the reflection coefficient tends to zero and the transmission coefficient tends to unity.     

Sound field variations caused by intense internal waves in a shallow sea with a weak thermocline

Results of an experiment on investigating the fluctuations of a sound signal with a frequency of 295 Hz on a stationary 32-km-long acoustic path in a shallow sea are presented. Hydrological conditions on the path were characterized by the presence of a weak thermocline and a frequent occurrence of intense internal wave trains. The space-time characteristics of these internal waves were measured in detail. Experimental evidence of the repetition of the forms of internal solitons in the variations of the amplitude and phase of an acoustic signal was obtained.