Piecewise-linearized methods for oscillators with limit cycles

A piecewise linearization method based on the linearization of nonlinear ordinary differential equations in small intervals, that provides piecewise analytical solutions in each interval and smooth solutions everywhere, is developed for the study of the limit cycles of smooth and non-smooth, conservative and non-conservative, nonlinear oscillators. It is shown that this method provides nonlinear maps for the displacement and velocity which depend on the previous values through the nonlinearity and its partial derivatives with respect to time, displacement and velocity, and yields non-standard finite difference formulae. It is also shown by means of five examples that the piecewise linearization method presented here is more robust and yields more accurate (in terms of displacement, energy and frequency) solutions than the harmonic balance procedure, the method of slowly varying amplitude and phase, and other non-standard finite difference equations.     

Automated proving and analysis of geometric theorems in coordinate-free form by using the anticommutative Gröbner basis method

Some geometric theorems can be stated in coordinate-free form as polynomials in Grassman algebra and can be proven by the anticommutative Gröbner basis method. In this article, we analyze some properties of both sets of hypotheses and conclusions of the theorem.     

Germanium growth on Br-terminated Si(1 0 0)

The consequences of Ge deposition on Br-terminated Si(1 0 0) were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy at ambient temperature after annealing at 650 K. One monolayer of Br was sufficient to prevent the formation of Ge huts beyond the critical thickness of 3 ML. This is possible because Br acts as a surfactant whose presence lowered the diffusivity of Ge adatoms. Hindered mobility was manifest at low coverage through the formation of short Ge chains. Further deposition resulted in the extension and connection of the Ge chains and gave rise to the buildup of incomplete layers. The deposition of 7 ML of Ge resulted in a rough surface characterized by irregularly shaped clusters. A short 800 K anneal desorbed the Br and allowed Ge atoms to reorganize into the more energetically favorable “hut” structures produced by conventional Ge overlayer growth on Si(1 0 0).     

Dependence of the H2-H2 Interaction on the Monomer Bond Lengths: Steps Toward an Accurate ab initio Estimate

We compute the vibrational coupling between two H₂ molecules from ab initio quantum chemical calculations of the H₂-H₂ potential carried out at the full configuration interaction level of theory using the atom-centered aug-cc-pVTZ basis set for hydrogen. We compare the full configuration interaction results with those obtained using two variants of coupled cluster theory and find that a fully iterative treatment of connected triples may be required to estimate the H₂-H₂ vibrational coupling accurately using coupled cluster theory.     

Periodic Integrable Systems with Delta-Potentials

In this paper we study root system generalizations of the quantum Bose-gas on the circle with pair-wise delta-function interactions. The underlying symmetry structures are shown to be governed by the associated graded algebra of Cherednik's (suitably filtered) degenerate double affine Hecke algebra, acting by Dunkl-type differential-reflection operators. We use Gutkin's generalization of the equivalence between the impenetrable Bose-gas and the free Fermi-gas to derive the Bethe ansatz equations and the Bethe ansatz eigenfunctions.     

On iteration semigroups of mean-type mappings and invariant means

Summary. Iteration semigroups of weighted quasi-arithmetic mean-type mappings are considered. Existence and uniqueness of a mean which is invariant with respect to a continuous semigroup of mean-type mapping is proved.     

Inclusion of carbon nanotubes in a TiO2 sol-gel matrix

We report here the successful inclusion of carbon nanotubes (CNs) into a TiO₂ matrix prepared by a sol-gel method. The presence of CNs in the sol-gel matrix and the structure of the film were analyzed principally by transmission electron microscopy. Complementary information about the behavior of embedded carbon nanotubes versus heat treatment and ion irradiation were obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The elaboration of an inorganic matrix containing embedded carbon nanotubes leads to a new nanocomposite. The possible applications of this nanocomposite are discussed.     

Numerical solutions of the shallow water equations with discontinuous bed topography

A simple scheme is developed for treatment of vertical bed topography in shallow water flows. The effect of the vertical step on flows is modelled with the shallow water equations including local energy loss terms. The bed elevation is denoted with z_b^‐ for the left and z_b⁺ for the right values at each grid point, hence exactly representing a discontinuity in the bed topography. The surface gradient method (SGM) is generalized to reconstruct water depths at cell interfaces involving a vertical step so that the fluxes at the cell interfaces can accurately be calculated with a Riemann solver. The scheme is verified by predicting a surge crossing a step, a tidal flow over a step and dam‐break flows on wet/dry beds. The results have shown good agreements compared with analytical solutions and available experimental data. The scheme is efficient, robust, and may be used for practical flow calculations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.