Global smooth solutions to the multi-dimensional hydrodynamic model for two-carrier plasmas

The existence of global smooth solutions to the multi-dimensional hydrodynamic model for plasmas of electrons and positively charged ions is shown under the assumption that the initial densities are close to a constant. The model consists of the conservation laws for the particle densities and the current densities, coupled to the Poisson equation for the electrostatic potential. Furthermore, it is proved that the particle densities converge exponentially fast to the (constant) steady state. The proof uses a higher-order energy method inspired from extended thermodynamics.     

氩气介质阻挡放电的发光特性

本文使用水电极介质阻挡放电装置,采用光学方法测量了氩气介质阻挡放电的发光特性。发现在驱动电压处于一定的范围内时,放电处于丝极模式,在驱动电压的每半周期内,无论是放电的总光还是单个微通道的放电发光均只有一次脉冲,单个微放电的时间为2μs,而总放电时间为2.4μs,这表明在氩气的丝极模式中,各单丝产生与熄灭的时间极其接近,各个放电丝之间有着很好的时间相关性。最后将本文的结果与空气中介质阻挡放电丝极模式的发光特性相比较,空气放电在每半周内的总光信号由多个脉冲组成,而每一个脉冲对应多个放电丝,因而氩气中各个放电微通道之间的时间相关性远强于空气的情况。     

Insight into chain dimensions in PEO/water solutions

Small‐Angle Neutron Scattering has been performed from poly(ethylene oxide) in deuterated water at temperature ranging from 10 to 80 °C. A simple fitting model was used to obtain a correlation length and a Porod exponent. The correlation length L characterizes the average distance between entanglements in the semidilute region and is proportional to the individual coil sizes in the dilute region. L was found to increase with temperature in the semidilute region but it decreases with temperature in the dilute region. This decrease is the precursor to the single‐chain collapse which applies to very dilute polymer solutions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2196–2200, 2007     

Portfolio optimization in stochastic markets

We consider a multiperiod mean-variance model where the model parameters change according to a stochastic market. The mean vector and covariance matrix of the random returns of risky assets all depend on the state of the market during any period where the market process is assumed to follow a Markov chain. Dynamic programming is used to solve an auxiliary problem which, in turn, gives the efficient frontier of the mean-variance formulation. An explicit expression is obtained for the efficient frontier and an illustrative example is given to demonstrate the application of the procedure.     

Critical percolation exploration path and SLE 6: a proof of convergence

It was argued by Schramm and Smirnov that the critical site percolation exploration path on the triangular lattice converges in distribution to the trace of chordal SLE ₆. We provide here a detailed proof, which relies on Smirnov’s theorem that crossing probabilities have a conformally invariant scaling limit (given by Cardy’s formula). The version of convergence to SLE ₆ that we prove suffices for the Smirnov–Werner derivation of certain critical percolation crossing exponents and for our analysis of the critical percolation full scaling limit as a process of continuum nonsimple loops. Research of Charles M.Newman was partially supported by the US NSF under grants DMS-01-04278 and DMS-06-06696.     

Decay Rates in Probability Metrics Towards Homogeneous Cooling States for the Inelastic Maxwell Model

We quantify the long-time behavior of solutions to the nonlinear Boltzmann equation for spatially uniform freely cooling inelastic Maxwell molecules by means of the contraction property of a suitable metric in the set of probability measures. Existence, uniqueness, and precise estimates of overpopulated high energy tails of the self-similar profile proved in ref. 9 are revisited and derived from this new Liapunov functional. For general initial conditions the solutions of the Boltzmann equation are then proved to converge with computable rate as t → ∞ to the self-similar solution in this distance, which metrizes the weak convergence of measures. Moreover, we can relate this Fourier distance to the Euclidean Wasserstein distance or Tanaka functional proving also its exponential convergence towards the homogeneous cooling states. The findings are relevant in the understanding of the conjecture formulated by Ernst and Brito in refs. 15, 16, and complement and improve recent studies on the same problem of Bobylev and Cercignani⁽⁹⁾ and Bobylev, Cercignani and one of the authors.⁽¹¹⁾     

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.      

Multi-cracks problem for piezoelectric materials strip subjected to dynamic loading

This paper analyses and models the dynamic interaction among permeable multi-cracks in a piezoelectric strip under anti-plane shear waves by the Schmidt method. The Fourier transform is applied and then two pairs of triple integral equations can be solved using the Schmidt method. The results show that the stress and the electric displacement intensity factors of cracks depend on not only the crack length and the piezoelectric coefficient, but also the thickness of the piezoelectric strip, the distance between multi-cracks and the frequency of incident wave.     

ASYMPTOTIC BEHAVIOR OF SOLUTIONS OF NONLINEAR NEUTRAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION

The boundedness of the every solution and the asymptotic behavior of all solutions of the nonlinear neutral delay differential equation [x(t) - P(t)x(t - t)]' Q1 (t)f(x{t-σ1))-Q2(t)f(x(t -σ2))=0,t≥t0 are investigated, whereτ,σ1,σ2∈(0,∞), P∈C([t0,∞),R), and Q1,Q2∈C([t0,∞),R), f∈C(R,R). The sufficient conditions obtained improve the existing results in the literatures.