q-Gaussians in the porous-medium equation: stability and time evolution

The stability of q-Gaussian distributions as particular solutions of the linear diffusion equation and its generalized nonlinear form, , the porous-medium equation, is investigated through both numerical and analytical approaches. An analysis of the kurtosis of the distributions strongly suggests that an initial q-Gaussian, characterized by an index q_i, approaches asymptotically the final, analytic solution of the porous-medium equation, characterized by an index q, in such a way that the relaxation rule for the kurtosis evolves in time according to a q-exponential, with a relaxation index q_rel ≡q_rel(q). In some cases, particularly when one attempts to transform an infinite-variance distribution (q_i ≥ 5/3) into a finite-variance one (q < 5/3), the relaxation towards the asymptotic solution may occur very slowly in time. This fact might shed some light on the slow relaxation, for some long-range-interacting many-body Hamiltonian systems, from long-standing quasi-stationary states to the ultimate thermal equilibrium state.     

Step structure on the fivefold Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal surface, and on related surfaces

We compare step morphologies on surfaces of Al-rich metallic alloys, both quasicrystalline and crystalline. We present evidence that the large-scale step structure observed on Al-rich quasicrystals after quenching to room temperature reflects equilibrium structure at an elevated temperature. These steps are relatively rough, i.e., have high diffusivity, compared to those on crystalline surfaces. For the fivefold quasicrystal surface, step diffusivity increases as step height decreases, but this trend is not obeyed in a broader comparison between quasicrystals and crystals. On a shorter scale, the steps on Al-rich alloys tend to exhibit local facets (short linear segments), with different facet lengths, a feature which could develop during quenching to room temperature. Facets are shortest and most difficult to identify for the fivefold quasicrystal surface.     

Thermodynamic non-additivity in disordered systems with extended phase space

Non-additivity effects in coupled dynamic-stochastic systems are investigated. It is shown that there is a mapping of the replica approach to disordered systems with finite replica indexn on Tsallis non-extensive statistics, if the average thermodynamic entropy of the dynamic subsystem differs from the information entropy for the probability distribution in the stochastic subsystem. The entropic indexq is determined by the entropy difference ΔS. In the case of incomplete information, the entropic indexq=1−n is shown to be related to the degree of lost information.     

Forecasting of precipitation occurrence in long-range trajectory climatology

Summary A procedure to include a way for forecasting the precipitation occurrence in the air mass trajectory computation for climatological studies in order to compute the wet deposition of airborne pollutants is presented. It is based on a technique proposed by Moscoet al., Riv. Meteorol. Aeronaut.,33, 229 (1973). Its performance is tested comparing the forescen occurrence of either precipitation or no precipitationversus the actual one for two stations, Parma and Vipiteno, for a period of four years. In more than 80% of the cases the forecasting was correct.     

夸克－胶子等离子体对高能碰撞多重产生的可能描述

以ＱＣＤ袋模型和统计流体力学模型为基础，在二维平衡态近似下得到多重数和质心系能量的关系式，和高能　碰撞非单衍过程产生的多重数实验数据吻合得很好；在三维平衡态近似下得到中心在快度较大区域的产生粒子的源Ⅱ的大小和横动量的关系，关系式和三火球模型计算结果符合．     

Rainfalls during great Forbush decreases

Summary The changes of rainfall values during great Forbush decreases recorded by the low-latitudinal neutron monitor of Huancayo (47 events from 1956 through 1992) were examined. The data on precipitations were taken from the State of S?o Paulo and from the Amazonian region, Brazil. As a rule, the data from more than 50 meteorological stations were used for each events. The main result is the following: during strong decreases of cosmic-ray flux in the atmosphere (great Forbush decreases) the precipitation value is decreased. The effect of rainfall changes is seen more distinctly if wet seasons are considered.     

Deposition-evaporation stochastic systems in two and higher dimensions

We study the stochastic dynamics of deposition-evaporation cooperative processes of dimers, trimers, etc., in two- and higher-dimensional lattices. The dimer system in bipartite lattices allows for an exact solution of dynamic correlations and scaling functions by means of a quantum spin equivalence. Autocorrelations exhibit a diffusive asymptotic kinetics and crossovers of different dynamic regimes in highly anisotropic lattices. Monte Carlo simulations combined with finite-size scaling arguments support the validity of the diffusive picture in more general situations. Steady-state coverages and diffusion constants are obtained using mean-field approaches, spin wave calculations, and random walk analyses in nearly jammed configurations.     

Polycaprolactone biopolymer thin films obtained by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation

We report the successful deposition of polycaprolactone polymer by MAPLE using a KrF* excimer laser (λ = 248 nm, τ = 7 ns). According to FTIR spectra the deposited films have similar chemical structure to the dropcast material. The fluence plays a key role in optimizing the performances of MAPLE-synthesized polycaprolactone structures. We demonstrated that MAPLE allows for controlling the morphology of films to the level required in targeted drug delivery of pharmacologic agents.     

Memcapacitor model and its application in a chaotic oscillator

A memcapacitor is a new type of memory capacitor. Before the advent of practical memcapacitor, the prospective studies on its models and potential applications are of importance. For this purpose, we establish a mathematical memcapacitor model and a corresponding circuit model. As a potential application, based on the model, a memcapacitor oscillator is designed, with its basic dynamic characteristics analyzed theoretically and experimentally. Some circuit variables such as charge, flux, and integral of charge, which are difficult to measure, are observed and measured via simulations and experiments. Analysis results show that besides the typical period-doubling bifurcations and period-3 windows, sustained chaos with constant Lyapunov exponents occurs. Moreover, this oscillator also exhibits abrupt chaos and some novel bifurcations.In addition, based on the digital signal processing(DSP) technology, a scheme of digitally realizing this memcapacitor oscillator is provided. Then the statistical properties of the chaotic sequences generated from the oscillator are tested by using the test suit of the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST). The tested randomness definitely reaches the standards of NIST, and is better than that of the well-known Lorenz system.     

Persistence in financial markets

Persistence is studied in a financial context by mapping the time evolution of the values of the shares quoted on the London Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 index (FTSE 100) onto Ising spins. By following the time dependence of the spins, we find evidence for power law decay of the proportion of shares that remain either above or below their 'starting' values. As a result, we estimate a persistence exponent for the underlying financial market to be θ_f∼0.5.