Reply to Nathan: How to reconstruct the causal argument

Nicholas Nathan tries to resist the current version of the causal argument for sense-data in two ways. First he suggests that, on what he considers to be the correct re-construction of the argument, it equivocates on the sense of proximate cause. Second he defends a form of disjunctivism, by claiming that there might be an extra mechanism involved in producing veridical hallucination, that is not present in perception. I argue that Nathan’s reconstruction of the argument is not the appropriate one, and that, properly interpreted, the argument does not equivocate on proximate cause. Furthermore, I claim that his postulation of a modified mechanism for hallucinations is implausibly ad hoc.     

Zero-sum constrained stochastic games with independent state processes

We consider a zero-sum stochastic game with side constraints for both players with a special structure. There are two independent controlled Markov chains, one for each player. The transition probabilities of the chain associated with a player as well as the related side constraints depend only on the actions of the corresponding player; the side constraints also depend on the player’s controlled chain. The global cost that player 1 wishes to minimize and that player 2 wishes to maximize, depend however on the actions and Markov chains of both players. We obtain a linear programming formulations that allows to compute the value and saddle point policies for this problem. We illustrate the theoretical results through a zero-sum stochastic game in wireless networks in which each player has power constraints     

Dynamic surface tension measurements of surfactant solutions using the maximum bubble pressure method – limits of applicability

One of the essential differences in the design of bubble pressure tensiometers consists in the geometry of the measuring capillaries. To reach extremely short adsorption times of milliseconds and below, the so-called deadtime of the capillaries must be of the order of some 10 ms. In particular, for concentrated surfactant solutions, such as micellar solutions, short deadtimes are needed to minimize the initial surfactant load of the generated bubbles. A theoretical model is derived and confirmed by experiments performed for a wide range of experimental conditions, mainly in respect to variations in deadtime and bubble volume.     

Accredited dose measurements for validation of radiation sterilized products

The activities and services of the accredited Risø High Dose Reference Laboratory are described. The laboratory operates according to the European standard EN 45001 regarding Operation of Testing Laboratories, and it fulfills the requirements of being able to deliver traceable dose measurements for control of radiation sterilization. The accredited services include:

1. 1. Irradiation of dosimeters and test samples with cobalt-60 gamma rays.

2. 2. Irradiation of dosimeters and test samples with 10 MeV electrons.

3. 3. Issue of and measurement with calibrated dosimeters.

4. 4. Measurement of the dosimetric parameters of an irradiation facility.

5. 5. Measurement of absorbed dose distribution in irradiated products.

The paper describes these services and the procedures necessary for their execution.     

Topics in data assimilation: Stochastic processes

Stochastic models with varying degrees of complexity are increasingly widespread in the oceanic and atmospheric sciences. One application is data assimilation, i.e., the combination of model output with observations to form the best picture of the system under study. For any given quantity to be estimated, the relative weights of the model and the data will be adjusted according to estimated model and data error statistics, so implementation of any data assimilation scheme will require some assumption about errors, which are considered to be random. For dynamical models, some assumption about the evolution of errors will be needed. Stochastic models are also applied in studies of predictability.

The formal theory of stochastic processes was well developed in the last half of the twentieth century. One consequence of this theory is that methods of simulation of deterministic processes cannot be applied to random processes without some modification. In some cases the rules of ordinary calculus must be modified.

The formal theory was developed in terms of mathematical formalism that may be unfamiliar to many oceanic and atmospheric scientists. The purpose of this article is to provide an informal introduction to the relevant theory, and to point out those situations in which that theory must be applied in order to model random processes correctly.     

Working group report: Collider Physics

This is summary of the activities of the working group on collider physics in the IXth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-9) held at the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India in January 2006. Some of the work subsequently done on these problems by the subgroups formed during the workshop is included in this report.