Ffast Transient Fluorescence Technique to Study Critical Exponents at the Glass Transition

The fast transient fluorescence (FTRF) technique was used to study critical exponents at the glass transition in free-radical crosslinking copolymerization (FCC) for two different monomeric systems, methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (S). Pyrene (P_y ) was used as a fluorescence probe. The fluorescence lifetimes of P_y from its decay traces were measured and used to monitor the gelation process. Changes in the viscosity of the pregel solutions due to glass formation dramatically enhance the fluorescent yield of aromatic molecules. This effect is used to study the glass transition upon gelation of MMA and S monomeric systems as a function of time, at various temperatures and crosslinker concentrations. The results are interpreted in the view of percolation theory. The gel fraction and weight average degree of polymerization exponents β and γ are found to be 0.37 ± 0.02 and 1.66 ± 0.07 in agreement with percolation results.     

Partial pluricomplex energy and integrability exponents of plurisubharmonic functions

We first prove a quantitative estimate of the volume of the sublevel sets of a plurisubharmonic function in a hyperconvex domain with boundary values 0 (in a quite general sense) in terms of its Monge–Ampère mass in the domain. Then we deduce a sharp sufficient condition on the Monge–Ampère mass of such a plurisubharmonic function φ for exp(−2φ) to be globally integrable as well as locally integrable.     

On the Average of Exponents

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Maximal exponents of polyhedral cones (I)

Let K be a proper (i.e., closed, pointed, full convex) cone in Rn. An n×n matrix A is said to be K-primitive if there exists a positive integer k such that ; the least such k is referred to as the exponent of A and is denoted by γ(A). For a polyhedral cone K, the maximum value of γ(A), taken over all K-primitive matrices A, is called the exponent of K and is denoted by γ(K). It is proved that if K is an n-dimensional polyhedral cone with m extreme rays then for any K-primitive matrix A, γ(A)?(mA−1)(m−1)+1, where mA denotes the degree of the minimal polynomial of A, and the equality holds only if the digraph (E,P(A,K)) associated with A (as a cone-preserving map) is equal to the unique (up to isomorphism) usual digraph associated with an m×m primitive matrix whose exponent attains Wielandt's classical sharp bound. As a consequence, for any n-dimensional polyhedral cone K with m extreme rays, γ(K)?(n−1)(m−1)+1. Our work answers in the affirmative a conjecture posed by Steve Kirkland about an upper bound of γ(K) for a polyhedral cone K with a given number of extreme rays.     

Moment condition failure in stock returns: UK evidence

We examine the issue of moments existence in the UK stock market. It is found that the second moment of stock returns is finite, and therefore, the infinite variance stable distribution is ruled out as a candidate for modelling stock returns. In contrast with the US evidence, we cannot rule out the possibility that the fourth moment is finite.     

Statistical models for spatial patterns of heavy particles in turbulence

The dynamics of heavy particles suspended in turbulent flows is of fundamental importance for a wide range of questions in astrophysics, atmospheric physics, oceanography, and technology. Laboratory experiments and numerical simulations have demonstrated that heavy particles respond in intricate ways to turbulent fluctuations of the carrying fluid: non-interacting particles may cluster together and form spatial patterns even though the fluid is incompressible, and the relative speeds of nearby particles can fluctuate strongly. Both phenomena depend sensitively on the parameters of the system. This parameter dependence is difficult to model from first principles since turbulence plays an essential role. Laboratory experiments are also very difficult, precisely since they must refer to a turbulent environment. But in recent years it has become clear that important aspects of the dynamics of heavy particles in turbulence can be understood in terms of statistical models where the turbulent fluctuations are approximated by Gaussian random functions with appropriate correlation functions. In this review, we summarise how such statistical-model calculations have led to a detailed understanding of the factors that determine heavy-particle dynamics in turbulence. We concentrate on spatial clustering of heavy particles in turbulence. This is an important question because spatial clustering affects the collision rate between the particles and thus the long-term fate of the system.     

Teachers’ knowledge of the nature of definitions: The case of the zero exponent

This paper focuses on three junior high school mathematics teachers and their knowledge of the nature of definitions. The mathematical context of exponentiation is used as a springboard for discussing two aspects of definitions: their corresponding domains and the distinction and relationships between definitions, proofs, and theorems. Through interviews it was shown that some teachers are not aware that definitions and domains are intrinsically connected and some teachers believe that definitions may be proved. Findings also indicate that knowledge of the nature of definitions may be dependent on the context.     

Elastic properties of a disordered continuum of regular fractal structure: Self-consistent approach and finite-element method simulations

Macromolecular structures, as well as aggregation of filler in polymer-based composites, often may be described properly as fractals. Scaling behavior of the elastic moduli of a modeled fractal, the Sierpinski carpet, was the subject of this study. Sheng and Tao [1] and Patlazhan [2] found that, in the case of voids in on elastic host, axial and shear moduli exhibit distinct scaling dependencies on the size of the system. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that moduli of random isotropic fractals (percolation clusters) scale with the same exponents. Explanation of the discrepancy is one of the main targets of the paper. The self-consistent approach and position space renormalization group technique (PSRG) have been applied for this goal. The mapping, corresponding to PSRG, was constructed numerically using the finite-element method (FEM) in the cases of voids and rigid inclusions. The self-consistent approach gives scaling behavior with exponents of values of about 0.11, independent of the modulus and type of inclusion, at developed stages of the fractal. It has been shown that mappings of PSRG on the plane, for two ratios of three independent moduli, have stable fixed points. This means that different elastic moduli exhibit scaling behavior with the same exponents (0.29 for voids and 0.17 for rigid squares) for developed fractal structure. The discrepancy in the exponent values obtained in the previous simulations is caused by the analysis of the initial stages of the structure. We believe that analogous results are valid for the wide class of self-similar fractals, and the dimension is the main parameter that governs the exponents and fixed point values.     

Gradient optimization of polarization exponents inab initio MO calculations on H2SO → HSOH and CH3SH → CH2SH2

Summary Analytical gradients were used to optimize the polarization function exponents in the 6-31G(d) and 6-31G(d, p) basis sets for the reactants, transition structures and products in the reactions H₂SO HSOH and CH₃SH CH₂SH₂. The optimizedd exponents on the heavy atoms change by ±10% in the course of the reactions and depend on the bonding of the heavy atoms. Thep exponents on the hydrogens change by as much as a factor of 5 and depend on the element to which the hydrogen is bonded and its valency. The effect of exponent optimization on the relative energies is small (±3 kcal/mol). With the 6-31G(d, p) basis set, optimization of the polarization exponents can make some of the bonds significantly more polar, as judged by the Mulliken charges.     

Secondary school students’ levels of understanding in computing exponents

The aim of this study is to describe and analyze students’ levels of understanding of exponents within the context of procedural and conceptual learning via the conceptual change and prototypes’ theory. The study was conducted with 202 secondary school students with the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that three levels of understanding can be identified. At the first level students’ interpretation of exponents is based upon exponents that symbolize natural numbers. At Level 2, students’ knowledge acquisition process is a process of enrichment of the existing conceptual structures. Students at this level are able to compute exponents with negative numbers by extending the application of prototype examples. Finally, at Level 3 students not only extend the prototype examples but also reorganize their thinking in order to compute and compare exponents with roots, a concept which is quite different from the concept of exponents with natural numbers.