Perfect Order Research Articles

Visual perception of order-disorder transition.

Our experience with the natural world, as composed of ordered entities, implies that perception captures relationships between image parts. For instance, regularities in the visual scene are rapidly identified by our visual system. Defining the regularities that govern perception is a basic, unresolved issue in neuroscience. Mathematically, perfect regularities are represented by symmetry (perfect order). The transition from ordered configurations to completely random ones has been extensively studied in statistical physics, where the amount of order is characterized by a symmetry-specific order parameter. Here we applied tools from statistical physics to study order detection in humans. Different sets of visual textures, parameterized by the thermodynamic temperature in the Boltzmann distribution, were designed. We investigated how much order is required in a visual texture for it to be discriminated from random noise. The performance of human observers was compared to Ideal and Order observers (based on the order parameter). The results indicated a high consistency in performance across human observers, much below that of the Ideal observer, but well-approximated by the Order observer. Overall, we provide a novel quantitative paradigm to address order perception. Our findings, based on this paradigm, suggest that the statistical physics formalism of order captures regularities to which the human visual system is sensitive. An additional analysis revealed that some order perception properties are captured by traditional texture discrimination models according to which discrimination is based on integrated energy within maps of oriented linear filters.

Resource quality of a symmetry-protected topologically ordered phase for quantum computation.

We investigate entanglement naturally present in the 1D topologically ordered phase protected with the on-site symmetry group of an octahedron as a potential resource for teleportation-based quantum computation. We show that, as long as certain characteristic lengths are finite, all its ground states have the capability to implement any unit-fidelity one-qubit gate operation asymptotically as a key computational building block. This feature is intrinsic to the entire phase, in that perfect gate fidelity coincides with perfect string order parameters under a state-insensitive renormalization procedure. Our approach may pave the way toward a novel program to classify quantum many-body systems based on their operational use for quantum information processing.

Novel Complex Stacking of Fully-Ordered Transition Metal Layers in Li4FeSbO6 Materials

As part of a broad project to explore Li4MM′O6 materials (with M and M′ being selected from a wide variety of metals) as positive electrode materials for Li-ion batteries, the structures of Li4FeSbO6 materials with both stoichiometric and slightly deficient lithium contents are studied here. For lithium content varying from 3.8 to 4.0, the color changes from yellow to black and extra superstructure peaks are seen in the XRD patterns. These extra peaks appear as satellites around the four superstructure peaks affected by the stacking of the transition metal atoms. Refinements of both XRD and neutron scattering patterns show a nearly perfect ordering of Li, Fe, and Sb in the transition metal layers of all samples, although these refinements must take the stacking faults into account in order to extract information about the structure of the TM layers. The structure of the most lithium rich sample, where the satellite superstructure peaks are seen, was determined with the help of HRTEM, XRD, and neutron scattering. The satellites arise due to a new stacking sequence where not all transition metal layers are identical but instead two slightly different compositions stack in an AABB sequence giving a unit cell that is four times larger than normal for such monoclinic layered materials. The more lithium deficient samples are found to contain metal site vacancies based on elemental analysis and Mössbauer spectroscopy results. The significant changes in physical properties are attributed to the presence of these vacancies. This study illustrates the great importance of carefully determining the final compositions in these materials, as very small differences in compositions may have large impacts on structures and properties.

Study of alternative ILC final focus optical configurations

The current design of ILC final focus achieves perfect first order chromaticity correction in both horizontal and vertical planes. Based on RDR FFS optics a set of alternative optical configurations were studied in which the horizontal beam size at the IP is increased while at the same time the vertical one is decreased, with the goal of reducing beamsstrahlung emission. Luminosity reduction due to the hour glass effect must be considered because βy⁎/σz⁎ becomes much smaller in this case. The beam–beam interaction simulation by Guineapig++ was used for evaluation. Reduced bunch lengths are used to make sure that the obtained luminosities are not lower than those of the ILC RDR configuration.

Best linear unbiased and invariant estimation in location-scale families based on double-ranked set sampling

In this article, we propose the best linear unbiased estimators (BLUEs) and best linear invariant estimators (BLIEs) for the unknown parameters of location-scale family of distributions based on double-ranked set sampling (DRSS) using perfect and imperfect rankings. These estimators are then compared with the BLUEs and BLIEs based on ranked set sampling (RSS). It is shown that under perfect ranking, the proposed estimators are uniformly better than the BLUEs and BLIEs obtained via RSS. We also propose the best linear unbiased quantile (BLUQ) and the best linear invariant quantile (BLIQ) estimators for normal distribution under DRSS. It is observed that the proposed quantile estimators are more efficient than the BLUQ and BLIQ estimators based on RSS for both perfect and imperfect orderings.

Transport regimes in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes: Perfect order, semi-random, and random disorder cases

The electronic structure and the transport properties of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes are investigated using a tight-binding model and a real-space Kubo-Greenwood approach, respectively. The transport regimes of various axial and helical doping configurations, from perfectly periodic to fully random disordered cases, are examined through the time dependence of the diffusivity. By varying the degree of disorder, a rich set of transient regimes is predicted going from persisting quasiballistic to momentarily localized regimes. A spectacular long-time ballistic regime is also observed for a specific semi-random disorder doping configuration owing to symmetry effects.

Upgrading the Neutron Radiography Facility in South Africa (SANRAD): Concrete Shielding Design Characteristics

A common denominator of all neutron radiography (NRAD) facilities worldwide is that the perimeter of the experimental chamber of the facility is a radiation shielding structure which,in some cases, also includes flight tube and filter chamber structures. These chambers are normally both located on the beam port floor outside the biological shielding of the neutron source. The main function of the NRAD-shielding structure isto maintain a radiological safe working environment in the entire beam hall according to standards set by individual national radiological safety regulations. In addition, the shielding's integrity and capability should not allow, during NRAD operations, an increase in radiation levels in the beam port hall and thus negatively affectadjacent scientific facilities (e.g. neutron diffraction facilities).As a bonus, the shielding for the NRAD facility should also prevent radiation scattering towards the detector plane and doing so, thus increase thecapability of obtaining better quantitative results. This paper addresses Monte Carlo neutron-particletransport simulations to theoretically optimize the shielding capabilities of the biological barrierfor the SANRAD facility at the SAFARI-1 nuclear research reactor in South Africa. The experimental process to develop the shielding, based on the principles of the ANTARES facility, is described. After casting, the homogeneity distribution of these concrete mix materials is found to be near perfect and first order experimental radiation shielding characteristicsthrough film badge (TLD) exposure show acceptable values and trends in neutron- and gamma-ray attenuation.

De la desesperanza a la plenitud: la revelación epifánica en la poesía de Álvaro Mutis

The boundaries between prose and verse, the presence of different characters’ voices, wich act as semi-heteronyms and orbit the texts giving a certain distance to the poetic self; the journey into the past as a revelatory experience and the insuffiency of word as the means of expression are the principal subjects of Álvaro Mutis's poetry. In this essay, the concept of epiphany, understood as a representation of the perfect order or as an indecipherable formula of an enigma in the face of the agonistic circumstances of disaster, unifies the colombian's poetic work.

El primer Manierismo toscano y P. P. Pasolini

The boundaries between prose and verse, the presence of different voices´s characters, wich act as semi-heteronyms and gravitate the texts giving distance to the poetic self; the journey to the past as a revealing experience and the insuffiency of word as the mean of expression are the principal subjects of the Álvaro Mutis´s poetry. In this essay, the concept of epiphany, understood as a representation of the perfect order or as an indecipherable formula of a mystery against the agonistic circumstances of disaster, unifies the colombian’s poetic work.

Controlling effective aspect ratio and packing of clay with pH for improved gas barrier in nanobrick wall thin films.

Polymer-clay thin films constructed via layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, with a nanobrick wall structure (i.e., clay nanoplatelets as bricks surrounded by a polyelectrolyte mortar), are known to exhibit a high oxygen barrier. Further barrier improvement can be achieved by lowering the pH of the clay suspension in the polyethylenimine (PEI) and montmorillonite (MMT) system. In this case, the charge of the deposited PEI layer is increased in the clay suspension environment, which causes more clay to be deposited. At pH 4, MMT platelets deposit with near perfect ordering, observed with transmission electron microscopy, enabling a 5× improvement in the gas barrier for a 10 PEI/MMT bilayer thin film (85 nm) relative to the same film made with pH 10 MMT. This improved gas barrier approaches that achieved with much higher aspect ratio vermiculite clay. In essence, lower pH is generating a higher effective aspect ratio for MMT due to greater induced surface charge in the PEI layers, which causes heavier clay deposition. These flexible, transparent nanocoatings have a wide range of possible applications, from food and electronics packaging to pressurized bladders.

Efficient local updates for undirected graphical models

We present a new Bayesian approach for undirected Gaussian graphical model determination. We provide some graph theory results for local updates that facilitate a fast exploration of the graph space. Specifically, we show how to locally update, after either edge deletion or inclusion, the perfect sequence of cliques and the perfect elimination order of the nodes associated to an oriented, directed acyclic version of a decomposable graph. Building upon the decomposable graphical models framework, we propose a more flexible methodology that extends to the class of nondecomposable graphs. Posterior probabilities of edge inclusion are interpreted as a natural measure of edge selection uncertainty. When applied to a protein expression data set, the model leads to fast estimation of the protein interaction network.

The Use of Petri Nets in Safety-Critical Control Systems

The human factor in the control of technical objects, especially potentially dangerous technologies is considered one of the most important aspects to ensure the safe operation of these devices. The machine is built according to the prior art and can be used in safety - perfect working order. Condition that may adversely affect safety must be promptly removed. Their formation can anticipate using Petri net model of the machine. This paper presents design procedure of Petri net for modeling and paint drying ovens.

Proposta de um modelo de avaliação dos fornecedores do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA): o caso do município de São Carlos - SP

Em 2003, foi criado o Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA), no qual agricultores familiares comercializam sua produção junto aos órgãos públicos municipais, que a repassam aos restaurantes populares e banco de alimentos. Com o desenvolvimento do PAA, tornou-se necessária a existência de um modelo de avaliação constante do desempenho dos fornecedores, ou seja, dos agricultores familiares. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo propor um modelo de avaliação dos fornecedores, utilizando um scorecard que avaliasse e classificasse o desempenho dos agricultores familiares do PAA da Secretaria Municipal de Agricultura e Abastecimento (SMAA) do município de São Carlos - SP. A revisão teórica abordou temas referentes à logística e à gestão da cadeia de suprimentos, à medição e avaliação de desempenho e o pedido perfeito. Para o desenvolvimento do estudo de caso, foram realizadas entrevistas com aplicação de questionários semiestruturados junto aos envolvidos no programa. Com base nas informações obtidas, elaborou-se um modelo, que busca conciliar as necessidades da SMAA com os requisitos de um pedido perfeito. O modelo avalia os fornecedores por meio dos indicadores de uniformidade, nível de maturidade, pragas e doenças, pontualidade, entrega completa e entrega futura. Sua aplicação tem o objetivo de promover o desenvolvimento dos fornecedores e contribuir para a melhoria do abastecimento de produtos.

Interlaced crystals having a perfect Bravais lattice and complex chemical order revealed by real-space crystallography.

The search for optimal thermoelectric materials aims for structures in which the crystalline order is disrupted to lower the thermal conductivity without degradation of the electron conductivity. Here we report the synthesis and characterisation of ternary nanoparticles (two cations and one anion) that exhibit a new form of crystalline order: an uninterrupted, perfect, global Bravais lattice, in which the two cations exhibit a wide array of distinct ordering patterns within the cation sublattice, forming interlaced domains and phases. Partitioning into domains and phases is not unique; the corresponding boundaries have no structural defects or strain and entail no energy cost. We call this form of crystalline order 'interlaced crystals' and present the example of hexagonal CuInS2. Interlacing is possible in multi-cation tetrahedrally bonded compound with an average of two electrons per bond. Interlacing has minimal effect on electronic properties, but should strongly reduce phonon transport, making interlaced crystals attractive for thermoelectric applications.

An epistemology on the nature of polymers.

Liquids have neither a periodic structure nor the completely random character of gases therefore the detailed study of their x-ray scattering diagram encounters many difficulties. The idea of periodic regularity in molecules of liquid polymers has been an attractive proposition for the simple interpretation of liquid polymer x-ray diagrams. The categorisation of polymer substances as being between a crystal phase with a perfect order and an amorphous disordered state is an over simplification of the complex reality. For obtaining structural information, during the early stages of the application of x-ray diffraction, a near crystalline model of the molecular arrangements in liquids was utilised. However, the results from these investigations led to just an approximation of the crystalline state. Our studies have analysed the real image of Fourier space of liquid polymers, for the first time, using anomalous diffractometry. The findings show the precise atomic structure of liquid polymers when transformed, by cooling, to solid polymers. We demonstrate that there is an intermediate ordered structure, characterised by the real full image of Fourier space. This prominent state of matter, an intermediate ordered structure, is defined by a regular unit cell with a five-fold symmetry. These structural atomic studies contribute to a more detailed understanding of the properties of polymers than the traditional studies of the degree of crystallinity.

Controlled Synthesis of Spherical Polystyrene Beads and Their Template-Assisted Manual Assembly

Polystyrene beads (PS beads) with narrow size distribution were synthesized, and their diameter was controlled from 1.2 to <TEX>$5{\mu}m$</TEX> by varying the injection rate of a styrene solution containing initiator and the concentration of reactant, such as initiator and capping material. The diameter of the PS beads increased with increasing in the injection rates and the initiator concentration or decreasing the capping material concentration. Then, we used the PS beads as building block, and organized them into a hexagonally close-packed monolayer on substrate with template-assisted manual assembly. We showed perfect hexagonally close-packed organization of the PS beads with various sizes in large-scale area. And we demonstrated the superiority of the dry manual assembly over the wet self-assembly in terms of simplicity, speed, perfect ordering, and large scale.

A generalized complexity measure based on Rényi entropy

The intrinsic statistical complexities of finite many-particle systems (i.e., those defined in terms of the single-particle density) quantify the degree of structure or patterns, far beyond the entropy measures. They are intuitively constructed to be minima at the opposite extremes of perfect order and maximal randomness. Starting from the pioneering LMC measure, which satisfies these requirements, some extensions of LMC-Renyi type have been published in the literature. The latter measures were shown to describe a variety of physical aspects of the internal disorder in atomic and molecular systems (e.g., quantum phase transitions, atomic shell filling) which are not grasped by their mother LMC quantity. However, they are not minimal for maximal randomness in general. In this communication, we propose a generalized LMC-Renyi complexity which overcomes this problem. Some applications which illustrate this fact are given.

Creativity.4in1: Four-Criterion Construct of Creativity

The purpose of this theoretical article is to provide an extended definition of creativity that embraces potential cross-cultural variations in this construct. Creativity is defined as a 4-criterion construct, which includes attributes of novelty, utility, aesthetics, and authenticity. Novelty attribute stipulates that a creative work brings something new into being, which presents a new conceptual framework and/or modifies or violates an existing one. Utility attribute stipulates that a creative work is what a producer or a recipient considers creative, what represents an important landmark in spiritual, cultural, social, and/or political environment, and what addresses moral issues. The aesthetics attribute stipulates that a creative work presents the fundamental truth of nature, which is reflected in a perfect order, efficiently presents the essence of the phenomenal reality, and is satisfactorily complex, expressing both tension and intrinsic contradiction. Authenticity attribute stipulates that a creative work expresses an individual's inner self and relates one's own values and believes to the world. These attributes establish a comparison matrix, which can be used to evaluate and compare the levels of creativity of works from different areas of human endeavor.

What is Nature? On the Use of Poetry in Philosophy Courses for Science Students

‘Nature’ is one of the most challenging concepts in philosophy, and notoriously difficult to define. In ancient Greece, two strategies for coming to terms with nature were developed. On the one hand, nature was seen as a perfect geometrical order, analysable with the help of geometry and deductive reasoning. On the other hand, a more Dionysian view emerged, stressing nature’s unpredictability, capriciousness and fluidity. This view was exemplified by De Rerum Natura, a philosophical masterpiece in verse. In a philosophy course for science students, participants use both approaches. They are asked to give a definition of nature, and subsequently to capture nature in a poem. Quite consistently, their poetry proves more convincing than their definitions. In this paper, an anthology of student poetry is presented and analysed. To what extent may verse-writing as a philosophical assignment enable science students to come to terms with their (implicit) understanding of nature?

Sub-100-nm Nanoparticle Arrays with Perfect Ordering and Tunable and Uniform Dimensions Fabricated by Combining Nanoimprinting with Ultrathin Alumina Membrane Technique

This work reports a nonlithographic nanopatterning approach to fabricate perfectly ordered nanoparticle arrays with tunable and uniform dimensions from about 30 to 80 nm and strict periods of 100 nm in a square lattice on large-area substrates by combining nanoimprinting with ultrathin alumina membrane technique. There is no requirement of any organic layer to support an ultrathin membrane in our novel route, which totally addressed the problems of nonuniform pores in prepatterned alumina templates and contamination during sample preparation, and thus is indispensable for our fabrication of ideally regular nanoparticle arrays on various kinds of substrates (such as flexible plastic). The effect of imprinted pressure on the prepatterning of Al foil was also studied in order to ensure the reusability of the precious imprinting stamps. This simple but efficient method provides a cost-effective platform for the fabrication of perfectly ordered nanostructures on substrates for various applications in nanotechnology.