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At least 73 records · Page 4

Hybrid optimization and Bayesian inference techniques for a non-smooth radiation detection problem

In this paper, we propose several algorithms to recover the location and intensity of a radiation source located in a simulated 250 × 180 m block of an urban center based on synthetic measurements. Radioactive decay and detection are Poisson random processes, so we employ likelihood functions based on this distribution. Owing to the domain geometry and the proposed response model, the negative logarithm of the likelihood is only piecewise continuous differentiable, and it has multiple local minima. To address these difficulties, we investigate three hybrid algorithms composed of mixed optimization techniques. For global optimization, we consider simulated annealing, particle swarm, and genetic algorithm, which rely solely on objective function evaluations; that is, they do not evaluate the gradient in the objective function. By employing early stopping criteria for the global optimization methods, a pseudo-optimum point is obtained. This is subsequently utilized as the initial value by the deterministic implicit filtering method, which is able to find local extrema in non-smooth functions, to finish the search in a narrow domain. These new hybrid techniques, combining global optimization and implicit filtering address, difficulties associated with the non-smooth response, and their performances, are shown to significantly decrease the computational time over the global optimization methods. To quantify uncertainties associated with the source location and intensity, we employ the delayed rejection adaptive Metropolis and DiffeRential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis algorithms. Finally, marginal densities of the source properties are obtained, and the means of the chains compare accurately with the estimates produced by the hybrid algorithms.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Multiclass Reduced-Set Support Vector Machines

There are well-established methods for reducing the number of support vectors in a trained binary support vector machine, often with minimal impact on accuracy. We show how reduced-set methods can be applied to multiclass SVMs made up of several binary SVMs, with significantly better results than reducing each binary SVM independently. Our approach is based on Burges' approach that constructs each reduced-set vector as the pre-image of a vector in kernel space, but we extend this by recomputing the SVM weights and bias optimally using the original SVM objective function. This leads to greater accuracy for a binary reduced-set SVM, and also allows vectors to be 'shared' between multiple binary SVMs for greater multiclass accuracy with fewer reduced-set vectors. We also propose computing pre-images using differential evolution, which we have found to be more robust than gradient descent alone. We show experimental results on a variety of problems and find that this new approach is consistently better than previous multiclass reduced-set methods, sometimes with a dramatic difference.

reduced set methods↗

Q-POP-Thermo: A general-purpose thermodynamics solver for ferroelectric materials

We report that Q-POP-Thermo is a program designed to compute thermodynamic monodomain equilibrium states and their properties for ferroelectric single crystals and thin films based on the Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) Theory. Utilizing symbolic manipulation with the SymPy Library, the governing equations along with appropriate boundary conditions are solved for speedy minimization of the free energy of a crystal. Utilizing the popular Differential Evolution algorithm, with appropriate hybridization, multiple phase diagrams, such as the pressure-temperature phase diagram for bulk single crystals and the common strain-temperature phase diagram for monodomain thin-film systems can be readily generated. Furthermore, a variety of material properties of stable ferroelectric phases, including dielectric, piezoelectric, and electrocaloric properties, can simultaneously be calculated. Validation studies are presented for both thin-film and single crystal systems to test the effectiveness and capability of the open-source program.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Performance of biologically inspired algorithms tuned on TiO 2 nanoparticle benchmark system

Biologically inspired optimization algorithms (BIOA), such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) and differential evolution (DE), are often applied to a specific problem with the tacit assumptions that each algorithm will have a unique set of “ideal” tuning parameters that provide “best” performance, and that, once tuned, two different optimization algorithms ought to exhibit distinct performance. This work tests those assumptions by systematically comparing PSO and DE applied to identify stable and metastable configurations of a benchmark system, a titania dimer Ti 2 O 4 , whose energy is described by a modified Matsui-Akaogi pairwise potential. The hypotheses (H) are formally expressed as: (H1) for both PSO and DE there exists a unique, optimal set of tuning parameters that maximize its performance on a given problem; (H2) when running two different BIOAs, one algorithm must demonstrate superior performance over the other. By identifying and studying an approximate Pareto-optimal set of tuning parameters for DE and PSO, H1 is shown to be strictly false for DE, and tentatively false for PSO, while H2 is shown to be false with respect to certain statistics. Here, we further investigate the correlations between key tuning parameters and algorithm performance. Our conclusion may be implemented to further optimize and develop BIOAs applied to materials systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Optimal well placement and brine extraction for pressure management during CO 2 sequestration

Large-scale pressure increases resulting from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) injection in the subsurface can potentially impact caprock integrity, induce reactivation of critically stressed faults, and drive CO 2 or brine through conductive features into shallow groundwater. Pressure management involving the extraction of native fluids from storage formations can be used to reduce such pressure increases. However, dealing with large volumes of extracted brine can be technically challenging and expensive. Selection of optimal well locations and pumping rates are critical for maximizing CO 2 storage and minimizing brine extraction during geologic CO 2 sequestration (GCS). Robust and efficient computerized algorithms combining reservoir models and optimization methods are needed to make proper decisions on well placement and pumping rates. This work presents a constrained differential evolution (CDE) algorithm for solving global optimization problems involving pressure management of GCS projects. Application of the CDE optimization methodology was demonstrated for a hypothetical CO 2 storage scenario in a deep sandstone reservoir in the Southern San Joaquin Basin in California, USA. Industrial-scale storage of CO 2 would generate significant pressure buildup in this formation, which in turn would raise concerns about induced seismicity due to presence of multiple faults surrounding the injection site. Through the CDE optimization algorithm coupled to a vertically-averaged reservoir simulator, we successfully estimated optimal solutions for brine extraction wells in the reservoir that would limit the local pressure along the faults to a prescribed threshold. Multiple realizations of the reservoir permeability field were created to understand the impact of reservoir heterogeneity on optimization results. Our results indicate that the reservoir slope and heterogeneity have significant impact on optimum extraction rates. Reservoir heterogeneity is also a significant factor for extraction well locations, suggesting that in practice decisions about extraction well placement through optimization should be made at later project stages when data from a few years of CO 2 injection have allowed iterative updating and refining of the reservoir forward models. Although the study focused on optimization of brine extraction, the CDE optimization methodology presented in this paper has also potential to solve other complex optimization problems related to GCS, such as increasing storage efficiency by enhancing injectivity and capillary and dissolution trapping.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Constraining the time evolution of dark energy, curvature and neutrino properties with cosmic chronometers

We use the latest compilation of observational Hubble parameter measurements estimated with the differential evolution of cosmic chronometers , in the redshift range 0< z <2, to place constraints on cosmological parameters. We used a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo approach to sample the parameter space for the cosmic chronometers dataset alone and in combination with other state-of-the art cosmological measurements: CMB data from the latest Planck 2015 release, the most recent estimate of the Hubble constant H {sub 0}, a compilation of recent baryon acoustic oscillation data, and the latest type Ia cosmological supernovae sample. From late-Universe probes alone ( z <2) we find that w {sub 0} = −0.9 ± 0.18 and w {sub a} = −0.5 ± 1.7, and when combining also Planck 2015 data we obtain w {sub 0}=−0.98± 0.11 and w {sub a} =−0.30±0.4. These new constraints imply that nearly all quintessence models are disfavoured by the data; only phantom models or a pure cosmological constant are favoured. This is a remarkable finding as it imposes severe constraints on the nature of dark energy. For the curvature our constraints are Ω {sub k} = 0.003 ± 0.003, considering also CMB data. We also find that H ( z ) data from cosmic chronometers are important to constrain parameters that do no affect directly the expansion history, by breaking or reducing degeneracies with other parameters. We find that N {sub eff} = 3.17 ± 0.15, thus excluding the possibility of an extra (sterile) neutrino at more than 5 σ, and put competitive limits on the sum of neutrino masses, Σ m {sub ν}< 0.27 eV at 95% confidence level. Finally, we constrain the redshift evolution of dark energy by exploring separately the early and late-Universe, and find a dark energy equation of state evolution w ( z ) consistent with that in the ΛCDM model at the ± 0.4 level over the entire redshift range 0 < z < 2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Self-similarity and scaling transitions during rupture of thin free films of Newtonian fluids

Rupture of thin liquid films is crucial in many industrial applications and nature such as foam stability in oil-gas separation units, coating flows, polymer processing, and tear films in the eye. In some of these situations, a liquid film may have two free surfaces (referred to here as a free film or a sheet) as opposed to a film deposited on a solid substrate that has one free surface. The rupture of such a free film or a sheet of a Newtonian fluid is analyzed under the competing influences of inertia, viscous stress, van der Waals pressure, and capillary pressure by solving a system of spatially one-dimensional evolution equations for film thickness and lateral velocity. The dynamics close to the space-time singularity where the film ruptures is asymptotically self-similar and, therefore, the problem is also analyzed by reducing the transient partial differential evolution equations to a corresponding set of ordinary differential equations in similarity space. Here, for sheets with negligible inertia, it is shown that the dominant balance of forces involves solely viscous and van der Waals forces, with capillary force remaining negligible throughout the thinning process in a viscous regime. On the other hand, for a sheet of an inviscid fluid for which the effect of viscosity is negligible, it is shown that the dominant balance of forces is between inertial, capillary, and van der Waals forces as the film evolves towards rupture in an inertial regime. Real fluids, however, have finite viscosity. Hence, for real fluids, it is further shown that the viscous and the inertial regimes are only transitory and can only describe the initial thinning dynamics of highly viscous and slightly viscous sheets, respectively. Moreover, regardless of the fluid’s viscosity, it is shown that for sheets that initially thin in either of these two regimes, their dynamics transition to a late stage or final inertial-viscous regime in which inertial, viscous, and van der Waals forces balance each other while capillary force remains negligible, in accordance with the results of Vaynblat, Lister, and Witelski.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Estimate of the Mass and Radial Profile of the Orphan–Chenab Stream's Dwarf-galaxy Progenitor Using MilkyWay@home

We fit the mass and radial profile of the Orphan–Chenab Stream's (OCS) dwarf-galaxy progenitor by using turnoff stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Dark Energy Camera to constrain N-body simulations of the OCS progenitor falling into the Milky Way on the 1.5 PetaFLOPS MilkyWay@home distributed supercomputer. We infer the internal structure of the OCS's progenitor under the assumption that it was a spherically symmetric dwarf galaxy composed of a stellar system embedded in an extended dark matter halo. We optimize the evolution time, the baryonic and dark matter scale radii, and the baryonic and dark matter masses of the progenitor using a differential evolution algorithm. The likelihood score for each set of parameters is determined by comparing the simulated tidal stream to the angular distribution of OCS stars observed in the sky. We fit the total mass of the OCS's progenitor to (2.0 ± 0.3) × 10 7 M ⊙ with a mass-to-light ratio of γ = 73.5 ± 10.6 and (1.1 ± 0.2) × 10 6 M ⊙ within 300 pc of its center. Within the progenitor's half-light radius, we estimate a total mass of (4.0 ± 1.0) × 10 5 M ⊙ . We also fit the current sky position of the progenitor's remnant to be (α, δ) = ((166.0 ± 0.9)°, (–11.1 ± 2.5)°) and show that it is gravitationally unbound at the present time. The measured progenitor mass is on the low end of previous measurements and, if confirmed, lowers the mass range of ultrafaint dwarf galaxies. Our optimization assumes a fixed Milky Way potential, OCS orbit, and radial profile for the progenitor, ignoring the impact of the Large Magellanic Cloud.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The nonlinear evolution of inviscid Goertler vortices in three-dimensional boundary layers

The nonlinear development of inviscid Gortler vortices in a three-dimensional boundary layer is considered. We do not follow the classical approach of weakly nonlinear stability problems and consider a mode which has just become unstable. Instead we extend the method of Blackaby, Dando, and Hall (1992), which considered the closely related nonlinear development of disturbances in stratified shear flows. The Gortler modes we consider are initially fast growing and we assume, following others, that boundary-layer spreading results in them evolving in a linear fashion until they reach a stage where their amplitudes are large enough and their growth rates have diminished sufficiently so that amplitude equations can be derived using weakly nonlinear and non-equilibrium critical-layer theories. From the work of Blackaby, Dando and Hall (1993) is apparent, given the range of parameters for the Gortler problem, that there are three possible nonlinear integro-differential evolution equations for the disturbance amplitude. These are a cubic due to viscous effects, a cubic which corresponds to the novel mechanism investigated in this previous paper, and a quintic. In this paper we shall concentrate on the two cubic integro-differential equations and in particular, on the one due to the novel mechanism as this will be the first to affect a disturbance. It is found that the consideration of a spatial evolution problem as opposed to temporal (as was considered in Blackaby, Dando, and Hall, 1992) causes a number of significant changes to the evolution equations.

Blackaby, Nicholas↗

ENVIRONMENTALLY DRIVEN GLOBAL EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES

Utilizing high-resolution large-scale galaxy formation simulations of the standard cold dark matter model, we examine global trends in the evolution of galaxies due to gravitational shock heating by collapse of large halos and large-scale structure. We find two major global trends. (1) The mean specific star formation rate (sSFR) at a given galaxy mass is a monotonically increasing function with increasing redshift. (2) The mean sSFR at a given redshift is a monotonically increasing function of decreasing galaxy mass that steepens with decreasing redshift. The general dimming trend with time merely reflects the general decline of gas inflow rate with increasing time. The differential evolution of galaxies of different masses with redshift is a result of gravitational shock heating of gas due to formation of large halos (groups and clusters) and large-scale structure that moves a progressively larger fraction of galaxies and their satellites into environments where gas has too high an entropy to cool to continue feeding resident galaxies. Overdense regions where larger halos are preferentially located begin to be heated earlier and have higher temperatures than lower density regions at any given time, causing sSFR of larger galaxies to fall below the general dimming trend at higher redshift than less massive galaxies and galaxies with high sSFR to gradually shift to lower density environments at lower redshift. We find that several noted cosmic downsizing phenomena are different manifestations of these general trends. We also find that the great migration of galaxies from blue cloud to red sequence as well as color-density relation, among others, may arise naturally in this picture.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The fully nonlinear development of Goertler vortices in growing boundary layers

The fully nonlinear development of small wavelength Goertler vortices in a growing boundary layer is investigated using a combination of asymptotic and numerical methods. The starting point for the analysis is the weakly nonlinear theory of Hall (1982b) who discussed the initial development of small amplitude vortices in a neighborhood of the location where they first become linearly unstable. That development is unusual in the context of nonlinear stability theory in that it is not described by the Stuart-Watson approach. In fact the development is governed by a pair of coupled nonlinear partial differential evolution equations for the vortex flow and the mean flow correction. Here the further development of this interaction is considered for vortices so large that the mean flow correction driven by them is as large as the basic state. Surprisingly it is found that such a nonlinear interaction can still be described by asymptotic means. It is shown that the vortices spread out across the boundary layer and effectively drive the boundary layer. In fact the system obtained by writing down the equations for the fundamental component of the vortex generate a differential equation for the basic state. Thus the mean flow adjusts so as to make these large amplitude vortices locally neutral. Moreover in the region where the vortices exist the mean flow has a square-root profile and the vortex velocity field can be written down in closed form. The upper and lower boundaries of the region of vortex activity are determined by a free-boundary problem involving the boundary layer equations. In general it is found that this region ultimately includes almost all of the original boundary layer and much of the free-stream. In this situation the mean flow has essentially no relationship to the flow which exists in the absence of the vortices.

Hall, Philip↗

ELEMENTAL ABUNDANCE DIFFERENCES IN THE 16 CYGNI BINARY SYSTEM: A SIGNATURE OF GAS GIANT PLANET FORMATION?

The atmospheric parameters of the components of the 16 Cygni binary system, in which the secondary has a gas giant planet detected, are measured accurately using high-quality observational data. Abundances relative to solar are obtained for 25 elements with a mean error of {sigma}([X/H]) = 0.023 dex. The fact that 16 Cyg A has about four times more lithium than 16 Cyg B is normal considering the slightly different masses of the stars. The abundance patterns of 16 Cyg A and B, relative to iron, are typical of that observed in most of the so-called solar twin stars, with the exception of the heavy elements (Z > 30), which can, however, be explained by Galactic chemical evolution. Differential (A-B) abundances are measured with even higher precision ({sigma}({Delta}[X/H]) = 0.018 dex, on average). We find that 16 Cyg A is more metal-rich than 16 Cyg B by {Delta}[M/H] = +0.041 {+-} 0.007 dex. On an element-to-element basis, no correlation between the A-B abundance differences and dust condensation temperature (T{sub C}) is detected. Based on these results, we conclude that if the process of planet formation around 16 Cyg B is responsible for the observed abundance pattern, the formation of gas giants produces a constant downward shift in the photospheric abundance of metals, without a T{sub C} correlation. The latter would be produced by the formation of terrestrial planets instead, as suggested by other recent works on precise elemental abundances. Nevertheless, a scenario consistent with these observations requires the convective envelopes of {approx_equal} 1 M{sub sun} stars to reach their present-day sizes about three times quicker than predicted by standard stellar evolution models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Improved Nested Sampling and Surrogate-Enabled Comparison With Other Marginal Likelihood Estimators

Estimating marginal likelihood is of central importance to Bayesian model selection and/or model averaging. The nested sampling method has been recently used together with the Metropolis-Hasting (M-H) sampling algorithm for estimating marginal likelihood. This study develops a new implementation of nested sampling by using the DiffeRential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAMzs) sampling algorithm. The two implementations of nested sampling are evaluated for four models of a synthetic groundwater flow modeling. The DREAMzs-based nested sampling outperforms the M-H-based nested sampling in terms of their accuracy, convergence, efficiency, and stability, which is attributed to the fact that DREAMzs is more robust than M-H for parameter sampling. The nested sampling method is also compared with four other methods (arithmetic mean, harmonic mean, stabilized harmonic mean, and thermodynamic integration) commonly used for estimating marginal likelihood and posterior probability of the four groundwater models. The comparative study requires hundreds of millions of model executions, which would not be possible without using surrogate models to replace the original models. Using the arithmetic mean estimator as the reference, the comparison reveals that thermodynamic integration outperforms nested sampling in terms of accuracy and stability, whereas nested sampling is more computationally efficient to reach to convergence. Here, the harmonic mean and stabilized harmonic mean methods give the worst marginal likelihood estimation. Accurate marginal likelihood estimation is important for accurate estimation of posterior model probability and better predictive performance of Bayesian model averaging.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Coordinated distribution network control of tap changer transformers, capacitors and PV inverters

A power distribution system operates most efficiently with voltage deviations along a feeder kept to a minimum and must ensure all voltages remain within specified limits. Recently with the increased integration of photovoltaics, the variable power output has led to increased voltage fluctuations and violation of operating limits. This study proposes an optimization model based on a recently developed heuristic search method, grey wolf optimization, to coordinate the various distribution controllers. Several different case studies on IEEE 33 and 69 bus test systems modified by including tap changing transformers, capacitors and photovoltaic solar panels are performed. Simulation results are compared to two other heuristic-based optimization methods: harmony search and differential evolution. Finally, the simulation results show the effectiveness of the method and indicate the usage of reactive power outputs of PVs facilitates better voltage magnitude profile.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Glass-like energy and property landscape of Pt nanoclusters

Pt nanoclusters play an important role in catalysis-related applications. Essential to their activities are their geometries and energy landscapes. In this work, we studied the energy landscapes of Pt clusters using a parallel differential evolution optimization algorithm and an accelerated ab initio atomic relaxation method, which allowed us to explore unprecedentedly large numbers of geometry local minima at ab initio level. We found many lower-energy isomers with low symmetry in their geometry. The energy landscapes were demonstrated to be glass-like with a large number of local minimum structures close to the global minimum. The electronic and magnetic properties of most glass-like local minima were dramatically different from the global minimum, and they should be observed in the experimental measurements. The connections between these local minima were further analyzed using data mining techniques.

Chen, Zhanghui↗

Ground-state and stability properties of 288-308 118 Og isotopes based on semi-microscopic calculations

In this study, we present theoretical predictions on the stability properties of the yet unknown {sup 276−293,295−308}{sub 118}Og isotopes using the Skyrme-SLy4 nucleon–nucleon interaction and the deformed Woods–Saxon single-particle potential in a semi-microscopic approach. The ground-state masses, binding energy, deformations and fission barriers are calculated from the total energy surfaces produced in a multidimensional deformation space using the dynamical differential evolution optimization method. Besides, the Q-values of the different decay modes and the nucleon separation energies for each isotope, and its α-decay (T{sub α}) and spontaneous fission half-lives are also calculated. Our study revealed the {sub 290−296}Og elements to be the most bound Oganesson isotopes, among which {sup 302,304,306}Og elements are predicted to be spherical nuclei, and {sup 299,300,301,303,305}Og elements are shown to be almost spherical. The predicted ground-state and decay properties successfully reproduced the available data of the solely known Oganesson isotope {sup 294}Og. In addition to the principle α-decay modes, we studied the rival decay modes that challenge the stability of nuclei in the superheavy regions, namely the electron capture β{sup +} decays and the spontaneous fission. An overall oscillating increasing behavior of T{sub α} with the mass number is obtained, which obviously reverses the hesitating decreasing behavior of Q{sub α} and follows increasing trend of the corresponding change in the neutron-skin thickness after α-decays. The {sub 291,294−296,299−302}Og isotopes are expected to have relatively long half-lives, T{sub α} ≈ 1–45 ms, while {sup 295}Og is found to have the longest half-life between the considered nuclei. The {sub 291−300}Og isotopes exhibited relatively high fission barriers and small branching ratios for their spontaneous fission modes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Performance investigation of a high-field active magnetic regenerator

Regenerative magnetic cycles are of interest for small-scale, high-efficiency cryogen liquefiers; however, commercially relevant performance has yet to be demonstrated. To develop improved engineering prototypes, an efficient modeling tool is required to screen the multi-parameter design space. In this work, we describe an Active Magnetic Regenerative Refrigerator (AMRR) prototype using a high-field superconducting magnet that produces a 100 K temperature span. Using the experimental data, a semi-analytic AMR element model is validated and enhanced system performance is simulated using liquid propane as a heat transfer fluid. In addition, the regenerator composition and fluid flow are simultaneously optimized using a differential evolution algorithm. Simulation results indicate that a natural gas liquefier with a 160 K span and a second-law efficiency exceeding 20% is achievable.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗