Data-driven and Model-based Verification: a Bayesian Identification Approach

This work develops a measurement-driven and model-based formal verification approach, applicable to systems with partly unknown dynamics. We provide a principled method, grounded on reachability analysis and on Bayesian inference, to compute the confidence that a physical system driven by external inputs and accessed under noisy measurements, verifies a temporal logic property. A case study is discussed, where we investigate the bounded- and unbounded-time safety of a partly unknown linear time invariant system

The optimal shipment size and truck size choice - the allocation of trucks across hauls

There has been a growing interest in understanding how firms allocate their trucks across hauls, and how this allocation changes under various economic environments. This study investigates how variations in route/haul, carrier and vehicle characteristics affect the optimal vehicle size choice and the associated choice of shipment size. We show that the two choices are derived from the same optimization problem. There can be a continuum of shipment sizes, but decision-makers in freight transport have to choose from a limited number of vehicle alternatives. Therefore, we use a discrete–continuous econometric model where shipment size is modeled as a continuous variable, and vehicle size/type choice as a discrete variable. The results indicate that when faced with higher demand, and during longer trips firms are more likely to use heavier vehicles and ship in larger quantities which suggest that firms are realizing economies of scale and economies of distance. The study also discusses the effect of vehicle operating cost on the vehicle selection process and its policy implications

Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics

Artificial photosynthesis, mimicking nature in its efforts to store solar energy, has received considerable attention from the research community. Most of these attempts target the production of H2 as a fuel and our group recently demonstrated solar-to-hydrogen conversion at 12.3% efficiency. Here, in an effort to take this approach closer to real photosynthesis, which is based on the conversion of CO2, we demonstrate the efficient reduction of CO2 to carbon monoxide driven solely by simulated sunlight using water as the electron source. Employing series-connected perovskite photovoltaics and high-performance catalyst electrodes, we reach a solar-to-CO efficiency exceeding 6.5%, which represents a new benchmark in sunlight-driven CO2 conversion. Considering hydrogen as a secondary product, an efficiency exceeding 7% is observed. Furthermore, this study represents one of the first demonstrations of extended, stable operation of perovskite photovoltaics, whose large open-circuit voltage is shown to be particularly suited for this process

Observer-based correct-by-design controller synthesis

Current state-of-the-art correct-by-design controllers are designed for full-state measurable systems. This work first extends the applicability of correct-by-design controllers to partially observable LTI systems. Leveraging 2nd order bounds we give a design method that has a quantifiable robustness to probabilistic disturbances on state transitions and on output measurements. In a case study from smart buildings we evaluate the new output-based correct-by-design controller on a physical system with limited sensor information

Probabilistic Timed Automata with Clock-Dependent Probabilities

Probabilistic timed automata are classical timed automata extended with discrete probability distributions over edges. We introduce clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata, a variant of probabilistic timed automata in which transition probabilities can depend linearly on clock values. Clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata allow the modelling of a continuous relationship between time passage and the likelihood of system events. We show that the problem of deciding whether the maximum probability of reaching a certain location is above a threshold is undecidable for clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata. On the other hand, we show that the maximum and minimum probability of reaching a certain location in clock-dependent probabilistic timed automata can be approximated using a region-graph-based approach.Comment: Full version of a paper published at RP 201

An Algorithmic Test for Diagonalizability of Finite-Dimensional PT-Invariant Systems

A non-Hermitean operator does not necessarily have a complete set of eigenstates, contrary to a Hermitean one. An algorithm is presented which allows one to decide whether the eigenstates of a given PT-invariant operator on a finite-dimensional space are complete or not. In other words, the algorithm checks whether a given PT-symmetric matrix is diagonalizable. The procedure neither requires to calculate any single eigenvalue nor any numerical approximation.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur

A multi-color fast-switching microfluidic droplet dye laser

We describe a multi-color microfluidic dye laser operating in whispering gallery mode based on a train of alternating droplets containing solutions of different dyes; this laser is capable of switching the wavelength of its emission between 580 nm and 680 nm at frequencies up to 3.6 kHz -— the fastest among all dye lasers reported; it has potential applications in on-chip spectroscopy and flow cytometry

Baryonic acoustic oscillations simulations for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)

The baryonic acoustic oscillations are features in the spatial distribution of the galaxies which, if observed at different epochs, probe the nature of the dark energy. In order to be able to measure the parameters of the dark energy equation of state to high precision, a huge sample of galaxies has to be used. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will survey the optical sky with 6 filters from 300nm and 1100nm, such that a catalog of galaxies with photometric redshifts will be available for dark energy studies. In this article, we will give a rough estimate of the impact of the photometric redshift uncertainties on the computation of the dark energy parameter through the reconstruction of the BAO scale from a simulated photometric catalog.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 10th Rencontres de Blois proceedin

Penetration depth for shallow impact cratering

We present data for the penetration of a variety of spheres, dropped from rest, into a level non-cohesive granular medium. We improve upon our earlier work [Uehara {\it et al.} Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 90}, 194301 (2003)] in three regards. First, we explore the behavior vs sphere diameter and density more systematically, by holding one of these parameters constant while varying the other. Second, we prepare the granular medium more reproducibly and, third, we measure the penetration depth more accurately. The new data support our previous conclusion that the penetration depth is proportional to the 1/2 power of sphere density, the 2/3 power of sphere diameter, and the 1/3 power of total drop distance