Regularized solution of a nonlinear problem in electromagnetic sounding

We propose a regularization method to solve a nonlinear ill-posed problem connected to inversion of data gathered by a ground conductivity meter

Symmetry and quaternionic integrable systems

Given a hyperkahler manifold M, the hyperkahler structure defines a triple of symplectic structures on M; with these, a triple of Hamiltonians defines a so called hyperhamiltonian dynamical system on M. These systems are integrable when can be mapped to a system of quaternionic oscillators. We discuss the symmetry of integrable hyperhamiltonian systems, i.e. quaternionic oscillators; and conversely how these symmetries characterize, at least in the Euclidean case, integrable hyperhamiltonian systems.Comment: 26 page

A fast solver for linear systems with displacement structure

We describe a fast solver for linear systems with reconstructable Cauchy-like structure, which requires O(rn^2) floating point operations and O(rn) memory locations, where n is the size of the matrix and r its displacement rank. The solver is based on the application of the generalized Schur algorithm to a suitable augmented matrix, under some assumptions on the knots of the Cauchy-like matrix. It includes various pivoting strategies, already discussed in the literature, and a new algorithm, which only requires reconstructability. We have developed a software package, written in Matlab and C-MEX, which provides a robust implementation of the above method. Our package also includes solvers for Toeplitz(+Hankel)-like and Vandermonde-like linear systems, as these structures can be reduced to Cauchy-like by fast and stable transforms. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the software.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figure

Current policy issues in the governance of the European patent system

The European Parliament has been working towards building a discussion platform and a resource for further policy actions in the field of intellectual property rights. The Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel has set the goal of further enlarging the area of investigation in light of recent policy developments at the European level. In particular, the current study covers current policy issues in the governance of the European patent system, such as the backlog issue, the enhancement of patent awareness within the European Parliament, patent enforcement, the regional dimension of intellectual property in Europe, patents and standardisation, the use of existing patents, and patents and competition. These issues were discussed in the conference with stakeholders from European to national patent offices, from private to public sector actors. As a result of the conference, it was stated the need for an IP strategy for Europ

Coherent absorption and enhanced photoluminescence in thin layers of nanorods

We demonstrate a large light absorptance (80%) in a nanometric layer of quantum dots in rods (QRs) with a thickness of 23 nm. This behavior is explained in terms of the coherent absorption by interference of the light incident at a certain angle onto the very thin QR layer. We exploit this coherent light absorption to enhance the photoluminescent emission from the QRs. Up to a seven- and fivefold enhancement of the photoluminescence is observed for p- and s-polarized incident light, respectively.Comment: Physical Review B 201

Inversion of multiconfiguration complex EMI data with minimum gradient support regularization: A case study

Frequency-domain electromagnetic instruments allow the collection of data in different configurations, that is, varying the intercoil spacing, the frequency, and the height above the ground. Their handy size makes these tools very practical for near-surface characterization in many fields of applications, for example, precision agriculture, pollution assessments, and shallow geological investigations. To this end, the inversion of either the real (in-phase) or the imaginary (quadrature) component of the signal has already been studied. Furthermore, in many situations, a regularization scheme retrieving smooth solutions is blindly applied, without taking into account the prior available knowledge. The present work discusses an algorithm for the inversion of the complex signal in its entirety, as well as a regularization method that promotes the sparsity of the reconstructed electrical conductivity distribution. This regularization strategy incorporates a minimum gradient support stabilizer into a truncated generalized singular value decomposition scheme. The results of the implementation of this sparsity-enhancing regularization at each step of a damped Gauss-Newton inversion algorithm (based on a nonlinear forward model) are compared with the solutions obtained via a standard smooth stabilizer. An approach for estimating the depth of investigation, that is, the maximum depth that can be investigated by a chosen instrument configuration in a particular experimental setting is also discussed. The effectiveness and limitations of the whole inversion algorithm are demonstrated on synthetic and real data sets