microPhantom: Playing microRTS under uncertainty and chaos

This competition paper presents microPhantom, a bot playing microRTS and participating in the 2020 microRTS AI competition. microPhantom is based on our previous bot POAdaptive which won the partially observable track of the 2018 and 2019 microRTS AI competitions. In this paper, we focus on decision-making under uncertainty, by tackling the Unit Production Problem with a method based on a combination of Constraint Programming and decision theory. We show that using our method to decide which units to train improves significantly the win rate against the second-best microRTS bot from the partially observable track. We also show that our method is resilient in chaotic environments, with a very small loss of efficiency only. To allow replicability and to facilitate further research, the source code of microPhantom is available, as well as the Constraint Programming toolkit it uses

Numerical investigation of acoustic solitons

Acoustic solitons can be obtained by considering the propagation of large amplitude sound waves across a set of Helmholtz resonators. The model proposed by Sugimoto and his coauthors has been validated experimentally in previous works. Here we examine some of its theoretical properties: low-frequency regime, balance of energy, stability. We propose also numerical experiments illustrating typical features of solitary waves

Laser Doppler Velocimetry for Joint Measurements of Acoustic and Mean Flow Velocities : LMS-based Algorithm and CRB Calculation

This paper presents a least mean square (LMS) algorithm for the joint estimation of acoustic and mean flow velocities from laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements. The usual algorithms used for measuring with LDV purely acoustic velocity or mean flow velocity may not be used when the acoustic field is disturbed by a mean flow component. The LMS-based algorithm allows accurate estimations of both acoustic and mean flow velocities. The Cram\'er-Rao bound (CRB) of the associated problem is determined. The variance of the estimators of both acoustic and mean flow velocities is also given. Simulation results of this algorithm are compared with the CRB and the comparison leads to validate this estimator

Acoustic characterization of Hofstadter butterfly with resonant scatterers

We are interested in the experimental characterization of the Hofstadter butterfly by means of acoustical waves. The transmission of an acoustic pulse through an array of 60 variable and resonant scatterers periodically distribued along a waveguide is studied. An arbitrary scattering arrangement is realized by using the variable length of each resonator cavity. For a periodic modulation, the structures of forbidden bands of the transmission reproduce the Hofstadter butterfly. We compare experimental, analytical, and computational realizations of the Hofstadter butterfly and we show the influence of the resonances of the scatterers on the structure of the butterfly

Wave propagation in a strongly disordered 1D phononic lattice supporting rotational waves

We investigate the dynamical properties of a strongly disordered micropolar lattice made up of cubic block units. This phononic lattice model supports both transverse and rotational degrees of freedom hence its disordered variant posses an interesting problem as it can be used to model physically important systems like beam-like microstructures. Different kinds of single site excitations (momentum or displacement) on the two degrees of freedom are found to lead to different energy transport both superdiffusive and subdiffusive. We show that the energy spreading is facilitated both by the low frequency extended waves and a set of high frequency modes located at the edge of the upper branch of the periodic case for any initial condition. However, the second moment of the energy distribution strongly depends on the initial condition and it is slower than the underlying one dimensional harmonic lattice (with one degree of freedom). Finally, a limiting case of the micropolar lattice is studied where Anderson localization is found to persist and no energy spreading takes place

Non-Hermitian Acoustic Metamaterials: the role of Exceptional Points in sound absorption

Effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are obtained to describe coherent perfect absorbing and lasing boundary conditions. PT -symmetry of the Hamiltonians enables to design configurations which perfectly absorb at multiple frequencies. Broadened and flat perfect absorption is predicted at the exceptional point of PT -symmetry breaking while, for a particular case, absorption is enhanced with the use of gain. The aforementioned phenomena are illustrated for acoustic scattering through Helmholtz resonators revealing how tailoring the non-Hermiticity of acoustic metamaterials leads to novel mechanisms for enhanced absorption

La Planificación de las actividades de los estudiantes en los trabajos prácticos de física : análisis de prácticas de profesores

Los trabajos prácticos ocupan un lugar importante en la enseñanza de la física y de la química y son generalmente presentados como el lugar de realización de actividades científicas. Este artículo es un estudio de la elaboración de trabajos prácticos por parte de profesores de secundaria, realizado sobre la base de entrevistas y de observaciones de clases. Un primer análisis muestra que los profesores no hacen en realidad ninguna referencia a la actividad científica y que la planificación de la sesión recibe la máxima atención. La elaboración de una parrilla específica ha permitido un análisis detallado que muestra una coherencia fuerte entre planificación y «razones» invocadas por los profesores. Proponemos como síntesis un modelo de funcionamiento del «profesor-constructor».Practical work is usually considered as the way to do science and to learn about experimental inquiry. The work we report in this paper focuses on the way physics teachers are designing practical work at secondary level. Analises of interviews to teachers and observations of labwork sessions show that teachers never invoke scientific processes, but give chief importance to planning considerations. We designed a specific grid for a more detailed analysis. Results show a great coherence between planning and the reasons given by teachers. We propose, as a synthesis, a model for the performance of the «designer-teacher»