<p>The formation of star clusters occurs in a complex environment and involve a large number of physical processes. One of the most important processes to consider is radiative feedback. The radiation released by forming stars heats the surrounding gas and suppresses the fragmentation of low mass objects. Ionizing radiation can also drive large scale outflows and disperse the surrounding gas. Owing to all this complexity, the use of numerical simulations to study cluster formation in molecular clouds has become commonplace. In order to study the effects of radiative feedback on cluster formation over larger spatial scales than previous studies, we present hydrodynamical simulations using the AMR code FLASH which make use of cluster particles. Unlike previous studies, these particles represent an entire star cluster rather than individual stars. We present a subgrid model for representing the radiative output of a star cluster which involves randomly sampling an IMF over time to populate the cluster. We show that our model is capable of reproducing the properties of observed clusters. The model was then incorporated into FLASH to examine the effects of radiative feedback on cluster formation in full hydrodynamical simulations. We find that the inclusion of radiative transfer can drive large scale outflows and decreases the overall star formation efficiency by a factor of 2. The inclusion of radiative feedback also increases the degree of subclustering. The use of cluster particles in hydrodynamical simulations represents a promising method for future studies of cluster formation and the large scale effects of radiative feedback.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Sammanfattning Sedan 1980 har produktionen av sågade trävaror ökat i Sverige och samtidigt har produktionen koncentrerats till färre sågverk. Detta examensarbete behandlar Norra Skogs anläggning i Sävar som planerar att utöka sin produktion inom en snar framtid med en vision om att hantera en inkommande timmervolym på 1 000 000 m3f per år. För att göra detta möjligt kommer Sävar såg att investera i en ny mätstation. Den nya mätstationen kommer att leda till ett högre timmerflöde till sorteringen och den nya mätstationen kräver även ny mark för sågverket vilket leder till längre transportvägar på timmerplanen. Syftet med avhandlingen är att avgöra om de nuvarande timmerhanteringsfordonen kommer att klara av att hantera den nya timmervolymen på den nya anläggningen. Detta kommer att uppnås genom att simulera logistiken för den nuvarande och framtida anläggningen genom att använda Simulink och nyttja optimering av fordonenstransportrutter med hjälp av A-star algoritmen. Baserat på de krav som gemensamt fastställts med företaget och de antaganden som gjorts i modellen kommer arbetet fram till följande slutsatser: 1. De nuvarande timmerhanteringsfordonen räcker till vid två skift med en inkommande timmervolym på 600 000 m3f per år.2. Nuvarande timmerhanteringsfordon räcker till under majoriteten av dygnet under tre skift med en inkommande timmervolym på 1 000 000 m3f per år. På grund av några få långa väntetider i lastbilskön kan det dock vara lämpligt att investera i ytterligare ett timmehanteringsfordon under vissa delar av dygnet. Nyckelord: sågverk, timmer, timmerplan, timmerhanterare, simulering, optimering, A-star algoritmen / Abstract Simulation &amp; optimization of timber handler operationsCapacity analysis of timber handlers at Sävar sawmill   Since 1980 the sawn timber production in Sweden has increased and at the same time been concentrated to fewer sawmills. This thesis considers Norra Skog’s facility in Sävar which is planning to expand its production in the near future with a vision to meet an incoming timber volume of 1 000 000 m3f per year. To make that possible Sävar sawmill will invest in a new measuring station. The new measuring station will lead to a faster timber flow to the sorting boxes and the new measuring station also requires a bigger sawmill area which leads to longer transport paths at the timberyard. The aim of the thesis is to determine if the current timber handler vehicles will be able to handle the new timber volumes for the new facility. This will be achieved by simulating the logistics for the current and future facility using Simulink and includes the optimization of the vehicle paths using the A-star algorithm. Based on the requirements set jointly with the company, and the assumptions made in the model, the conclusions from the thesis are the following: 1. The current timber handler vehicles are enough during 2-shift operation with a timber volume of 600 000 m3f per year.2. The current timber handler vehicles are enough for the most part during 3-shiftoperation with an incoming timber volume of 1,000 000 m3f per year. Due to a few long waiting times in the truck queue, it may however be appropriate to invest in an additional timber handler at some parts of the day.   Keywords: sawmill, timber, timber yard, timber handler, simulation, optimization, A-star algorithm

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This dissertation addresses novel techniques in determining gyroless micro-satellite attitude and attitude rate. The main objective of this thesis is to explore the possibility of using commercially available low cost micro-light star sensor as a stand-alone sensor for micro-satellite attitude as well as attitude rate determination. The objective is achieved by developing accurate and computationally efficient algorithms for the realization of onboard operation of a low fidelity star sensor. All the algorithms developed here are tested with the measurement noise presented in the catalog of the sensor array STAR-1000. A novel accurate second order sliding mode observer (SOSMO) is designed for discrete time uncertain linear multi-output system. Our design procedure is effective for both matched and unmatched bounded uncertain ties and/or disturbances. The bound on uncertainties and/or disturbances is assumed to be unknown. This problem is addressed in this work using the second order multiple sliding modes approach. Second order sliding manifold and corresponding sliding condition for discrete time system is defined similar on the lines of continuous counterpart. Our design is not restricted to a particular class of uncertain (matched) discrete time system. Moreover, it can handle multiple outputs unlike single out-put systems. The observer design is achieved by driving the state observation error and its first order finite difference to the vicinity of the equilibrium point (0,0) in a finite steps and maintaining them in the neighborhood thereafter. The estimation synthesis is based on Quasi Sliding Mode (QSM) design. The problem of designing sliding mode observer for a linear system subjected to unknown inputs requires observer matching condition. This condition is needed to ensure that the state estimation error is a asymptotically stable and is independent of the unknown input during the sliding motion. In the absence of a matching condition, asymptotic stability of the reduced order error dynamics on the sliding surface is not guaranteed. However, unknown bounded inputs guarantee bounded error on state estimation. The QSM design guarantees an ultimate error bound by incorporating Boundary Layer (BL) in its design procedure. The observer achieves one order of magnitude improvement in estimation accuracy than the conventional sliding mode observer (SMO) design for an unknown input. The observer estimation errors, satisfying the given stability conditions, converge to an ultimate finite bound (with in the specified BL) of O(T2), where T Is the sampling period. A relation between sliding mode gain and boundary layer is established for the existence of second order discrete sliding motion. The robustness of the proposed observer with respect to measurement noise is also analyzed. The design algorithm is very simple to apply and is implemented for two examples with different classes of disturbances (matched and unmatched) to show the effectiveness of the design. Simulation results show the robustness with respect to the measurement noise for SOSMO. Second order sliding mode observer gain can be calculated off-line and the same gain can work for large band of disturbance as long as the disturbance acting on the continuous time system is bounded and smooth. The SOSMO is simpler to implement on board compared to the other traditional nonlinear filters like Pseudo-Linear-Kalman-filter(PLKF); Extended Kalman Filter(EKF). Moreover, SMO possesses an automatic adaptation property same as optimal state estimator(like Kalman filter) with respect to the intensity of the measurement noise. The SMO rejects the noisy measurements automatically, in response to the increased noise intensity. The dynamic performance of the observer on the sliding surface can be altered and no knowledge of noise statistics is required. It is shown that the SOSMO performs more accurately than the PLKF in application to micro-satellite angular rate estimation since PLKF is not an optimal filter. A new method for estimation of satellite angular rates through derivative approach is proposed. The method is based on optic flow of star image patterns formed on a star sensor. The satellite angular rates are derived directly from the 2D-coordinates of star images. Our algorithm is computationally efficient and requires less memory allocation compared to the existing vector derivative approaches, where there is also no need for star identification. The angular rates are computed using least square solution method, based on the measurement equation obtained by optic flow of star images. These estimates are then fed into discrete time second order sliding mode observer (SOSMO). The performance of angular rate estimation by SOSMO is compared with the discrete time First order SMO and PLKF. The SOSMO gives the best estimates as compared to the other two schemes in estimating micro-satellite angular rates in all three axes. The improvement in accuracy is one order of magnitude (around1.7984 x 10−5 rad/ sec,8.9987 x 10−6 rad/ sec and1.4222 x 10−5 rad/ sec in three body axes respectively) in terms of standard deviation in steady state estimation error. A new method and algorithm is presented to determine star camera parameters along with satellite attitude with high precision even if these parameters change during long on-orbit operation. Star camera parameters and attitude need to be determined independent of each other as they both can change. An efficient, closed form solution method is developed to estimate star camera parameters (like focal length, principal point offset), lens distortions (like radial distortion) and attitude. The method is based on a two step procedure. In the first step, all parameters (except lens distortion) are estimated using a distortion free camera model. In the second step, lens distortion coefficient is estimated by linear least squares (LS) method. Here the derived camera parameters in first step are used in the camera model that incorporates distortion. However, this method requires identification of observed stars with the catalogue stars. But, on-orbit star identification is difficult as it utilizes the values of camera calibrating parameters that can change in orbit(detector and optical element alignment get change in orbit due to solar pressure or sudden temperature change) from the ground calibrated value. This difficulty is overcome by employing a camera self-calibration technique which only requires four observed stars in three consecutive image frames. Star camera parameters along with lens (radial and decentering) distortion coefficients are determined by camera self calibration technique. Finally Kalman filter is used to refine the estimated data obtained from the LS based method to improve the level of accuracy. We consider the true values of camera parameters as (u0,v0) = (512.75,511.25) pixel, f = 50.5mm; The ground calibrated values of those parameters are (u0,v0) =( 512,512) pixel, f = 50mm; Worst case radial distortion coefficient affecting the star camera lens is considered to be k1 =5 x 10−3 .Our proposed method of attitude determination achieves accuracy of the order of magnitude around 6.2288 x 10−5 rad,3.3712 x 10−5 radand5.8205 x 10−5 rad in attitude angles φ,θ and ψ. Attitude estimation by existing methods in the literature diverges from the true value since they utilize the ground calibrated values of camera parameters instead of true values. To summarize, we developed a formal theory of discrete time Second Order Sliding Mode Observer for uncertain multi-output system. Our methods achieve the desired accuracy while estimating satellite attitude and attitude rate using low fidelity star sensor data. Our methods require lower on-board processing requirement and less memory allocation; thus are suitable for micro-satellite applications. Thus, the objective of using low fidelity star sensor as stand-alone sensor in micro-satellite application is achieved.

This thesis is concerned with various aspects of the detection and characterisation of transiting extra-solar planets. The noise properties of photometric data from SuperWASP, a wide-field survey instrument designed to detect exoplanets, are investigated. There has been a large shortfall in the number of planets such transit surveys have detected, compared to previous predictions of the planet catch. It has been suggested that correlated, or red, noise in the photometry is responsible for this; here it is confirmed that red noise is present in the SuperWASP photometry, and its effects on planet discovery are quantified. Examples are given of follow-up photometry of candidate transiting planets, confirming that modestly-sized telescopes can rule out some candidates photometrically. A Markov-chain Monte Carlo code is developed to fit transit lightcurves and determine the depth of such lightcurves in different passbands. Tests of this code with transit data of WASP-3 b are reported. The results of a search for additional transiting planets in known transiting planetary systems are presented. SuperWASP photometry of 24 such systems is searched for additional transits. No further planets are discovered, but a strong periodic signal is detected in the photometry of WASP-10. This is ascribed to stellar rotational variation, the period of which is determined to be 11.91 ± 0.05 days. Monte Carlo modelling is performed to quantify the ability of SuperWASP to detect additional transiting planets; it is determined that there is a good (> 50 per cent) chance of detecting additional, Saturn-sized planets in P ~ 10 day orbits. Finally, the first-ever attempt to detect the secondary eclipse of a transiting extra-solar planet at radio wavelengths is made. Although no eclipse is conclusively detected, upper limits to the flux density from HD 189733 b are established, and compared to theoretical predictions of the flux due to electron-cyclotron maser emission.

In this paper I have studied the two new religious phenomena, Temple of the Jedi Order and Whovianism, based on the cognitive concept of man dominated by schemas that characterize the outcome of adequate response to new situations. This principle is about how man faces new situations through old knowledge and experience of similar events. For this study, I analyzed selected stories in which individuals describe their religious interest and involvement in the Star Wars movies, and the related religious community Temple of the Jedi Order, as well as the television series Doctor Who, with the associated religious community Whovianism. This study was inspired by phenomenographic method by which researchers focus on the perceived and how it is conveyed in the respective story. The results of this study show that new religious phenomena, such as the Temple of the Jedi Order and Whovianism, can be explained using the theory of cognitive schemas.  The study shows that the individuals, whose stories have been examined, use ancient knowledge and experiences on the different aspects conveyed by Star Wars and Doctor Who and through this a new religious community is born.

This thesis details the development of the radiation transport code torus for radiation hydrodynamic applications and its subsequent use in investigating problems regarding radiative feedback. The code couples Monte Carlo photoionization with grid-based hydrodynamics and has the advantage that all of the features available to a dedicated radiation transport code are at its disposal in RHD applications. I discuss the development of the code, including the hydrodynamics scheme, the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) framework and the coupling of radiation transport with hydrodynamics. Extensive testing of the resulting code is also presented. The main application involves the study of radiatively driven implosion (RDI), a mechanism where the expanding ionized region about a massive star impacts nearby clumps, potentially triggering star formation. Firstly I investigate the way in which the radiation field is treated, isolating the relative impacts of polychromatic and diffuse field radiation on the evolution of radiation hydrodynamic RDI models. I also produce synthetic SEDs, radio, Hα and forbidden line images of the bright rimmed clouds (BRCs) resulting from the RDI models, on which I perform standard diagnostics that are used by observers to obtain the cloud conditions. I test the accuracy of the diagnostics and show that considering the pressure difference between the neutral cloud and surrounding ionized layer can be used to infer whether or not RDI is occurring. Finally I use more synthetic observations to investigate the accuracy of molecular line diagnostics and the nature of line profiles of BRCs. I show that the previously unexplained lack of dominant blue-asymmetry (a blue-asymmetry is the expected signature of a collapsing cloud) in the line profiles of BRCs can be explained by the shell of material, swept up by the expanding ionized region, that drives into the cloud. The work in this thesis combines to help resolve the difficulties in understanding radiative feedback, which is a non–linear process that happens on small astrophysical timescales, by improving numerical models and the way in which they are compared with observations.

The aim of the thesis is to explore depictions of sexuality in popular science fiction film and television through a focus on storytelling, narrative, characters and genre. The thesis analyses science fiction as a film and television genre with a focus on the conventions, interpretations, and definitions of genre as part of larger contexts. Central to the argumentation is films and television series, from Star Wars and Star Trek, to Firefly and Torchwood. The approach allows a consideration of how the storytelling conventions of science fiction are, and have been, affected by its contexts. Through a consideration of a historical de-emphasis on narrative complexity and character formation in science fiction, the thesis displays and analyses a salient tendency towards juvenile and heteronormative narratives. This tendency is represented by a concept that I call the Star’verses, through which this dominant idea of science fiction as a juvenile, techno-centred, masculine, and heteronormative genre became firmly established. This generic cluster has remained a dominant influence on science fiction film and television since the 1980s. However, as argued, a major discursive shift took place in science fiction at the turn of the millennium. This adult turn in science fiction film, and television in particular, is attributed to contextual changes, but also to the influence of television dramaturgy. It explains why science fiction in the 21st century is not as unfamiliar with depictions of sexuality as its predecessors were. This turn does not signal a total abandonment of what the Star’verses represent; it instead contributes to a change to this dominant idea of the generic identity of science fiction. While sexuality has been disassociated from much science fiction, it is also argued that the science fiction narrative has extensive queer potential. Generic conventions, such as aliens and time travel, invite both queer readings and queer storytelling; the latter however is seldom used, especially in science fiction film. A majority of the examples of science fiction narrative that use this queer potential can be found in television. In cinema, however, this progression is remarkably slow. Therefore, the thesis analyses whether the storytelling techniques of Hollywood cinema, to which science fiction film owes much of its dramaturgy, could be considered heteronormative. A comparison is made to television dramaturgy in order to display the possibilities for the serialised, character-focused science fiction narrative. Ultimately, the thesis investigate the possibility for subversive storytelling and whether a normative use of dramaturgy needs to be overthrown in order to tell a subversive story.

This study was conducted to analyze the differences in the news coverage of public education by a state and local newspaper, to ascertain if trends exist in the coverage of topics, and if the coverage is negative, positive, or neutral. All issues of The Dallas Morning News and The Piano Star Courier from the years 1988 and 1993 were evaluated. All articles about public education (with the exception of athletics, obituaries, and advertisements) were evaluated using a content analysis form. The content analysis form provided information for classifying all articles. Information was tallied for the number of articles and column inches by newspaper and category. Findings indicated a number of differences between the two newspapers in 1988 and 1993. The Dallas Morning News increased the number of articles and column inches of space it committed to the coverage of public education from 1988 to 1993. During the same period The Piano Star Courier reduced both the number of articles and column inches of space which it used for the topic of education. The Piano Star Courier began publishing editions on only five of the seven days per week in February, 1993. The Dallas Morning News reduced its local coverage and increased its coverage of state and national education topics during the same period. The change in coverage was shown through the increased number of articles and space allocated to state and national topics. Changes also occurred in the number of negative articles published by the newspapers. The Dallas Morning News increased the number of negative articles as it focused on state and national news. The Piano Star Courier reduced the number of negative articles as it focused on local topics. The findings also indicate that certain categories of articles are more likely to present education in a positive manner. Local education news stories are more likely to be positive than state or national stories. Personal stories about students and/or teachers tend to represent schools in a positive light. The topics of discipline, vandalism, finance, and administration usually have a more negative effect. Findings reveal that differing trends exist in major state and local newspaper coverage of public education. Knowledge of these trends can help educators promote a positive image of public education.

Neste trabalho nós estudamos alguns sistemas de spins e vértices exatamente solúveis em duas dimensões. A solubilidade exata está ligada ao fato de existirem soluções não triviais das equações de fatorização, o que nos permite obter a energia livre no limite termodinâmico. Introduzimos e resolvemos pelo método de espalhamento inverso, um modelo de dez vértices assimétrico com dois e três estados nas ligações. Obtemos o diagrama de fases e mostramos que o sistema exibe uma transição de fase de primeira ordem. Analisamos um modelo de oito vértices de férmions livres e propomos uma nova relação funcional que nos permite calcular a energia livre por vértice. Mostramos que este sistema de vértices corresponde ao modelo de Ising na rede Union Jack. Apresentamos um método de solução de modelos de spin em redes triangulares a partir da solução do mesmo modelo na rede quadrada. O método se aplica sempre que o modelo de spins envolver interação de primeiros vizinhos e satisfizer a relação triângulo-estrela. Estendemos para a rede triangular, as soluções autoduais de Fateev e Zamolodchikov para a rede quadrada, de modelos de spin com simetria Z(N). Analisamos as conjecturas existentes sobre a criticalidade do modelo de Potts definido na rede de Kagomé. Baseados na simetria e nas degenerescências dessa rede conjecturamos uma expressão para a sua linha crítica. / We study some spin and vertex systems which are exactly solvable in two dimensions. The exact solubility is connected to the existence of non trivial solutions of the factorization equations which allow us to determine the free energy in the thermodynamic limit. We introduce and solve by the inverse scattering method, a ten vertex model with two and three states on the links. We get the phase diagram of the system and show that it exhibits a first order phase transition. Analysing a free fermion eight vertex model, we propose a new functional relation which permit us to get the free energy per vertex. We also show that this system is equivalent to the Ising model in a Union Jack lattice. We present a method to solve spin models on triangular lattices from the known solution of the same model on square lattices. The method applies whenever the model involves first neighbours interactions and satisfies the star triangle relation. We extend to the triangular lattice the self dual solutions of Fateev and Zamolodchikov for Z(N) invariant spin systems. We also analyse the conjectures made before for the critical Potts model on a Kagomé lattice. Based on symmetry and on the collapses of this lattice we conjecture an expression for their critical line.