Penrose's inequality which relates the total mass of a space-time containing a black hole with the area of the event horizon, is a yet unproven condition that is required for the cosmic censorship hypothesis. It is believed that the inequality could be proved by using properties of the Hawking mass. This thesis gives analytical expressions for the Hawking mass in slowly rotating Kerr and Kerr-Newman space-times. It is also shown that the expressions are monotonically increasing, a result that does not contradict Penrose's inequality.

This paper presents an approach in contemporary, abstract art for a new way of experiencing modernist abstraction. This has not been possible until now, about 40 years after the postmodern turn against modernism in art, and the closely connected formalism. This new approach is represented in this paper by the Swedish contemporary artists Ann Edholm and Jacob Dahlgren. Modernist artists such as Kasimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian receives a new relevance to contemporary abstract art. This opens up for a new, more complex and more dialectical understanding and re-evaluation of modernism and its abstract art.This is shown by a historical and chronological investigation which highlights modernist abstract art, formalism, and the critical and post-modern Neo-geometric ‘abstraction’ of the eighties. This background has been a way of proving how modernist abstraction still can possess a validity for contemporary art today, and even vitalize a continuation for abstract art as a contemporary practice.

We derive the equation linking the Weyl tensor with its Lanczos potential, called the Weyl-Lanczos equation, in 1+3 covariant formalism for perfect fluid Bianchi type I spacetime and find an explicit expression for a Lanczos potential of the Weyl tensor in these spacetimes. To achieve this, we first need to derive the covariant decomposition of the Lanczos potential in this formalism. We also study an example by Novello and Velloso and derive their Lanczos potential in shear-free, irrotational perfect fluid spacetimes from a particular ansatz in 1+3 covariant formalism. The existence of the Lanczos potential is in some ways analogous to the vector potential in electromagnetic theory. Therefore, we also derive the electromagnetic potential equation in 1+3 covariant formalism for a general spacetime. We give a short description of the necessary tools for these calculations and the cosmological formalism we are using.

Through a critical examination of the works of Tom Robbins, this thesis interrogates the historical evolution and appropriation of the magic(al) realist tradition. In so doing, it situates Robbins’ writing within the framework of postmodernism, and explores the ontological implications inherent in Robbins’ use of magic(al) realist concepts and conventions. With a specific emphasis on the notion of cultural consciousness, this thesis analyzes the object- oriented cosmologies embodied and espoused in three of Robbins’ novels: Still Life with Woodpecker (1980), Skinny Legs and All (1990), and B is for Beer (2009). It unpacks the ideological figuration of various textual devices evident in Another Roadside Attraction (1971) and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976) – particularly the gendered use of unreliable narrators – and, with reference to Jitterbug Perfume (1984), relates Robbins’ appropriation of the magic(al) realist tradition to the American counterculture movement of the 1960s and 70s. Employing poststructuralist, feminist, ecofeminist, and postcolonial discourses, this thesis ultimately seeks to position Robbins’ writing within the context of a radical emancipatory politics that views (and uses) literature as an ideological space in which to challenge, reinterpret, and democratize Western metanarratives.

Doktrininė diskusija ar sutarties sudarymui pakanka vien pažado (nudum pactum) ar šalių susitarimas privalo būti išreikštas tam tikra forma, yra labai sena. Konsensualizmo principo šalininkai teigia, jog sutarties sudarymui sutampančios šalių valios visiškai pakanka. Šis principas atsirado kaip logiška valios autonomijos teorijos pasekmė ir reakcija į romėnų teisės griežtumą. Apie formalizmą tenka kalbėti tais atvejais, kai vien ketinimo sukurti tam tikrus sutartinius santykius nepakanka, o suderinta šalių valia turi būti išreikšta tam tikra forma. Šiuolaikinei sutarčių teisei yra būdingas konsensualizmas, tačiau ir formalizmo principo, kuris padeda derinti atskirų individų laisvę, apsaugoti viešąjį interesą bei sąžiningas trečiąsias šalis, visiškai pagrįstai nėra atsisakoma. Kuriant naująjį Lietuvos Respublikos civilinį kodeksą, be kitų naujovių, buvo siekiama sumažinti formalizmo principo taikymo apimtį sandorio institute. Šio tikslo šiuo metu padeda pasiekti ir pažangių informacinių technologijų diegimas į kai kurių sandorių sudarymo procesą. Tačiau, nepaisant konsensualizmo principo įtvirtinimo ir formalių sandorių formos reikalavimų mažinimo, tam tikro formalizmo ir konsensualizmo principų disbalanso teisiniame sandorių reglamentavimo galutinai išvengti nepavyko. Kokybinio ir kiekybinio sandorio instituto vertinimo kriterijų pagalba atlikta analizė parodė, jog tam tikrais atvejais formalizmo ir konsensualizmo principų taikymas neatitinka jų tikslų, o valstybės kišimosi... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Doctrin debate, if nudum pactum is enough for the creation of contract is very old. In the modern law prevails consensualism, but the formalism, that helps to adjust the freedom of different presons, protect the public interest and rights of honest third parties is not refused. / Wissenschaftliche Diskussion, ob ein bolßes Versprechen (nudum pactum) für die Vertragsschliessung genügt, oder es in der bestimmten Form zum Ausdruck gebracht werden soll, ist sehr alt. Die Anhänger des Formfreiheitsprinzips behaupten, daß der übereinstimmende Willen, der Vertragsparteien für die Vertragsschliessung völlig genügt. Dieser Prinzip findete sich wie eine logische Autonomietheoriefolge und eine Reaktion auf die Strenge des römischen Rechts. Über den Formalismusprinzip wird es damals gesprochen, wenn es für die Vertragsschliessung nur eine Absicht nicht genügt und der übereinstimmende Willen der Vertragsparteien in einer bestimmten Form ausgedrückt werden soll. Das Kennzeichen des heutigen Rechts ist Formfreiheitsprinzip, aber auf den Formalismusprinzip, der eine Freiheit der einzelnen Individuum in Übereinstimmung bringt, öffentliche Interesse und Interesse der dritten gewissenhaften Personen schützen hilft, wird es berechtigterweise nicht verzichtet. Bei der Schaffung des Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuches der Republik Litauen, ohne anderen Neuigkeiten, wurde nach der Verringerung des Formalismusprinzipseinflusses im Geschäftsinstitut gestrebt. Dieses Ziehl hilft auch die Einführung der fortschrittlichen Informationstechnologien in den Geschäftsbildungsprozeß zu erreichen. Doch, abgesehen von der Befestigung des Formfreiheitsprinzips und Verringerung der Geschäftsformforderungen, es wurde nicht eine bestimmte Ungleichgewicht von diesen Prinzipien vermieden. Mit der... [der volle Text, siehe weiter]

The interaction between light and organometallic chromophores has been investigated theoretically in a strive for fast optical filters. The main emphasis is on two-photon absorption and excited state absorption as illustrated in the Jablonski diagram. We stress the need for relativistic calculations and have developed methods to address this issue. Furthermore, we present how quantum chemical calculations can be combined with Maxwell's equations in order to simulate propagation of laser pulses through a materials doped with chromophores with high two-photon absorption cross sections. Finally, we also discuss how fast agile filters using spin-transition materials can be modeled in order to accomplish theoretical material design. / <p>Report code: LIU-TEK-LIC-2006:55. On the day of the defence date the status on article III was Manuscript, article IV was Accepted and article V was Submitted.</p>

Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) is a formal language whose primary purpose is to model and verify concurrent systems. The CSP++ toolset was created to embody the concept of selective formalism by making machine-readable CSPm specifications both executable (through the automatic synthesis of C++ source) and extensible (by allowing the integration of C++ user-coded functions). However, these user-coded functions were limited by their inability to share data with each other, which meant that their application was constrained to solving simple problems in isolation. We extend CSP++ by providing user-coded functions in the same CSP process with safe access to a shared storage area, similar in concept and API to Pthreads' thread-local storage, enabling cooperation between them and granting them the ability to undertake more complex tasks without breaking the formalism of the underlying specification. This feature's utility is demonstrated in our line-following robot case study.

Les technologies de l’information entraînent de profondes transformations dans nos façons d’apprendre et de socialiser ; de lire et d’écrire. Ces changements ne sont pas sans conséquence sur de nombreuses institutions, juridiques ou non. Créées au fil du temps et adaptées à une réalité qu’elles avaient internalisée, elles doivent aujourd’hui comprendre et s’adapter au changement. L’écrit est une de ces institutions. Sa place dans le droit civil est le fruit de centaines d’années de cohabitation et le droit y a vu un allié stable. Mais autrefois facilitateur, l’écrit devient obstacle alors que les technologies de l’information, affranchies du papier, sont utilisées dans des situations juridiques. Comment adapter la notion d’écrit – et celles de l’original et de la signature – alors qu’il n’est question que de données abstraites sous forme numérique ? C’est là l’objet de ce mémoire. Suite à une étude de la notion d’écrit dans le temps, de son affirmation à son bouleversement, nous étudierons les outils juridiques (traditionnels ou récents, comme les principes de neutralité technologique et d’équivalence fonctionnelle) à la disposition du droit civil pour constamment s’adapter à des situations changeantes. Enfin, dans une perspective plus pratique, nous verrons le traitement qu’ont fait divers législateurs, de l’écrit électronique. Nous terminerons par une analyse plus précise des dispositions québécoises relatives à l’écrit électronique. Les principes étudiés dans ce mémoire sont susceptibles de s’appliquer à d’autres situations similaires. / Information technology has completely modified our way of learning, socialising, reading and writing. These changes have also affected numerous institutions. Developed over many years and adapted to a reality they internalised, they now have to understand the nature of the changes taking place and adapt to them. The legal concept of “writing” is such an institution. Its place in the realm of civil law is the result of hundreds of years of cohabitation. The legal system has found a great ally in “writings”. However, although “writing” has been seen as an enabler in the past, the use of information technologies in legal circumstances has turned it into an obstacle. How are we going to adapt the notion of writing – and those of original and signature – when talking about digital data ? This is the topic of our thesis. Following a historical study of the concept of “writing”, from its inception to its current state of crisis, we will analyse the legal tools made available to civil law (whether they be traditional or recent, such as the technological neutrality, and functional equivalence principles) in order to adapt to a constantly changing technological landscape. On a more practical level, we will study how different legislators have addressed electronic documents. Our study will conclude with an analysis of Quebec legislation pertaining to electronic documents. The principles studied in this thesis should be applicable to other similar situations.

Le but de cette thèse est d'explorer la faisabilité d'expériences de diffraction résonante sur des systèmes multiferroïques et en particulier avec un champ/courrant électrique appliqué. Un formalisme de matrices de propagation a été développé pour simuler la réflectivité résonante, en utilisant un ensemble d'ondes propres comme base arithmétique pour le calcul. Des expériences de diffraction résonante ont été menées sur trois oxides de métaux de transition. Cette technique combinant la selectivité chimique et la sensibité à l'espace réciproque, elle a été utilisée sur des films très minces de PbTiO3 pour étudier la structure atomique d'un agencement périodique de domaines ferroélectriques. La signatures spectroscopiques observées par nos expériences de diffraction X durs sont reproduites par des simulations ab-initio FDMNES de super-cellules complexes. Dans le domaine X mous, nous avons étudié la structure antiferromagnétique cycloïdale du multiferroïque BiFeO3, et plus spécialement l'empreinte de la cycloïde sur une couche mince de Co déposée sur le matériau multiferroïque. Nous présentons également une expérience dans laquelle nous avons tenté d'explorer l'effet d'un courant électrique appliqué sur un film mince du composé à ordre de charge Pr(1-x)Ca(x)MnO3. La dernière partie est consacrée à l'instrumentation. Nous passons en revue les lignes synchrotron européennes et les diffractomètres qui permettent de faire des expériences de diffraction résonante de rayons X. Pour finir, nous détaillons un nouveau porte-échantillon que nous avons développé et testé sur le diffractomètre RESOXS, et qui permet d'appliquer un champ/courant électrique.

In this thesis, we introduce a new approach to wavefront phase reconstruction in Adaptive Optics (AO) from the low-resolution gradient measurements provided by a wavefront sensor, using a non-linear approach derived from the Microcanonical Multiscale Formalism (MMF). MMF comes from established concepts in statistical physics, it is naturally suited to the study of multiscale properties of complex natural signals, mainly due to the precise numerical estimate of geometrically localized critical exponents, called the singularity exponents. These exponents quantify the degree of predictability, locally, at each point of the signal domain, and they provide information on the dynamics of the associated system. We show that multiresolution analysis carried out on the singularity exponents of a high-resolution turbulent phase (obtained by model or from data) allows a propagation along the scales of the gradients in low-resolution (obtained from the wavefront sensor), to a higher resolution. We compare our results with those obtained by linear approaches, which allows us to offer an innovative approach to wavefront phase reconstruction in Adaptive Optics.