We have directed much attention towards developing quantum trajectory methods which can accurately predict the transmission probabilities for a variety of quantum mechanical barrier scattering processes. One promising method involves solving the complex quantum Hamilton-Jacobi equation with the Derivative Propagation Method (DPM). We present this method, termed complex valued DPM (CVDPM(n)). CVDPM(n) has been successfully employed in the Lagrangian frame to accurately compute transmission probabilities on 'thick' one dimensional Eckart and Gaussian potential surfaces. CVDPM(n) is able to reproduce accurate results with a much lower order of approximation than is required by real valued quantum trajectory methods, from initial wave packet energies ranging from the tunneling case (E[subscript o]=0) to high energy cases (twice the barrier height). We successfully extended CVDPM(n) to two-dimensional problems (one translational degree of freedom representing an Eckart or Gaussian barrier coupled to a vibrational degree of freedom) in the Lagrangian framework with great success. CVDPM helps to explain why barrier scattering from "thick" barriers is a much more well posed problem than barrier scattering from "thin" barriers. Though results in these two cases are in very good agreement with grid methods, the search for an appropriate set of initial conditions (termed an 'isochrone) from which to launch the trajectories leads to a time-consuming search problem that is reminiscent of the rootsearching problem from semi-classical dynamics. In order to circumvent the isochrone problem, we present CVDPM(n) equations of motion which are derived and implemented in the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian frame for a metastable potential as well as the Eckart and Gaussian surfaces. In this way, the isochrone problem can be circumvented but at the cost of introducing other computational difficulties. In order to understand why CVDPM may give better transmission probabilities than real valued counterparts, much attention we have been studying and applying numerical analytic continuation techniques to visualize complex-extended wave packets as well as the complex-extended quantum potential. Numerical analytic continuation techniques have also been used to analytically continue a discrete real-valued potential into the complex plane for CVDPM with very promising results.

Η μελέτη συνήθων διαφορικών εξισώσεων συχνά χρησιμοποιεί μεθόδους γνωστές από την κλασική Μηχανική. Η πιο γνωστή από αυτές ϕέρει το όνομα του εμπνευστή της, του Ιρλανδού Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805 - 1865), κι αποτελεί μία μαθηματικά πλήρη ϑεωρία για τα λεγόμενα συστήματα Hamilton. Πρόσφατα, όμως, δομές τύπου Hamilton άρχισαν να μελετώνται και σε συστήματα μερικών διαφορικών εξισώσεων, συγκεκριμένα εξισώσεων εξέλιξης. Σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η ανάπτυξη της ϑεωρίας Hamilton για τα συστήματα αυτά και ιδιαίτερα για τις περιπτώσεις εκείνες που εμφανίζουν ολοκληρωσιμότητα. Η γραμμή που ϑα ακολουθήσουμε έχει ως κύριο οδηγό τις συμμετρίες των διαφορικών εξισώσεων, ένα πολύ χρήσιμο εργαλείο για την επίλυση οποιασδήποτε διαφορικής εξίσωσης, που πρώτος ανέδειξε ο Νορβηγός Marius Sophus Lie (1842 - 1899). Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο λοιπόν γίνεται μία εισαγωγή στην ϑεωρία των (γεωμετρικών) συμμετριών, ενώ επίσης παρουσιάζονται τρόποι επίλυσης και γενικότερα αντιμετώπισης ξεχωριστά συνήθων και μερικών διαφορικών εξισώσεων με την χρήση των ομάδων συμμετρίας τους. Το δεύτερο κεφάλαιο ϕιλοδοξεί να αναδείξει την αντιστοιχία μεταξύ των συμμετριών ενός συστήματος διαφορικών εξισώσεων και των νόμων διατήρησης στους οποίους υπακούει το ϕυσικό σύστημα που περιγράφουν. Αυτό είναι και το περιεχόμενο του ϑεωρήματος που διατύπωσε η Γερμανίδα Amalie Emmy Noether (1882 - 1935), το οποίο ισχύει και στην ειδική περίπτωση των συστημάτων Hamilton. Το πρώτο, λοιπόν, ϐήμα προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση είναι η επέκταση της έννοιας της συμμετρίας στις λεγόμενες γενικευμένες συμμετρίες, με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στις εξισώσεις εξέλιξης. Το δεύτερο είναι ουσιαστικά μια μικρή εισαγωγή στην ϑεωρία μεταβολών, απαραίτητη όμως και για τα επόμενα κεφάλαια. Την γνωστή ϑεωρία Hamilton για πεπερασμένα συστήματα, συστήματα δηλαδή συνήθων διαϕορικών εξισώσεων πραγματεύεται το τρίτο κεφάλαιο. Σκοπός του κεφαλαίου αυτού δεν είναι η πλήρης περιγραφή της ϑεωρίας, αλλά η διατύπωση των εννοιών εκείνων που μπορούν να γενικευτούν και στην περίπτωση των απειροδιάστατων συστημάτων. Για τον λόγο αυτό έχει προτιμηθεί η κάπως πιο αφηρημένη και σίγουρα όχι τόσο συνηθισμένη περιγραφή στο πλαίσιο της γεωμετρίας Poisson. Αντιμετωπίζοντας τις συμπλεκτικές δομές, οι οποίες επικρατούν στην ϐιβλιογραφία, ως μια υποπερίπτωση των γενικότερων δομών Poisson, έχουμε ουσιαστικά αποφύγει τελείως την χρήση διαφορικών μορφών, στρέφοντας περισσότερο την προσοχή στις ομάδες συμμετρίας Hamilton, μία έννοια-κλειδί για την ολοκληρωσιμότητα των συστημάτων αυτών. Στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζουμε το κεντρικό ϑέμα αυτής της εργασίας, δηλαδή τη ϑεωρία Hamilton για απειροδιάστατα συστήματα εξισώσεων εξέλιξης, και ειδικότερα την ολοκληρωσιμότητα τους. Τα ϐασικά μας εργαλεία είναι αυτά που παρουσιάστηκαν νωρίτερα, δηλαδή οι (γενικευμένες) συμμετρίες και οι νόμοι διατήρησης από την μια, και τα διανυσματικά πεδία Hamilton από την άλλη που μας επιτρέπουν την μεταξύ τους αντιστοιχία. Με ϐάση αυτά τα εργαλεία ϐλέπουμε πως η μελέτη πολλών μερικών διαφορικών εξισώσεων ϑυμίζει εκείνων των κλασικών συστημάτων Hamilton της Μηχανικής. Στην παραπάνω αντιστοιχία ϐασίζεται και η έννοια των δι-Χαμιλτονικών συστημάτων, την οποία μελετάμε στο πέμπτο κεφάλαιο. Μέσα από το παράδειγμα της εξίσωσης Korteweg-de Vries αναδεικνύονται τα πλεονεκτήματα της εύρεσης δύο διαφορετικών, ανεξάρτητων εκφράσεων Hamilton, που οδηγούν στην κατασκευή άπειρων συμμετριών ή ακόμα και νόμων διατήρησης. Η διπλή αυτή δομή Hamilton των απειροδιάστατων συστημάτων συνδέεται, όπως ϑα δούμε, με την ολοκληρωσιμότητα είτε με την έννοια του Liouville, είτε με διάφορα άλλα κριτήρια. Γνωστά παραδείγματα παραθέτονται, πέρα από την KdV, όπως η εξίσωση Schroedinger, η modified KdV, κι άλλες μη γραμμικές κυματικές εξισώσεις. Στο έκτο και τελευταίο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζουμε την περίπτωση, όπου ένα σύστημα επιδέχεται πολλαπλή δομή Hamilton. Τέτοιου είδους συστήματα μας επιτρέπουν να δούμε προϋπάρχουσες έννοιες από την ϑεωρία Hamilton, αλλά κι όχι μόνο, κάτω από μία άλλη σκοπιά. Γι΄ αυτό κι έχουν απασχολήσει την σύγχρονη ϐιβλιογραφία, πάνω στην οποία κάνουμε μία σύντομη επισκόπηση, τόσο στο κομμάτι εκείνο που ασχολείται με τις πρόσφατες εξελίξεις της ϑεωρίας Hamilton, όσο και με την μελέτη γενικότερα της ολοκληρωσιμότητας των μερικών διαφορικών εξισώσεων. / The study of ordinary differential equations has often borrowed well known methods from Classical Mechanics. The most popular one is due to Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865), which has become a complete mathematical theory for the so-called Hamiltonian systems. Recently, Hamiltonian structures have been developed for systems of partial differential equations, particularly evolution equations. The purpose of this master thesis is to present the Hamiltonian theory for this type of systems, and especially for integrable equations. Our description is based on Symmetries, a useful tool for solving any differential equation, first discovered by Marius Sophus Lie (1842-1899). Thus, an introduction to his theory of point or geometrical symmetries is given in the first chapter, along with some applications, such as integration of ordinary differential equations and group-invariant solutions of partial differential equations. In the second chapter we discuss the connection between the symmetries of a system of differential equations and the conservation laws of the physical problem that they describe. That is the content of Noether’s theorem, which also holds in the particular case of Hamiltonian systems. The first step towards this direction is the generalization of the basic symmetry concept, and the second one is a small introduction to variational problems, also necessary for the next chapters. The well known Hamilton’s theory for finite systems is presented in the third chapter. We do not wish to describe the whole theory in full detail but only focus on these points that will be needed to handle the infinite-dimensional case. Therefore, we introduce the general notion of a Poisson structure, instead of the more familiar symplectic one. Avoiding the use of differential forms almost entirely, we concentrate on the Hamiltonian symmetries and their key role in the reduction theory of these systems. In Chapter 4 lies the heart of the subject, the Hamiltonian approach to a system of evolution equations. We start off by drawing an analogy between first order ordinary differential equations and evolution equations, and then we establish the fundamental concepts of the Hamiltonian franework, i.e. the Poisson bracket and Hamiltonian vector fields. Through another version of Noether’s theorem, we are able to explore, once again, the correspondence between (generalized) symmetries and conservation laws. Thus, we see that the study of several partial differential equations is in some way very close to the one of classical mechanical Hamiltonian systems. Evolution equations possessing, not just one, but two Hamiltonian structures, called bi-Hamiltonian systems, are discussed in the next chapter. The advantages of finding two different, independent Hamiltonian expressions are pointed out through the example of the Korteweg-de Vries equation. We show that such systems have an infinite number of symmetries and, subject to a mild compatibility condition, they also have an infinite number of conservation laws. Therefore they are completely integrable in Liouville’s sense. Several examples are presented, besides the KdV equation, such as the nonlinear Schroedinger, the modified KdV and other nonlinear wave equations. The final chapter is devoted to some of the recent publications, regarding multi-Hamiltonian evolution equations. This type of systems puts the classical Hamiltonian theory of ordinary differential equations in a new perspective and at the same time allows us to draw some connections with other integrability criteria used in the field of partial differential equations.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

The focus of this thesis is optimal path planning. The path planning problem is posed as an optimal control problem, for which the viscosity solution to the static Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation is used to determine the optimal path. The Ordered Upwind Method (OUM) has been previously used to numerically approximate the viscosity solution of the static HJB equation for direction-dependent weights. The contributions of this thesis include an analytical bound on the convergence rate of the OUM for the boundary value problem to the viscosity solution of the HJB equation. The convergence result provided in this thesis is to our knowledge the tightest existing bound on the convergence order of OUM solutions to the viscosity solution of the static HJB equation. Only convergence without any guarantee of rate has been previously shown. Navigation functions are often used to provide controls to robots. These functions can suffer from local minima that are not also global minima, which correspond to the inability to find a path at those minima. Provided the weight function is positive, the viscosity solution to the static HJB equation cannot have local minima. Though this has been discussed in literature, a proof has not yet appeared. The solution of the HJB equation is shown in this work to have no local minima that is not also global. A path can be found using this method. Though finding the shortest path is often considered in optimal path planning, safe and energy efficient paths are required for rover path planning. Reducing instability risk based on tip-over axes and maximizing solar exposure are important to consider in achieving these goals. In addition to obstacle avoidance, soil risk and path length on terrain are considered. In particular, the tip-over instability risk is a direction-dependent criteria, for which accurate approximate solutions to the static HJB equation cannot be found using the simpler Fast Marching Method. An extension of the OUM to include a bi-directional search for the source-point path planning problem is also presented. The solution is found on a smaller region of the environment, containing the optimal path. Savings in computational time are observed. A comparison is made in the path planning problem in both timing and performance between a genetic algorithm rover path planner and OUM. A comparison in timing and number of updates required is made between OUM and several other algorithms that approximate the same static HJB equation. Finally, the OUM algorithm solving the boundary value problem is shown to converge numerically with the rate of the proven theoretical bound.

The issue of downtown revitalization has been much studied over the past several decades. However, much of the existing knowledge base pertains to our largest urban centres. This leaves a significant information gap with regards to mid-size cities. As a result, past renewal attempts in these cities have often been scaled down versions of what has worked in larger cities. In most cases, this has resulted in detrimental rather than reviving effects. The current trend in cities of all sizes is the implementation of Creative City Theory. This thesis seeks to study this trend and its specific relevance to the mid-size city. The scope of research will then build on the current theory by exploring the effects of well-designed public spaces and their ability to not only unleash the creative spirit but to revitalize the post-industrial mid-size city downtown. This information will then be applied to a design study for Hamilton, Ontario where failed renewal attempts have crippled the city’s downtown. The design will concentrate on Jackson Square (formerly known as Civic Square), a superblock within the very centre of downtown Hamilton. Through a redesign of Jackson Square, the thesis proposes to create a place that not only fosters creativity, but is once again meaningful and significant to Hamilton citizens. While the application of research to Hamilton is specific, the goal is to produce a body of work with principles that can be applied to any number of mid-size cities across the post-industrial world.

No description available.

In this Dissertation thesis the spectral theory of Schrödinger operators modeling quasicrystals in dimension one ist investigated. We allow for a large class of measures as potentials covering also point interactions. The main results can be stated as follows: If the potential can be very well approximated by periodic potentials, then the correspondig Schrödinger operator does not have any eigenvalues. If the potential is aperiodic and satisfies a certain finite local complexity condition, the absolutely continuous spectrum is absent. We also prove Cantor spectra of zero Lebesgue measure for a large class of (a randomized version of) the operator.

Zugl.: München, Zentralinst. für Kunstgeschichte, Diss., 2004

Thesis (M.Arch.) - Carleton University, / Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-119). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (BA (Hons)--Art and Design) -- AUT University, 2005. / Print copy accompanied by CD. Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (iii, 26 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. + CD (4 3/4)) in City Campus Theses Collection (T 776.7 YEU)