ACCELERATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

This article discusses the important role of mathematical and physical sciences in, and their influence on, the development of natural science and modern technology, as well as social science and the humanities. On the basis of the present situation in China, it calls for accelerating the development of the mathematical and physical sciences.

Significant Breakthrough in Industrial Test of the "Methanol to Olefins" Process Developed by Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences

A process of ＂Methanol or Dimethylether to Olefins＂ developed by Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics （DICP）, designated as the DMTO process, has attained great success in industrial scaling up testing. DICP, by collaborating with the Xinxing Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. of Shaanxi Province and the Luoyang Petrochemical Engineering Co. of the SINOPEC Group, operated successfully a 50t（methanol）/d unit for the conversion of methanol to lower olefins, with a methanol conversion of close to 100%, and a selectivity to lower olefins（ethylene, propylene and butylenes） of higher than 90%. On 23rd August, the industrial test project has passed a state appraisal. The experts of the Appraisal Group, headed by Prof. YUAN Qingtang, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, drew the conclusions that the DMTO process, by utilizing a proprietary SAPO-34 catalyst system and a recycling fluidized bed reaction system for the production of lower olefins from methanol, is the first unit in the world having a capacity of producing nearly ten thousand tons lower olefins per year. The technological level of the industrial test is at a leading position internationally. This accomplishment will provide a sound base for the subsequent commercialization of the DMTO process.

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Elsevier Signed a Publishing Agreement of the Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics （DICP） /Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） and Elsevier have concluded a publishing agreement for the Journa/of Natural Gas Chemistry （JNGC） on June 07, 2005. Beginning from 2006, Elsevier will publish JNGC on ScienceDirect, the online full text and bibliographic information resource, and take care of JNGC＇s international institutional print subscriptions. JNGC will also be covered in Elsevier＇s EI Compendex.

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Elsevier Signed a Publishing Agreement of the Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) /Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Elsevier have concluded a publishing agreement for the Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry (JNGC) on June 07, 2005. Beginning from 2006, Elsevier will publish JNGC on ScienceDirect, the online full text and bibliographic information resource, and take care of JNGC’s international institutional print subscriptions. JNGC will also be covered in Elsevier’s EI Compendex.

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Elsevier Signed a Publishing Agreement of the Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics （DICP）/Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） and Elsevier have concluded a publishing agreement for the Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry （JNGC） on June 07, 2005. Beginning from 2006, Elsevier will publish JNGC on ScienceDirect, the online full text and bibliographic information resource, and take care of JNGC＇s international institutional print subscriptions. JNGC will also be covered in Elsevier＇s EI Compendex.

Interest-Driven Model for Human Dynamics

Empirical observations indicate that the interevent time distribution of human actions exhibits heavy-tailed features. The queuing model based on task priorities is to some extent successful in explaining the origin of such heavy tails, however, it cannot explain all the temporal statistics of human behavior especially for the daily entertainments. We propose an interest-driven model, which can reproduce the power-law distribution of interevent time. The exponent can be analytically obtained and is in good accordance with the simulations. This model well explains the observed relationship between activities and power-law exponents, as reported recently for web-based behavior and the instant message communications.

Is the Near-Earth Current Sheet Prior to Reconnection Unstable to Tearing Mode？

The tearing mode instability plays a key role in the triggering process of reconnection. The triggering collisionless tearing mode instability has been theoretically and numerically analyzed by many researchers. However, due to the difficulty in obtaining the observational wave number, it is still unknown whether the tearing mode instability can be excited in an actual plasma sheet prior to reconnection onset. Using the data from four Cluster satellites prior to a magnetospheric reconnection event on 13 September 2002, we utilized the wave telescope technique to obtain the wave number which corresponds to the peak of power spectral density. The wavelength is about 18RE and is consistent with previous theoretic and numerical results. After substituting the wave vector and other necessary parameters of the observed current sheet into the triggering condition of tearing mode instability, we find that the near-Earth current sheet prior to reconnection is unstable to tearing mode.

Evolutionary Prisoner＇s Dilemma Game Based on Division of Work

We propose a new two-type-player prisoner＇s dilemma game based on the division of work on a square lattice, in which a fraction of the population μ are assigned type A and the rest B. In a one-shot two-player game, we let both of their original payoffs be scaled by a same multiplicative factor α 〉 1, if two neighboring players are of different types; however we leave the payoffs unchanged if they are of the same type. Then we show that combined with the two-type setup, the square lattice can assist to induce different social ranks according to players＇ abilities to collect payoffs. Simulation results show that the density of cooperation is significantly promoted for a wide range of the temptation to defection parameters and that there are optimal values for both α and μ leading to the maximal cooperation level. We reach these results by analyzing the distribution of the players in the social ranks and we also show some typical snapshots of the system.

ULF Waves Associated with Solar Wind Deceleration in the Earth＇s Foreshock

Characteristics of ULF waves associated with the solar wind deceleration in the Earth＇s foreshock on 6-7 April 2003 is studied using the wave telescope technique. In the satellite frame, the ULF waves are the left-handed polarized and quasi anti-parallel propagating mode, with a power peak at about 18.63mHz. The wave vector in the GSE coordinates is estimated to be k = （-4.29, 2.28, 1.21）×10^-4 km^-1, In the solar wind frame, the frequency of waves becomes - 9.39 mHz after the Doppler shift correction. The propagation direction of the waves is thus reversed and correspondingly the polarization of the waves becomes right-handed. The above-mentioned characteristics of the ULF waves in the solar wind frame indicate that the ULF waves associated with the solar wind deceleration are the Alfven-whistler waves, which have been frequently reported in both the observations and computer simulations.

Information Feedback Strategies in a Signal Controlled Network with Overlapped Routes

We investigate the effects of four different information feedback strategies on the dynamics of traffic, travelers＇ route choice and the resultant system performance in a signal controlled network with overlapped routes. Simulation results given by the cellular automaton model show that the system purpose-based mean velocity feedback strategy and the congestion coefficient feedback strategy have more advantages in improving network utilization efficiency and reducing travelers＇ travel times. The travel time feedback strategy and the individual purposed-based mean velocity feedback strategy behave slightly better to ensure user equity.

Active Mixing in a Microchannel

We investigate a minute magneto hydro-dynamic mixer with relatively rapid mixing enhancement experimentally and analytically. The mixer is fabricated with brass and polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） layers. A secondary flow is generated by using the Lorentz force in the fluids. The efficiency of mixing is greatly improved due to the large increase of the contact area between two mixing fluids. The micro particle image velocimetry technique is employed to measure the fluid flow characteristics in the micro-channel. Numerical simulation is performed based on the theoretical model of the computational fluid dynamics and the electromagnetic field theory. The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical results, which indicates that the mixing area is enlarged by the driving of Lorentz force and the mixing can be enhanced.

Heterogeneity of Some Cooperation/Competition Properties

We show that the heterogeneity index, which was proposed by Hu and Wang [Physica A 387 （2008） 3769], can be used to describe the disparity of the cooperation sharing or competition gain distributions, which is very important for understanding the dynamics of a cooperation/competition system. An analytical relation between the distribution parameters and the heterogeneity index is derived, which is in good agreement with the empirical results. Our theoretical and empirical analyses also show that the relation between the distribution parameters can be analytically derived from the so-called Zhang-Chang model [Physica A 360 （2006） 599; 383 （2007） 687）. This strongly recommends a possibility to create a general dynamic cooperation/competition model.

A Realistic Cellular Automaton Model for Synchronized Traffic Flow

A cellular automaton model is proposed to consider the anticipation effect in drivers＇ behavior. It is shown that the anticipation effect can be one of the origins of synchronized traffic flow. With anticipation effect, the congested traffic flow simulated by the model exhibits the features of synchronized flow. The spatiotemporal patterns induced by an on-ramp are also consistent with the three-phase traffic theory. Since the origin of synchronized flow is still controversial, our work can shed some light on the mechanism of synchronized flow.

Comparative Study on Polarization of DNA and CdSe Quantum Dots

The polarizabilities of DNA in transverse direction and CdSe semiconductor quantum dots （QDs） deposited on mica surface are compared by means of electrostatic force microscopy （EFM）. We observe clear EFM-phase shift over CdSe QDs, while no obvious signal on DNA is detected, suggesting that DNA molecules is an electrical insulator.

Assessment of Primordial Radionuclides in Pakistani Red Bricks and Associated Radiation Doses

Specific activity of primordial radionuclides and associated radiation hazards due to 40K, 226Ra, and 232Th have been measured in backed red brick samples, collected from five highly populated areas of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. For the detection, analysis and data acquisition, a high purity germanium detector was used. Associated external doses were calculated using a Monte Carlo neutron photon transport code. A theoretical model to determine the gamma dose rate at 1 m height from the floor, made of bricks, was employed for the calculation of mass attenuation coefficient and self-absorption in the floor for the gamma energies of these radionuclides and their progeny. Monte Carlo simulation shows that in this study the floor, having more than an effective thickness of 15 cm, contributes very little to the external gamma dose rate. The values of the external dose rate and annual effective dose are found to be much lower than the world average as well as from other countries of the world.

Prisoner＇s Dilemma on Co-Evolving Networks without Strategy Update

We investigate the game theory in a structured population with the assumption that the evolution of network structure is far faster than that of strategy update. We find that the degree distribution for the finM network consists of two distinct parts： the low degree part which is contributed to by defectors and a broadband in the regime with high degree which is formed by cooperators. The structure of the final network and the final strategy pattern have also been numerically proved to be independent of the game parameters.

Robustness of Cooperation on Highly Clustered Scale-Free Networks

We study the effect of mutation on the evolutionary prisoner＇s dilemma in highly clustered scale-free networks. It is found that cooperation is more sensitive and vulnerable to strategy mutation in more highly clustered networks. For small mutation rates, high clustering coefficient promotes cooperation. For medium mutation rates, high clustering coefficient inhibits the emergence of cooperation. For large mutation rates, cooperation is insensitive to clustering property. We provide explanations for the effects of clustering on cooperation with varied mutation rates.

Photoinduced Reorientation Process and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Ag Nanoparticle Doped Azo Polymer Films

Azobenzene polymer films doped with and without Ag nanoparticles are prepared. The photoinduced reorientation process is investigated by using an Nd：YVO4 pump beam at 532 nm and a low semiconductor laser beam at 650 nm. The reorientation rate of azo polymer films is enhanced in the presence of Ag nanoparticles, and the rate of the azo polymer film with Ag concentration of 2.2 μg/ml is larger than that of the azo polymer films with Ag concentrations of 1.1 μg/ml and 4.4 μg/ml. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of the Ag/azo composite film are obtained by the Z-scan technique at a wavelength of 532 nm, and the measured nonlinear refractive index is 9.258×10-9 esu. It is shown that the main mechanisms involved in the large nonlinear optical responses come from the local field enhancement of Ag nanoparticles and the nonlinear effect of the azo polymer matrix.

The Four Most Basic Elements In Machine Cognition

The widespread use of ChatGPT has normalized the dialogue Turing test.To meet this challenge,China's major national development strategy suggests that for a new generation of artificial intelligence,it is first necessary to answer the big questions raised by Turing in 1950 from the perspective of cognitive physics:Can machines think?How do machines think?How do machines cognize?Whether it is carbon-based human cognition or silicon-based machine cognition,it is an interaction between complex constructs composed of the four most basic elements:matter,energy,structure,and time.Both humans and machines depend on negative entropy for living,and time is the cornerstone of cognition.Structure and time are parasitic on matter and energy in physical space,forming hard-structured ware.The soft-structured ware in cognitive space is mind,which is parasitic on the hard-structured ware or other existing soft-structured ware,and constitutes a rich hierarchy of multi-scale feelings,concepts,information,and knowledge.Extending"abstraction"from the symbolic school of artificial intelligence,"association"from the connectionist school,and"interaction"from the behaviorist school,the core of cognition is established on the shoulders of such scientific giants such as Schrodinger,Turing and Wiener.Soft and hard-structured ware interact.Cognitive machine can comprise heterogeneous hard-structured ware,such as field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs),data processing units(DPUs),central processing units(CPUs),graphics processing units(GPUs),tensor processing units(TPUs),and memory.It can also be implanted with the"Baby Cognitive Nucleus"which is hard-structured ware genetically inherited and naturally evolved to form the embodied machine.Then the hard-structured ware is parasitized by rich,multi-scale soft-structured ware.By regulating matter and energy through soft-structured ware,machines produce orderly events,form coordinated and orderly thinking activities.The heterogeneous sensors configured by the machine and the speed of thinking will no longer be trapped by the extreme values of biochemical parameters of carbon-based organisms but will be able to perceive through multi-channel cross-modal means,carry out intense thinking,and maintain cognitive continuity with memory.To generate computational and memory intelligence in cognitive space which can bootstrap,self-reuse and self-replicate,imagination and creativity are improved through memory-constrained computing.The new generation of artificial intelligence will leap beyond mechanized mathematics to automation in thinking and self-driven growth of cognition,and the thinking in the cognitive space and the behavior in the physical space verify each other,from the dialogue Turing test to the embodied Turing test.Humans have entered the intelligent era of human-machine co-creation with cognitive machines iteratively inventing,discovering,and creating alongside scientists,engineers,and skilled craftsmen,each wise in its way,improving thinking ability,and amplifying human energy.