Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology最新文献

For a degree sequence, we define the set of edges that appear in every labeled realization of that sequence as forced, while the edges that appear in none are define as forbidden. We examine the structure of graphs in which the degree sequences contain either forced or forbidden edges. The results include the determination of the structure of the forced or forbidden edge sets, the relationship between the sizes of forced and forbidden sets for a sequence, and the structural consequences to their realizations. This includes showing that the diameter of every realization of a degree sequence containing forced or forbidden edges is no greater than 3, and that these graphs are maximally edge-connected.

Measurements of the relative permittivity (static dielectric constant) of fluids such as methane have been interpreted with the assumption of zero dipole moment. This assumption is not strictly true, due to the presence of isotopologues with small, nonzero dipole moments. We investigate the significance of this effect by analyzing the effect of the dipole of CH₃D on the static dielectric constant of methane. It is found that the isotopologue effect is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than the uncertainty of the best existing measurements. Similar estimates for other compounds such as H₂ and CO₂ produce even smaller effects. Therefore, the interpretation of these measurements with a dipole moment of zero remains valid.

The constrained orthogonal Procrustes problem is the least-squares problem that calls for a rotation matrix that optimally aligns two matrices of the same order. Over past decades, the algorithm of choice for solving this problem has been the Kabsch-Umeyama algorithm, which is effectively no more than the computation of the singular value decomposition of a particular matrix. Its justification, as presented separately by Kabsch and Umeyama, is not totally algebraic since it is based on solving the minimization problem via Lagrange multipliers. In order to provide a more transparent alternative, it is the main purpose of this paper to present a purely algebraic justification of the algorithm through the exclusive use of simple concepts from linear algebra. For the sake of completeness, a proof is also included of the well known and widely used fact that the orientation-preserving rigid motion problem, i.e., the least-squares problem that calls for an orientation-preserving rigid motion that optimally aligns two corresponding sets of points in d-dimensional Euclidean space, reduces to the constrained orthogonal Procrustes problem.

In the branch of forensic science known as firearm evidence identification, estimating error rates is a fundamental challenge. Recently, a new quantitative approach known as the congruent matching cells (CMC) method was developed to improve the accuracy of ballistic identifications and provide a basis for estimating error rates. To estimate error rates, the key is to find an appropriate probability distribution for the relative frequency distribution of observed CMCs overlaid on a relevant measured firearm surface such as the breech face of a cartridge case. Several probability models based on the assumption of independence between cell pair comparisons have been proposed, but the assumption of independence among the cell pair comparisons from the CMC method may not be valid. This article proposes statistical models based on dependent Bernoulli trials, along with corresponding methodology for parameter estimation. To demonstrate the potential improvement from the use of the dependent Bernoulli trial model, the methodology is applied to an actual data set of fired cartridge cases.

WWV was established as a radio station on October 1, 1919, with the issuance of the call letters by the U.S. Department of Commerce. This paper will observe the upcoming 100th anniversary of that event by exploring the events leading to the founding of WWV, the various early experiments and broadcasts, its official debut as a service of the National Bureau of Standards, and its role in frequency and time dissemination over the past century.

We report on a workshop held 1-3 May 2018 at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, U.K., in which the focus was how the world's national metrology institutes might help to address the challenges of reproducibility of research.The workshop brought together experts from the measurement and wider research communities in physical sciences, data analytics, life sciences, engineering, and geological science. The workshop involved 63 participants from metrology laboratories (38), academia (16), industry (5), funding agencies (2), and publishers (2). The participants came from the U.K., the United States, Korea, France, Germany, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Turkey, and Singapore.Topics explored how good measurement practice and principles could foster confidence in research findings and how to manage the challenges of increasing volume of data in both industry and research.