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Metal hydrides are an interesting class of chemical compounds that can reversibly bind a large amount of hydrogen and are, therefore, of interest for energy applications. Understanding the factors affecting the kinetics of hydride formation and decomposition is especially important. Features of the material, experimental setup and conditions affect the mathematical description of the processes, which can undergo significant changes during the processing of experimental data. The article proposes a general approach to numerical modeling of the formation and decomposition of metal hydrides and solving inverse problems of estimating material parameters from measurement data. The models are divided into two classes: diffusive ones, that take into account the gradient of hydrogen concentration in the metal lattice, and models with fast diffusion. The former are more complex and take the form of non-classical boundary value problems of parabolic type. A rather general approach to the grid solution of such problems is described. The second ones are solved relatively simply, but can change greatly when model assumptions change. Our experience in processing experimental data shows that a flexible software tool is needed; a tool that allows, on the one hand, building models from standard blocks, freely changing them if necessary, and, on the other hand, avoiding the implementation of routine algorithms. It also should be adapted for high-performance systems of different paradigms. These conditions are satisfied by the HIMICOS library presented in the paper, which has been tested on a large number of experimental data. It allows simulating the kinetics of formation and decomposition of metal hydrides, as well as related tasks, at three levels of abstraction. At the low level, the user defines the interface procedures, such as calculating the time layer based on the previous layer or the entire history, calculating the observed value and the independent variable from the task variables, comparing the curve with the reference. Special algorithms can be used for solving quite general parabolic-type boundary value problems with free boundaries and with various quasilinear (i.e., linear with respect to the derivative only) boundary conditions, as well as calculating the distance between the curves in different metric spaces and with different normalization. This is the middle level of abstraction. At the high level, it is enough to choose a ready tested model for a particular material and modify it in relation to the experimental conditions.

Working memory mechanisms in spiking neural networks consisting of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons with adaptive threshold and synaptic plasticity are studied in this work. Moderate size networks including thousands of neurons were explored. Working memory is a network ability to keep in its state the information about recent stimuli presented to the network such that this information is sufficient to determine which stimulus has been presented. In this study, network state is defined as the current characteristics of network activity only — without internal state of its neurons. In order to discover the neuronal structures serving as a possible substrate of the memory mechanism, optimization of the network parameters and structure using genetic algorithm was carried out. Two kinds of neuronal structures with the desired properties were found. These are neuron pairs mutually connected by strong synaptic links and long tree-like neuronal ensembles. It was shown that only the neuron pairs are suitable for efficient and reliable implementation of working memory. Properties of such memory units and structures formed by them are explored in the present study. It is shown that characteristics of the studied two-neuron memory units can be set easily by the respective choice of the parameters of its neurons and synaptic connections. Besides that, this work demonstrates that ensembles of these structures can provide the network with capability of unsupervised learning to recognize patterns in the input signal.

Mathematicity of physics is surprising, but it enables us to understand the laws of nature through the analysis of mathematical structures describing it. This concerns, however, only physics. The degree of the mathematization of biology is low, and attempts to mathematize it are limited to the application of mathematical methods used for the description of physical systems. When doing so, we are likely to commit an error of attributing to biological systems features that they do not have. Some argue that biology does need new mathematical methods conforming to its needs, and not known from physics. However, because of a specific complexity of biological systems, we should speak of their algorithmicity, rather than of their mathematicity. As an example of algorithmic approach one can indicate so called individual-based models used in ecology to describe population dynamics or fractal models applied to describe geometrical complexity of such biological structures as trees.

In this work, the problem of constructing an electronic analogue of heterogeneous DNA is solved with the help of the methods of mathematical modeling. Electronic analogs of that type, along with other physical models of living systems, are widely used as a tool for studying the dynamic and functional properties of these systems. The solution to the problem is based on an algorithm previously developed for homogeneous (synthetic) DNA and modified in such a way that it can be used for the case of inhomogeneous (native) DNA. The algorithm includes the following steps: selection of a model that simulates the internal mobility of DNA; construction of a transformation that allows you to move from the DNA model to its electronic analogue; search for conditions that provide an analogy of DNA equations and electronic analogue equations; calculation of the parameters of the equivalent electrical circuit. To describe inhomogeneous DNA, the model was chosen that is a system of discrete nonlinear differential equations simulating the angular deviations of nitrogenous bases, and Hamiltonian corresponding to these equations. The values of the coefficients in the model equations are completely determined by the dynamic parameters of the DNA molecule, including the moments of inertia of nitrous bases, the rigidity of the sugar-phosphate chain, and the constants characterizing the interactions between complementary bases in pairs. The inhomogeneous Josephson line was used as a basis for constructing an electronic model, the equivalent circuit of which contains four types of cells: A-, T-, G-, and C-cells. Each cell, in turn, consists of three elements: capacitance, inductance, and Josephson junction. It is important that the A-, T-, G- and C-cells of the Josephson line are arranged in a specific order, which is similar to the order of the nitrogenous bases (A, T, G and C) in the DNA sequence. The transition from DNA to an electronic analog was carried out with the help of the A-transformation which made it possible to calculate the values of the capacitance, inductance, and Josephson junction in the A-cells. The parameter values for the T-, G-, and C-cells of the equivalent electrical circuit were obtained from the conditions imposed on the coefficients of the model equations and providing an analogy between DNA and the electronic model.

In this paper we propose high-order (tensor) methods for two types of saddle point problems. Firstly, we consider the classic min-max saddle point problem. Secondly, we consider the search for a stationary point of the saddle point problem objective by its gradient norm minimization. Obviously, the stationary point does not always coincide with the optimal point. However, if we have a linear optimization problem with linear constraints, the algorithm for gradient norm minimization becomes useful. In this case we can reconstruct the solution of the optimization problem of a primal function from the solution of gradient norm minimization of dual function. In this paper we consider both types of problems with no constraints. Additionally, we assume that the objective function is $\mu$-strongly convex by the first argument, $\mu$-strongly concave by the second argument, and that the $p$-th derivative of the objective is Lipschitz-continous.

For min-max problems we propose two algorithms. Since we consider strongly convex a strongly concave problem, the first algorithm uses the existing tensor method for regular convex concave saddle point problems and accelerates it with the restarts technique. The complexity of such an algorithm is linear. If we additionally assume that our objective is first and second order Lipschitz, we can improve its performance even more. To do this, we can switch to another existing algorithm in its area of quadratic convergence. Thus, we get the second algorithm, which has a global linear convergence rate and a local quadratic convergence rate.

Finally, in convex optimization there exists a special methodology to solve gradient norm minimization problems by tensor methods. Its main idea is to use existing (near-)optimal algorithms inside a special framework. I want to emphasize that inside this framework we do not necessarily need the assumptions of strong convexity, because we can regularize the convex objective in a special way to make it strongly convex. In our article we transfer this framework on convex-concave objective functions and use it with our aforementioned algorithm with a global linear convergence and a local quadratic convergence rate.

Since the saddle point problem is a particular case of the monotone variation inequality problem, the proposed methods will also work in solving strongly monotone variational inequality problems.

The paper presents a physical and numerical analysis of the dynamics and radiation of explosion products formed during the Russian-American experiment in the ionosphere using an explosive generator based on hexogen (RDX) and trinitrotoluene (TNT). The main attention is paid to the radiation of the perturbed region and the dynamics of the products of explosion (PE). The detailed chemical composition of the explosion products is analyzed and the initial concentrations of the most important molecules capable of emitting in the infrared range of the spectrum are determined, and their radiative constants are given. The initial temperature of the explosion products and the adiabatic exponent are determined. The nature of the interpenetration of atoms and molecules of a highly rarefied ionosphere into a spherically expanding cloud of products is analyzed. An approximate mathematical model of the dynamics of explosion products under conditions of mixing rarefied ionospheric air with them has been developed and the main thermodynamic characteristics of the system have been calculated. It is shown that for a time of 0,3–3 sec there is a significant increase in the temperature of the scattering mixture as a result of its deceleration. In the problem under consideration the explosion products and the background gas are separated by a contact boundary. To solve this two-region gas dynamic problem a numerical algorithm based on the Lagrangian approach was developed. It was necessary to fulfill special conditions at the contact boundary during its movement in a stationary gas. In this case there are certain difficulties in describing the parameters of the explosion products near the contact boundary which is associated with a large difference in the size of the mass cells of the explosion products and the background due to a density difference of 13 orders of magnitude. To reduce the calculation time of this problem an irregular calculation grid was used in the area of explosion products. Calculations were performed with different adiabatic exponents. The most important result is temperature. It is in good agreement with the results obtained by the method that approximately takes into account interpenetration. The time behavior of the IR emission coefficients of active molecules in a wide range of the spectrum is obtained. This behavior is qualitatively consistent with experiments for the IR glow of flying explosion products.

Stochastic optimization is a current area of research due to significant advances in machine learning and their applications to everyday problems. In this paper, we consider two fundamentally different methods for solving the problem of stochastic optimization — online and offline algorithms. The corresponding algorithms have their qualitative advantages over each other. So, for offline algorithms, it is required to solve an auxiliary problem with high accuracy. However, this can be done in a distributed manner, and this opens up fundamental possibilities such as, for example, the construction of a dual problem. Despite this, both online and offline algorithms pursue a common goal — solving the stochastic optimization problem with a given accuracy. This is reflected in the comparison of the computational complexity of the described algorithms, which is demonstrated in this paper.

The comparison of the described methods is carried out for two types of stochastic problems — convex optimization and saddles. For problems of stochastic convex optimization, the existing solutions make it possible to compare online and offline algorithms in some detail. In particular, for strongly convex problems, the computational complexity of the algorithms is the same, and the condition of strong convexity can be weakened to the condition of $\gamma$-growth of the objective function. From this point of view, saddle point problems are much less studied. Nevertheless, existing solutions allow us to outline the main directions of research. Thus, significant progress has been made for bilinear saddle point problems using online algorithms. Offline algorithms are represented by just one study. In this paper, this example demonstrates the similarity of both algorithms with convex optimization. The issue of the accuracy of solving the auxiliary problem for saddles was also worked out. On the other hand, the saddle point problem of stochastic optimization generalizes the convex one, that is, it is its logical continuation. This is manifested in the fact that existing results from convex optimization can be transferred to saddles. In this paper, such a transfer is carried out for the results of the online algorithm in the convex case, when the objective function satisfies the $\gamma$-growth condition.

State-of-the-art localization and mapping approaches for augmented (AR) and mixed (MR) reality devices are based on the extraction of local features from the camera. Along with this, modern AR/MR devices allow you to build a three-dimensional mesh of the surrounding space. However, the existing methods do not solve the problem of global device co-localization due to the use of different methods for extracting computer vision features. Using a space map from a 3D mesh, we can solve the problem of collaborative global localization of AR/MR devices. This approach is independent of the type of feature descriptors and localisation and mapping algorithms used onboard the AR/MR device. The mesh can be reduced to a point cloud, which consists of only the vertices of the mesh. We propose an approach for collaborative localization of AR/MR devices using point clouds that are independent of algorithms onboard the device. We have analyzed various point cloud registration algorithms and discussed their limitations for the problem of global co-localization of AR/MR devices indoors.

This article is devoted to the development of an algorithm for trajectory control of a highly maneuverable four-wheeled robotic transport platform equipped with mecanum wheels, in order to organize its movement behind some moving object. The calculation of the kinematic ratios of this platform in a fixed coordinate system is presented, which is necessary to determine the angular velocities of the robot wheels depending on a given velocity vector. An algorithm has been developed for the robot to follow a mobile object on a plane without obstacles based on the use of a modified chase method using different types of control functions. The chase method consists in the fact that the velocity vector of the geometric center of the platform is co-directed with the vector connecting the geometric center of the platform and the moving object. Two types of control functions are implemented: piecewise and constant. The piecewise function means control with switching modes depending on the distance from the robot to the target. The main feature of the piecewise function is a smooth change in the robot’s speed. Also, the control functions are divided according to the nature of behavior when the robot approaches the target. When using one of the piecewise functions, the robot’s movement slows down when a certain distance between the robot and the target is reached and stops completely at a critical distance. Another type of behavior when approaching the target is to change the direction of the velocity vector to the opposite, if the distance between the platform and the object is the minimum allowable, which avoids collisions when the target moves in the direction of the robot. This type of behavior when approaching the goal is implemented for a piecewise and constant function. Numerical simulation of the robot control algorithm for various control functions in the task of chasing a target, where the target moves in a circle, is performed. The pseudocode of the control algorithm and control functions is presented. Graphs of the robot’s trajectory when moving behind the target, speed changes, changes in the angular velocities of the wheels from time to time for various control functions are shown.

The creation of a virtual laboratory stand that allows one to obtain reliable characteristics that can be proven as actual, taking into account errors and noises (which is the main distinguishing feature of a computational experiment from model studies) is one of the main problems of this work. It considers the following task: there is a rectangular waveguide in the single operating mode, on the wide wall of which a technological hole is cut, through which a sample for research is placed into the cavity of the transmission line. The recovery algorithm is as follows: the laboratory measures the network parameters (S₁₁ and/or S₂₁) in the transmission line with the sample. In the computer model of the laboratory stand, the sample geometry is reconstructed and an iterative process of optimization (or sweeping) of the electrophysical parameters is started, the mask of this process is the experimental data, and the stop criterion is the interpretive estimate of proximity (or residual). It is important to note that the developed computer model, along with its apparent simplicity, is initially ill-conditioned. To set up a computational experiment, the Comsol modeling environment is used. The results of the computational experiment with a good degree of accuracy coincided with the results of laboratory studies. Thus, experimental verification was carried out for several significant components, both the computer model in particular and the algorithm for restoring the target parameters in general. It is important to note that the computer model developed and described in this work may be effectively used for a computational experiment to restore the full dielectric parameters of a complex geometry target. Weak bianisotropy effects can also be detected, including chirality, gyrotropy, and material nonreciprocity. The resulting model is, by definition, incomplete, but its completeness is the highest of the considered options, while at the same time, the resulting model is well conditioned. Particular attention in this work is paid to the modeling of a coaxial-waveguide transition, it is shown that the use of a discrete-element approach is preferable to the direct modeling of the geometry of a microwave device.