Search Results (4)

This study develops an integrated bi-level operations–assignment model to optimise express service on the Gyeongin Line, a core corridor connecting Seoul and Incheon. The upper level jointly selects express stops and time-of-day headways under coverage constraints—a minimum share of key stations and a maximum inter-stop spacing—while the lower level assigns passengers under user equilibrium using a generalised time function that incorporates in-vehicle time, 0.5× headway wait, walking and transfers, and crowding-sensitive dwell times. Undergrounding and alignment straightening are incorporated into segment run-time functions, enabling the co-design of infrastructure and operations. Using automatic-fare-collection-calibrated origin–destination matrices, seat-occupancy records, and station-area population grids, we evaluate five rail scenarios and one intermodal extension. The results indicate substantial system-wide gains: peak average door-to-door times fall by approximately 44–46% in the AM (07:00–09:00) and 30–38% in the PM (17:30–19:30) for rail-only options, and by up to 55% with the intermodal extension. Kernel density estimation (KDE) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) analyses show a leftward shift and tail compression (median −8.7 min; 90th percentile (P90) −11.2 min; ≤45 min share: 0.0% → 47.2%; ≤60 min: 59.7% → 87.9%). The 45-min isochrone expands by ≈12% (an additional 0.21 million residents), while the 60-min reach newly covers Incheon Jung-gu and Songdo. Backcasting against observed express/local ratios yields deviations near the ±10% band (PM one comparator within and one slightly above), and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) statistic and Mann–Whitney (MW) test results confirm significant post-implementation shifts. The most cost-effective near-term package combines mixed stopping with modest alignment and capacity upgrades and time-differentiated headways; the intermodal express–transfer scheme offers a feasible long-term upper bound. The methodology is fully transparent through provision of pseudocode, explicit convergence criteria, and all hyperparameter settings. We also report SDG-aligned indicators—traction energy and CO₂-equivalent (CO₂-eq) per passenger-kilometre, and jobs reachable within 45- and 60-min isochrones—providing indicative yet robust evidence consistent with SDG 9, 11, and 13. Full article

The variational method holds considerable significance within mathematical and theoretical physics. Its importance stems from its capacity to characterise natural systems through physical quantities, irrespective of the chosen frame of reference. This characteristic makes it a powerful tool for understanding the behaviour of diverse physical phenomena. A global and statistical approach originating from the principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics has been developed. This approach culminates in the principle of maximum entropy generation, specifically tailored for open systems. The principle itself arises as a direct consequence of applying the Lagrangian approach to open systems. The work focuses on a generalised method for deriving the thermodynamic Hamiltonian. This Hamiltonian is essential to the dynamical analysis of open systems, allowing for a detailed examination of their time evolution. The analysis suggests that irreversibility appears to be a fundamental process related to the evolution of states within open systems. Full article

In nuclear reactors, tracking the loss and production of neutrons is crucial for the safe operation of such devices. In this regard, the microscopic cross section with the Doppler broadening function is a way to represent the thermal agitation movement in a reactor core. This function usually considers the Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics for the velocity distribution. However, this distribution cannot be applied on every occasion, i.e., in conditions outside the thermal equilibrium. In order to overcome this potential limitation, Kaniadakis entropy has been used over the last seven years to generate generalised nuclear data. This short review article summarises what has been conducted so far and what has to be conducted yet. Full article

The intersection of thermodynamics, quantum theory and gravity has revealed many profound insights, all the while posing new puzzles. In this article, we discuss an extension of equilibrium statistical mechanics and thermodynamics potentially compatible with a key feature of general relativity, background independence; and we subsequently use it in a candidate quantum gravity system, thus providing a preliminary formulation of a thermal quantum spacetime. Specifically, we emphasise an information-theoretic characterisation of generalised Gibbs equilibrium that is shown to be particularly suited to background independent settings, and in which the status of entropy is elevated to being more fundamental than energy. We also shed light on its intimate connections with the thermal time hypothesis. Based on this, we outline a framework for statistical mechanics of quantum gravity degrees of freedom of combinatorial and algebraic type, and apply it in several examples. In particular, we provide a quantum statistical basis for the origin of covariant group field theories, shown to arise as effective statistical field theories of the underlying quanta of space in a certain class of generalised Gibbs states. Full article