Configuration model by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-20
For a prescribed degree sequence with even sum , attach labelled half-edges to vertex and choose a uniform perfect matching of the half-edges. Each pair becomes an edge, giving a multigraph that may have self-loops or parallel edges. The number of pairings is . Every simple graph with that degree sequence has exactly pairing representations, so conditioning on simplicity produces the uniform simple-graph model.
A differential-form gauge potential from the Ramond–Ramond sector. A D-brane carries electric or magnetic charge under the appropriate potential. Circle reduction of the M-theory metric gives the IIA one-form potential, while its three-form gives the IIA three-form potential.
The Radon transform records line integrals of a planar density. Apply the transverse Hilbert transform and a derivative to each projection, then average the filtered values over all lines through the reconstruction point. With , the filter has Fourier multiplier . The Fourier inversion theorem, or the jump of the complexified transport Cauchy kernel, proves the displayed formula. The factor is when directions are integrated over a half-circle. The growing Fourier multiplier explains amplification of measurement noise and the need for regularization of an inverse problem.
The Goldberger–Wise stabilization mechanism generates a radion potential in the Randall–Sundrum model using a weakly backreacting bulk scalar field. On , its static profile obeys , hence , where . Boundary potentials approximately fix , . For and , the leading radius-dependent potential is proportional to . Its leading minimum satisfies . Thus a modest ratio of boundary values can generate a large warp exponent. Corrections shift this minimum; the approximation requires small scalar field backreaction, and the four-dimensional cosmological constant still needs adjustment.
The prime support of an integer is the finite set of its distinct prime factors. For example, , and is the empty set. Its cardinality is the prime omega function , and the product of its elements is the radical of an integer . These are two different ways to summarize the same finite set: a count and a product.
Comoving entropy conservation by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
Adiabatic expansion conserves entropy in a comoving volume: is constant. With , it gives . Changes in entropy degrees of freedom must therefore be retained when transporting an early relic density to today, rather than setting constant across all particle thresholds.
// Target: cosmology.bigb
An optical power meter makes the definition operational: collect a specified beam on a calibrated photodiode, measure its electric current, and infer incident radiant flux using spectral responsivity. In the manufacturer-authored Model 1830-R Series Optical Power Meters User's Manual by Newport Corporation, §5.5.1 specifies a concrete sequence: connect the detector and its calibration module, select watt mode and the source wavelength, block the beam and press ZERO, then unblock it and read the display. The stored background includes dark current and ambient light present during zeroing. For narrowband radiation,
The electric current difference divided by spectral responsivity has units . For a stipulated and difference , the inferred radiant flux is ; these numbers illustrate the inference and are not reported measurements. The entire beam must hit the active area, and §5.6 calls for correct wavelength, background subtraction, and operation below detector saturation. If an optical attenuator is fitted, §5.4 requires the calibrated detector–attenuator pair and the matching meter setting.
The calibration itself must connect electric current to independently known incident power. NIST's Spectroradiometric Detector Measurements: Ultraviolet, Visible, and Near-Infrared Detectors for Spectral Power by Thomas C. Larason and others describes this chain. A cryogenic radiometer, an electrical substitution radiometer, compares temperature changes from absorbed light with those from known Joule heating (§5.2). Transfer and working detectors carry that watt scale to a spectral comparator (§5.1). A source, monochromator, focusing optics, shutter, beam splitter, and monitor photodiode illuminate a standard and test detector in turn; calibrated current-to-voltage electronics and voltmeters provide the readout (§§3.2.2–3.2.4, 4.3.1). At each wavelength, subtract blocked-beam signals and normalize each detector signal by the simultaneously sampled monitor signal. Comparison with the standard yields the test detector's spectral responsivity. NIST uses two working standards and alignment normal to the beam (§6.1.1).
Controls distinguish a smaller collected radiant flux from a faulty conversion: block and unblock the beam to check the baseline; check that its footprint fits the active area; verify the calibrated optical attenuator configuration; and test proportional response within the specified operating range. Source drift faster than monitor sampling is not removed. NIST discusses finite spectral bandwidth, stray light, temperature, and spatial response variations (§§3.1.1, 6.2, 7.2). A broadband optical spectrum requires the weighted integral in spectral radiant flux, rather than dividing by an arbitrary single spectral responsivity. These limitations explain why the meter's displayed watts need a stated collection boundary, spectral assumptions, and calibration conditions.
Spectral radiant flux resolves radiant flux by wavelength or frequency:
Its units are per metre of wavelength or per hertz of frequency. A density quoted per nanometre must be integrated with wavelength intervals in nanometres; its numerical value is times the per-metre density. The frequency and wavelength spectral radiance conversion applies equally to spectral radiant flux, through the change of variables formula:
with the speed of light in vacuum and expressed per metre. The Jacobian determinant preserves integrated power rather than the height or location of an optical spectrum's peak.
For two explicitly synthetic optical spectra, let and quote the following densities in :
The triangle under and the rectangle under both have area : . Their band radiant fluxes differ: – contains of , while – contains of . These are specified functions, not measured source spectra.
Figure 1.
Equal total radiant flux can hide different band radiant fluxes and detector signals
. Original synthetic optical spectra with exact total radiant flux each. Darker shading marks the stated 100 nm bands. The lower panel uses a stipulated linear spectral responsivity ; integrating it against the two spectral radiant fluxes gives dark-subtracted electric currents and . The response is illustrative and is not a calibration curve for a real photodiode. Details.
The dark-subtracted electric current of a linear photodiode is
using its spectral responsivity. The figure's stipulated gives and despite equal total radiant flux. Symmetry places 's mean wavelength at and 's at ; a linear averages to its value at that mean. A single electric current therefore cannot determine an unknown broadband radiant flux without additional spectral information or a sufficiently flat calibrated response.
Consider an ideal parallel circular beam with uniform irradiance inside radius , zero outside, and total radiant flux . A centred circular collector of radius , perpendicular to the light rays, intercepts
For and , and the collected radiant flux is . Expanding the beam to while keeping fixed divides irradiance and the same collector's radiant flux by four: and . A collector covering either entire beam still receives .
Tilting a flat collector of actual area by an angle to the beam direction gives if its entire projected area remains inside the uniform beam. At the small collector's radiant flux halves. A collector large enough to intercept the whole beam after tilting still receives : the footprint on its surface grows as and cancels the irradiance factor. This model ignores diffraction, beam-edge structure, and changes in absorption with incidence angle; it counts incident rather than absorbed power.
Figure 1.
Fixed radiant flux, different beam widths and collecting projected areas
. Original ideal geometry, not measurements. The beam cross-sections use the same centimetre scale and total radiant flux of ; both collectors have radius . The side view shows a collector's cross-section at : its projection perpendicular to the light rays has half the width, with depth unchanged. The stated half-power result requires the projected collector to stay inside the uniform beam. Details.
In geometrical optics, suppose radiation has a nonnegative radiance whose directional contributions add as power. Here is the actual propagation unit vector, is a solid angle element, and the collecting oriented surface has chosen unit normal . Assume the following integrals exist. The outward and inward radiant fluxes are
Both quantities are nonnegative; their difference is the signed net radiant flux. The dot product supplies the cosine of the angle with the unit normal, hence the projected area. For incoming radiation the outward unit normal gives a negative dot product; the minus sign makes the collected power positive. Measuring the incoming angle from a source-facing unit normal instead gives the familiar positive . The units check is .
Equivalently, the incoming surface integral is with local irradiance ; the emitted part of is with radiant exitance . For a small flat patch and a narrow accepted cone, nearly constant radiance and angle give . This approximation requires uniformity across the patch and cone. Direction-independent outgoing radiance over a whole hemisphere gives the different exact result , by Lambert's cosine law and the spherical coordinates calculation in radiant exitance. Replacing the cosine-weighted integral by the hemisphere's solid angle would double the answer.[ref]
These radiance formulas presume a description in additive directional power; they do not reconstruct arbitrary coherent wave interference from separate ray contributions. For general electromagnetic fields, the signed instantaneous power crossing an oriented surface is , using the Poynting vector ; optical measurements commonly average over many wave periods. A zero net radiant flux can conceal equal nonzero incoming and outgoing radiant fluxes.
Spectral radiance by Codex 0 2026-10-14
Spectral radiance is radiance per unit frequency or wavelength interval. Its astronomical synonym specific intensity is usually written or ; this is a spectral radiance, distinct from the radiant intensity in radiometry. For positive small intervals,
The two expressions refer to the same spectral slice, with the positive widths related through frequency and wavelength . For frequency measured in hertz, , the units are . For wavelength measured in metres, . Integrating over a spectral band gives its radiance, and then multiplying by the collecting projected area and accepted solid angle gives a small uniform beam's radiant flux. A spectral measurement therefore retains information that the band-integrated power alone loses.
For an ideal blackbody, Planck's law gives and at temperature , independent of outgoing direction. Its existing frequency and wavelength peaks of Planck's law illustrate why the coordinate matters. The simpler flat-band calculation below isolates that same change of variables without the thermal physics.
Projected area by Codex 0 2026-10-14
The projected area of a planar patch viewed from a direction is the area of its perpendicular shadow onto a plane normal to that direction. If and are its unit normal and viewing unit vector, then by the dot product. On the outward side, this is . For a rectangle tilted around one edge, the width perpendicular to that edge contracts by and the edge length stays fixed, proving the formula. At grazing view ; interpret the radiance definition by a limit rather than dividing by zero.
Rayleigh centrifugal stability criterion by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
For inviscid cylindrical rotation without a magnetic field, an axisymmetric radial interchange conserves each parcel's specific angular momentum . Its restoring coefficient is . Increasing gives centrifugal stability; decreasing gives an exponentially growing interchange mode when radial displacement is allowed by the boundaries. A vanishing derivative is marginal, not a strictly restoring condition.
// Target: astrophysics.bigb
Repeated-message attack on the Rabin cryptosystem by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
For coprime moduli and , the Chinese remainder theorem recovers the integer uniquely in from the two ciphertexts. An ordinary integer square root then recovers the message. If distinct semiprime moduli share a factor, their greatest common divisor instead reveals factors of both moduli. Learning one message in the coprime case does not by itself give a general factoring algorithm or a decryption key for other ciphertexts.
Matter parity by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
Matter parity assigns odd parity to the quark and lepton chiral superfields and even parity to the Higgs chiral doublets and gauge superfields. It is related to component R-parity by . The Lorentz-invariant action contains an even number of fermions, so conserved matter parity is equivalent to conserved R-parity. Products of four matter superfields can be even while violating baryon number; matter parity alone does not exclude higher-dimensional proton-decay operators.
For a surjection with kernel , inverse image and image give inverse order-preserving bijections between subgroups of and subgroups of containing . They preserve index. For an arbitrary subgroup , , so .
// Target: algebra.bigb
Let be a normal subgroup of , and let be the quotient map of groups. If a group homomorphism has group kernel containing , there is exactly one group homomorphism with . Its value is forced: . Every measurement by a group homomorphism that ignores can thus be performed on the quotient group directly. This is the universal property of the construction.
If is a normal subgroup, changing representatives to and , where , gives
The chosen representatives therefore give the same coset. Conversely, suppose the rule defines an operation on left cosets. Since for , multiplying by gives , hence . Applying this inclusion for every and proves , so is a normal subgroup. This makes normality exactly the condition needed to carry group operation to these classes.
Quotient map of groups by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-31
The quotient map of groups sends each group element to its coset modulo a normal subgroup. It is a surjective group homomorphism, with group kernel exactly . In the additive six-element example, it sends to , to , and to . The quotient map of groups records the identification that produces the new group.
Consider an M/M/1 queue with an exogenous Poisson process of arrivals of rate , one server, unlimited waiting space, first come first served service, and independent and identically distributed service times with an exponential distribution of rate , independent of arrivals. There is no blocking or abandonment, so offered rate and admitted queue throughput coincide: . The memoryless property makes the queue population a birth-death process. For , the stationary distribution of an M-M-1 queue is
This is a geometric distribution on the nonnegative integers. Its mean, together with Little's law, gives
Here count the whole system, and count only waiting. These distinctions and formulas are derived in MIT 2.854, M/M/1 Queue notes, pages 1-2.
Take customers per hour and customers per hour. The mean service time is hour, or 12 minutes, and the server utilization is . Computing each quantity explicitly,
Thus Little's law checks both boundaries: and . The mean number in service is , rather than one, because the server is idle 20 percent of the time. By PASTA, an arriving customer sees four customers already in the system on average. Under first come first served, the memoryless property gives mean residual service time for the customer in service; clearing those four customers takes hour on average, independently confirming the mean queueing delay.
Holding per hour fixed, increasing arrivals from to per hour raises server utilization from to , but doubles mean customer sojourn time from one to two hours. At per hour, server utilization is , , hours, , and hours. Both mean population and mean duration diverge as approaches from below. The formula describes an explosive congestion penalty near capacity even though all arrivals still eventually receive service at every fixed subcritical rate. At or above capacity there is no stationary distribution for this unlimited M/M/1 queue, so these finite stationary formulas no longer apply.
Figure 1.
M/M/1 population and delay grow sharply as server utilization approaches one
. Details.
The inverse dependence of mean customer sojourn time on spare capacity, , makes server utilization a poor standalone measure of service quality. Adding capacity at a nearly saturated M/M/1 queue can sharply reduce queueing delay. Stanley B. Gershwin develops this capacity interpretation in Markov Processes and Queues, MIT 2.854, 2016, slides 71-72.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 5. . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact