Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physics

Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 31051 - 31080 of 34249

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

An Investigation Of The Application Of Artificial Neural Networks To Adaptive Optics Imaging Systems, Andrew H. Suzuki Dec 1991

An Investigation Of The Application Of Artificial Neural Networks To Adaptive Optics Imaging Systems, Andrew H. Suzuki

Theses and Dissertations

Recurrent and feedforward artificial neural networks are developed as wavefront reconstructors. The recurrent neural network studied is the Hopfield neural network and the feedforward neural network studied is the single layer perceptron artificial neural network. The recurrent artificial neural network input features are the wavefront sensor slope outputs and neighboring actuator feedback commands. The feedforward artificial neural network input features are just the wavefront sensor slope outputs. Both artificial neural networks use their inputs to calculate deformable mirror actuator commands. The effects of training are examined.


Performance Analysis Of The Speckle Holography Image Reconstruction Technique, Rudolf N. Vonniederhausern Dec 1991

Performance Analysis Of The Speckle Holography Image Reconstruction Technique, Rudolf N. Vonniederhausern

Theses and Dissertations

In speckle holography, short exposures frames along with wave front measurements allow post processing image reconstruction. With speckle holography the amplitude of high spatial frequencies is boosted to allow resolution out to the diffraction limit of the telescope. To provide system parameters for the wave front sensor design, a software analysis program has been developed that provides the system transfer function as a function of the number and size of sensor subapertures and sensor noise. Trends in the ratio of the atmospheric coherence diameter to wave front subaperture size and the effect on the system transfer function have been obtained. …


Optical Image Segmentation Using Wavelet Correlation, Steven D. Pinski Dec 1991

Optical Image Segmentation Using Wavelet Correlation, Steven D. Pinski

Theses and Dissertations

This research introduces an optical method of segmenting potential targets using wavelet analysis. Implementation of an optical Harr wavelet is fulfilled using a magneto-optic spatial light modulator (MOSLM). Two methods of controlling wavelet dilation are explored: (1) spatial filtering of a ternary modulated MOSLM; (2) a single aperture positioned in front of a binary modulated MOSLM. Segmentation is performed through Vander Lugt correlation of a binarized image with a binarized optical wavelet. Three different image binarization methods are investigated for use in the correlation scheme: (1) average pixel value over an entire scene; (2) localized 4 x 4 pixel average …


Low Temperature Photoluminescence Study Of Silicon-Germanium Alloy Superlattices, Maxwell M. Chi Dec 1991

Low Temperature Photoluminescence Study Of Silicon-Germanium Alloy Superlattices, Maxwell M. Chi

Theses and Dissertations

Low temperature photoluminescence studies were performed on nine silicon germanium alloy superlattice samples. The luminescence spectra showed sharp peaks in the 0.95 to 1.05 eV energy range, and a broad band located 0.05 to 0.12 eV below the alloy bandgap. The sharp peaks were identified as transitions associated with impurity bound excitons. The linewidth was about 10 times that in pure silicon; in addition, the peaks shifted to lower energy as the sample temperature was raised from 1.4 to 15 K. These features were attributed to effects of random distribution of atoms in the alloy. The broad band shifted to …


An Analysis Of One-Dimensional Models Of The Insulating And Conducting Priz, Joseph W. Cook Iii Dec 1991

An Analysis Of One-Dimensional Models Of The Insulating And Conducting Priz, Joseph W. Cook Iii

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempted to analytically reproduce experimental and analytical data, on the single-insulated and conducting PRIZ, presented in 1987 and 1988 by the Soviet scientists Bliznetsov et al. Our onedimensional analytical models, derived from earlier Soviet reports, have consistently reproduced previously reported data on the PRIZ. In this study, the same codes were successfully used to analyze the effects of injection at high and low intensity exposures (30 µW/cm2 to 500 mW/cm2) Although the codes qualitatively duplicated the nature of the space charge distribution in the single-insulated and conducting PRIZ, our quantitative results were significantly different from …


Self-Pumped Phase-Conjugate Twyman-Green Interferometry Using A Batio3 Crystal, Deborah A. Determan Dec 1991

Self-Pumped Phase-Conjugate Twyman-Green Interferometry Using A Batio3 Crystal, Deborah A. Determan

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force uses optical imaging systems in many fields such as communications, target recognition, and missile guidance. For proper execution of these applications, the optical imaging systems use in these fields must be of extremely high quality so that an ideal image is obtained. In divergent beam configurations, this type of interferometer would eliminate the need for high quality reference optics needed in conventional Twyman-Green interferometry. The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometry using a barium titanate (BaTiO3) crystal as the phase conjugating mirror in the reference arm of the interferometer and …


Photoluminescence Spectroscopy Of Mbe Grown Gallium Antimonide, John A. Dorian Dec 1991

Photoluminescence Spectroscopy Of Mbe Grown Gallium Antimonide, John A. Dorian

Theses and Dissertations

Experimental data are presented for the energy levels of the native acceptor and bound exciton emissions of GaSb grown by MBE and studied with low temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The undoped GaSb emissions showed a donor-acceptor pair transition with an observed emission peak at 776 meV, a peak at 716 meV usually associated with the ionization level of the acceptor, and bound exciton transitions in the energy range from 796 to 804 meV. Other unidentified peaks were observed at about 805 meV. Temperature and power dependence studies of the acceptor peak confirmed donor-acceptor pair (DAP) behavior. A GaSb sample grown …


Silicon Carbide Thin Film Deposition By Reactive Ion-Beam Sputtering, Larry G. Sills Dec 1991

Silicon Carbide Thin Film Deposition By Reactive Ion-Beam Sputtering, Larry G. Sills

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide thin films were deposited by reactive ion-beam sputtering under varying conditions to determine whether a film's optical properties can be controlled, focusing on refractive index. Using a Kaufman type ion source to sputter a pure silicon target, three distinct series of films were grown. The first series varied the mixture of methane and argon used in the ion-beam. holding all other parameters constant. For the second series the gas mix was fixed, and only the beam energy (beam voltage) was varied. The final series also varied beam energy, but was grown with a …


Vibrational Energy Transfer In Bromine Monofluoride, Tim L. Thompson Dec 1991

Vibrational Energy Transfer In Bromine Monofluoride, Tim L. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Bromine monofluoride (BrF), an interhalogen molecule, is a prospective chemical laser candidate. This study continues research begun in characterizing radiative and collisional dynamics in BrF. Vibrational energy transfer of BrF is studied using time resolved laser induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques and observing the spectrally resolved emission. First, vibrational transfer induced by the BrF production mix is determined to follow the Montroll- Shuler model and Landau-Teller scaling with a fundamental rate coefficient of kv(1,0) = (4.0) x 10-12 cm3/(molecules seconds). Also, rate coefficients for the rare gases were found to scale with the reduced mass of the collision …


Plasma Transport In A Magnetic Multicusp Negative Hydrogen Ion Source, Ricky G. Jones Dec 1991

Plasma Transport In A Magnetic Multicusp Negative Hydrogen Ion Source, Ricky G. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

An analysis of plasma transport through the magnetic filter in tandem magnetic multicusp negative hydrogen ion sources was conducted to determine the mechanism of thermal electron diffusion, explain thermal electron cooling, describe the transport of primary electrons through the filter, and model positive ion species transport. The thermal electron flux was shown to exceed its classical value by one to three orders of magnitude. The flux variation with temperature was best described using a Coulomb-like temperature gradient drag term, consistent with diffusion due to ion-sound-like turbulence. Thermal electron energy flux loss was shown to be dominated by inelastic collisions at …


Formation Of Positronium In E+ + H- Collisions, Jack C. Straton, Richard J. Drachman Dec 1991

Formation Of Positronium In E+ + H- Collisions, Jack C. Straton, Richard J. Drachman

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cross sections for positronium formation by capture from the negative hydrogen ion are given. Orthogonalization corrections to the Coulomb (first-order) Born approximation (CBA) differential and total cross sections are calculated using approximate H- wave functions of both Löwdin [Phys. Rev. 90, 123 (1953)] and Chandrasekhar [Astrophys. J. 100, 176 (1944)]. The present calculation of the CBA cross sections using the post interaction for Löwdin’s wave function (LCBAPS) disagrees with the calculation of Choudhury, Mukherjee, and Sural (CMS) [Phys. Rev. A 33, 2358 (1986)], whereas our results using the prior interaction agree. Thus, where CMS found an order …


Photoemission And Electronic Structure Of Tungsten-Based Metallic Glasses And Alloys , M.A. Engelhardt, Sitaram Jaswal, David J. Sellmyer Dec 1991

Photoemission And Electronic Structure Of Tungsten-Based Metallic Glasses And Alloys , M.A. Engelhardt, Sitaram Jaswal, David J. Sellmyer

David Sellmyer Publications

The structure and electronic density of states of intertransition-metal glasses of the form TxW1-x have been investigated, where T=Cu, Ni, and Co. The film samples were prepared by cosputtering in a chamber with a rapidly rotating, water-cooled substrate. Experiments included x-ray diffraction and ultraviolet photoemission at photon energies of 21.2 and 40.8 eV, and electronic-structure calculations were performed with a self-consistent linear combination of muffin-tin-orbitals method. For the calculations the structures were simulated by either disordered crystalline or amorphous clusters of 60–64 atoms in a periodically extended supercell. The range of amorphous alloy formation was determined …


Function Prediction Using Recurrent Neural Networks, Randall L. Lindsey Dec 1991

Function Prediction Using Recurrent Neural Networks, Randall L. Lindsey

Theses and Dissertations

A fully recurrent neural network was applied to the function prediction problem. The real-time recurrent learning (RTRL) algorithm was modified and tested for use as a viable function predictor. The modification gave the algorithm a variable learning rate and a linear/sigmoidal output selection. Verifying the networks ability to temporally learn both the classic exclusive-OR (XOR) problem and the internal state problem, the network was then used to simulate the frequency response of a second order IIR lowpass Butterworth filter. The recurrent network was then applied to two problems: head position tracking, and voice date reconstruction. The accuracy at which the …


Study Of The Heavy Fermion/Spin-Glass System, Ce1-X GdX Al3, Using 155Gd Mossbauer Spectroscopy, Nicholas G. Ruggiero Dec 1991

Study Of The Heavy Fermion/Spin-Glass System, Ce1-X GdX Al3, Using 155Gd Mossbauer Spectroscopy, Nicholas G. Ruggiero

Physics Theses & Dissertations

The magnetic properties of Ce1-xGdx.Al3 have been studied using 155Gd Mossbauer spectroscopy. It has been shown that the magnetic moments of the host GdAl3 are constrained to the basal plane. The magnetic properties of GdAl3 can best be described in the framework of RKKY theory. Prior studies of Ce1-xGdxAl3, have revealed complex magnetic behavior throughout the series. As observed with Mossbauer spectroscopy magnetic ordering occurs for x ≥ 0.5, though not at the reported spin glass temperatures. For x = 0.23 and x = 0.18, the …


Magnetic And Structural Properties Of Co/Cr Multilayers With In-Plane Anisotropy, D. Wang, David J. Sellmyer Nov 1991

Magnetic And Structural Properties Of Co/Cr Multilayers With In-Plane Anisotropy, D. Wang, David J. Sellmyer

David Sellmyer Publications

Previously we studied the effect of Cr spacer layer on in-plane coercivity in Co/Cr multilayered films. It was found that the high coercivity is related to the easy axis in-plane orientation and the character of the composition modulation. In this paper, the dependence of the saturation magnetization as a function of Co layer thickness is used to study the interface structure. The layer structure is confirmed by small angle x-ray diffractometry for typical films. The magnetic interaction among the grains is studied by examining deviation from the behavior predicted by the Wohlfarth model for noninteracting single-domain particles. Journal of Applied …


Development Of The Gd(0001) Band Structure With Film Thickness, Dongqi Li, W. Hutchings, Peter A. Dowben, Rong-Tzong Wu, C. Hwang, M. Onellion, A.B. Andrews, J.L. Erskine Nov 1991

Development Of The Gd(0001) Band Structure With Film Thickness, Dongqi Li, W. Hutchings, Peter A. Dowben, Rong-Tzong Wu, C. Hwang, M. Onellion, A.B. Andrews, J.L. Erskine

Peter Dowben Publications

By growing gadolinium films on W(110), it has been possible to observe the development of the Gd(0001) band structure with increasing film thickness. The changes in the 5d bands as a result of exposure to oxygen or the development of the valence-band structure with increasing film thickness lead to changes in the 5p multiplet oscillator strengths. These changes are a result of the influence of the band structure upon the final-state effects that give rise to such multiplet structures. This study provides conclusive evidence that there is a 5d contribution to the shallow 5p multiplet photoemission …


Fabricating Magnetic Co-Ni-C Thin-Film Alloys By Organometallic Chemical Vapor Deposition, Yoon-Gi Kim, Dongjin Byun, C. Hutchings, Peter A. Dowben, H. Hejase, K. Schröder Nov 1991

Fabricating Magnetic Co-Ni-C Thin-Film Alloys By Organometallic Chemical Vapor Deposition, Yoon-Gi Kim, Dongjin Byun, C. Hutchings, Peter A. Dowben, H. Hejase, K. Schröder

Peter Dowben Publications

We have deposited CoxNiy-C films with a variety of compositions to verify dependence of the saturation magnetization on the composition. These experiments suggest that we can produce CoxNiy-C films with a variety of magnetic properties. The CoxNiy-C films were fabricated by ultraviolet decomposition of cobaltocene and nickelocene. We demonstrated that the photolytic decomposition of these metallocenes produces cyclopentadienyl (C5H5) species, consistent with recent studies of the energetics of the ligand metal bonds.


Temperature And Thickness Dependence Of Coercivity And Magnetization Of Co/Cu And Co/Si Multilayers, S. Nafis, John A. Woollam, Z.S. Shan, David J. Sellmyer Nov 1991

Temperature And Thickness Dependence Of Coercivity And Magnetization Of Co/Cu And Co/Si Multilayers, S. Nafis, John A. Woollam, Z.S. Shan, David J. Sellmyer

David Sellmyer Publications

Co/Cu and Co/Si multilayers of total thickness ~3000 Å were prepared by rf and dc magnetron sputtering. The nominal thicknesses of the individual layers were in the range of 4 to 100 Å. A large coercivity (Hc) at 10 K was observed for very thin layers of Co in Co/Cu samples, and it decreased with increase of the Co layer thickness. For very thin layers of Co in Co/Cu samples, the layer behaved superparamagnetically. Similar behavior was not to be observed in Co/Si samples. With increased substrate temperature (Ts) during deposition, Hc was …


Sputtering Pressure Effect On Microstructure Of Surface And Interface, And On Coercivity Of Co/Pt Multilayers, Ping He, William A. Mcgahan, S. Nafis, John A. Woollam, Z.S. Shan, Sy_Hwang Liou, F. Sequeda, T. Mcdaniel, H. Do Nov 1991

Sputtering Pressure Effect On Microstructure Of Surface And Interface, And On Coercivity Of Co/Pt Multilayers, Ping He, William A. Mcgahan, S. Nafis, John A. Woollam, Z.S. Shan, Sy_Hwang Liou, F. Sequeda, T. Mcdaniel, H. Do

Sy-Hwang Liou Publications

Thin Co/Pt multilayers were prepared on Si and glass substrates by sputtering with Ar pressures ranging from 2.5 to 15 mTorr. The bilayer structure of the samples was Co(3 Å)/Pt(15 Å)×17, and all samples had the easy axis of magnetization perpendicular to the sample surface as determined with a SQUID magnetometer. All samples retained the layered structure, as revealed by low-angle x-ray diffraction. In addition, diffraction peaks due to the formation of Co-Pt compounds (presumably at the interfaces between Co and Pt) were identified. The coercivity of samples changed from about 400 Oe for films deposited at low Ar sputtering …


Studies Of Domain Dynamics In Amorphous Dy/Fe Multilayers, Roger D. Kirby, J.X. Shen, Z.S. Shan, David J. Sellmyer Nov 1991

Studies Of Domain Dynamics In Amorphous Dy/Fe Multilayers, Roger D. Kirby, J.X. Shen, Z.S. Shan, David J. Sellmyer

Roger Kirby Publications

Compositionally-modulated Dy/Fe films were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering onto glass substrates. For this series of samples, the Dy thickness was fixed at 5 Å, while the Fe thickness was varied from 4 to 6 Å. To study the magnetization reversal, the samples were first saturated. The magnetic field was then reversed to a value near the coercive field, and the Kerr rotation was measured as a function of time after reversal. We interpret our results in terms of the model of domain reversal first described by Fatuzzo for ferroelectrics. For some Fe thicknesses, we found that the reversal process …


The Process-Controlled Magnetic Properties Of Nanostructured Co/Ag Composite Films, Sy_Hwang Liou, S. Malhotra, Z.S. Shan, David J. Sellmyer, S. Nafis, John A. Woollam, C.P. Reed, R.J. Deangelis, G.M. Chow Nov 1991

The Process-Controlled Magnetic Properties Of Nanostructured Co/Ag Composite Films, Sy_Hwang Liou, S. Malhotra, Z.S. Shan, David J. Sellmyer, S. Nafis, John A. Woollam, C.P. Reed, R.J. Deangelis, G.M. Chow

Sy-Hwang Liou Publications

Nanostructured Co/Ag composite films were prepared by magnetron sputtering using a single target. The average crystallite sizes of Co and Ag in the films depend on the deposition conditions. As the substrate temperature increases from 100 °C to 600 °C, the average Ag crystallite size increases from 39 to 452 Å, and the average Co crystallite size increases from Å in the film with 39 vol. % of Co. The films with 39 vol. % of Co and prepared at 400 °C substrate temperature showed a maximum magnetic coercivity of 565 Oe at 6 K. We have studied the correlation …


Temperature And Layer-Thickness Dependencies Of Kerr Rotation In Dy/Co Multilayers, Z.S. Shan, J.X. Shen, Roger D. Kirby, Sy_Hwang Liou, David J. Sellmyer Nov 1991

Temperature And Layer-Thickness Dependencies Of Kerr Rotation In Dy/Co Multilayers, Z.S. Shan, J.X. Shen, Roger D. Kirby, Sy_Hwang Liou, David J. Sellmyer

Sy-Hwang Liou Publications

Amorphous Dy/Co multilayers with the individual layer thickness between 4 and 10 Å in steps of 0.5 to 1 Å were studied systematically over the temperature range 100–300 K. The Kerr rotation increases as temperature decreases, or as Co content increases and the coercivity increases both in the low temperature region and in the vicinity of the compensation point. These characteristics were analyzed in terms of simple models of the magnetic structure and magnetization reversal.


Single-Electron Charging Effects In Insulating Wires, Venkat Chandrasekhar, Zvi Ovadyahu, Richard A. Webb Nov 1991

Single-Electron Charging Effects In Insulating Wires, Venkat Chandrasekhar, Zvi Ovadyahu, Richard A. Webb

Faculty Publications

We present measurements of the transport properties of 0.75-μm-long, narrow, insulating indium oxide wires and rings. These devices have no apparent tunnel barriers, yet they exhibit effects similar to those found in series arrays of very small-capacitance tunnel junctions: highly nonlinear I-V characteristics and a zero-bias conductance which is periodic in a voltage applied by means of a lateral gate. These effects are due to the influence of single-electron charging on transport through localized states in the insulating regime.


Dmsp F7 Observations Of A Substorm Field‐Aligned Current, R. E. Lopez, Harlan E. Spence, C. Meng Nov 1991

Dmsp F7 Observations Of A Substorm Field‐Aligned Current, R. E. Lopez, Harlan E. Spence, C. Meng

Physics & Astronomy

In this paper we present observations of a substorm field-aligned current (FAC) system that DMSP F7 traversed just after 0300 UT on April 25, 1985. Ground magnetometer data show that a major substorm was in progress at that time and that DMSP F7 flew through a region of predominantly upward FAC. The DMSP F7 magnetic field data are consistent with this interpretation. The precipitating particle data suggest that there were three distinct large-scale FAC systems. In ascending latitude these were a downward current, an upward current, and a paired upward/downward current system. We identify the first current, which was coincident …


Pyro-Electro-Optic Phase Gratings, Stephen Ducharme Nov 1991

Pyro-Electro-Optic Phase Gratings, Stephen Ducharme

Stephen Ducharme Publications

A new physical mechanism is proposed for generating transient phase gratings in transparent pyroelectric materials. The mechanism combines the pyroelectric and electro-optic effects to convert spatial intensity variations into transient phase gratings. The grating diffraction efficiency increases with a figure of merit that is proportional to the pyroelectric, electro-optic, and absorption coefficients and is inversely proportional to the specific heat. The grating response time is proportional to the specific heat and inversely proportional to the thermal conductivity. Diffraction efficiencies that approach unity are predicted in several readily available electro-optic materials with modest pulse energies from Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers. Observation …


The Effect Of A Tilted Magnetic Field On The Equilibrium Of A Pure Electron Plasma, Grant W. Hart Nov 1991

The Effect Of A Tilted Magnetic Field On The Equilibrium Of A Pure Electron Plasma, Grant W. Hart

Faculty Publications

If the magnetic field in a pure electron plasma containment device is not aligned with the axis of the conducting walls, the electrons in the device will accumulate at the ends of the plasma where the magnetic field lines come closest to the walls and the electrons bound to the field lines can be closest to their image charges. If the plasma is also offset radially from the center (as with an l=1 diocotron mode), then more density will accumulate at one end than the other. As the plasma revolves around the center, the electrons will slosh from one end …


Variation Of Superparamagnetic Properties With Iron Loading In Mammalian Ferritin, Richard B. Frankel, G. C. Papaefthymiou, G. D. Watt Nov 1991

Variation Of Superparamagnetic Properties With Iron Loading In Mammalian Ferritin, Richard B. Frankel, G. C. Papaefthymiou, G. D. Watt

Physics

The average blocking temperatures of ferritin molecules containing differing amounts of iron were determined by Mossbauer spectroscopy. The results imply that the magnetic anisotropy of the ferritin core particles is a function of particle volume. By addition of 57Fe to ferritin core particles it was determined that, at a given temperature within the superpara-magnetic temperature region, the “last-in” ferric ions have average relaxation times that are shorter than those of the bulk ferric ions.


Change Of Magnetic Properties Of Th₂Fe₁₇ Due To Interstitial Solution Of C And N, T. H. Jacobs, Gary J. Long, Oran Allan Pringle, Fernande Grandjean, K. H. Buschow Nov 1991

Change Of Magnetic Properties Of Th₂Fe₁₇ Due To Interstitial Solution Of C And N, T. H. Jacobs, Gary J. Long, Oran Allan Pringle, Fernande Grandjean, K. H. Buschow

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The changes in magnetic and crystallographic properties in the series Th2Fe17Cx and Th2Fe 17Nx have been studied. The changes in the latter series were also studied by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The ultimate enhancements of the saturation moments in these series are 13% and 24%, respectively. This is much larger than observed previously in the corresponding rare-earth compounds, although the Curie temperature enhancements are of comparable magnitude. In the Th-Fe-C system a novel compound of the BaCd 11 type was found, having a Curie temperature around 370 K.


Anyonic Superconductivity In A Modified Large-U Hubbard Model, Asim Gangopadhyaya, Prasanta K. Panigrahi Nov 1991

Anyonic Superconductivity In A Modified Large-U Hubbard Model, Asim Gangopadhyaya, Prasanta K. Panigrahi

Physics: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A modified large-U Hubbard model at half filling is analyzed by a mean-field approach. Preserving a local U(1) symmetry of the action, the fluctuations about half filling are studied in the spirit of the commensurate-flux-phase condition. The fluctuations then contribute a Chern-Simons term to the tree-level Lagrangian with a coefficient appropriate to that of a half fermion. With the Coulomb repulsion term, we study the low-energy excitations of the model and show the existence of superconductivity in the presence of a four-Fermi interaction term.


The Behlen Observatory Variable Star Survey: First Results, Edward G. Schmidt Nov 1991

The Behlen Observatory Variable Star Survey: First Results, Edward G. Schmidt

Edward Schmidt Publications

Various light curve parameters are presented for the first 93 objects in a photometric survey of poorly studied variable stars. Stars from the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) fainter than tenth magnitude, north of the equator which were classified as pulsating variables (but excluding the long period, semiregular, and irregular variables) were included. It is shown that two parameters, the acuteness and the rise time, are useful for characterizing the light curves. Several criteria are applied to the photometric data to test the classification of the stars. For 26 stars new or improved classifications are suggested. In particular, there …