Diophantine conditions and real or complex Brjuno functions

The continued fraction expansion of the real number x=a_0+x_0, a_0\in {\ZZ}, is given by 0\leq x_n<1, x_{n}^{-1}=a_{n+1}+ x_{n+1}, a_{n+1}\in {\NN}, for $n\geq 0.$ The Brjuno function is then $B(x)=\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}x_0x_1... x_{n-1}\ln(x_n^{-1}),$ and the number $x$ satisfies the Brjuno diophantine condition whenever $B(x)$ is bounded. Invariant circles under a complex rotation persist when the map is analytically perturbed, if and only if the rotation number satisfies the Brjuno condition, and the same holds for invariant circles in the semi-standard and standard maps cases. In this lecture, we will review some properties of the Brjuno function, and give some generalisations related to familiar diophantine conditions. The Brjuno function is highly singular and takes value $+\infty$ on a dense set including rationals. We present a regularisation leading to a complex function holomorphic in the upper half plane. Its imaginary part tends to the Brjuno function on the real axis, the real part remaining bounded, and we also indicate its transformation under the modular group.Comment: latex jura.tex, 6 files, 19 pages Proceedings on `Noise, Oscillators and Algebraic Randomness' La Chapelle des Bois, France 1999-04-05 1999-04-10 April 5-10, 1999 [SPhT-T99/116

Proof of the cases p≤7p \leq 7 of the Lieb-Seiringer formulation of the Bessis-Moussa-Villani conjecture

It is shown that the polynomial $\lambda(t) = {\rm Tr}[(A + tB)^p]$ has nonnegative coefficients when $p \leq 7$ and A and B are any two complex positive semidefinite $n \times n$ matrices with arbitrary $n$. This proofs a general nontrivial case of the Lieb-Seiringer formulation of the Bessis-Moussa-Villani conjecture which is a long standing problem in theoretical physics.Comment: 5 pages; typos corrected; accepted for publication in Journal of Statistical Physic

Confined spin waves reveal an assembly of nanosize domains in ferromagnetic La(1-x)CaxMnO3 (x=0.17,0.2)

We report a study of spin-waves in ferromagnetic La$_{1-x}$Ca$_{x}$MnO$_3$, at concentrations x=0.17 and x=0.2 very close to the metallic transition (x=0.225). Below T$_C$, in the quasi-metallic state (T=150K), nearly q-independent energy levels are observed. They are characteristic of standing spin waves confined into finite-size ferromagnetic domains, defined in {\bf a, b) plane for x=0.17 and in all q-directions for x=0.2. They allow an estimation of the domain size, a few lattice spacings, and of the magnetic coupling constants inside the domains. These constants, anisotropic, are typical of an orbital-ordered state, allowing to characterize the domains as "hole-poor". The precursor state of the CMR metallic phase appears, therefore, as an assembly of small orbital-ordered domains.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Experimental approximation of the Jones polynomial with DQC1

We present experimental results approximating the Jones polynomial using 4 qubits in a liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance quantum information processor. This is the first experimental implementation of a complete problem for the deterministic quantum computation with one quantum bit model of quantum computation, which uses a single qubit accompanied by a register of completely random states. The Jones polynomial is a knot invariant that is important not only to knot theory, but also to statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. The implemented algorithm is a modification of the algorithm developed by Shor and Jordan suitable for implementation in NMR. These experimental results show that for the restricted case of knots whose braid representations have four strands and exactly three crossings, identifying distinct knots is possible 91% of the time.Comment: 5 figures. Version 2 changes: published version, minor errors corrected, slight changes to improve readabilit

Financial Constraints and Girls' Secondary Education: Evidence from School Fee Elimination in The Gambia

We assess the impact of large-scale fee elimination for secondary school girls in The Gambia on the quantity, composition, and achievement of students. The gradual rollout of the program across geographic regions provides identifying variation in the policy. The program increased access to secondary education substantially without harming learning outcomes. We find an increase of around 50% in the number of girls and boys taking the high school exit exam from a low baseline, as well as a 0.1 standard deviations gain in test scores in response to the program. This result is notable in a setting where expanded access could put additional strains on limited resources and the quality of schools. These findings suggest that financial constraints remain serious barriers to post-primary education and that efforts to expand access to secondary education need not come at the expense of learning in low-income countries like The Gambia