22,948 research outputs found
Quantumness beyond quantum mechanics
Bohmian mechanics allows us to understand quantum systems in the light of
other quantum traits than the well-known ones (coherence, diffraction,
interference, tunneling, discreteness, entanglement, etc.). Here the discussion
focusses precisely on two of these interesting aspects, which arise when
quantum mechanics is though within this theoretical framework: the non-crossing
property, which allows for distinguishability without erasing interference
patterns, and the possibility to define quantum probability tubes, along which
the probability remains constant all the way. Furthermore, taking into account
this hydrodynamic-like description as a link, it is also shown how this
knowledge (concepts and ideas) can be straightforwardly transferred to other
fields of physics (for example, the transmission of light along waveguides).Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures; based on a talk at the Conference "Emergent
Quantum Mechanics" / 5th Heinz von Foerster Congress (Vienna, Nov 11-13,
2011
Pointwise universal consistency of nonparametric linear estimators
This paper presents sufficient conditions for pointwise universal consistency of nonparametric delta estimators. We show the applicability of these conditions for some classes of nonparametric estimators
Design of supercritical cascades with high solidity
The method of complex characteristics of Garabedian and Korn was successfully used to design shockless cascades with solidities of up to one. A code was developed using this method and a new hodograph transformation of the flow onto an ellipse. This code allows the design of cascades with solidities of up to two and larger turning angles. The equations of potential flow are solved in a complex hodograph like domain by setting a characteristic initial value problem and integrating along suitable paths. The topology that the new mapping introduces permits a simpler construction of these paths of integration
Improved design of subcritical and supercritical cascades using complex characteristics and boundary layer correction
The method of complex characteristics and hodograph transformation for the design of shockless airfoils was extended to design supercritical cascades with high solidities and large inlet angles. This capability was achieved by introducing a conformal mapping of the hodograph domain onto an ellipse and expanding the solution in terms of Tchebycheff polynomials. A computer code was developd based on this idea. A number of airfoils designed with the code are presented. Various supercritical and subcritical compressor, turbine and propeller sections are shown. The lag-entrainment method for the calculation of a turbulent boundary layer was incorporated to the inviscid design code. The results of this calculation are shown for the airfoils described. The elliptic conformal transformation developed to map the hodograph domain onto an ellipse can be used to generate a conformal grid in the physical domain of a cascade of airfoils with open trailing edges with a single transformation. A grid generated with this transformation is shown for the Korn airfoil
Palindromic 3-stage splitting integrators, a roadmap
The implementation of multi-stage splitting integrators is essentially the
same as the implementation of the familiar Strang/Verlet method. Therefore
multi-stage formulas may be easily incorporated into software that now uses the
Strang/Verlet integrator. We study in detail the two-parameter family of
palindromic, three-stage splitting formulas and identify choices of parameters
that may outperform the Strang/Verlet method. One of these choices leads to a
method of effective order four suitable to integrate in time some partial
differential equations. Other choices may be seen as perturbations of the
Strang method that increase efficiency in molecular dynamics simulations and in
Hybrid Monte Carlo sampling.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 2 table
Description of classical and quantum interference in view of the concept of flow line
Bohmian mechanics, a hydrodynamic formulation of quantum mechanics, relies on
the concept of trajectory, which evolves in time in compliance with dynamical
information conveyed by the wave function. Here this appealing idea is
considered to analyze both classical and quantum interference, thus providing
an alternative and more intuitive framework to understand the time-evolution of
waves, either in terms of the flow of energy (for mechanical waves, sound
waves, electromagnetic waves, for instance) or, analogously, the flow of
probability (quantum waves), respectively. Furthermore, this procedure also
supplies a more robust explanation of interference phenomena, which currently
is only based on the superposition principle. That is, while this principle
only describes how different waves combine and what effects these combinations
may lead to, flow lines provide a more precise explanation on how the energy or
probability propagate in space before, during and after the combination of such
waves, without dealing with them separately (i.e., the combination or
superposition is taken as a whole). In this sense, concepts such as
constructive and destructive interference, typically associated with the
superposition principle, physically correspond to more or less dense swarms of
(energy or probability) flow lines, respectively. A direct consequence of this
description is that, when considering the distribution of electromagnetic
energy flow lines behind two slits, each one covered by a differently oriented
polarizer, it is naturally found that external observers' information on the
slit crossed by single photons (understood as energy parcels) is totally
irrelevant for the existence of interference fringes, in striking contrast with
what is commonly stated and taught.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Full quantum mechanical analysis of atomic three-grating Mach-Zehnder interferometry
Atomic three-grating Mach-Zehnder interferometry constitutes an important
tool to probe fundamental aspects of the quantum theory. There is, however, a
remarkable gap in the literature between the oversimplified models and robust
numerical simulations considered to describe the corresponding experiments.
Consequently, the former usually lead to paradoxical scenarios, such as the
wave-particle dual behavior of atoms, while the latter make difficult the data
analysis in simple terms. Here these issues are tackled by means of a simple
grating working model consisting of evenly-spaced Gaussian slits. As is shown,
this model suffices to explore and explain such experiments both analytically
and numerically, giving a good account of the full atomic journey inside the
interferometer, and hence contributing to make less mystic the physics
involved. More specifically, it provides a clear and unambiguous picture of the
wavefront splitting that takes place inside the interferometer, illustrating
how the momentum along each emerging diffraction order is well defined even
though the wave function itself still displays a rather complex shape. To this
end, the local transverse momentum is also introduced in this context as a
reliable analytical tool. The splitting, apart from being a key issue to
understand atomic Mach-Zehnder interferometry, also demonstrates at a
fundamental level how wave and particle aspects are always present in the
experiment, without incurring in any contradiction or interpretive paradox. On
the other hand, at a practical level, the generality and versatility of the
model and methodology presented, makes them suitable to attack analogous
problems in a simple manner after a convenient tuning.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures (remarkably improved version
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