The FermiFab Toolbox for Fermionic Many-Particle Quantum Systems

This paper introduces the FermiFab toolbox for many-particle quantum systems. It is mainly concerned with the representation of (symbolic) fermionic wavefunctions and the calculation of corresponding reduced density matrices (RDMs). The toolbox transparently handles the inherent antisymmetrization of wavefunctions and incorporates the creation/annihilation formalism. Thus, it aims at providing a solid base for a broad audience to use fermionic wavefunctions with the same ease as matrices in Matlab, say. Leveraging symbolic computation, the toolbox can greatly simply tedious pen-and-paper calculations for concrete quantum mechanical systems, and serves as "sandbox" for theoretical hypothesis testing. FermiFab (including full source code) is freely available as a plugin for both Matlab and Mathematica.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

The Significance Of The Erosion Of The Prohibition Against Metabasis To The Success And Legacy Of The Copernican Revolution

Although one would not wish to classify Copernicus’ own intentions as belonging to the late-medieval and Renaissance tradition of nominalist philosophy, if we are to turn our consideration to what was responsible for the eventual success of the Copernican Revolution, we must also attend to other features of the dialectical context in relation to which the views of Copernicus and his followers were articulated, interpreted, and evaluated. Accordingly, this paper discusses the significance of the erosion of the Aristotelian prohibition against metabasis to the eventual success of the Copernican Revolutio

Edgar Allan Poe Rare Books Library at Yale University: The Rematerialization of Language

Michel de Certeau states, ?The current industrial mass production of visual imagery tends to alienate vision from emotional involvement and identification and turns imagery into a mesmerizing flow without focus or participation? (Pallasmaa). Based upon a critique of the expedient exchange of information in our modern culture, this thesis examines how creative language and the act of reading itself might open an interpretive dimension for new pathways that are more and more lost in our current cultural milieu. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe?s story La Ligeia, which follows a grieving lover through the death and reemergence of his first true love, this rare books library examines how poetic images that emerge from Poe?s story might be transformed into the time and space of architecture. Fragments and spaces, both written and built, aim to conjure unique images within the visitor as an enduring testament to the importance of language itself

Being of Shape: Being -- the ground through which all things are

On these pages my intention is to address personal concerns about shape. \u27Being of Shape\u27 recognizes roots in form building of past centuries but concerns itself with shape development of this century. The intent here is not to define the words form and shape but to describe them in terms of painting. The paper will expand upon and support the paintings. Particularly, the paintings\u27 forward, backward, and sideward progression is marked by considerations other than the history of painting. Perceptions about my nature and mental outlook as they exist in this world excite questions. Words written by those who have realized the same, more, or not as much as I, have renewed, humbled, and tortured. Likewise, the effects of the words spoken to me and exchanged with me have been profound. Influences of the world bombard. So do the fantasies. This paper is like the painting. It all comes at once, over time as expanded space

Discrete Simulation of Distributed Systems - Performance Evaluation of a Notification Channel Federation

This paper presents how discrete simulation can be used for performance evaluation of distributed systems. With this methodology it is not needed to implement the system itself, only a model of proper specification is required. Simulation models for distributed systems can be easily adopted from other models which are already used in network simulations with good results. The tool that supports our measurements is a powerful telecom simulation platform, a simulations development environment that supports object-oriented programming. The model used for demonstration represents a notification channel federation including an arbitrary number of event suppliers and event consumers connected to a scalable network. Performance is evaluated for various configurations, and results are presented

Inside: A Video Game about Depression

Video games are increasingly becoming a part of people’s daily lives. More importantly, digital games have been increasingly built as products that challenge the player morally and ethically. Video games do not only demonstrate their moral and ethical influence, they also influence people's behavior by their own social, economic and historical context. The choices people make in video games start from a moral, social, economic and historical contextualization and it is important to understand the relationship that is developed between players, their contextualization, and video games, in order to understand how digital games can constitute themselves as moral and educational challenges. Thus, it is intended to highlight the educational potential of digital games through the influence they can have on shaking, challenging and consolidating people's moral systems. The aim of this dissertation is to create a game about depression in order to build not only an educational object, but also a product of self-expression that can help depression-affected patients cope with their illness. The developed game aims to explore the power that digital games can reveal in creating moments of reflection, contemplation and moral challenges in the player. Basically, the aim is to find out if digital games have the power to educate through the challenges they present to players. The video game described in this dissertation was developed using the Unity game engine.Os videojogos fazem, cada vez mais, parte do quotidiano das pessoas. Mais importante, os jogos digitais têm-se construído, progressivamente, como produtos que desafiam o jogador moral e eticamente. Os videojogos não demonstram a sua influência apenas a nível moral e ético, influenciam também o comportamento das pessoas pelo próprio contexto social, económico e histórico em que se inserem. As escolhas que as pessoas realizam nos videojogos partem de uma contextualização moral, social, económica e histórica e importa compreender a relação que se desenvolve entre os jogadores, as suas contextualizações, e os videojogos, de forma a compreender de que forma os videojogos podem constituir-se como desafios morais e educacionais. Os objetivos desta dissertação são, portanto, destacar o potencial educacional que os jogos digitais evidenciam através da influência que podem ter no abalar, desafiar e consolidar dos sistemas morais das pessoas, e entender, adicionalmente, se os jogos digitais podem servir como ferramentas para a expressão daqueles que os desenvolvem. Isto é, procura-se descobrir o jogo digital enquanto objeto artístico que possibilita a expressão por parte do criador da obra. Esta dissertação tem como alvo criar um jogo sobre a depressão, de forma a construir não só um objeto de expressão educativo, como também um produto que possa ajudar doentes afetados pela depressão a lidar com a sua doença. Desta forma, o jogo procura informar as pessoas que o jogarem sobre a vida de uma pessoa que sofre de uma doença mental, neste caso, de depressão, elucidando-as sobre os riscos e sinais da depressão, permitindo que elas os reconheçam através desta aprendizagem. O jogo retrata a história de uma jovem que tenta cometer suicídio porque sofre de depressão e não consegue melhorar a sua condição. A jovem já tinha tentado melhorar a sua condição de várias formas, mas nunca conseguiu ver resultados. No fim, o suicídio pareceu-lhe a melhor opção. Depois de tentar acabar com a sua vida, a personagem acorda num mundo fantástico, desconhecido, que representa o coma em que se encontra submetida. Sirah, a personagem principal, terá de desvendar o mundo onde se encontra e tentar combater a sua depressão, numa batalha épica contra a doença. Para fazer isto, o jogador deverá controlar a personagem e desvendar a aventura sobre a sua vida, levando-a até à conclusão da sua história. Depois de conseguir derrotar a sua doença, Sirah acorda, percebe que estava adormecida num coma e compreende o momento de catarse que viveu. Assim sendo, o jogo desenvolvido pretende explorar o poder que os jogos digitais podem revelar na criação de momentos de reflexão, contemplação e desafio moral no jogador. No fundo, pretende-se averiguar se os jogos digitais têm o poder de educar através do desafio que apresentam perante os jogadores. O videojogo descrito nesta dissertação foi desenvolvido utilizando o motor de jogo Unity