Qubit-portraits of qudit states and quantum correlations

The machinery of qubit-portraits of qudit states, recently presented, is consider here in more details in order to characterize the presence of quantum correlations in bipartite qudit states. In the tomographic representation of quantum mechanics, Bell-like inequalities are interpreted as peculiar properties of a family of classical joint probability distributions which describe the quantum state of two qudits. By means of the qubit-portraits machinery a semigroup of stochastic matrices can be associated to a given quantum state. The violation of the CHSH inequalities is discussed in this framework with some examples, we found that quantum correlations in qutrit isotropic states can be detected by the suggested method while it cannot in the case of qutrit Werner states.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Mothers living with contamination of perfluoroalkyl substances: an assessment of the perceived health risk and self-reported diseases

Widespread contamination of the superficial, drinking, and groundwater by perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) was discovered in the Veneto Region (northeast of Italy) in 2013. Mothers from the contaminated area were concerned about the effects of PFAS on their own and their children’s health. We determined the factors that influenced the perceived risk of PFAS and the presence of self-reported diseases by conducting a study with 384 mothers of children aged 1–13 years living in the contaminated area (Red Zone, Veneto, Italy). Information on demography, the sources of exposure, and the health condition of the mothers was collected through an online survey. The serum PFAS concentration was recorded for some of the participants. We determined the factors influencing the perceived risk, risk of health outcomes, and serum PFAS levels through regression analyses. The PFAS perceived risk of the mothers increased with an increase in the trust in scientific institutions and social media, and when many friends were present, trust in politics and full-time employment had a protective effect. The PFAS perceived risk increased the occurrences of self-reported and autoimmune diseases. Longer residence (> 20 years) in the most exposed area (Red Zone A) increased the frequency of some health outcomes. Serum PFAS concentrations decreased with breastfeeding, but increased with tap water consumption, residence in Red Zone A, and residence time. The PFAS perceived risk of the mothers was associated with many factors that influenced reporting of health issues. The association between PFAS exposure and health outcomes needs further investigation

Synoptic/planetary-scale interactions and blocking over the North Atlantic Ocean

One segment of work in the past year focused on the diagnosis of a major blocking anticyclone and its interacting synoptic scale circulations that occurred during January 1979 over the North Atlantic Ocean. Another segment focused on the diagnosis of a second explosive cyclone development that occurred over the southeastern United States during the time of block formation. The diagnoses were accomplished using the diagnostic relationship known as the Zwack-Okossi (Z-O) development equation. Results indicate that in both cyclone cases the development occurred as a result of the favorable influence of positive vorticity advection, warm air advection, and latent heat release and ceased when one or more of these influences diminished. The advantages of the Z-O equation are described

Synoptic/planetary-scale interactions and blocking over the North Atlantic Ocean

Work was completed on the height tendency diagnoses of two extratropical cyclones that occurred upstream from the blocking event studied previously. One developed explosively over water 60 to 36 hours before the block first appeared, while the second developed explosively over the southeastern United States during the time of block formation. In both cases, both vorticity and temperature advection were consistently important forcing mechanisms. This is in contrast to the block itself, in which vorticity advection was easily the dominant forcing mechanism. Latent heat release was also significant, accounting for about 50 percent of the total height falls in the cyclone below 850 mb. Estimates of latent heat release were greatly enhanced by coupling parameterized estimates with values derived from GOES IR data using an algorithm developed by Marshall's F. R. Robertson. Among the difficulties encountered in this work was the identification of an appropriate lower boundary condition for the solution of the height tendency equation. The zero value currently used tends to yield underestimates of the lower troposphere height tendencies. To address this problem a new diagnostic technique was developed in cooperation with Dr. Peter Zwack of the University of Quebec at Montreal. Based on an equation Dr. Zwack had previously developed (the Zwack-Okossi development equation), researchers now have a relationship that is completely consistent with the height tendency equation and provides estimates of lower boundary geostrophic vorticity or height tendencies. Finally, comparison of the SAT (satellite data) and NOSAT (no satellite data) analyses is progressing well. The present focus is on both the new diagnostic technique and the SAT/NOSAT comparisons. The former is being tested on the southeastern United States cyclone case previously mentioned and compared with the height tendency diagnoses already completed. The latter are being examined for the blocking case described in the publications cited in this summary. In addition to obtaining statistics that will allow general comparison of the two analyses, it will be possible to determine whether conclusions about the dynamics of the block development are influenced by the analysis set used

A note on the realignment criterion

For a quantum state in a bipartite system represented as a density matrix, researchers used the realignment matrix and functions on its singular values to study the separability of the quantum state. We obtain bounds for elementary symmetric functions of singular values of realignment matrices. This answers some open problems proposed by Lupo, Aniello, and Scardicchio. As a consequence, we show that the proposed scheme by these authors for testing separability would not work if the two subsystems of the bipartite system have the same dimension.Comment: 11 pages, to appear in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretica

Quantum reading under a local energy constraint

Nonclassical states of light play a central role in many quantum information protocols. Their quantum features have been exploited to improve the readout of information from digital memories, modelled as arrays of microscopic beam splitters [S. Pirandola, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 090504 (2011)]. In this model of quantum reading, a nonclassical source of light with Einstein-Podolski-Rosen correlations has been proven to retrieve more information than any classical source. In particular, the quantum-classical comparison has been performed under a global energy constraint, i.e., by fixing the mean total number of photons irradiated over each memory cell. In this paper we provide an alternative analysis which is based on a local energy constraint, meaning that we fix the mean number of photons per signal mode irradiated over the memory cell. Under this assumption, we investigate the critical number of signal modes after which a nonclassical source of light is able to beat any classical source irradiating the same number of signals.Comment: REVTeX. Published versio

Quantum state transfer in a q-deformed chain

We investigate the quantum state transfer in a chain of particles satisfying q-deformed oscillators algebra. This general algebraic setting includes the spin chain and the bosonic chain as limiting cases. We study conditions for perfect state transfer depending on the number of sites and excitations on the chain. They are formulated by means of irreducible representations of a quantum algebra realized through Jordan-Schwinger maps. Playing with deformation parameters, we can study the effects of nonlinear perturbations or interpolate between the spin and bosonic chain.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Heart rate responses and technical-tactical aspects of official 5-a-side youth soccer matches played on soil and artificial turf.

Using a randomized crossover design, this study aimed to compare the heart rate (HR) responses and match analysis parameters (i.e., type of action; the number of players involved in an action; the number of passes performed in a collective action; precision of the shots; lost balls; ball interceptions; dribblings; and tackles) of official 5-a-side youth male soccer matches played over 2 pitch surface (i.e., clay vs. artificial turf) conditions. Twenty-two young male soccer players (age 8.3 6 0.4 years) engaged in 2 consecutive 15-minute periods in each experimental condition. During the match, 53% of HR responses exceeded 85% of the individual HRpeak. No difference emerged between both pitch surfaces and match periods for HR and match analysis indicators. The two 15-minute periods resulted in being appropriate for 8-year-old players, in resembling the intensity of play and the intermittent nature of adult soccer. The similar HR responses and technical-tactical patterns observed on the 2 surfaces indicate that youth match play is not affected by differences in pitch surface. To support the development of individual and team skills of young soccer players, coaches are advised to prioritize game knowledge based on divergent thinking and experience, rather than traditional teaching based on instructions

Effects of competition level on the centre forward role of men’s water polo.

This study aimed to compare specific technical and tactical indicators of the team and centre forward role of Euro League, and Italian Serie A1, Serie A2, and Serie B men's water polo club competitions. A notational analysis was performed on 21 water polo matches to evaluate the occurrence of technical and tactical team and centre forward indicators, highlighting differences among championships according to chi-square analyses. Differences emerged for Counterattack (P < 0.001) and Power-Play (P < 0.001) possessions, Even (P < 0.001; Euro League: 3 ± 1, Serie A1: 3 ± 2, Serie A2: 3 ± 2, Serie B: 6 ± 4) and Power-Play (P = 0.001) goals, and exclusions and penalties (P = 0.008) of the team during Even possessions. Relatively to the role analyses, effects emerged for perimeter players playing events (P = 0.049), as well as for centre forwards' goals (P = 0.007) and exclusions and penalties (P < 0.001; Euro League: 8 ± 1, Serie A1: 6 ± 2, Serie A2: 6 ± 2, Serie B: 3 ± 2) occurring at the end of Even possessions. Therefore, in Euro League, and Italian Serie A1 and Serie A2, teams perform a high occurrence of Power-Play possessions following up an exclusion, especially achieved by the centre forward during Even possessions, while, in Italian Serie B, goals were mostly scored during Even possessions, with a relevant contribution from the centre forward rol