783 research outputs found
Non-equilibrium coherence dynamics of a soft boson lattice
We study the non-equilibrium evolution of the phase coherence of a
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a one dimensional optical lattice, as the
lattice is suddenly quenched from an insulating to a superfluid state. We
observe slowly damped phase coherence oscillations in the regime of large
filling factor (~100 bosons per site) at a frequency proportional to the
generalized Josephson frequency. The truncated Wigner approximation (TWA)
predicts the frequency of the observed oscillations.Comment: 10 pages. 4 figure
Extended Coherence Time with Atom-Number Squeezed Sources
Coherence properties of Bose-Einstein condensates offer the potential for
improved interferometric phase contrast. However, decoherence effects due to
the mean-field interaction shorten the coherence time, thus limiting potential
sensitivity. In this work, we demonstrate increased coherence times with number
squeezed states in an optical lattice using the decay of Bloch oscillations to
probe the coherence time. We extend coherence times by a factor of 2 over those
expected with coherent state BEC interferometry. We observe quantitative
agreement with theory both for the degree of initial number squeezing as well
as for prolonged coherence times.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Bayesian estimation for selective trace gas detection
We present a Bayesian estimation analysis for a particular trace gas
detection technique with species separation provided by differential diffusion.
The proposed method collects a sample containing multiple gas species into a
common volume, and then allows it to diffuse across a linear array of optical
absorption detectors, using, for example, high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities.
The estimation procedure assumes that all gas parameters (e.g. diffusion
constants, optical cross sections) are known except for the number population
of each species, which are determined from the time-of-flight absorption
profiles in each detector
Localization and Anomalous Transport in a 1-D Soft Boson Optical Lattice
We study the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensed atoms in a 1-D optical
lattice potential in a regime where the collective (Josephson) tunneling energy
is comparable with the on-site interaction energy, and the number of particles
per lattice site is mesoscopically large. By directly imaging the motion of
atoms in the lattice, we observe an abrupt suppression of atom transport
through the array for a critical ratio of these energies, consistent with
quantum fluctuation induced localization. Directly below the onset of
localization, the frequency of the observed superfluid transport can be
explained by a phonon excitation but deviates substantially from that predicted
by the hydrodynamic/Gross-Pitaevskii equations.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
Transitionless quantum drivings for the harmonic oscillator
Two methods to change a quantum harmonic oscillator frequency without
transitions in a finite time are described and compared. The first method, a
transitionless-tracking algorithm, makes use of a generalized harmonic
oscillator and a non-local potential. The second method, based on engineering
an invariant of motion, only modifies the harmonic frequency in time, keeping
the potential local at all times.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure. Submitted for publicatio
Quantum Quenches in Extended Systems
We study in general the time-evolution of correlation functions in a extended
quantum system after the quench of a parameter in the hamiltonian. We show that
correlation functions in d dimensions can be extracted using methods of
boundary critical phenomena in d+1 dimensions. For d=1 this allows to use the
powerful tools of conformal field theory in the case of critical evolution.
Several results are obtained in generic dimension in the gaussian (mean-field)
approximation. These predictions are checked against the real-time evolution of
some solvable models that allows also to understand which features are valid
beyond the critical evolution.
All our findings may be explained in terms of a picture generally valid,
whereby quasiparticles, entangled over regions of the order of the correlation
length in the initial state, then propagate with a finite speed through the
system. Furthermore we show that the long-time results can be interpreted in
terms of a generalized Gibbs ensemble. We discuss some open questions and
possible future developments.Comment: 24 Pages, 4 figure
The architectures of media power: editing, the newsroom, and urban public space
This paper considers the relation of the newsroom and the city as a lens into the more general relation of production spaces and mediated publics. Leading theoretically from Lee and LiPuma’s (2002) notion of ‘cultures of circulation’, and drawing on an ethnography of the Toronto Star, the paper focuses on how media forms circulate and are enacted through particular practices and material settings. With its attention to the urban milieus and orientations of media organizations, this paper exhibits both affinities with but also differences to current interests in the urban architectures of media, which describe and theorize how media get ‘built into’ the urban experience more generally. In looking at editing practices situated in the newsroom, an emphasis is placed on the phenomenological appearance of media forms both as objects for material assembly as well as more abstracted subjects of reflexivity, anticipation and purposiveness. Although this is explored with detailed attention to the settings of the newsroom and the city, the paper seeks to also provide insight into the more general question of how publicness is material shaped and sited
Scheduling science on television: A comparative analysis of the representations of science in 11 European countries
While science-in-the-media is a useful vehicle for understanding the media, few scholars have used it that way: instead, they look at science-in-the-media as a way of understanding science-in-the-media and often end up attributing characteristics to science-in-the-media that are simply characteristics of the media, rather than of the science they see there. This point of view was argued by Jane Gregory and Steve Miller in 1998 in Science in Public. Science, they concluded, is not a special case in the mass media, understanding science-in-the-media is mostly about understanding the media (Gregory and Miller, 1998: 105). More than a decade later, research that looks for patterns or even determinants of science-in-the-media, be it in press or electronic media, is still very rare. There is interest in explaining the media’s selection of science content from a media perspective. Instead, the search for, and analysis of, several kinds of distortions in media representations of science have been leading topics of science-in-the-media research since its beginning in the USA at the end of the 1960s and remain influential today (see Lewenstein, 1994; Weigold, 2001; Kohring, 2005 for summaries). Only a relatively small amount of research has been conducted seeking to identify factors relevant to understanding how science is treated by the mass media in general and by television in particular. The current study addresses the lack of research in this area. Our research seeks to explore which constraints national media systems place on the volume and structure of science programming in television. In simpler terms, the main question this study is trying to address is why science-in-TV in Europe appears as it does. We seek to link research focussing on the detailed analysis of science representations on television (Silverstone, 1984; Collins, 1987; Hornig, 1990; Leon, 2008), and media research focussing on the historical genesis and current political regulation of national media systems (see for instance Hallin and Mancini, 2004; Napoli, 2004; Open Society Institute, 2005, 2008). The former studies provide deeper insights into the selection and reconstruction of scientific subject matters, which reflect and – at the same time – reinforce popular images of science. But their studies do not give much attention to production constraints or other relevant factors which could provide an insight into why media treat science as they do. The latter scholars inter alia shed light on distinct media policies in Europe which significantly influence national channel patterns. However, they do not refer to clearly defined content categories but to fairly rough distinctions such as information versus entertainment or fictional versus factual. Accordingly, we know more about historical roots and current practices of media regulation across Europe than we do about the effects of these different regimes on the provision of specific content in European societies
Vertical Structure of the Outer Accretion Disk in Persistent Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries
We have investigated the influence of X-ray irradiation on the vertical
structure of the outer accretion disk in low-mass X-ray binaries by performing
a self-consistent calculation of the vertical structure and X-ray radiation
transfer in the disk. Penetrating deep into the disk, the field of scattered
X-ray photons with energy \,keV exerts a significant influence on
the vertical structure of the accretion disk at a distance
\,cm from the neutron star. At a distance \,cm,
where the total surface density in the disk reaches
\,g\,cm, X-ray heating affects all layers of an
optically thick disk. The X-ray heating effect is enhanced significantly in the
presence of an extended atmospheric layer with a temperature
\,K above the accretion disk. We have derived
simple analytic formulas for the disk heating by scattered X-ray photons using
an approximate solution of the transfer equation by the Sobolev method. This
approximation has a \,% accuracy in the range of X-ray photon
energies \,keV.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, published in Astronomy Letter
Comparing international coverage of 9/11 : towards an interdisciplinary explanation of the construction of news
This article presents an interdisciplinary model attempting to explain how news is constructed by relying on the contributions of different fields of study: News Sociology, Political Communications, International Communications, International Relations. It is a first step towards developing a holistic theoretical approach to what shapes the news, which bridges current micro to macro approaches. More precisely the model explains news variation across different media organization and countries by focusing on the different way the sense of newsworthiness of journalists is affected by three main variables: national interest, national journalistic culture, and editorial policy of each media organization. The model is developed on the basis of an investigation into what shaped the media coverage of 9/11 in eight elite newspapers across the US, France, Italy and Pakistan
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