17,119 research outputs found
Scaling in a continuous time model for biological aging
In this paper we consider a generalization to the asexual version of the
Penna model for biological aging, where we take a continuous time limit. The
genotype associated to each individual is an interval of real numbers over
which Dirac --functions are defined, representing genetically
programmed diseases to be switched on at defined ages of the individual life.
We discuss two different continuous limits for the evolution equation and two
different mutation protocols, to be implemented during reproduction. Exact
stationary solutions are obtained and scaling properties are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Frequency up- and down-conversions in two-mode cavity quantum electrodynamics
In this letter we present a scheme for the implementation of frequency up-
and down-conversion operations in two-mode cavity quantum electrodynamics
(QED). This protocol for engineering bilinear two-mode interactions could
enlarge perspectives for quantum information manipulation and also be employed
for fundamental tests of quantum theory in cavity QED. As an application we
show how to generate a two-mode squeezed state in cavity QED (the original
entangled state of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen)
Empiricism and stochastics in cellular automaton modeling of urban land use dynamics
An increasing number of models for predicting land use change in regions of rapidurbanization are being proposed and built using ideas from cellular automata (CA)theory. Calibrating such models to real situations is highly problematic and to date,serious attention has not been focused on the estimation problem. In this paper, wepropose a structure for simulating urban change based on estimating land usetransitions using elementary probabilistic methods which draw their inspiration fromBayes' theory and the related ?weights of evidence? approach. These land use changeprobabilities drive a CA model ? DINAMICA ? conceived at the Center for RemoteSensing of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (CSR-UFMG). This is based on aneight cell Moore neighborhood approach implemented through empirical land useallocation algorithms. The model framework has been applied to a medium-size townin the west of São Paulo State, Bauru. We show how various socio-economic andinfrastructural factors can be combined using the weights of evidence approach whichenables us to predict the probability of changes between land use types in differentcells of the system. Different predictions for the town during the period 1979-1988were generated, and statistical validation was then conducted using a multipleresolution fitting procedure. These modeling experiments support the essential logicof adopting Bayesian empirical methods which synthesize various information aboutspatial infrastructure as the driver of urban land use change. This indicates therelevance of the approach for generating forecasts of growth for Brazilian citiesparticularly and for world-wide cities in general
Remarks on supersymmetry of quantum systems with position-dependent effective masses
We apply the supersymmetry approach to one-dimensional quantum systems with
spatially-dependent mass, by including their ordering ambiguities dependence.
In this way we extend the results recently reported in the literature.
Furthermore, we point out a connection between these systems and others with
constant masses. This is done through convenient transformations in the
coordinates and wavefunctions.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Semiclassical Evolution of Dissipative Markovian Systems
A semiclassical approximation for an evolving density operator, driven by a
"closed" hamiltonian operator and "open" markovian Lindblad operators, is
obtained. The theory is based on the chord function, i.e. the Fourier transform
of the Wigner function. It reduces to an exact solution of the Lindblad master
equation if the hamiltonian operator is a quadratic function and the Lindblad
operators are linear functions of positions and momenta.
Initially, the semiclassical formulae for the case of hermitian Lindblad
operators are reinterpreted in terms of a (real) double phase space, generated
by an appropriate classical double Hamiltonian. An extra "open" term is added
to the double Hamiltonian by the non-hermitian part of the Lindblad operators
in the general case of dissipative markovian evolution. The particular case of
generic hamiltonian operators, but linear dissipative Lindblad operators, is
studied in more detail. A Liouville-type equivariance still holds for the
corresponding classical evolution in double phase, but the centre subspace,
which supports the Wigner function, is compressed, along with expansion of its
conjugate subspace, which supports the chord function.
Decoherence narrows the relevant region of double phase space to the
neighborhood of a caustic for both the Wigner function and the chord function.
This difficulty is avoided by a propagator in a mixed representation, so that a
further "small-chord" approximation leads to a simple generalization of the
quadratic theory for evolving Wigner functions.Comment: 33 pages - accepted to J. Phys.
Decoherence of Semiclassical Wigner Functions
The Lindblad equation governs general markovian evolution of the density
operator in an open quantum system. An expression for the rate of change of the
Wigner function as a sum of integrals is one of the forms of the Weyl
representation for this equation. The semiclassical description of the Wigner
function in terms of chords, each with its classically defined amplitude and
phase, is thus inserted in the integrals, which leads to an explicit
differential equation for the Wigner function. All the Lindblad operators are
assumed to be represented by smooth phase space functions corresponding to
classical variables. In the case that these are real, representing hermitian
operators, the semiclassical Lindblad equation can be integrated. There results
a simple extension of the unitary evolution of the semiclassical Wigner
function, which does not affect the phase of each chord contribution, while
dampening its amplitude. This decreases exponentially, as governed by the time
integral of the square difference of the Lindblad functions along the classical
trajectories of both tips of each chord. The decay of the amplitudes is shown
to imply diffusion in energy for initial states that are nearly pure.
Projecting the Wigner function onto an orthogonal position or momentum basis,
the dampening of long chords emerges as the exponential decay of off-diagonal
elements of the density matrix.Comment: 23 pg, 2 fi
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