Meaning-focused and Quantum-inspired Information Retrieval

In recent years, quantum-based methods have promisingly integrated the traditional procedures in information retrieval (IR) and natural language processing (NLP). Inspired by our research on the identification and application of quantum structures in cognition, more specifically our work on the representation of concepts and their combinations, we put forward a 'quantum meaning based' framework for structured query retrieval in text corpora and standardized testing corpora. This scheme for IR rests on considering as basic notions, (i) 'entities of meaning', e.g., concepts and their combinations and (ii) traces of such entities of meaning, which is how documents are considered in this approach. The meaning content of these 'entities of meaning' is reconstructed by solving an 'inverse problem' in the quantum formalism, consisting of reconstructing the full states of the entities of meaning from their collapsed states identified as traces in relevant documents. The advantages with respect to traditional approaches, such as Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), are discussed by means of concrete examples.Comment: 11 page

Critical role and screening practices of European business incubators.

Business incubators guide starting enterprises through their growth process and as such constitute a strong instrument to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. In this article we sketch the European business incubator landscape. Then we describe screening practices by European business incubators in 2003 and compare these results with the American incubators in the eighties. In the last phase a cautious link between screening practices and performance, measured in terms of tenant failure, is established. Most incubators do not screen potential tenants on a balanced set of factors, but concentrate either on the characteristics of the tenant's market or on the characteristics of the tenant's management team. However, we found that the tenant survival rate is positively related to a more balanced screening profile. Based on our study results, we propose some recommendations for the main stakeholders in the field: authorities, incubators and innovative entrepreneurs.Characteristics; Entrepreneurs; Factors; Field; Growth; Innovation; Management; Market; Performance; Processes; Recommendations; Research; Stakeholders; Studies;

What is Quantum? Unifying Its Micro-Physical and Structural Appearance

We can recognize two modes in which 'quantum appears' in macro domains: (i) a 'micro-physical appearance', where quantum laws are assumed to be universal and they are transferred from the micro to the macro level if suitable 'quantum coherence' conditions (e.g., very low temperatures) are realized, (ii) a 'structural appearance', where no hypothesis is made on the validity of quantum laws at a micro level, while genuine quantum aspects are detected at a structural-modeling level. In this paper, we inquire into the connections between the two appearances. We put forward the explanatory hypothesis that, 'the appearance of quantum in both cases' is due to 'the existence of a specific form of organisation, which has the capacity to cope with random perturbations that would destroy this organisation when not coped with'. We analyse how 'organisation of matter', 'organisation of life', and 'organisation of culture', play this role each in their specific domain of application, point out the importance of evolution in this respect, and put forward how our analysis sheds new light on 'what quantum is'.Comment: 10 page

Environment-dependent prey capture in the Atlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus)

Few vertebrates capture prey in both the aquatic and the terrestrial environment due to the conflicting biophysical demands of feeding in water versus air. The Atlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus) is known to be proficient at feeding in the terrestrial environment and feeds predominately in this environment. Given the considerable forward flow of water observed during the mouth-opening phase to assist with feeding on land, the mudskipper must alter the function of its feeding system to feed successfully in water. Here, we quantify the aquatic prey-capture kinematics of the mudskipper and compare this with the previously described pattern of terrestrial feeding. Prior to feeding in the aquatic environment, the gill slits open, allowing water to be expelled through the gill slits. The opposite happens in terrestrial feeding during which the gill slits remain closed at this point. In water, the expansive movements of the head are larger, amounting to a larger volume increase and are initiated slightly later than in the terrestrial environment. This implies the generation of strong suction flows when feeding in water. Consequently, the kinematic patterns of the hydrodynamic tongue during terrestrial feeding and aquatic suction feeding are similar, except for the amplitude of the volume increase and the active closing of the gill slits early during the terrestrial feeding strike. The mudskipper thus exhibits the capacity to change the kinematics of its feeding apparatus to enable successful prey capture in two disparate environments

Quantum Particles as Conceptual Entities: A Possible Explanatory Framework for Quantum Theory

We put forward a possible new interpretation and explanatory framework for quantum theory. The basic hypothesis underlying this new framework is that quantum particles are conceptual entities. More concretely, we propose that quantum particles interact with ordinary matter, nuclei, atoms, molecules, macroscopic material entities, measuring apparatuses, ..., in a similar way to how human concepts interact with memory structures, human minds or artificial memories. We analyze the most characteristic aspects of quantum theory, i.e. entanglement and non-locality, interference and superposition, identity and individuality in the light of this new interpretation, and we put forward a specific explanation and understanding of these aspects. The basic hypothesis of our framework gives rise in a natural way to a Heisenberg uncertainty principle which introduces an understanding of the general situation of 'the one and the many' in quantum physics. A specific view on macro and micro different from the common one follows from the basic hypothesis and leads to an analysis of Schrodinger's Cat paradox and the measurement problem different from the existing ones. We reflect about the influence of this new quantum interpretation and explanatory framework on the global nature and evolutionary aspects of the world and human worldviews, and point out potential explanations for specific situations, such as the generation problem in particle physics, the confinement of quarks and the existence of dark matter.Comment: 45 pages, 10 figure

Interpreting Quantum Particles as Conceptual Entities

We elaborate an interpretation of quantum physics founded on the hypothesis that quantum particles are conceptual entities playing the role of communication vehicles between material entities composed of ordinary matter which function as memory structures for these quantum particles. We show in which way this new interpretation gives rise to a natural explanation for the quantum effects of interference and entanglement by analyzing how interference and entanglement emerge for the case of human concepts. We put forward a scheme to derive a metric based on similarity as a predecessor for the structure of 'space, time, momentum, energy' and 'quantum particles interacting with ordinary matter' underlying standard quantum physics, within the new interpretation, and making use of aspects of traditional quantum axiomatics. More specifically, we analyze how the effect of non-locality arises as a consequence of the confrontation of such an emerging metric type of structure and the remaining presence of the basic conceptual structure on the fundamental level, with the potential of being revealed in specific situations.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

Interpretation of the variability of the <i>β</i> Cephei star <i>λ</i> Scorpii. I. The multiple character

We derive accurate values of the orbital parameters of the close binary β Cephei star λ Scorpii. Moreover, we present the first determination of the properties of the triple system to which λ Scorpii belongs. Our analysis is based on a time series of 815 high-resolution spectra, covering a timespan of 14 years. We find a close orbit of 5d.9525days (e=0.26) and a wide orbit of approximately 1082d days (e=0.23). The orbital parameters of the triple star and a spectrum synthesis lead us to conclude that the system is composed of two early-type B stars and a low-mass pre-main-sequence star rather than containing an ultra-massive white dwarf as claimed before. Our proposed configuration is compatible with population synthesis. The radial velocity variations of the primary allow us to confirm the presence of at least one pulsation mode with frequency 4.679410 c d-1 which is subject to the light-time effect in the triple system. A detailed analysis of the complex line-profile variations is described in a subsequent paper

Experimental Evidence for Quantum Structure in Cognition

We proof a theorem that shows that a collection of experimental data of membership weights of items with respect to a pair of concepts and its conjunction cannot be modeled within a classical measure theoretic weight structure in case the experimental data contain the effect called overextension. Since the effect of overextension, analogue to the well-known guppy effect for concept combinations, is abundant in all experiments testing weights of items with respect to pairs of concepts and their conjunctions, our theorem constitutes a no-go theorem for classical measure structure for common data of membership weights of items with respect to concepts and their combinations. We put forward a simple geometric criterion that reveals the non classicality of the membership weight structure and use experimentally measured membership weights estimated by subjects in experiments to illustrate our geometrical criterion. The violation of the classical weight structure is similar to the violation of the well-known Bell inequalities studied in quantum mechanics, and hence suggests that the quantum formalism and hence the modeling by quantum membership weights can accomplish what classical membership weights cannot do.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Multiperiodicity in the large-amplitude rapidly-rotating β\beta Ceph ei star HD 203664

We perform a seismic study of the young massive $\beta$Cephei star HD 203664 with the goal to constrain its interior structure. Our study is based on a time series of 328 new Geneva 7-colour photometric data of the star spread over 496.8 days. The data confirm the frequency of the dominant mode of the star which we refine to $f_1=6.02885$c d$^{-1}$. The mode has a large amplitude of 37 mmag in V and is unambiguously identified as a dipole mode ($\ell=2$) from its amplitude ratios and non-adiabatic computations. Besides $f_1$, we discover two additional new frequencies in the star with amplitudes above $4\sigma$: $f_2=6.82902$c d$^{-1}$ and $f_3=4.81543$c d$^{-1}$ or one of their daily aliases. The amplitudes of these two modes are only between 3 and 4 mmag which explains why they were not detected before. Their amplitude ratios are too uncertain for mode identification. We show that the observed oscillation spectrum of HD 203664 is compatible with standard stellar models but that we have insufficient information for asteroseismic inferences. Among the large-amplitude $\beta$Cephei stars, HD 203664 stands out as the only one rotating at a significant fraction of its critical rotation velocity ($\sim 40$).Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (Astronomy & Astrophysics

Estimating stellar oscillation-related parameters and their uncertainties with the moment method

The moment method is a well known mode identification technique in asteroseismology (where `mode' is to be understood in an astronomical rather than in a statistical sense), which uses a time series of the first 3 moments of a spectral line to estimate the discrete oscillation mode parameters l and m. The method, contrary to many other mode identification techniques, also provides estimates of other important continuous parameters such as the inclination angle alpha, and the rotational velocity v_e. We developed a statistical formalism for the moment method based on so-called generalized estimating equations (GEE). This formalism allows the estimation of the uncertainty of the continuous parameters taking into account that the different moments of a line profile are correlated and that the uncertainty of the observed moments also depends on the model parameters. Furthermore, we set up a procedure to take into account the mode uncertainty, i.e., the fact that often several modes (l,m) can adequately describe the data. We also introduce a new lack of fit function which works at least as well as a previous discriminant function, and which in addition allows us to identify the sign of the azimuthal order m. We applied our method to the star HD181558, using several numerical methods, from which we learned that numerically solving the estimating equations is an intensive task. We report on the numerical results, from which we gain insight in the statistical uncertainties of the physical parameters involved in the moment method.Comment: The electronic online version from the publisher can be found at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9876.2005.00487.