19,337 research outputs found
Where is the fuzz? Undetected Lyman alpha nebulae around QSOs at z~2.3
We observed a small sample of 5 radio-quiet QSOs with integral field
spectroscopy to search for possible extended emission in the Ly line.
We subtracted the QSO point sources using a simple PSF self-calibration
technique that takes advantage of the simultaneous availability of spatial and
spectral information. In 4 of the 5 objects we find no significant traces of
extended Ly emission beyond the contribution of the QSO nuclei itself,
while in UM 247 there is evidence for a weak and spatially quite compact excess
in the Ly line at several kpc outside the nucleus. For all objects in
our sample we estimated detection limits for extended, smoothly distributed
Ly emission by adding fake nebulosities into the datacubes and trying
to recover them after PSF subtraction. Our observations are consistent with
other studies showing that giant Ly nebulae such as those found
recently around some quasars are very rare. Ly fuzz around typical
radio-quiet QSOs is fainter, less extended and is therefore much harder to
detect. The faintness of these structures is consistent with the idea that
radio-quiet QSOs typically reside in dark matter haloes of modest masses.Comment: 12 Pages, Accepted for publication in A&
Multi-particle entanglement of hot trapped ions
We propose an efficient method to produce multi-particle entangled states of
ions in an ion trap for which a wide range of interesting effects and
applications have been suggested. Our preparation scheme exploits the
collective vibrational motion of the ions, but it works in such a way that this
motion need not be fully controlled in the experiment. The ions may, e.g., be
in thermal motion and exchange mechanical energy with a surrounding heat bath
without detrimental effects on the internal state preparation. Our scheme does
not require access to the individual ions in the trap.Comment: 4 pages, including 3 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. This
paper previously appeared under the name "Schrodingers cat in a hot trap".
The paper has been revised according to Phys. Rev. policy on Schrodinger
cats. No cats were harmed during the production of this manuscrip
Time-reversible Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics
We present a time-reversible Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics scheme,
based on self-consistent Hartree-Fock or density functional theory, where both
the nuclear and the electronic degrees of freedom are propagated in time. We
show how a time-reversible adiabatic propagation of the electronic degrees of
freedom is possible despite the non-linearity and incompleteness of the
self-consistent field procedure. Time-reversal symmetry excludes a systematic
long-term energy drift for a microcanonical ensemble and the number of
self-consistency cycles can be kept low (often only 2-4 cycles per nuclear time
step) thanks to a good initial guess given by the adiabatic propagation of the
electronic degrees of freedom. The time-reversible Born-Oppenheimer molecular
dynamics scheme therefore combines a low computational cost with a physically
correct time-reversible representation of the dynamics, which preserves a
detailed balance between propagation forwards and backwards in time.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Digital Alchemy for Materials Design: Colloids and Beyond
Starting with the early alchemists, a holy grail of science has been to make
desired materials by modifying the attributes of basic building blocks.
Building blocks that show promise for assembling new complex materials can be
synthesized at the nanoscale with attributes that would astonish the ancient
alchemists in their versatility. However, this versatility means that making
direct connection between building block attributes and bulk behavior is both
necessary for rationally engineering materials, and difficult because building
block attributes can be altered in many ways. Here we show how to exploit the
malleability of the valence of colloidal nanoparticle "elements" to directly
and quantitatively link building block attributes to bulk behavior through a
statistical thermodynamic framework we term "digital alchemy". We use this
framework to optimize building blocks for a given target structure, and to
determine which building block attributes are most important to control for
self assembly, through a set of novel thermodynamic response functions, moduli
and susceptibilities. We thereby establish direct links between the attributes
of colloidal building blocks and the bulk structures they form. Moreover, our
results give concrete solutions to the more general conceptual challenge of
optimizing emergent behaviors in nature, and can be applied to other types of
matter. As examples, we apply digital alchemy to systems of truncated
tetrahedra, rhombic dodecahedra, and isotropically interacting spheres that
self assemble diamond, FCC, and icosahedral quasicrystal structures,
respectively.Comment: 17 REVTeX pages, title fixed to match journal versio
Density Matrix Perturbation Theory
An expansion method for perturbation of the zero temperature grand canonical
density matrix is introduced. The method achieves quadratically convergent
recursions that yield the response of the zero temperature density matrix upon
variation of the Hamiltonian. The technique allows treatment of embedded
quantum subsystems with a computational cost scaling linearly with the size of
the perturbed region, O(N_pert.), and as O(1) with the total system size. It
also allows direct computation of the density matrix response functions to any
order with linear scaling effort. Energy expressions to 4th order based on only
first and second order density matrix response are given.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Overregulation of Health Care: Musings on Disruptive Innovation Theory
Disruptive innovation theory provides one lens through which to describe how regulations may stifle innovation and increase costs. Basing their discussion on this theory, Curtis and Schulman consider some of the effects that regulatory controls may have on innovation in the health sector
Quantum communication cost of preparing multipartite entanglement
We study the preparation and distribution of high-fidelity multi-party
entangled states via noisy channels and operations. In the particular case of
GHZ and cluster states, we study different strategies using bipartite or
multipartite purification protocols. The most efficient strategy depends on the
target fidelity one wishes to achieve and on the quality of transmission
channel and local operations. We show the existence of a crossing point beyond
which the strategy making use of the purification of the state as a whole is
more efficient than a strategy in which pairs are purified before they are
connected to the final state. We also study the efficiency of intermediate
strategies, including sequences of purification and connection. We show that a
multipartite strategy is to be used if one wishes to achieve high fidelity,
whereas a bipartite strategy gives a better yield for low target fidelity.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. A; v2:
corrections in figure
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