1,460 research outputs found
Selective and Efficient Quantum Process Tomography
In this paper we describe in detail and generalize a method for quantum
process tomography that was presented in [A. Bendersky, F. Pastawski, J. P.
Paz, Physical Review Letters 100, 190403 (2008)]. The method enables the
efficient estimation of any element of the --matrix of a quantum process.
Such elements are estimated as averages over experimental outcomes with a
precision that is fixed by the number of repetitions of the experiment.
Resources required to implement it scale polynomically with the number of
qubits of the system. The estimation of all diagonal elements of the
--matrix can be efficiently done without any ancillary qubits. In turn,
the estimation of all the off-diagonal elements requires an extra clean qubit.
The key ideas of the method, that is based on efficient estimation by random
sampling over a set of states forming a 2--design, are described in detail.
Efficient methods for preparing and detecting such states are explicitly shown.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Ulta-slow relaxation in discontinuous-film based electron glasses
We present field effect measurements on discontinuous 2D thin films which are
composed of a sub monolayer of nano-grains of Au, Ni, Ag or Al. Like other
electron glasses these systems exhibit slow conductance relaxation and memory
effects. However, unlike other systems, the discontinuous films exhibit a
dramatic slowing down of the dynamics below a characteristic temperature .
is typically between 10-50K and is sample dependent. For the
sample exhibits a few other peculiar features such as repeatable conductance
fluctuations in millimeter size samples. We suggest that the enhanced system
sluggishness is related to the current carrying network becoming very dilute in
discontinuous films so that the system contains many parts which are
electrically very weakly connected and the transport is dominated by very few
weak links. This enables studying the glassy properties of the sample as it
transitions from a macroscopic sample to a mesocopic sample, hence, the results
provide new insight on the underlying physics of electron glasses.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
On Classification of QCD defects via holography
We discuss classification of defects of various codimensions within a
holographic model of pure Yang-Mills theories or gauge theories with
fundamental matter. We focus on their role below and above the phase transition
point as well as their weights in the partition function. The general result is
that objects which are stable and heavy in one phase are becoming very light
(tensionless) in the other phase. We argue that the dependence of the
partition function drastically changes at the phase transition point, and
therefore it correlates with stability properties of configurations. Some
possible applications for study the QCD vacuum properties above and below phase
transition are also discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure
From spinons to magnons in explicit and spontaneously dimerized antiferromagnetic chains
We reconsider the excitation spectra of a dimerized and frustrated
antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain. This model is taken as the simpler example
of compiting spontaneous and explicit dimerization relevant for Spin-Peierls
compounds. The bosonized theory is a two frequency Sine-Gordon field theory. We
analize the excitation spectrum by semiclassical methods. The elementary
triplet excitation corresponds to an extended magnon whose radius diverge for
vanishing dimerization. The internal oscilations of the magnon give rise to a
series of excited state until another magnon is emited and a two magnon
continuum is reached. We discuss, for weak dimerization, in which way the
magnon forms as a result of a spinon-spinon interaction potential.Comment: 5 pages, latex, 3 figures embedded in the tex
Domain excitations in spin-Peierls systems
We study a model of a Spin-Peierls material consisting of a set of
antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains coupled with phonons and interacting among
them via an inter-chain elastic coupling. The excitation spectrum is analyzed
by bosonization techniques and the self-harmonic approximation. The elementary
excitation is the creation of a localized domain structure where the dimerized
order is the opposite to the one of the surroundings. It is a triplet
excitation whose formation energy is smaller than the magnon gap. Magnetic
internal excitations of the domain are possible and give the further
excitations of the system. We discuss these results in the context of recent
experimental measurements on the inorganic Spin-Peierls compound CuGeOComment: 5 pages, 2 figures, corrected version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Can Mindfulness Address Maladaptive Eating Behaviors? Why Traditional Diet Plans Fail and How New Mechanistic Insights May Lead to Novel Interventions
Emotional and other maladaptive eating behaviors develop in response to a diversity of triggers, from psychological stress to the endless external cues in our modern food environment. While the standard approach to food- and weight-related concerns has been weight-loss through dietary restriction, these interventions have produced little long-term benefit, and may be counterproductive. A growing understanding of the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that underpin habit formation may explain why this approach has largely failed, and pave the way for a new generation of non-pharmacologic interventions. Here, we first review how modern food environments interact with human biology to promote reward-related eating through associative learning, i.e., operant conditioning. We also review how operant conditioning (positive and negative reinforcement) cultivates habit-based reward-related eating, and how current diet paradigms may not directly target such eating. Further, we describe how mindfulness training that targets reward-based learning may constitute an appropriate intervention to rewire the learning process around eating. We conclude with examples that illustrate how teaching patients to tap into and act on intrinsic (e.g., enjoying healthy eating, not overeating, and self-compassion) rather than extrinsic reward mechanisms (e.g., weighing oneself), is a promising new direction in improving individuals\u27 relationship with food
Optical polarimetric observations of the microquasar LS 5039
We present the first optical polarimetric observations of the runaway microquasar LS 5039. Our results reveal the presence of a large amount (∼5%) of polarized emission towards this binary system. By combining polarimetric and spectroscopic observations of some stars in the field together with available statistical information on the galactic interstellar polarization of the region, we have estimated and subtracted the contribution of the interstellar polarization in this direction. As a result, we obtain an intrinsic polarization of ∼3% for the object, much higher than what would be expected from jet emission in the optical domain. We suggest that the polarized light originates by electron Thomson scattering in the stellar envelope of the companion star. This allows us to constrain the size of the region where the polarized emission originates, as well as estimating the scattering electronic density and the wind velocity at such distance.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofÃsica
Asymptotic analysis for the generalized langevin equation
Various qualitative properties of solutions to the generalized Langevin
equation (GLE) in a periodic or a confining potential are studied in this
paper. We consider a class of quasi-Markovian GLEs, similar to the model that
was introduced in \cite{EPR99}. Geometric ergodicity, a homogenization theorem
(invariance principle), short time asymptotics and the white noise limit are
studied. Our proofs are based on a careful analysis of a hypoelliptic operator
which is the generator of an auxiliary Markov process. Systematic use of the
recently developed theory of hypocoercivity \cite{Vil04HPI} is made.Comment: 27 pages, no figures. Submitted to Nonlinearity
Quantitative analysis of numerical estimates for the permeability of porous media from lattice-Boltzmann simulations
During the last decade, lattice-Boltzmann (LB) simulations have been improved
to become an efficient tool for determining the permeability of porous media
samples. However, well known improvements of the original algorithm are often
not implemented. These include for example multirelaxation time schemes or
improved boundary conditions, as well as different possibilities to impose a
pressure gradient. This paper shows that a significant difference of the
calculated permeabilities can be found unless one uses a carefully selected
setup. We present a detailed discussion of possible simulation setups and
quantitative studies of the influence of simulation parameters. We illustrate
our results by applying the algorithm to a Fontainebleau sandstone and by
comparing our benchmark studies to other numerical permeability measurements in
the literature.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure
On the soliton width in the incommensurate phase of spin-Peierls systems
We study using bosonization techniques the effects of frustration due to
competing interactions and of the interchain elastic couplings on the soliton
width and soliton structure in spin-Peierls systems. We compare the predictions
of this study with numerical results obtained by exact diagonalization of
finite chains. We conclude that frustration produces in general a reduction of
the soliton width while the interchain elastic coupling increases it. We
discuss these results in connection with recent measurements of the soliton
width in the incommensurate phase of CuGeO_3.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 2 figures embedded in the tex
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