Random quantum correlations and density operator distributions

Consider the question: what statistical ensemble corresponds to minimal prior knowledge about a quantum system ? For the case where the system is in fact known to be in a pure state there is an obvious answer, corresponding to the unique unitarily-invariant measure on the Hilbert sphere. However, the problem is open for the general case where states are described by density operators. Here two approaches to the problem are investigated. The first approach assumes that the system is randomly correlated with a second system, where the ensemble of composite systems is described by a random pure state. Results for qubits randomly correlated with other systems are presented, including average entanglement entropies. It is shown that maximum correlation is guaranteed in the limit as one system becomes infinite-dimensional. The second approach relies on choosing a metric on the space of density operators, and generating a corresponding ensemble from the induced volume element. Comparisons between the approaches are made for qubits, for which the second approach (based on the Bures metric) yields the most symmetric, and hence the least informative, ensemble of density operators.Comment: 13 pages, no figures; a new page of additional notes at end draws attention to 3 new references and their relevanc

Energy in the 21st Century: New Challenges and Goals

In the next century energy will remain the pillar of social development and wealth. The demand for energy will continue to increase apace with economic growth in the medium term and population growth in the longer term. In several countries, development planning strategies might also conflict sharply with environmental concerns, thus complicating the implementation of timely environmental protection policy strategies. However, early introduction and deployment of safe and clean technologies could reduce future economic burdens such as compensation payments for health and the environmental costs of energy use. The major goal in developing long-term energy projections is to identify those principal trends and tendencies that will prevail over the time period under consideration rather than to define exactly the various factors constituting the scenario or system being studied. Whereas long-term projections can concentrate on many different aspects, the major focus is on the possible exhaustion of cheap energy resources and the environmental and climatic impact of energy systems. Scenarios and options for global and regional energy systems are addressed in this paper with the aim of identifying a smooth transition from the present structure based primarily on fossil fuels to a future structure based on the more efficient and balanced use of fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewable energy. It is clear that energy resources are available in sufficient quantity in the medium term to support national development and individual well-being. The energy mix adopted by each country will depend on the economical and ecological use of the indigenous resource base and global/regional constraints on greenhouse gas emissions. Trade-offs between environmental impact and economic development must be explored and incorporated into national energy policies. The challenge of the next decades will place greater emphasis on energy sources and power generation technologies that have the potential to minimize damage to health and the environment, while at the same time being economically viable and deployable on a broad scale so as to meet global energy demands. Energy availability, security of supply, and the pricing structure of primary as well as final energy sources are important issues on the decision-makers' agendas. Improvements in technology transfer, financial mechanisms, and new more effective institutional frameworks are required, if a global environmentally compatible energy strategy is to be achieved for the next century

Estimated workload intensity during volunteer aquarium dives

Background: This study aimed to characterize the physiological demands of working dives on volunteer divers at a public aquarium in the USA. Aims: To estimate the workloads associated with volunteer dives in a US aquarium. Methods: Participants completed a medical and diving history questionnaire. Measurements included blood pressure before and after diving and continuous ECG (Holter) monitoring during diving. Dive profiles were recorded using loggers. Mean workload was estimated from total air consumption. Results Twenty-seven divers recorded 49 air dives over 5 days. Two-thirds were male and ages ranged from 40 to 78 years. Typically, each diver made two dives with a 30-60 min surface interval. Mean heart rate while diving was 100 beats per minute (bpm). Mean estimated workload during the dives recorded during this study was 5.8 metabolic equivalents (METS), with a range from 4.1 to 10.5. The highest mean recorded heart rate was 120 bpm over 40 min, vacuuming the floor in the shark exhibit. Conclusions: Given the mean age of this sample and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (body mass index, high cholesterol and hypertension), it may be prudent for aquariums to regularly monitor SAC/kg and heart rate in volunteer divers, to identify which tasks require the highest workload intensity. Divers with existing cardiovascular risk factors might then be employed in dives with lighter workloads. In conclusion, volunteer dives at this aquarium required a mean workload intensity that was described by recreational divers as moderate. The highest workload, at 10 METS for 23 min, would be considered by many recreational divers as exhausting

\Lambda-buildings and base change functors

We prove an analog of the base change functor of \Lambda-trees in the setting of generalized affine buildings. The proof is mainly based on local and global combinatorics of the associated spherical buildings. As an application we obtain that the class of generalized affine building is closed under ultracones and asymptotic cones. Other applications involve a complex of groups decompositions and fixed point theorems for certain classes of generalized affine buildings.Comment: revised version, 29 pages, to appear in Geom. Dedicat

Application of precise 142Nd/144Nd analysis of small samples to inclusions in diamonds (Finsch, South Africa) and Hadean Zircons (Jack Hills, Western Australia)

146Sm-142Nd and 147Sm-143Nd systematics were investigated in garnet inclusions in diamonds from Finsch (S. Africa) and Hadean zircons from Jack Hills (W. Australia) to assess the potential of these systems as recorders of early Earth evolution. The stud

A Two-Step Quantum Direct Communication Protocol Using Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Pair Block

A protocol for quantum secure direct communication using blocks of EPR pairs is proposed. A set of ordered $N$ EPR pairs is used as a data block for sending secret message directly. The ordered $N$ EPR set is divided into two particle sequences, a checking sequence and a message-coding sequence. After transmitting the checking sequence, the two parties of communication check eavesdropping by measuring a fraction of particles randomly chosen, with random choice of two sets of measuring bases. After insuring the security of the quantum channel, the sender, Alice encodes the secret message directly on the message-coding sequence and send them to Bob. By combining the checking and message-coding sequences together, Bob is able to read out the encoded messages directly. The scheme is secure because an eavesdropper cannot get both sequences simultaneously. We also discuss issues in a noisy channel.Comment: 8 pages and 2 figures. To appear in Phys Rev

The incidence and make up of ability grouped sets in the UK primary school

The adoption of setting in the primary school (pupils ability grouped across classes for particular subjects) emerged during the 1990s as a means to raise standards. Recent research based on 8875 children in the Millennium Cohort Study showed that 25.8% of children in Year 2 were set for literacy and mathematics and a further 11.2% of children were set for mathematics or literacy alone. Logistic regression analysis showed that the best predictors of being in the top set for literacy or mathematics were whether the child was born in the Autumn or Winter and cognitive ability scores. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to be in the bottom literacy set. Family circumstances held less importance for setting placement compared with the child’s own characteristics, although they were more important in relation to bottom set placement. Children in bottom sets were significantly more likely to be part of a long-term single parent household, have experienced poverty, and not to have a mother with qualifications at NVQ3 or higher levels. The findings are discussed in relation to earlier research and the implications for schools are set out

Charge Conjugation Invariance of the Vacuum and the Cosmological Constant Problem

We propose a method of field quantization which uses an indefinite metric in a Hilbert space of state vectors. The action for gravity and the standard model includes, as well as the positive energy fermion and boson fields, negative energy fields. The Hamiltonian for the action leads through charge conjugation invariance symmetry of the vacuum to a cancellation of the zero-point vacuum energy and a vanishing cosmological constant in the presence of a gravitational field. To guarantee the stability of the vacuum, we introduce a Dirac sea `hole' theory of quantization for gravity as well as the standard model. The vacuum is defined to be fully occupied by negative energy particles with a hole in the Dirac sea, corresponding to an anti-particle. We postulate that the negative energy bosons in the vacuum satisfy a para-statistics that leads to a para-Pauli exclusion principle for the negative energy bosons in the vacuum, while the positive energy bosons in the Hilbert space obey the usual Bose-Einstein statistics. This assures that the vacuum is stable for both fermions and bosons. Restrictions on the para-operator Hamiltonian density lead to selection rules that prohibit positive energy para-bosons from being observable. The problem of deriving a positive energy spectrum and a consistent unitary field theory from a pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian is investigated.Comment: 15 pages, Latex file, no figures. Typos corrected. To be published in Physics Letters

Stereospecific opiate-binding sites occur in coated vesicles

We prepared clathrin-coated vesicles from bovine forebrain utilizing sucrose or deuterium oxide-Ficoll density gradient centrifugation followed by permeation chromatography. Homogeneity was monitored by electron microscopy (EM) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). EM revealed that the predominant (up to 98% of the total) organelles were coated vesicles and empty hexagonal baskets. Diameters of the coated vesicles ranged from 37 to 120 nm with a mean of 65.2 ± 2.2. Upon SDS-PAGE of the coated vesicle fraction, the most prominent band appeared at 180,000 daltons. There were also three additional bands at 10,000, 50,000 and 35,000 daltons, giving the overall pattern characteristic of coated vesicles. Both 0.5 nM tritiated naltrexone and etorphine displayed specific binding to coated vesicles. Naltrexone binding in coated vesicles from gradient fractions was increased 2.5-fold over the original 100,000 x g pellet. An additional 4-fold enrichment in specific binding was observed after permeation chromatography which was concomitant with an increase in the volume density of coated vesicles in electron micrographs. Naltrexone binding was stereospecific and etorphine binding was inhibited by 100 mM NaCl (40%). Both naltrexone and etorphine binding were inhibited by 50 μM guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate (40 to 50%). In summary, purified bovine brain-coated vesicles contained high affinity stereospecific opiate alkaloid-binding sites with characteristic opioid binding properties