How many functions can be distinguished with k quantum queries?

Suppose an oracle is known to hold one of a given set of D two-valued functions. To successfully identify which function the oracle holds with k classical queries, it must be the case that D is at most 2^k. In this paper we derive a bound for how many functions can be distinguished with k quantum queries.Comment: 5 pages. Lower bound on sorting n items improved to (1-epsilon)n quantum queries. Minor changes to text and corrections to reference

Properties of the Distant Kuiper Belt: Results from the Palomar Distant Solar System Survey

We present the results of a wide-field survey using the 1.2-m Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory. This survey was designed to find the most distant members of the Kuiper belt and beyond. We searched ~12,000 deg2 down to a mean limiting magnitude of 21.3 in R. A total number of 52 KBOs and Centaurs have been detected, 25 of which were discovered in this survey. Except for the re-detection of Sedna, no additional Sedna-like bodies with perihelia greater than 45 AU were detected despite sensitivity out to distances of 1000 AU. We discuss the implications for a distant Sedna- like population beyond the Kuiper belt, focusing on the constraints we can place on the embedded stellar cluster environment the early Sun may be have been born in, where the location and distribution of Sedna-like orbits sculpted by multiple stellar encounters is indicative of the birth cluster size. We also report our observed latitude distribution and implications for the size of the plutino population.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables Accepted by Ap

A Search for Distant Solar System Bodies in the Region of Sedna

We present the results of a wide-field survey for distant Sedna-like bodies in the outer solar system using the 1.2-m Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory. We searched ~12,000 square degrees down to a mean limiting magnitude of 21.3 in R. A total number of 53 Kuiper belt objects and Centaurs have been detected; 25 of which were discovered in this survey. No additional Sedna-like bodies with perihelia beyond 70 AU were found despite a sensitivity to motions out to ~1000 AU. We place constraints on the size and distribution of objects on Sedna orbits.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by ApJ Letter

A note on monopole moduli spaces

We discuss the structure of the framed moduli space of Bogomolny monopoles for arbitrary symmetry breaking and extend the definition of its stratification to the case of arbitrary compact Lie groups. We show that each stratum is a union of submanifolds for which we conjecture that the natural $L^2$ metric is hyperKahler. The dimensions of the strata and of these submanifolds are calculated, and it is found that for the latter, the dimension is always a multiple of four.Comment: 17 pages, LaTe

From speculation to reality: Enhancing anticipatory ethics for emerging technologies (ATE) in practice

Various approaches have emerged over the last several decades to meet the challenges and complexities of anticipating and responding to the potential impacts of emerging technologies. Although many of the existing approaches share similarities, they each have shortfalls. This paper takes as the object of its study Anticipatory Ethics for Emerging Technologies (ATE) to technology assessment, given that it was formatted to address many of the privations characterising parallel approaches. The ATE approach, also in practice, presents certain areas for retooling, such as how it characterises levels and objects of analysis. This paper results from the work done with the TechEthos Horizon 2020 project in evaluating the ethical, legal, and social impacts of climate engineering, digital extended reality, and neurotechnologies. To meet the challenges these technology families present, this paper aims to enhance the ATE framework to encompass the variety of human processes and material forms, functions, and applications that comprise the socio-technical systems in which these technologies are embedded

Sonoluminescing air bubbles rectify argon

The dynamics of single bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) strongly depends on the percentage of inert gas within the bubble. We propose a theory for this dependence, based on a combination of principles from sonochemistry and hydrodynamic stability. The nitrogen and oxygen dissociation and subsequent reaction to water soluble gases implies that strongly forced air bubbles eventually consist of pure argon. Thus it is the partial argon (or any other inert gas) pressure which is relevant for stability. The theory provides quantitative explanations for many aspects of SBSL.Comment: 4 page

The Cosmological Constant is Back

A diverse set of observations now compellingly suggest that Universe possesses a nonzero cosmological constant. In the context of quantum-field theory a cosmological constant corresponds to the energy density of the vacuum, and the wanted value for the cosmological constant corresponds to a very tiny vacuum energy density. We discuss future observational tests for a cosmological constant as well as the fundamental theoretical challenges---and opportunities---that this poses for particle physics and for extending our understanding of the evolution of the Universe back to the earliest moments.Comment: latex, 8 pages plus one ps figure available as separate compressed uuencoded fil

Hard-Loop Effective Action for Anisotropic Plasmas

We generalize the hard-thermal-loop effective action of the equilibrium quark-gluon plasma to a non-equilibrium system which is space-time homogeneous but for which the parton momentum distribution is anisotropic. We show that the manifestly gauge-invariant Braaten-Pisarski form of the effective action can be straightforwardly generalized and we verify that it then generates all n-point functions following from collisionless gauge-covariant transport theory for a homogeneous anisotropic plasma. On the other hand, the Taylor-Wong form of the hard-thermal-loop effective action has a more complicated generalization to the anisotropic case. Already in the simplest case of anisotropic distribution functions, it involves an additional term that is gauge invariant by itself, but nontrivial also in the static limit.Comment: 12 pages. Version 3: typo in (15) corrected, note added discussing metric conventions use