27,218 research outputs found
Fractals and Scars on a Compact Octagon
A finite universe naturally supports chaotic classical motion. An ordered
fractal emerges from the chaotic dynamics which we characterize in full for a
compact 2-dimensional octagon. In the classical to quantum transition, the
underlying fractal can persist in the form of scars, ridges of enhanced
amplitude in the semiclassical wave function. Although the scarring is weak on
the octagon, we suggest possible subtle implications of fractals and scars in a
finite universe.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figs, LaTeX fil
Meta-analysis of death and myocardial infarction in the DEFINE-FLAIR and iFR-SWEDEHEART trials: a hypothesis generating note of caution
In patients with coronary heart disease, revascularization can improve symptoms and in certain high-risk subgroups may improve prognosis. Coronary angiography provides anatomical information and the physiological significance of a stenosis can be determined using fractional flow reserve (FFR). Decisions on the need for and mode of revascularization can be optimized using FFR, however this involves administering adenosine to induce hyperemia. Generally, this test is well tolerated, but in some healthcare systems adenosine is either not licensed, unavailable, or expensive, limiting the use of FFR-guided management
Measurements of Pilot Time Delay as Influenced by Controller Characteristics and Vehicles Time Delays
A study to measure and compare pilot time delay when using a space shuttle rotational hand controller and a more conventional control stick was conducted at NASA Ames Research Center's Dryden Flight Research Facility. The space shuttle controller has a palm pivot in the pitch axis. The more conventional controller used was a general-purpose engineering simulator stick that has a pivot length between that of a typical aircraft center stick and a sidestick. Measurements of the pilot's effective time delay were obtained through a first-order, closed-loop, compensatory tracking task in pitch. The tasks were implemented through a space shuttle cockpit simulator and a critical task tester device. The study consisted of 450 data runs with four test pilots and one nonpilot, and used three control stick configurations and two system delays. Results showed that the heavier conventional stick had the lowest pilot effective time delays associated with it, whereas the shuttle and light conventional sticks each had similar higher pilot time delay characteristics. It was also determined that each control stick showed an increase in pilot time delay when the total system delay was increased
Handling qualities aspects of NASA YF-12 flight experience
The handling qualities of the YF-12 airplane as observed during NASA research flights over the past five years were reviewed. Aircraft behavior during takeoff, acceleration, climb, cruise, descent, and landing are discussed. Pilot comments on the various flight phases and tasks are presented. Handling qualities parameters such as period, damping, amplitude ratios, roll-yaw coupling, and flight path response sensitivity are compared to existing and proposed handling qualities criteria. The influence of the propulsion systems, stability augmentation, autopilot systems, atmospheric gusts, and temperature changes are also discussed. YF-12 experience correlates well with flying qualities criteria, except for longitudinal short period damping, where existing and proposed criteria appear to be more stringent than necessary
Decoherence-free dynamical and geometrical entangling phase gates
It is shown that entangling two-qubit phase gates for quantum computation
with atoms inside a resonant optical cavity can be generated via common laser
addressing, essentially, within one step. The obtained dynamical or geometrical
phases are produced by an evolution that is robust against dissipation in form
of spontaneous emission from the atoms and the cavity and demonstrates
resilience against fluctuations of control parameters. This is achieved by
using the setup introduced by Pachos and Walther [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 187903
(2002)] and employing entangling Raman- or STIRAP-like transitions that
restrict the time evolution of the system onto stable ground states.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, REVTEX, Eq. (20) correcte
Entanglement-enhanced measurement of a completely unknown phase
The high-precision interferometric measurement of an unknown phase is the
basis for metrology in many areas of science and technology. Quantum
entanglement provides an increase in sensitivity, but present techniques have
only surpassed the limits of classical interferometry for the measurement of
small variations about a known phase. Here we introduce a technique that
combines entangled states with an adaptive algorithm to precisely estimate a
completely unspecified phase, obtaining more information per photon that is
possible classically. We use the technique to make the first ab initio
entanglement-enhanced optical phase measurement. This approach will enable
rapid, precise determination of unknown phase shifts using interferometry.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Adaptive Measurements in the Optical Quantum Information Laboratory
Adaptive techniques make practical many quantum measurements that would
otherwise be beyond current laboratory capabilities. For example: they allow
discrimination of nonorthogonal states with a probability of error equal to the
Helstrom bound; they allow measurement of the phase of a quantum oscillator
with accuracy approaching (or in some cases attaining) the Heisenberg limit;
and they allow estimation of phase in interferometry with a variance scaling at
the Heisenberg limit, using only single qubit measurement and control. Each of
these examples has close links with quantum information, in particular
experimental optical quantum information: the first is a basic quantum
communication protocol; the second has potential application in linear optical
quantum computing; the third uses an adaptive protocol inspired by the quantum
phase estimation algorithm. We discuss each of these examples, and their
implementation in the laboratory, but concentrate upon the last, which was
published most recently [Higgins {\em et al.}, Nature vol. 450, p. 393, 2007].Comment: 12 pages, invited paper to be published in IEEE Journal of Selected
Topics in Quantum Electronics: Quantum Communications and Information Scienc
Genome-wide association study for calving performance using high-density genotypes in dairy and beef cattle
peer-reviewedBackground
Calving difficulty and perinatal mortality are prevalent in modern-day cattle production systems. It is well-established that there is a genetic component to both traits, yet little is known about their underlying genomic architecture, particularly in beef breeds. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association study using high-density genotypes to elucidate the genomic architecture of these traits and to identify regions of the bovine genome associated with them.
Results
Genomic regions associated with calving difficulty (direct and maternal) and perinatal mortality were detected using two statistical approaches: (1) single-SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) regression and (2) a Bayesian approach. Data included high-density genotypes on 770 Holstein-Friesian, 927 Charolais and 963 Limousin bulls. Several novel or previously identified genomic regions were detected but associations differed by breed. For example, two genomic associations, one each on chromosomes 18 and 2 explained 2.49 % and 3.13 % of the genetic variance in direct calving difficulty in the Holstein-Friesian and Charolais populations, respectively. Imputed Holstein-Friesian sequence data was used to refine the genomic regions responsible for significant associations. Several candidate genes on chromosome 18 were identified and four highly significant missense variants were detected within three of these genes (SIGLEC12, CTU1, and ZNF615). Nevertheless, only CTU1 contained a missense variant with a putative impact on direct calving difficulty based on SIFT (0.06) and Polyphen (0.95) scores. Using imputed sequence data, we refined a genomic region on chromosome 4 associated with maternal calving difficulty in the Holstein-Friesian population and found the strongest association with an intronic variant in the PCLO gene. A meta-analysis was performed across the three breeds for each calving performance trait to identify common variants associated with these traits in the three breeds. Our results suggest that a portion of the genetic variation in calving performance is common to all three breeds.
Conclusion
The genomic architecture of calving performance is complex and mainly influenced by many polymorphisms of small effect. We identified several associations of moderate effect size but the majority were breed-specific, indicating that breed-specific alleles exist for calving performance or that the linkage phase between genotyped allele and causal mutation varies between breeds
Quantum Charged Spinning Particles in a Strong Magnetic Field (a Quantal Guiding Center Theory)
A quantal guiding center theory allowing to systematically study the
separation of the different time scale behaviours of a quantum charged spinning
particle moving in an external inhomogeneous magnetic filed is presented. A
suitable set of operators adapting to the canonical structure of the problem
and generalizing the kinematical momenta and guiding center operators of a
particle coupled to a homogenous magnetic filed is constructed. The Pauli
Hamiltonian rewrites in this way as a power series in the magnetic length making the problem amenable to a perturbative analysis. The
first two terms of the series are explicitly constructed. The effective
adiabatic dynamics turns to be in coupling with a gauge filed and a scalar
potential. The mechanism producing such magnetic-induced geometric-magnetism is
investigated in some detail.Comment: LaTeX (epsfig macros), 27 pages, 2 figures include
Ferrotoroidic Moment as a Quantum Geometric Phase
We present a geometric characterization of the ferrotoroidic moment in terms
of a set of Abelian Berry phases. We also introduce a fundamental complex
quantity which provides an alternative way to calculate the ferrotoroidic
moment and its moments, and is derived from a second order tensor. This
geometric framework defines a natural computational approach for density
functional and many-body theories
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