Geometric phase and gauge theory structure in quantum computing

We discuss the presence of a geometrical phase in the evolution of a qubit state and its gauge structure. The time evolution operator is found to be the free energy operator, rather than the Hamiltonian operator.Comment: 5 pages, presented at Fifth International Workshop DICE2010: Space-Time-Matter - current issues in quantum mechanics and beyond, Castiglioncello (Tuscany), September 13-17, 201

Optimal Control of the Multiphase Stefan Problem

We consider the inverse multiphase Stefan problem, where information on the heat flux on the fixed boundary is missing and must be found along with the temperature and free boundaries. Optimal control framework is pursued, where boundary heat flux is the control, and the optimality criteria consist of the minimization of the $L_2$-norm declination of the trace of the solution to the Stefan problem from the temperature measurement on the fixed right boundary. The state vector solves multiphase Stefan problem in a weak formulation, which is equivalent to Neumann problem for the quasilinear parabolic PDE with discontinuous coefficient. Full discretization through finite differences is implemented and discrete optimal control problem is introduced. We prove well-posedness in a Sobolev space framework and convergence of discrete optimal control problems to the original problem both with respect to the cost functional and control. Along the way, the convergence of the method of finite differences for the weak solution of the multiphase Stefan problem is proved. The proof is based on achieving a uniform $L_{\infty}$ bound, and $W_2^{1,1}$-energy estimate for the discrete multiphase Stefan problem.Comment: 26 page

Giant anharmonicity suppresses superconductivity in AlH3_3 under pressure

The anharmonic self energy of two zone boundary phonons were computed to lowest order for AlH$_3$ in the $Pm\bar 3n$ structure at 110 GPa. The wavevector and branch index corresponding to these modes are situated in a region of phase space providing most of the electron-phonon coupling. The self energies are found to be very large and the anharmonic contribution to the linewidth of one of the modes studied could be distinguished from the electron-phonon linewidth. It is found that anharmonicity suppresses the electron-phonon coupling parameter $\lambda$, providing a possible explanation for the disagreement between experiment and previous theoretical studies of superconductivity in this system.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Corporate governance and regulation : can there be too much of a good thing ?

For a large number of companies from different countries, the authors analyze how company corporate governance practices and country regulatory regimes interact in terms of company valuation. They confirm that corporate governance plays a crucial role in efficient company monitoring and shareholder protection, and consequently positively impacts valuation. They find substitution in valuation impact between corporate governance measures at the company and country level, with a possibility of over-regulation. Corporate governance appears more valuable for companies that rely heavily on external financing, consistent with the hypothesis that the main role of corporate governance is to protect external financiers.National Governance,Governance Indicators,Corporate Law,Microfinance,Small Scale Enterprise

Some Aspects of the Exact Foldy-Wouthuysen Transformation for a Dirac Fermion

The Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation (FWT) is used to separate distinct components of relativistic spinor field, e.g. electron and positron. Usually, the FWT is perturbative, but in some cases there is an involution operator and the transformation can be done exactly. We consider some aspects of an exact FWT and show that, even if the theory does not admit an involution operator, one can use the technique of exact FWT to obtain the conventional perturbative result. Several particular cases can be elaborated as examples