7,578 research outputs found
0.75 atoms improve the clock signal of 10,000 atoms
Since the pioneering work of Ramsey, atom interferometers are employed for
precision metrology, in particular to measure time and to realize the second.
In a classical interferometer, an ensemble of atoms is prepared in one of the
two input states, whereas the second one is left empty. In this case, the
vacuum noise restricts the precision of the interferometer to the standard
quantum limit (SQL). Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel
clock configuration that surpasses the SQL by squeezing the vacuum in the empty
input state. We create a squeezed vacuum state containing an average of 0.75
atoms to improve the clock sensitivity of 10,000 atoms by 2.05 dB. The SQL
poses a significant limitation for today's microwave fountain clocks, which
serve as the main time reference. We evaluate the major technical limitations
and challenges for devising a next generation of fountain clocks based on
atomic squeezed vacuum.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Perforatationstrauma im Gesichtsschädel. Eine ungewöhnliche Verletzung beim Skifahren
Facial perforation injuries are very rare. We describe a case of a 48-year-old man who sustained a perforation trauma from an 11 cm long wooden tree branch in the middle of the face in a skiing accident. He suffered from additional injuries, such as fractures of the ribs and hand, but was neurologically without pathologic findings and was cardiopulmonary stable.The branch penetrated the head from the sinus maxillaris through the maxilla just missing the internal and external carotid arteries and ending just short of the cervical vertebra. The patient was transported to a center for oral and maxillofacial surgery and underwent several operations.He could return to his normal social and professional life 8 months after the accident
Satisfying the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen criterion with massive particles
In 1935, Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) questioned the completeness of
quantum mechanics by devising a quantum state of two massive particles with
maximally correlated space and momentum coordinates. The EPR criterion
qualifies such continuous-variable entangled states, where a measurement of one
subsystem seemingly allows for a prediction of the second subsystem beyond the
Heisenberg uncertainty relation. Up to now, continuous-variable EPR
correlations have only been created with photons, while the demonstration of
such strongly correlated states with massive particles is still outstanding.
Here, we report on the creation of an EPR-correlated two-mode squeezed state in
an ultracold atomic ensemble. The state shows an EPR entanglement parameter of
0.18(3), which is 2.4 standard deviations below the threshold 1/4 of the EPR
criterion. We also present a full tomographic reconstruction of the underlying
many-particle quantum state. The state presents a resource for tests of quantum
nonlocality and a wide variety of applications in the field of
continuous-variable quantum information and metrology.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Coarse-grained model of entropic allostery
Many signaling functions in molecular biology require proteins to bind to substrates such as DNA in response to environmental signals such as the simultaneous binding to a small molecule. Examples are repressor proteins which may transmit information via a conformational change in response to the ligand binding. An alternative entropic mechanism of "allostery" suggests that the inducer ligand changes the intramolecular vibrational entropy, not just the mean static structure. We present a quantitative, coarse-grained model of entropic allostery, which suggests design rules for internal cohesive potentials in proteins employing this effect. It also addresses the issue of how the signal information to bind or unbind is transmitted through the protein. The model may be applicable to a wide range of repressors and also to signaling in trans-membrane proteins
Conceptualizing community resilience to natural hazards - the emBRACE framework
Abstract. The level of community is considered to be vital for building disaster resilience. Yet, community resilience as a scientific concept often remains vaguely defined and lacks the guiding characteristics necessary for analysing and enhancing resilience on the ground. The emBRACE framework of community resilience presented in this paper provides a heuristic analytical tool for understanding, explaining and measuring community resilience to natural hazards. It was developed in an iterative process building on existing scholarly debates, on empirical case study work in five countries and on participatory consultation with community stakeholders, where the framework was applied and ground-tested in different contexts and for different hazard types. The framework conceptualizes resilience across three core domains: resources and capacities; actions; and learning. These three domains are conceptualized as intrinsically conjoined within a whole. Community resilience is influenced by these integral elements as well as by extra-community forces, comprising disaster risk governance and thus laws, policies and responsibilities on the one hand and on the other, the general societal context, natural and human-made disturbances and system change over time. The framework is a graphically rendered heuristic, which through application can assist in guiding the assessment of community resilience in a systematic way and identifying key drivers and barriers of resilience that affect any particular hazard-exposed community
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