Quantum Measurements and the kappa--Poincare Group

The possible description of the vacuum of quantum gravity through the so called kappa--Poincare group is analyzed considering some of the consequences of this symmetry in the path integral formulation of nonrelativistic quantum theory. This study is carried out with two cases, firstly, a free particle, and finally, the situation of a particle immersed in a homogeneous gravitational field. It will be shown that the kappa--Poincare group implies the loss of some of the basic properties associated to Feynman's path integral. For instance, loss of the group characteristic related to the time dependence of the evolution operator, or the breakdown of the composition law for amplitudes of events occurring successively in time. Additionally some similarities between the present idea and the so called restricted path integral formalism will be underlined. These analogies advocate the claim that if the kappa--Poincare group contains some of the physical information of the quantum gravity vacuum, then this vacuum could entail decoherence. This last result will also allow us to consider the possibility of analyzing the continuous measurement problem of quantum theory from a group--theoretical point of view, but now taking into account the kappa--Poincare symmetries.Comment: Accepted in General Relativity and Gravitation. Dedicated to Alberto Garcia on the occasion of his 60th. birthda

Ultra-broadband photon pair preparation by spontaneous four wave mixing in dispersion-engineered optical fiber

We present a study of the spectral properties of photon pairs generated through the process of spontaneous four wave mixing (SFWM) in single mode fiber. Our analysis assumes narrowband pumps, which are allowed to be frequency-degenerate or non-degenerate. Based on this analysis, we derive conditions on the pump frequencies and on the fiber dispersion parameters which guarantee the generation of ultra-broadband photon pairs. Such photon pairs are characterized by: i) a very large degree of entanglement, and ii) a very high degree of temporal synchronization between the signal and idler photons. Through a numerical exercise, we find that the use of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) facilitates the fulfilment of the conditions for ultra-broadband photon pair generation; in particular, the spectral region in which emission occurs can be adjusted to particular needs through an appropriate choice of the PCF parameters. In addition, we present a novel quantum interference effect, resulting from indistinguishable pathways to the same outcome, which can occur when pumping a SFWM source with multiple spectral lines.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.

Delineation of the Native Basin in Continuum Models of Proteins

We propose two approaches for determining the native basins in off-lattice models of proteins. The first of them is based on exploring the saddle points on selected trajectories emerging from the native state. In the second approach, the basin size can be determined by monitoring random distortions in the shape of the protein around the native state. Both techniques yield the similar results. As a byproduct, a simple method to determine the folding temperature is obtained.Comment: REVTeX, 6 pages, 5 EPS figure

Entropic Barriers, Frustration and Order: Basic Ingredients in Protein Folding

We solve a model that takes into account entropic barriers, frustration, and the organization of a protein-like molecule. For a chain of size $M$, there is an effective folding transition to an ordered structure. Without frustration, this state is reached in a time that scales as $M^{\lambda}$, with $\lambda\simeq 3$. This scaling is limited by the amount of frustration which leads to the dynamical selectivity of proteins: foldable proteins are limited to $\sim 300$ monomers; and they are stable in {\it one} range of temperatures, independent of size and structure. These predictions explain generic properties of {\it in vivo} proteins.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Figures appended as postscript fil

Voltage Stability Analysis of Grid-Connected Wind Farms with FACTS: Static and Dynamic Analysis

Recently, analysis of some major blackouts and failures of power system shows that voltage instability problem has been one of the main reasons of these disturbances and networks collapse. In this paper, a systematic approach to voltage stability analysis using various techniques for the IEEE 14-bus case study, is presented. Static analysis is used to analyze the voltage stability of the system under study, whilst the dynamic analysis is used to evaluate the performance of compensators. The static techniques used are Power Flow, V–P curve analysis, and Q–V modal analysis. In this study, Flexible Alternating Current Transmission system (FACTS) devices- namely, Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOMs) and Static Var Compensators (SVCs) - are used as reactive power compensators, taking into account maintaining the violated voltage magnitudes of the weak buses within the acceptable limits defined in ANSI C84.1. Simulation results validate that both the STATCOMs and the SVCs can be effectively used to enhance the static voltage stability and increasing network loadability margin. Additionally, based on the dynamic analysis results, it has been shown that STATCOMs have superior performance, in dynamic voltage stability enhancement, compared to SVCs

Electron and ion stagnation at the collision front between two laser produced plasmas

We report results from a combined optical interferometric and spectrally resolved imaging study on colliding laser produced aluminium plasmas. A Nomarski interferometer was used to probe the spatio-temporal distribution of electron densities at the collision front. Analysis of the resulting interferograms reveals the formation and evolution of a localized electron density feature with a well-defined profile reminiscent of a stagnation layer. Electron stagnation begins at a time delay of 10 ns after the peak of the plasma generating laser pulse. The peak electron density was found to exceed 10^19 cm^−3 and the layer remained well defined up to a time delay of ca 100 ns. Temporally and spectrally resolved optical imaging was also undertaken, to compare the Al^+ ion distribution with that of the 2D electron density profile. This revealed nascent stagnation of singly charged ions at a delay time of 20 ns. We attribute these results to the effects of space charge separation in the seed plasma plumes

Finite size effects on thermal denaturation of globular proteins

Finite size effects on the cooperative thermal denaturation of proteins are considered. A dimensionless measure of cooperativity, Omega, scales as N^zeta, where N is the number of amino acids. Surprisingly, we find that zeta is universal with zeta = 1 + gamma, where the exponent gamma characterizes the divergence of the susceptibility for a self-avoiding walk. Our lattice model simulations and experimental data are consistent with the theory. Our finding rationalizes the marginal stability of proteins and substantiates the earlier predictions that the efficient folding of two-state proteins requires the folding transition temperature to be close to the collapse temperature.Comment: 3 figures. Physical Review Letters (in press