Quantum technology: single-photon source

This report is a synthesis of my master thesis internship at the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Tokyo, Japan, that lasted during the summer of year 2012. I worked in the Quantum Information Science Theory (QIST) group under supervision of Prof. Kae Nemoto and Dr. Simon Devitt. This group works on theoretical and experimental implementations of quantum information science. The aim of my project was to study and improve quantum optical systems. I first studied different fields and systems of quantum information science. Then I focused my research on single-photon sources, entangled photon sources and interferometric photonic switches. Finally, I found some strategies to design an efficient and optimized single-photon source that could be built with today's technologies. This report describes in details the created and optimized design of a single-photon source based on time and space multiplexing of Spontaneous Parametric Downconversion (SPDC) sources.Comment: Research extract of Master thesis report. Defended in September 2012. Declassified by the NII in February 201

Equilibrium and eigenfunctions estimates in the semi-classical regime

We establish eigenfunctions estimates, in the semi-classical regime, for critical energy levels associated to an isolated singularity. For Schr\"odinger operators, the asymptotic repartition of eigenvectors is the same as in the regular case, excepted in dimension 1 where a concentration at the critical point occurs. This principle extends to pseudo-differential operators and the limit measure is the Liouville measure as long as the singularity remains integrable.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, perhaps to be revise

Spectral estimates for degenerate critical levels

We establish spectral estimates at a critical energy level for $h$-pseudors . Via a trace formula, we compute the contribution of isolated (non-extremum) critical points under a condition of "real principal type". The main result holds for all dimensions, for a singularity of any finite order and can be invariantly expressed in term of the geometry of the singularity. When the singularities are not integrable on the energy surface the results are significative since the order w.r.t. $h$ of the spectral distributions are bigger than in the regular setting.Comment: 24 page

Women, translation and censorship in the Franco Regime

This article presents a descriptive study of the incidence of censorship in the translation into Spanish of Larry McMurtry’s opera prima Horseman, Pass By. The novel was translated during Fraga Iribarne’s term of office at the Ministry of Information and Tourism (1962-1969), a period when the incidence of censorship for the Western genre was at its lowest for the dictatorship. Framed within the temporal borders of the Franco’s dictatorship, the study investigates the translation techniques used by Ana M.ª de la Fuente when translating violence against women in the discourse of this contemporary Western. The use of violence was one of the censorship criteria followed by the government’s officials. This article explores the incidence and effect of censorship and self-censorship in the translation of violence against women in the discourse of the Far West, where violence was part and parcel of the genre.En este artículo se presenta un estudio descriptivo de la incidencia de la censura en la traducción al español de la ópera prima de Larry McMurtry Horseman, Pass By. La traducción de la novela se efectuó durante el mandato de Fraga Iribarne al frente del Ministerio de Información y Turismo (1962-1969), periodo que para el género del Oeste coincide con el de incidencia censoria más baja de la dictadura. Enmarcado en la franja temporal de la dictadura franquista, el estudio investiga las técnicas translémicas utilizadas por Ana M.ª de la Fuente al traducir la violencia hacia la mujer en el discurso de este Western contemporáneo. El uso de la violencia fue uno de los criterios censorios aplicados por los censores del ministerio. Este artículo indaga la incidencia y efecto de la censura y autocensura en la traducción de la violencia hacia las mujeres en el discurso del Far West, donde la violencia constituía los mimbres del género

Credit risk management in banks: Hard information, soft Information and manipulation

The role of information’s processing in bank intermediation is a crucial input. The bank has access to different types of information in order to manage risk through capital allocation for Value at Risk coverage. Hard information, contained in balance sheet data and produced with credit scoring, is quantitative and verifiable. Soft information, produced within a bank relationship, is qualitative and non verifiable, therefore manipulable, but produces more precise estimation of the debtor’s quality. In this article, we investigate the impact of the information’s type on credit risk management in a principalagent framework with moral hazard with hidden information. The results show that access to soft information allows the banker to decrease the capital allocation for VaR coverage. We also show the existence of an incentive of the credit officer to manipulate the signal based on soft information that he produces. Therefore, we propose to implement an adequate incentive salary package which unables this manipulation. The comparison of the results from the two frameworks (information hard versus combination of hard and soft information) using simulations confirms that soft information gives an advantage to the banker but requires particular organizational modifications within the bank, as it allows to reduce capital allocation for VaR coverage.Hard information; Soft information; risk management; Value at Risk; moral hazard; hidden information; manipulation

Suicide:an existentialist reconceptualization

The phenomenon of suicide is one of the primary concerns for mental health professions. The health-care literature is dominated by discussions that focus variously on local and national suicide prevention policies, on the assessment of those individuals judged to be at risk of committing suicide as well as the appropriateness and efficacy of interventions for those who express suicidal ideation and display suicidal behaviours. What appear less frequently in the literature, however, are critical analyses of the concept of suicide and, in particular, critical reflections on the manner in which the concept of suicide has been, and continues to be, understood or ‘framed’. In an attempt to respond to this apparent omission, this paper will suggest that the work of Albert Camus, and his philosophical work The Myth of Sisyphus in particular, can be understood as providing a significant reconceptualization and reframing of suicide. In doing so, it will be suggested that Camus's work not only challenges how the concept of suicide has traditionally been situated within the context of mental illness, but can also be understood as challenging the efficacy of the interventions that have been associated with an understanding of suicide within that context