216 research outputs found
Quantum Breaking Time Scaling in the Superdiffusive Dynamics
We show that the breaking time of quantum-classical correspondence depends on
the type of kinetics and the dominant origin of stickiness. For sticky dynamics
of quantum kicked rotor, when the hierarchical set of islands corresponds to
the accelerator mode, we demonstrate by simulation that the breaking time
scales as with the transport exponent
that corresponds to superdiffusive dynamics. We discuss also other
possibilities for the breaking time scaling and transition to the logarithmic
one with respect to
Effect of oral fructose on ethanol elimination from the bloodstream
Alcohol has been identified as a major factor contributing to traffic accidents in South Africa, affecting both drivers and pedestrians alike. An agent capable of facilitating ethanol metabolism safely and effectively is of potential value in reducing the frequency of such incidents, and for individuals wishing to reduce their blood alcohol to levels below the legal limit before taking control of a vehicle. Here we show that fructose, at a dose of 1 g/kg, fulfils the criteria for such an agent. When ingested by healthy volunteers who had imbibed ethanol equivalent to 8 standard tots, it reduced the time required to attain a legal blood alcohol level (50 mg%) by approximately 70 min (n = 9). When ingested before a dose of alcohol equivalent to a double tot, fructose reduced both the magnitude and duration of the subsequent increase in blood alcohol; mean peak height, area under the curve, and time taken to reach zero were 39%, 32% and 51%, respectively, of that observed in the absence of fructose (n = 12). We conclude that, whether taken after imbibing alcoholic beverages or prophylactically before commencing drinking, oral fructose significantly lowers blood alcohol levels and reduces the time required for alcohol to disappear from the bloodstream
Nonlinearity effects in the kicked oscillator
The quantum kicked oscillator is known to display a remarkable richness of
dynamical behaviour, from ballistic spreading to dynamical localization. Here
we investigate the effects of a Gross Pitaevskii nonlinearity on quantum
motion, and provide evidence that the qualitative features depend strongly on
the parameters of the system.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Geologic mapping of the Urvara and Yalode Quadrangles of Ceres
We conducted geologic mapping of the Urvara (Ac-13) and Yalode (Ac-14) Quadrangles (21–66°S, 180–360°E) of the dwarf planet Ceres utilizing morphologic, topographic, and compositional information acquired by NASA's Dawn mission. The geologic characteristics of the two large impact basins Urvara (170 km diameter) and Yalode (260 km diameter) and their surroundings were investigated using Dawn Framing Camera datasets, including Survey (415 m/pixel), HAMO (140 m/pixel), and LAMO (35 m/pixel) images and mosaics, color and color ratio images, and DTMs derived from stereo-photogrammetry. Geologic mapping demonstrates that impact cratering has dominated the geologic history of the Urvara and Yalode Quadrangles, with early cratered terrain formation followed by formation of the large basins and widespread emplacement of basin-related smooth material. Impact craters display a wide range of preservation states from nearly completely buried/degraded forms to more recent pristine craters with terraced inner walls and lobate ejecta deposits. Cross-cutting relationships and morphologic signatures show that the Urvara impact followed the Yalode impact, consistent with ages derived from crater size-frequency distributions (580 ± 40 Ma for Yalode and 550 ± 50 Ma for Urvara). Observed differences in basin materials and rim morphology suggest heterogeneities in the substrate excavated by impact. Smooth deposits that cover large areas of the quadrangles, including the basin floors, rims, and exterior zones, are interpreted to be dominated by Urvara ejecta but Yalode ejecta and localized ice-rich flow material may be minor components. Geologic mapping results and simulations of ejecta emplacement suggest that Urvara and Yalode ejecta deposits extend for large distances (more than two crater diameters from the basin centers) and may serve as important stratigraphic markers for the geologic record of Ceres
Dynamical aspects of quantum entanglement for weakly coupled kicked tops
We investigate how the dynamical production of quantum entanglement for
weakly coupled, composite quantum systems is influenced by the chaotic dynamics
of the corresponding classical system, using coupled kicked tops. The linear
entropy for the subsystem (a kicked top) is employed as a measure of
entanglement. A perturbative formula for the entanglement production rate is
derived. The formula contains a correlation function that can be evaluated only
from the information of uncoupled tops. Using this expression and the
assumption that the correlation function decays exponentially which is
plausible for chaotic tops, it is shown that {\it the increment of the strength
of chaos does not enhance the production rate of entanglement} when the
coupling is weak enough and the subsystems (kicked tops) are strongly chaotic.
The result is confirmed by numerical experiments. The perturbative approach is
also applied to a weakly chaotic region, where tori and chaotic sea coexist in
the corresponding classical phase space, to reexamine a recent numerical study
that suggests an intimate relationship between the linear stability of the
corresponding classical trajectory and the entanglement production rate.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Enhancement of the Two-channel Kondo Effect in Single-Electron boxes
The charging of a quantum box, coupled to a lead by tunneling through a
single resonant level, is studied near the degeneracy points of the Coulomb
blockade. Combining Wilson's numerical renormalization-group method with
perturbative scaling approaches, the corresponding low-energy Hamiltonian is
solved for arbitrary temperatures, gate voltages, tunneling rates, and energies
of the impurity level. Similar to the case of a weak tunnel barrier, the shape
of the charge step is governed at low temperatures by the non-Fermi-liquid
fixed point of the two-channel Kondo effect. However, the associated Kondo
temperature TK is strongly modified. Most notably, TK is proportional to the
width of the level if the transmission through the impurity is close to unity
at the Fermi energy, and is no longer exponentially small in one over the
tunneling matrix element. Focusing on a particle-hole symmetric level, the
two-channel Kondo effect is found to be robust against the inclusion of an
on-site repulsion on the level. For a large on-site repulsion and a large
asymmetry in the tunneling rates to box and to the lead, there is a sequence of
Kondo effects: first the local magnetic moment that forms on the level
undergoes single-channel screening, followed by two-channel overscreening of
the charge fluctuations inside the box.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figure
Thermal conductivity via magnetic excitations in spin-chain materials
We discuss the recent progress and the current status of experimental
investigations of spin-mediated energy transport in spin-chain and spin-ladder
materials with antiferromagnetic coupling. We briefly outline the central
results of theoretical studies on the subject but focus mainly on recent
experimental results that were obtained on materials which may be regarded as
adequate physical realizations of the idealized theoretical model systems. Some
open questions and unsettled issues are also addressed.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure
Mapping Vesta: First Results from Dawn’s Survey Orbit
The geologic objectives of the Dawn Mission [1] are
to derive Vesta’s shape, map the surface geology,
understand the geological context and contribute to
the determination of the asteroids’ origin and
evolution.Geomorphology and distribution of surface features
will provide evidence for impact cratering, tectonic activity, volcanism, and regolith processes. Spectral
measurements of the surface will provide evidence of
the compositional characteristics of geological units.
Age information, as derived from crater sizefrequency
distributions, provides the stratigraphic
context for the structural and compositional mapping
results, thus revealing the geologic history of Vesta.
We present here the first results of the Dawn mission
from data collected during the approach to Vesta, and
its first discrete orbit phase – the Survey Orbit, which
lasts 21 days after the spacecraft had established a
circular polar orbit at a radius of ~3000 km with a
beta angle of 10°-15°
The Contested Politics of Corporate Governance: The Case of the Global Reporting Initiative
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has successfully become institutionalized as the preeminent global framework for voluntary corporate environmental and social reporting. Its success can be attributed to the “institutional entrepreneurs” who analyzed the reporting field and deployed discursive, material, and organizational strategies to change it. GRI has, however, fallen short of the aspirations of its founders to use disclosure to empower nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The authors argue that its trajectory reflects the power relations between members of the field, their strategic choices and compromises, their ability to mobilize alliances and resources, and constraints imposed by the broader institutions of financial and capital markets. The authors draw three notable implications from this study. First, institutional theory needs to pay more attention to economic structures, strategies, and resources. Second, institutional entrepreneurship by relatively weak societal groups such as NGOs is inherently constrained by the structural power of wider institutions and by the compromises required to initiate change. Third, the strategies of NGOs represent a form of power capable of shifting, if not transforming, the field of corporate governance
- …