Violation of action--reaction and self-forces induced by nonequilibrium fluctuations

We show that the extension of Casimir-like forces to fluctuating fluids driven out of equilibrium can exhibit two interrelated phenomena forbidden at equilibrium: self-forces can be induced on single asymmetric objects and the action--reaction principle between two objects can be violated. These effects originate in asymmetric restrictions imposed by the objects' boundaries on the fluid's fluctuations. They are not ruled out by the second law of thermodynamics since the fluid is in a nonequilibrium state. Considering a simple reaction--diffusion model for the fluid, we explicitly calculate the self-force induced on a deformed circle. We also show that the action--reaction principle does not apply for the internal Casimir forces exerting between a circle and a plate. Their sum, instead of vanishing, provides the self-force on the circle-plate assembly.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. V2: New title; Abstract partially rewritten; Largely enhanced introductory and concluding remarks (incl. new Refs.

Renormalisation of quark propagators from twisted-mass lattice QCD at NfN_f=2

We present results concerning the non-perturbative evaluation of the renormalisation constant for the quark field, $Z_q$, from lattice simulations with twisted mass quarks and three values of the lattice spacing. We use the RI'-MOM scheme. $Z_q$ has very large lattice spacing artefacts; it is considered here as a test bed to elaborate accurate methods which will be used for other renormalisation constants. We recall and develop the non-perturbative correction methods and propose tools to test the quality of the correction. These tests are also applied to the perturbative correction method. We check that the lattice spacing artefacts scale indeed as $a^2p^2$. We then study the running of $Z_q$ with particular attention to the non-perturbative effects, presumably dominated by the dimension-two gluon condensate \VEV{A^2} in Landau gauge. We show indeed that this effect is present, and not small. We check its scaling in physical units confirming that it is a continuum effect. It gives a $\sim 4$ contribution at 2 GeV. Different variants are used in order to test the reliability of our result and estimate the systematic uncertainties. Finally combining all our results and using the known Wilson coefficient of \VEV{A^2} we find g^2(\mu^2) \VEV{A^2}_{\mu^2\; CM} = 2.01(11)(^{+0.61}_{- 0.73}) \;\mathrm {GeV}^2 at $\mu=10\, \mathrm{GeV}$, in fair agreement within uncertainties with the value indepently extracted from the strong coupling constant.Comment: 38 pages, 8 tables, 8 figure

Ghost-gluon coupling, power corrections and ΛMS‾\Lambda_{\overline {\rm MS}} from twisted-mass lattice QCD at Nf=2

We present results concerning the non-perturbative evaluation of the ghost-gluon running QCD coupling constant from $N_f=2$ twisted-mass lattice calculations. A novel method for calibrating the lattice spacing, independent of the string tension and hadron spectrum is presented with results in agreement with previous estimates. The value of $\Lambda_{\overline{MS}}$ is computed from the running of the QCD coupling only after extrapolating to zero dynamical quark mass and after removing a non-perturbative OPE contribution that is assumed to be dominated by the dimension-two \VEV{A^2} gluon condensate. The effect due to the dynamical quark mass in the determination of \Lams is discussed.Comment: 33 pages, 6 fig

Solar-Powered Deep Learning-Based Recognition System of Daily Used Objects and Human Faces for Assistance of the Visually Impaired

This paper introduces a novel low-cost solar-powered wearable assistive technology (AT) device, whose aim is to provide continuous, real-time object recognition to ease the finding of the objects for visually impaired (VI) people in daily life. The system consists of three major components: a miniature low-cost camera, a system on module (SoM) computing unit, and an ultrasonic sensor. The first is worn on the user’s eyeglasses and acquires real-time video of the nearby space. The second is worn as a belt and runs deep learning-based methods and spatial algorithms which process the video coming from the camera performing objects’ detection and recognition. The third assists on positioning the objects found in the surrounding space. The developed device provides audible descriptive sentences as feedback to the user involving the objects recognized and their position referenced to the user gaze. After a proper power consumption analysis, a wearable solar harvesting system, integrated with the developed AT device, has been designed and tested to extend the energy autonomy in the dierent operating modes and scenarios. Experimental results obtained with the developed low-cost AT device have demonstrated an accurate and reliable real-time object identification with an 86% correct recognition rate and 215 ms average time interval (in case of high-speed SoM operating mode) for the image processing. The proposed system is capable of recognizing the 91 objects oered by the Microsoft Common Objects in Context (COCO) dataset plus several custom objects and human faces. In addition, a simple and scalable methodology for using image datasets and training of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) is introduced to add objects to the system and increase its repertory. It is also demonstrated that comprehensive trainings involving 100 images per targeted object achieve 89% recognition rates, while fast trainings with only 12 images achieve acceptable recognition rates of 55%

Ghost dynamics in the soft gluon limit

We present a detailed study of the dynamics associated with the ghost sector of quenched QCD in the Landau gauge, where the relevant dynamical equations are supplemented with key inputs originating from large-volume lattice simulations. In particular, we solve the coupled system of Schwinger-Dyson equations that governs the evolution of the ghost dressing function and the ghost-gluon vertex, using as input for the gluon propagator lattice data that have been cured from volume and discretization artifacts. In addition, we explore the soft gluon limit of the same system, employing recent lattice data for the three-gluon vertex that enters in one of the diagrams defining the Schwinger-Dyson equation of the ghost-gluon vertex. The results obtained from the numerical treatment of these equations are in excellent agreement with lattice data for the ghost dressing function, once the latter have undergone the appropriate scale-setting and artifact elimination refinements. Moreover, the coincidence observed between the ghost-gluon vertex in general kinematics and in the soft gluon limit reveals an outstanding consistency of physical concepts and computational schemes.Comment: 34 pages, 12 figure

Temporal dynamics and management of downy mildew on the table grape "BRS Vitória" in northern Paraná.

Downy mildew caused by Plasmopara viticola is a major disease of grapes in Paraná State, Brazil and other wine-producing regions. The seedless table grape "BRS Vitória" stands out for its tolerance to this disease and is a viable alternative to reduce fungicide applications. The objectives of this study were to analyze the influence of weather-related factors, such as temperature and rainfall on disease progress and to evaluate the efficacy of fungicide spray programs for controlling downy mildew of grapes during the summer-fall and winter-spring crop seasons in northern Paraná, Brazil. Field trials were conducted in Marialva, Paraná, during the winter-spring crop seasons (August to December) in 2013 and 2014 and the summer-fall crop seasons (January to May) in 2014 and 2015. The experimental design used was completely randomized with repeated measurements over the phenological periods, with five treatments and 10 replicates. The following treatments were compared: (1) conventional, in which fungicides were applied according to conventional standards; (2) preventive fungicide sprays every seven days; (3) preventive fungicide sprays every 14 days; (4) fungicide sprays after observing the first downy mildew symptoms; and (5) no fungicide sprays. In the conventional fungicide program, sprays were performed two or three times per week. Treatments 2 and 3 received sprayings between the start of branch budding and fruit ripening. In treatment 4, sprays started from the first occurrence of oil spot symptoms, and then, the applications were spaced every seven days until fruit ripening. The severity of disease was evaluated weekly. The disease was severe only in the 2014 and 2015 summer-fall crop seasons, reaching a maximum severity of 17.3% and 21.3% of the leaf area, respectively. The highest disease severity in the summer-fall crop seasons was associated with higher frequencies of rainy days and higher temperatures. Disease severity in conventional treatments did not differ from severity in treatments with sprayings made every seven and 14 days during the summer-fall crops in both years. Severity index on bunches were not observed for the evaluated trials. The seedless grape ?BRS Vitória? is less dependent on the use of fungicides to control downy mildew in northern Paraná. Key words: Control. Epidemiology. Plasmopara viticola. Vitis vinifera

Quantum phases of a qutrit

We consider various approaches to treat the phases of a qutrit. Although it is possible to represent qutrits in a convenient geometrical manner by resorting to a generalization of the Poincare sphere, we argue that the appropriate way of dealing with this problem is through phase operators associated with the algebra su(3). The rather unusual properties of these phases are caused by the small dimension of the system and are explored in detail. We also examine the positive operator-valued measures that can describe the qutrit phase properties.Comment: 6 page

Tackling the undeclared economy in the European Union: an evaluation of the tax morale approach

To evaluate a new approach towards tackling the undeclared economy which views participants as social actors rather than rational economic actors, this paper reports evidence from 27,563 face-to-face interviews conducted across the European Union during 2013. Multilevel logistic regression analysis reveals a strong association between participation in undeclared work and the level of tax morale. Finding that higher tax morale (and thus a lower propensity to engage in undeclared work) is strongly correlated with greater levels of state intervention but also with individual-level characteristics such as gender, age, education and employment status, the paper concludes not only by confirming a political economy approach and refuting modernization and neo-liberal explanations and remedies, but also by revealing for the first time the importance of solutions not so far considered, including improving educational attainment, older citizens mentoring for younger people, and improving women’s participation in the labour force

Effects of coherence on temporal resolution

Measuring small separations between two optical sources, either in space or in time, constitute an important metrological challenge as standard intensity-only measurements fail for vanishing separations. Contrarily, it has been established that appropriate coherent mode projections can appraise arbitrarily small separations with quantum-limited precision. However, the question of whether the optical coherence brings any metrological advantage to mode projections is still a point of debate. Here, we elucidate this problem by experimentally investigating the effect of varying coherence on estimating the temporal separation between two single-photon pulses. We show that, for an accurate interpretation, special attention must be paid to properly normalize the quantum Fisher information to account for the strength of the signal. Our experiment demonstrates that coherent mode projections are optimal for any degree of coherence

Generalized Casimir forces in non-equilibrium systems

In the present work we propose a method to determine fluctuation induced forces in non equilibrium systems. These forces are the analogue of the well known Casimir forces, which were originally introduced in Quantum Field theory and later extended to the area of Critical Phenomena. The procedure starts from the observation that many non equilibrium systems exhibit long-range correlations and the associated structure factors diverge in the long wavelength limit. The introduction of external bodies into such systems in general modifies the spectrum of these fluctuations and leads to the appearance of a net force between these bodies. The mechanism is illustrated by means of a simple example: a reaction diffusion equation with random noises.Comment: Submitted to Europhysics Letters. 7 pages, 2 figure