2,404 research outputs found
Quantum Logic with a Single Trapped Electron
We propose the use of a trapped electron to implement quantum logic
operations. The fundamental controlled-NOT gate is shown to be feasible. The
two quantum bits are stored in the internal and external (motional) degrees of
freedom.Comment: 7 Pages, REVTeX, No Figures, To appear in Phys. Rev.
Penning traps as a versatile tool for precise experiments in fundamental physics
This review article describes the trapping of charged particles. The main
principles of electromagnetic confinement of various species from elementary
particles to heavy atoms are briefly described. The preparation and
manipulation with trapped single particles, as well as methods of frequency
measurements, providing unprecedented precision, are discussed. Unique
applications of Penning traps in fundamental physics are presented.
Ultra-precise trap-measurements of masses and magnetic moments of elementary
particles (electrons, positrons, protons and antiprotons) confirm
CPT-conservation, and allow accurate determination of the fine-structure
constant alpha and other fundamental constants. This together with the
information on the unitarity of the quark-mixing matrix, derived from the
trap-measurements of atomic masses, serves for assessment of the Standard Model
of the physics world. Direct mass measurements of nuclides targeted to some
advanced problems of astrophysics and nuclear physics are also presented
Everyone Makes Mistakes - Including Feynman
This talk is dedicated to Alberto Sirlin in celebration of his seventieth
birthday. I wish to convey my deep appreciation of his many important
contributions to particle physics over 40 years and look forward to many more
years of productive research.Comment: 16 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Diabetic Neuropathies: Update on Definitions, Diagnostic Criteria, Estimation of Severity, and Treatments
Preceding the joint meeting of the 19th annual Diabetic Neuropathy Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (NEURODIAB) and the 8th International Symposium on Diabetic Neuropathy in Toronto, Canada, 13–18 October 2009, expert panels were convened to provide updates on classification, definitions, diagnostic criteria, and treatments of diabetic peripheral neuropathies (DPNs), autonomic neuropathy, painful DPNs, and structural alterations in DPNs
Integrated and dynamical oceanographic data management - IDOD
The goal of the IDOD project was to provide the federal government, the scientific community and other users with an up-to-date tool for collecting, managing and analysing marine scientific data.The resulting “marine information system” is hosted by the Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC), a team within the Management Unit of the Mathematical Mode's of the North Sec (MUMM). The BMDC committed itself to keep the IDOD information system alive and evolving. A remote user interface is available online at http:/ /www.mumm.ac.be/ datacentre.The project faced all the aspects of modern scientific data management. A major challenge was to establish a fruitful dialog with the data providers. This has been done through extensive discussions in the Users committee and during bilateral meetings. The topics that have then been clarified range from the principles (in order to write down a standard common “Rights and duties" agreement) to the very technical and scientific details, specific to each data set .A substantial effort has been put on the definition of guidelines for ensuring the data quality throughout their way from the field to the data centre. This has resulted, for instance, in the development of a “On-board registration of samples" computer programme, in a check list of meta-information to document the data or in the definition of a “common layout" for reporting data sets to the data centre.On the technical side, the variety and complexity of the data to be stored and made available for further use lead us to elaborate a complex and robust data base scheme, after an in-depth conceptual analysis. The database itself is implemented using the ORACLE technology.In parallel, a set of dedicated analysis and visualisation tools has been developed. They help the users and the data managers to tackle the data in their space and time dimensions and also allow cross-analysis between different parameters.The primary providers of data for the information system were the various teams participating in the (first) Programme for a sustainable development of the North Sea, financed by the Belgian Federal Office for scientific, technical and cultural affairs. These data are being complemented by data from other (earlier) scientific programmes and from governmental surveys.The project has been performed by MUMM, in partnership with the SURFACES laboratory (University of Liege) and the University Centre of Statistics (University of Leuven)
Finite Approximations to Quantum Physics: Quantum Points and their Bundles
There exists a physically well motivated method for approximating manifolds
by certain topological spaces with a finite or a countable set of points. These
spaces, which are partially ordered sets (posets) have the power to effectively
reproduce important topological features of continuum physics like winding
numbers and fractional statistics, and that too often with just a few points.
In this work, we develop the essential tools for doing quantum physics on
posets. The poset approach to covering space quantization, soliton physics,
gauge theories and the Dirac equation are discussed with emphasis on physically
important topological aspects. These ideas are illustrated by simple examples
like the covering space quantization of a particle on a circle, and the
sine-Gordon solitons.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures on a uuencoded postscript file, DSF-T-29/93,
INFN-NA-IV-29/93 and SU-4240-55
Neighbourhood, Route and Workplace-Related Environmental Characteristics Predict Adults' Mode of Travel to Work
Commuting provides opportunities for regular physical activity which can reduce the risk of chronic disease. Commuters' mode of travel may be shaped by their environment, but understanding of which specific environmental characteristics are most important and might form targets for intervention is limited. This study investigated associations between mode choice and a range of objectively assessed environmental characteristics.Participants in the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study reported where they lived and worked, their usual mode of travel to work and a variety of socio-demographic characteristics. Using geographic information system (GIS) software, 30 exposure variables were produced capturing characteristics of areas around participants' homes and workplaces and their shortest modelled routes to work. Associations between usual mode of travel to work and personal and environmental characteristics were investigated using multinomial logistic regression.Of the 1124 respondents, 50% reported cycling or walking as their usual mode of travel to work. In adjusted analyses, home-work distance was strongly associated with mode choice, particularly for walking. Lower odds of walking or cycling rather than driving were associated with a less frequent bus service (highest versus lowest tertile: walking OR 0.61 [95% CI 0.20–1.85]; cycling OR 0.43 [95% CI 0.23–0.83]), low street connectivity (OR 0.22, [0.07–0.67]; OR 0.48 [0.26–0.90]) and free car parking at work (OR 0.24 [0.10–0.59]; OR 0.55 [0.32–0.95]). Participants were less likely to cycle if they had access to fewer destinations (leisure facilities, shops and schools) close to work (OR 0.36 [0.21–0.62]) and a railway station further from home (OR 0.53 [0.30–0.93]). Covariates strongly predicted travel mode (pseudo r-squared 0.74).Potentially modifiable environmental characteristics, including workplace car parking, street connectivity and access to public transport, are associated with travel mode choice, and could be addressed as part of transport policy and infrastructural interventions to promote active commuting
CPT and Lorentz Tests in Penning Traps
A theoretical analysis is performed of Penning-trap experiments testing CPT
and Lorentz symmetry through measurements of anomalous magnetic moments and
charge-to-mass ratios. Possible CPT and Lorentz violations arising from
spontaneous symmetry breaking at a fundamental level are treated in the context
of a general extension of the SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) standard model and its
restriction to quantum electrodynamics. We describe signals that might appear
in principle, introduce suitable figures of merit, and estimate CPT and Lorentz
bounds attainable in present and future Penning-trap experiments. Experiments
measuring anomaly frequencies are found to provide the sharpest tests of CPT
symmetry. Bounds are attainable of approximately in the
electron-positron case and of for a suggested experiment with
protons and antiprotons. Searches for diurnal frequency variations in these
experiments could also limit certain types of Lorentz violation to the level of
in the electron-positron system and others at the level of
in the proton-antiproton system. In contrast, measurements comparing
cyclotron frequencies are sensitive within the present theoretical framework to
different kinds of Lorentz violation that preserve CPT. Constraints could be
obtained on one figure of merit in the electron-positron system at the level of
, on another in the proton-antiproton system at , and on a
third at using comparisons of ions with antiprotons.Comment: 31 pages, published in Physical Review
Childcare, choice and social class: Caring for young children in the UK
This paper draws on the results of two qualitative research projects examining parental engagements with the childcare market in the UK. Both projects are located in the same two London localities. One project focuses on professional middle class parents, and the other on working class families, and we discuss the key importance of social class in shaping parents' differential engagement with the childcare market, and their understandings of the role childcare plays in their children's lives. We identify and discuss the different "circuits" of care (Ball et al 1995) available to and used by families living physically close to each other, but in social class terms living in different worlds. We also consider parents' relationships with carers, and their social networks. We conclude that in order to fully understand childcare policies and practices and families' experiences of care, an analysis which encompasses social class and the workings of the childcare market is needed
Correlated theory of triplet photoinduced absorption in phenylene-vinylene chains
In this paper we present results of large-scale correlated calculations of
triplet photoinduced absorption (PA) spectrum of oligomers of
poly-(para)phenylenevinylene (PPV) containing up to five phenyl rings. In
particular, the high-energy features in the triplet PA spectrum of oligo-PPVs
are the focus of this study, which, so far, have not been investigated
theoretically, or experimentally. The calculations were performed using the
Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model Hamiltonian, and many-body effects were taken
into account by means of multi-reference singles-doubles configuration
interaction procedure (MRSDCI), without neglecting any molecular orbitals. The
computed triplet PA spectrum of oligo-PPVs exhibits rich structure consisting
of alternating peaks of high and low intensities. The predicted higher energy
features of the triplet spectrum can be tested in future experiments.
Additionally, theoretical estimates of exciton binding energy are also
presented.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
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