24,731 research outputs found
High Bandwidth Atomic Magnetometery with Continuous Quantum Non-demolition Measurements
We describe an experimental study of spin-projection noise in a high
sensitivity alkali-metal magnetometer. We demonstrate a four-fold improvement
in the measurement bandwidth of the magnetometer using continuous quantum
non-demolition (QND) measurements. Operating in the scalar mode with a
measurement volume of 2 cm^3 we achieve magnetic field sensitivity of 22
fT/Hz^(1/2) and a bandwidth of 1.9 kHz with a spin polarization of only 1%. Our
experimental arrangement is naturally back-action evading and can be used to
realize sub-fT sensitivity with a highly polarized spin-squeezed atomic vapor.Comment: 4 page
SUSY-Breaking Parameters from RG Invariants at the LHC
We study Renormalization Group invariant (RGI) quantities in the Minimal
Supersymmetric Standard Model and show that they are a powerful and simple
instrument for testing high scale models of supersymmetry (SUSY)-breaking. For
illustration, we analyze the frameworks of minimal and general gauge mediated
(MGM and GGM) SUSY-breaking, with additional arbitrary soft Higgs mass
parameters at the messenger scale. We show that if a gaugino and two first
generation sfermion soft masses are determined at the LHC, the RGIs lead to MGM
sum rules that yield accurate predictions for the other gaugino and first
generation soft masses. RGIs can also be used to reconstruct the fundamental
MGM parameters (including the messenger scale), calculate the hypercharge
D-term, and find relationships among the third generation and Higgs soft
masses. We then study the extent to which measurements of the full first
generation spectrum at the LHC may distinguish different SUSY-breaking
scenarios. In the case of MGM, although most deviations violate the sum rules
by more than estimated experimental errors, we find a 1-parameter family of GGM
models that satisfy the constraints and produce the same first generation
spectrum. The GGM-MGM degeneracy is lifted by differences in the third
generation masses and the messenger scales.Comment: (v1) 30 pages; (v2) mislabeling in figs 2 and 3 corrected, version
accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Study of the technique of stellar occultation
The results are reported of a study of the stellar occultation technique for measuring the composition of the atmosphere. The intensity of starlight was monitored during the occultation using the Wisconsin stellar ultraviolet photometers aboard the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO-A2). A schematic diagram of an occultation is shown where the change in intensity at a given wavelength is illustrated. The vertical projection of the attenuation region is typically 60 km deep for molecular oxygen and 30 km deep for ozone. Intensity profiles obtained during various occultations were analyzed by first determining the tangential columm density of the absorbing gases, and then Abel inverting the column densities to obtain the number density profile. Errors are associated with each step in the inversion scheme and have been considered as an integral part of this study
Determining the Structure of Supersymmetry-Breaking with Renormalization Group Invariants
If collider experiments demonstrate that the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard
Model (MSSM) is a good description of nature at the weak scale, the
experimental priority will be the precise determination of superpartner masses.
These masses are governed by the weak scale values of the soft supersymmetry
(SUSY)-breaking parameters, which are in turn highly dependent on the
SUSY-breaking scheme present at high scales. It is therefore of great interest
to find patterns in the soft parameters that can distinguish different high
scale SUSY-breaking structures, identify the scale at which the breaking is
communicated to the visible sector, and determine the soft breaking parameters
at that scale. In this work, we demonstrate that 1-loop Renormalization
Group~(RG) invariant quantities present in the MSSM may be used to answer each
of these questions. We apply our method first to generic flavor-blind models of
SUSY-breaking, and then examine in detail the subset of these models described
by General Gauge Mediation and the constrained MSSM with non-universal Higgs
masses. As RG invariance generally does not hold beyond leading-log order, we
investigate the magnitude and direction of the 2-loop corrections. We find that
with superpartners at the TeV scale, these 2-loop effects are either
negligible, or they are of the order of optimistic experimental uncertainties
and have definite signs, which allows them to be easily accounted for in the
overall uncertainty.Comment: v2 -- references added, version to be published in PRD; 40 page
The pMSSM Interpretation of LHC Results Using Rernormalization Group Invariants
The LHC has started to constrain supersymmetry-breaking parameters by setting
bounds on possible colored particles at the weak scale. Moreover, constraints
from Higgs physics, flavor physics, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon,
as well as from searches at LEP and the Tevatron have set additional bounds on
these parameters. Renormalization Group Invariants (RGIs) provide a very useful
way of representing the allowed parameter space by making direct connection
with the values of these parameters at the messenger scale. Using a general
approach, based on the pMSSM parametrization of the soft supersymmetry-breaking
parameters, we analyze the current experimental constraints to determine the
probability distributions for the RGIs. As examples of their application, we
use these distributions to analyze the question of Gaugino Mass Unification and
to probabilistically determine the parameters of General and Minimal Gauge
Mediation with arbitrary Higgs mass parameters at the Messenger Scale.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figure
Initiation of Psychotropic Medication after Partner Bereavement: A Matched Cohort Study
Background
Recent changes to diagnostic criteria for depression in DSM-5 remove the bereavement exclusion, allowing earlier diagnosis following bereavement. Evaluation of the potential effect of this change requires an understanding of existing psychotropic medication prescribing by non-specialists after bereavement.
Aims
To describe initiation of psychotropic medication in the first year after partner bereavement.
Methods
In a UK primary care database, we identified 21,122 individuals aged 60 and over with partner bereavement and no psychotropic drug use in the previous year. Prescribing (anxiolytic/hypnotic, antidepressant, antipsychotic) after bereavement was compared to age, sex and practice matched controls.
Results
The risks of receiving a new psychotropic prescription within two and twelve months of bereavement were 9.5% (95% CI 9.1 to 9.9%) and 17.9% (17.3 to 18.4%) respectively; an excess risk of initiation in the first year of 12.4% compared to non-bereaved controls. Anxiolytic/hypnotic and antidepressant initiation rates were highest in the first two months. In this period, the hazard ratio for initiation of anxiolytics/hypnotics was 16.7 (95% CI 14.7 to 18.9) and for antidepressants was 5.6 (4.7 to 6.7) compared to non-bereaved controls. 13.3% of those started on anxiolytics/hypnotics within two months continued to receive this drug class at one year. The marked variation in background family practice prescribing of anxiolytics/hypnotics was the strongest determinant of their initiation in the first two months after bereavement.
Conclusion
Almost one in five older people received a new psychotropic drug prescription in the year after bereavement. The early increase and trend in antidepressant use after bereavement suggests some clinicians did not adhere to the bereavement exclusion, with implications for its recent removal in DSM-5. Family practice variation in use of anxiolytics/hypnotics suggests uncertainty over their role in bereavement with the potential for inappropriate long term use
Majority Dynamics and Aggregation of Information in Social Networks
Consider n individuals who, by popular vote, choose among q >= 2
alternatives, one of which is "better" than the others. Assume that each
individual votes independently at random, and that the probability of voting
for the better alternative is larger than the probability of voting for any
other. It follows from the law of large numbers that a plurality vote among the
n individuals would result in the correct outcome, with probability approaching
one exponentially quickly as n tends to infinity. Our interest in this paper is
in a variant of the process above where, after forming their initial opinions,
the voters update their decisions based on some interaction with their
neighbors in a social network. Our main example is "majority dynamics", in
which each voter adopts the most popular opinion among its friends. The
interaction repeats for some number of rounds and is then followed by a
population-wide plurality vote.
The question we tackle is that of "efficient aggregation of information": in
which cases is the better alternative chosen with probability approaching one
as n tends to infinity? Conversely, for which sequences of growing graphs does
aggregation fail, so that the wrong alternative gets chosen with probability
bounded away from zero? We construct a family of examples in which interaction
prevents efficient aggregation of information, and give a condition on the
social network which ensures that aggregation occurs. For the case of majority
dynamics we also investigate the question of unanimity in the limit. In
particular, if the voters' social network is an expander graph, we show that if
the initial population is sufficiently biased towards a particular alternative
then that alternative will eventually become the unanimous preference of the
entire population.Comment: 22 page
Non-Markovian Dynamics of Charge Carriers in Quantum Dots
We have investigated the dynamics of bound particles in multilevel
current-carrying quantum dots. We look specifically in the regime of resonant
tunnelling transport, where several channels are available for transport.
Through a non-Markovian formalism under the Born approximation, we investigate
the real-time evolution of the confined particles including transport-induced
decoherence and relaxation. In the case of a coherent superposition between
states with different particle number, we find that a Fock-space coherence may
be preserved even in the presence of tunneling into and out of the dot.
Real-time results are presented for various asymmetries of tunneling rates into
different orbitals.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, International Workshop on Physics-Based
Mathematical Models for Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Nanostructures. BIRS,
November 18-23, 200
Predictive control co-design for enhancing flexibility in residential housing with battery degradation
Buildings are responsible for about a quarter of global energy-related CO2 emissions. Consequently, the decarbonisation of the housing stock is essential in achieving net-zero carbon emissions. Global decarbonisation targets can be achieved through increased efficiency in using energy generated by intermittent resources. The paper presents a co-design framework for simultaneous optimal design and operation of residential buildings using Model Predictive Control (MPC). The framework is capable of explicitly taking into account operational constraints and pushing the system to its efficiency and performance limits in an integrated fashion. The optimality criterion minimises system cost considering time-varying electricity prices and battery degradation. A case study illustrates the potential of co-design in enhancing flexibility and self-sufficiency of a system operating under different conditions. Specifically, numerical results from a low-fidelity model show substantial carbon emission reduction and bill savings compared to an a-priori sizing approach
Scaling and Formulary cross sections for ion-atom impact ionization
The values of ion-atom ionization cross sections are frequently needed for
many applications that utilize the propagation of fast ions through matter.
When experimental data and theoretical calculations are not available,
approximate formulas are frequently used. This paper briefly summarizes the
most important theoretical results and approaches to cross section calculations
in order to place the discussion in historical perspective and offer a concise
introduction to the topic. Based on experimental data and theoretical
predictions, a new fit for ionization cross sections is proposed. The range of
validity and accuracy of several frequently used approximations (classical
trajectory, the Born approximation, and so forth) are discussed using, as
examples, the ionization cross sections of hydrogen and helium atoms by various
fully stripped ions.Comment: 46 pages, 8 figure
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