Analytical treatment of stabilization

We present a summarizing account of a series of investigations whose central topic is to address the question whether atomic stabilization exists in an analytical way. We provide new aspects on several issues of the matter in the theoretical context when the dynamics is described by the Stark Hamiltonian. The main outcome of these studies is that the governing parameters for this phenomenon are the total classical momentum transfer and the total classical displacement. Whenever these two quantities vanish, asymptotically weak stabilization does exist. For all other situations we did not find any evidence for stabilization. We found no evidence that strong stabilization might occur. Our results agree qualitatively with the existing experimental findings

Low redshift constraints on energy-momentum-powered gravity models

There has been recent interest in the cosmological consequences of energy-momentum-powered gravity models, in which the matter side of Einstein's equations is modified by the addition of a term proportional to some power, $n$, of the energy-momentum tensor, in addition to the canonical linear term. In this work we treat these models as phenomenological extensions of the standard $\Lambda$CDM, containing both matter and a cosmological constant. We also quantitatively constrain the additional model parameters using low redshift background cosmology data that are specifically from Type Ia supernovas and Hubble parameter measurements. We start by studying specific cases of these models with fixed values of $n,$ which lead to an analytic expression for the Friedmann equation; we discuss both their current constraints and how the models may be further constrained by future observations of Type Ia supernovas for WFIRST complemented by measurements of the redshift drift by the ELT. We then consider and constrain a more extended parameter space, allowing $n$ to be a free parameter and considering scenarios with and without a cosmological constant. These models do not solve the cosmological constant problem per se. Nonetheless these models can phenomenologically lead to a recent accelerating universe without a cosmological constant at the cost of having a preferred matter density of around $\Omega_M\sim0.4$ instead of the usual $\Omega_M\sim0.3$. Finally we also briefly constrain scenarios without a cosmological constant, where the single component has a constant equation of state which needs not be that of matter; we provide an illustrative comparison of this model with a more standard dynamical dark energy model with a constant equation of state.Comment: 13+2 pages, 12+1 figures; A&A (in press

Calagem e gessagem para o tomateiro e o meloeiro irrigados no Semi-Árido nordestino.

Instalou-se um experimento no Submédio São Francisco com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito da calagem e gessagem na produtividade e qualidade do tomate e melão. O delineamento foi em blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições e sete tratamentos: 1) testemunha; 2) 0,5 vezes a necessidade de calagem (N.C.) na forma de calcário (0,5 x N.C. -Ca); 3) 1 x N.C. - Ca; 4) 2 x N.C. -Ca; 5) 0,5 x N.C., na forma de 2/3 de calcário e 1/3 de gesso (0,5 x N.C. - CaGe); 6) 1 x N.C -CaGe ; 7) 2 x N.C. -CaGe. Não se verificou efeitos significativos sobre a produtividade do tomate e a qualidade do melão. Com aplicação de 2 t/ha de calcário (1 x N.C -Ca) obteve-se uma produtividade de melão de 22,52 t/ha, significativamente superior à da testemunha, 16,77 t/ha, e reduziu-se a podridão apical do tomate em 80,4% em relação à da testemunha.Suplemento 2

Robustness of bipartite Gaussian entangled beams propagating in lossy channels

Subtle quantum properties offer exciting new prospects in optical communications. Quantum entanglement enables the secure exchange of cryptographic keys and the distribution of quantum information by teleportation. Entangled bright beams of light attract increasing interest for such tasks, since they enable the employment of well-established classical communications techniques. However, quantum resources are fragile and undergo decoherence by interaction with the environment. The unavoidable losses in the communication channel can lead to a complete destruction of useful quantum properties -- the so-called "entanglement sudden death". We investigate the precise conditions under which this phenomenon takes place for the simplest case of two light beams and demonstrate how to produce states which are robust against losses. Our study sheds new light on the intriguing properties of quantum entanglement and how they may be tamed for future applications.Comment: To be published - Nature Photonic

Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with real eigenvalues coupled to electric fields: from the time-independent to the time dependent quantum mechanical formulation

We provide a reviewlike introduction into the quantum mechanical formalism related to non-Hermitian Hamiltonian systems with real eigenvalues. Starting with the time-independent framework we explain how to determine an appropriate domain of a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian and pay particular attention to the role played by PT-symmetry and pseudo-Hermiticity. We discuss the time-evolution of such systems having in particular the question in mind of how to couple consistently an electric field to pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. We illustrate the general formalism with three explicit examples: i) the generalized Swanson Hamiltonians, which constitute non-Hermitian extensions of anharmonic oscillators, ii) the spiked harmonic oscillator, which exhibits explicit supersymmetry and iii) the -x^4-potential, which serves as a toy model for the quantum field theoretical phi^4-theory.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Laser Physics, minor typos correcte

Características físicas e físico-químicas de passiflora alata com desenvolvimento e maturação na época seca.

O mercado para alimentos saudáveis, mais nutritivos e com propriedades funcionais vem crescendo ano a ano. O gênero Passiflora conta com cerca de 150 a 200 espécies brasileiras, das quais 70 produzem frutos que podem ser aproveitados direta ou indiretamente como alimento (FALEIRO et. al. 2008). Além do grande número de espécies dentro do gênero, existe grande variabilidade intra-específica. Esta variabilidade é importante para os programas de melhoramento genético (FALEIRO et. al. 2008; COSTA, 2008). As polpas das espécies silvestres e variedades comerciais apresentam substâncias importantes na prevenção de doenças como flavanóides, minerais, carotenóides e vitamina C (COSTA; TUPINAMBÁ, 2005, COSTA, 2008; WONDRACEK, 2009). Dentre elas se destaca os maracujás doce Passiflora alata muito apreciada no consumo “in natura”. Esta espécie apresenta antioxidantes importantes para a saúde e também pode ser fonte de minerais (COSTA, 2008, COSTA; TUPINAMBÁ, 2005). Vários fatores podem interferir na qualidade da polpa, como por exemplo, a variedade local de plantio, época de produção dos frutos, maturação dos frutos, e armazenamento (COSTA, 2008, COHEN et al, 2008). O trabalho teve por finalidade avaliar as características físicas e físico-químicas das variedades P. alata N2, D e J da Embrapa Cerrados que tiveram desenvolvimento no período seco, com foco no melhoramento genético para características de interesse funcional

Disentanglement in Bipartite Continuous-Variable Systems

Entanglement in bipartite continuous-variable systems is investigated in the presence of partial losses, such as those introduced by a realistic quantum communication channel, e.g. by propagation in an optical fiber. We find that entanglement can vanish completely for partial losses, in a situa- tion reminiscent of so-called entanglement sudden death. Even states with extreme squeezing may become separable after propagation in lossy channels. Having in mind the potential applications of such entangled light beams to optical communications, we investigate the conditions under which entanglement can survive for all partial losses. Different loss scenarios are examined and we derive criteria to test the robustness of entangled states. These criteria are necessary and sufficient for Gaussian states. Our study provides a framework to investigate the robustness of continuous-variable entanglement in more complex multipartite systems.Comment: Phys. Rev. A (in press