8,414 research outputs found
Parametric Competition in non-autonomous Hamiltonian Systems
In this work we use the formalism of chord functions (\emph{i.e.}
characteristic functions) to analytically solve quadratic non-autonomous
Hamiltonians coupled to a reservoir composed by an infinity set of oscillators,
with Gaussian initial state. We analytically obtain a solution for the
characteristic function under dissipation, and therefore for the determinant of
the covariance matrix and the von Neumann entropy, where the latter is the
physical quantity of interest. We study in details two examples that are known
to show dynamical squeezing and instability effects: the inverted harmonic
oscillator and an oscillator with time dependent frequency. We show that it
will appear in both cases a clear competition between instability and
dissipation. If the dissipation is small when compared to the instability, the
squeezing generation is dominant and one can see an increasing in the von
Neumann entropy. When the dissipation is large enough, the dynamical squeezing
generation in one of the quadratures is retained, thence the growth in the von
Neumann entropy is contained
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,
, 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 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 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 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 instead of the usual . 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
Quantum erasure in the presence of a thermal bath: the effects of system-environment microscopic correlations
We investigate the role of the environment in a quantum erasure setup in the
cavity quantum electrodynamics domain. Two slightly different schemes are
analyzed. We show that the effects of the environment vary when a scheme is
exchanged for another. This can be used to estimate the macroscopic parameters
related to the system-environment microscopic correlations.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Pandemic influenza control in Europe and the constraints resulting from incoherent public health laws
© 2010 Martin et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: With the emergence of influenza H1N1v the world is facing its first 21st century global pandemic. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and avian influenza H5N1 prompted development of pandemic preparedness plans. National systems of public health law are essential for public health stewardship and for the implementation of public health policy[1]. International coherence will contribute to effective regional and global responses. However little research has been undertaken on how law works as a tool for disease control in Europe. With co-funding from the European Union, we investigated the extent to which laws across Europe support or constrain pandemic preparedness planning, and whether national differences are likely to constrain control efforts. Methods: We undertook a survey of national public health laws across 32 European states using a questionnaire designed around a disease scenario based on pandemic influenza. Questionnaire results were reviewed in workshops, analysing how differences between national laws might support or hinder regional responses to pandemic influenza. Respondents examined the impact of national laws on the movements of information, goods, services and people across borders in a time of pandemic, the capacity for surveillance, case detection, case management and community control, the deployment of strategies of prevention, containment, mitigation and recovery and the identification of commonalities and disconnects across states. Results: Results of this study show differences across Europe in the extent to which national pandemic policy and pandemic plans have been integrated with public health laws. We found significant differences in legislation and in the legitimacy of strategic plans. States differ in the range and the nature of intervention measures authorized by law, the extent to which borders could be closed to movement of persons and goods during a pandemic, and access to healthcare of non-resident persons. Some states propose use of emergency powers that might potentially override human rights protections while other states propose to limit interventions to those authorized by public health laws. Conclusion: These differences could create problems for European strategies if an evolving influenza pandemic results in more serious public health challenges or, indeed, if a novel disease other than influenza emerges with pandemic potential. There is insufficient understanding across Europe of the role and importance of law in pandemic planning. States need to build capacity in public health law to support disease prevention and control policies. Our research suggests that states would welcome further guidance from the EU on management of a pandemic, and guidance to assist in greater commonality of legal approaches across states.Peer reviewe
Genetic diversity of Lusitano horse in Brazil using pedigree information
This study aimed to evaluate population parameters and to describe the genetic diversity of the Lusitano
breed in Brazil using pedigree data. Two populations were evaluated: total population (TP) containing
18,922 animals, and reference population (RP) composed of a part of TP containing 8,329 animals, representing
the last generation. The generation interval (10.1 ± 5.1 years) was in the range for horse populations.
Pedigree completeness in RP shows almost 100% filling in the three most recent generations,
indicating improvement in the pedigree data and accuracy of the results, and the inbreeding coefficient
(4.46%) and average relatedness (5.97%) for RP, indicating control on the part of breeders. The effective
population size was 89 (TP) and 90 (RP). The effective number of founders (fe) were 33 and 29, effective
number of ancestors (fa) were 30 and 26, and effective number of founder genomes (fg) were 19 and 15 for
TP and RP, respectively, indicating a reduction of genetic variability in the last generations. The total
number of ancestors that explains 100% of the genetic diversity in the Lusitano breed in Brazil was 427 (TP)
and 341 (RP). The reproductive parameters, probabilities of gene origin showing loss of variability in the
last generations, and the genetic contributions of ancestors suggest the need to monitor genetic diversity
over time in breeding programs to allow control of the next generations and to increase their variability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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
Comment on the Adiabatic Condition
The experimental observation of effects due to Berry's phase in quantum
systems is certainly one of the most impressive demonstrations of the
correctness of the superposition principle in quantum mechanics. Since Berry's
original paper in 1984, the spin 1/2 coupled with rotating external magnetic
field has been one of the most studied models where those phases appear. We
also consider a special case of this soluble model. A detailed analysis of the
coupled differential equations and comparison with exact results teach us why
the usual procedure (of neglecting nondiagonal terms) is mathematically sound.Comment: 9 page
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