Hardy's paradox and violation of a state-independent Bell inequality in time

Tests such as Bell's inequality and Hardy's paradox show that joint probabilities and correlations between distant particles in quantum mechanics are inconsistent with local realistic theories. Here we experimentally demonstrate these concepts in the time domain, using a photonic entangling gate to perform nondestructive measurements on a single photon at different times. We show that Hardy's paradox is much stronger in time and demonstrate the violation of a temporal Bell inequality independent of the quantum state, including for fully mixed states.Comment: Published Version, 4 pages, 3 figures. New, more boring titl

5th generation district heating and cooling systems: A review of existing cases in Europe

Abstract This article investigates 40 thermal networks in operation in Europe that are able to cover both the heating and cooling demands of buildings by means of distributed heat pumps installed at the customer substations. The technology of thermal networks that work at a temperature close to the ground, can strongly contribute to the decarbonisation of the heating and cooling sector and furthermore exploit a multitude of low temperature heat sources. Nevertheless, the nomenclature used in literature shows that misinterpretations could easily result when comparing the different concepts of thermal networks that operate at a temperature level lower than traditional district heating. The scope of this work is to revise the definitions encountered and to introduce an unambiguous definition of Fifth-Generation District Heating and Cooling networks. A drawback-benefit analysis is presented to identify the pros and cons of such technology. The survey on the current networks shows that on average three Fifth-Generation District Heating and Cooling systems per year have entered the heating and cooling market in the last decade. Pioneer countries in such technology are Germany and Switzerland. For some networks, the assessed Linear Heating Power Demand Density results are lower than the feasibility threshold adopted in traditional district heating. High performances and low non-renewable primary energy factors are achieved in systems that exploit a very high share of renewable or urban excess heat sources. With respect to traditional district heating, the surveyed pumping energy consumptions result one order of magnitude higher, whereas the implemented control strategies can be completely different, leading the network temperature to float freely

Quality for Solar Cooling on Component Level

Within IEA-SHC Task 48 “Quality assurance and support measures for Solar Cooling” the most crucial components of solar thermal cooling plants have been analyzed in detail aiming at improving their quality. Test procedures for characterizing continuous and discontinuous chillers have been developed; market available heat rejection devices have been investigated, rating their performance through monitoring data and comparing them; pump efficiency has been also investigated and design guidelines for pump selection and hydraulic configuration are now available; a detailed and updated database of medium temperature collectors has been built

Levels of vibration transmitted to the operator of the tractor equipped with front axle suspension

In recent years the comfort and the preservation of the health of the operators became central issues in the evolution of agricultural machinery and led to the introduction of devices aimed at improving working conditions. Thereby, for instance, the presence of air conditioner, soundproof cab and driver seat suspension became normal on agricultural tractors. The vibrations are one of the most complex issues to deal with, being determined by the characteristics and interaction of elements such as tyres, axles, mainframe, cab and seat suspension. In this respect, manufacturers are trying to improve their products, even integrating these elements with new devices such as the suspension on the front axle of the tractor, aimed at reducing the level of vibrations during the transfers at high speed. One of these underwent tests at CRA-ING. Since its purpose is to reduce the level of vibration transmitted to the driver, their measurements in different points of the tractor and in different operating conditions, were compared in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the device, expressed as time of exposure. The suspension system of the front axle is designed to absorb the oscillations (especially pitching) determined by irregularities in the road surface, allowing an increased control of the vehicle at high speed, as demonstrated by the test results and confirmed by the driving impressions outlined by the operator. The action of the device under these conditions results in an increase of the exposure time, important fact because of the relevance of the road transfer operations of tractors with mounted implements or trailers to tow and of the tendency to increase the speed limit for the road tractors (in Germany were brought to 50 km h–1 for several years). The action just described is less evident with increasing irregularity of the road surface and with the decrease of the travel speed. Nevertheless, in such conditions, the device appears to positively work along the other directions, in particular in the Z-axis, improving the action of the suspension of the driver seat

Certification and Quantification of Multilevel Quantum Coherence

Quantum coherence, present whenever a quantum system exists in a superposition of multiple classically distinct states, marks one of the fundamental departures from classical physics. Quantum coherence has recently been investigated rigorously within a resource-theoretic formalism. However, the finer-grained notion of multilevel coherence, which explicitly takes into account the number of superposed classical states, has remained relatively unexplored. A comprehensive analysis of multi-level coherence, which acts as the single-party analogue to multi-partite entanglement, is essential for understanding natural quantum processes as well as for gauging the performance of quantum technologies. Here we develop the theoretical and experimental groundwork for characterizing and quantifying multilevel coherence. We prove that non-trivial levels of purity are required for multilevel coherence, as there is a ball of states around the maximally mixed state that do not exhibit multilevel coherence in any basis. We provide a simple necessary and sufficient analytical criterion to verify multilevel coherence, which leads to a complete classification for three-level systems. We present the robustness of multilevel coherence, a bona fide quantifier which we show to be numerically computable via semidefinite programming and experimentally accessible via multilevel coherence witnesses. We further verify and lower-bound the robustness of multilevel coherence by performing a semi-device-independent phase discrimination task, implemented experimentally with four-level probes in a photonic setup. Our results contribute to understanding the operational relevance of genuine multilevel coherence, also by demonstrating the key role it plays in enhanced phase discrimination---a primitive for quantum communication and metrology---and suggest new ways to reliably test the quantum behaviour of physical systems.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures. (v2) Title changed, presentation improved. (v3) Expanded and updated with new results, including a necessary and sufficient analytical criterion to detect multilevel coherence; one co-author adde

Electrocution and containment methods to reduce the activity of red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Ol.)

Aim of study: To evaluate the susceptibility of the Rhynchophorus ferrugineus to electric discharges, to eventually use this application in synergy with other methods as part of an integrated control strategy.Area of study: Worldwide.Material and methods: Three different electric voltage intensities were applied to R. ferrugineus to investigate the insect’s susceptibility in both adult and larval stages. The transmission and diffusion of electricity within a portion of the palm tree was tested. In addition, the suitability of containment materials for handling and transportation of plant residues was tested.Main results: The results of adult test showed that the total number of eggs laid per mating couple and the number of larvae born were about 1.5 times higher in the control compared to the electrified samples. The duration of the electric discharge on larvae had a small impact on the mortality rate, while the electric voltage showed a strong impact on mortality (87% for 10 V and 99% for 15 V). The presence of a significant electric current was observed in a viable portion of stem (distance from the source of electricity 10 cm) providing a direct current with 250 V tension. Among the materials tested for the transportation of palm residues, the aluminium net sheet showed the best results in the containment of both larval and adult individuals.Research highlights: Electrocution has proven to be a system which can help in the control of red palm weevil reducing the use of synthetic chemicals

Energização rural comunitária: experiências com sistemas fotovoltaicos

As populações amazônicas padecem com a carência de serviços públicos, como educação, saúde, saneamento, água e energia. As fontes de energia convencionais utilizadas são poluidoras e fontes, como a solar fotovoltaica, configuram-se como alternativas. Em 1998, houve a inserção de uma inovação tecnológica em quatro comunidades isoladas do município de Benjamin Constant. A estratégia metodológica consolidou-se a partir da elaboração de um instrumento ressaltando a importância da manutenção e operacionalização do sistema. Os impactos sociais observados mostram que a disponibilidade de energia elétrica potencializa os processos organizativos, notadamente nas áreas de educação e saúde. O papel da educação como agente multiplicador fica comprovado com o universo de comunidades atingidas, trinta e cinco no total. A busca por fontes para fornecimento de energia elétrica para comunidades isoladas é uma necessidade e a experiência mostrou que sistemas fotovoltaicos podem ser um dos caminhos a serem seguidos na busca de soluções sustentáveis.Los pobladores de la región amazónicas sufren con la escasez de los servicios públicos, como educación, salud, saneamiento básico, suministro de agua potable y energía. Las fuentes de energía convencionales usadas son contaminadoras y la energía solar fotovoltaica representa una alternativa real de suministro. En 1998, ocurrió la inserción de una innovación tecnológica en cuatro comunidades aisladas pertenecientes al municipio de Benjamin Constant. Los procedimientos metodológicos fueron consolidados a partir de la elaboración de un instrumento que hace hincapié en la importancia del mantenimiento y operación del sistema. Los impactos sociales observados muestran que la disponibilidad de energía eléctrica incrementa los procesos organizativos, notadamente en las áreas de educación y salud. El efecto de la educación como vector multiplicador queda comprobado con el universo de comunidades atingidas, treinta y cinco en el total. La búsqueda por fuentes para suministro de energía eléctrica para comunidades aisladas es una necesidad y la experiencia ha mostrado que los sistemas fotovoltaicos pueden ser uno de los caminos a trillar en la búsqueda de soluciones sostenibles.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

Energização rural comunitária: experiências com sistemas fotovoltaicos

As populações amazônicas padecem com a carência de serviços públicos, como educação, saúde, saneamento, água e energia. As fontes de energia convencionais utilizadas são poluidoras e fontes, como a solar fotovoltaica, configuram-se como alternativas. Em 1998, houve a inserção de uma inovação tecnológica em quatro comunidades isoladas do município de Benjamin Constant. A estratégia metodológica consolidou-se a partir da elaboração de um instrumento ressaltando a importância da manutenção e operacionalização do sistema. Os impactos sociais observados mostram que a disponibilidade de energia elétrica potencializa os processos organizativos, notadamente nas áreas de educação e saúde. O papel da educação como agente multiplicador fica comprovado com o universo de comunidades atingidas, trinta e cinco no total. A busca por fontes para fornecimento de energia elétrica para comunidades isoladas é uma necessidade e a experiência mostrou que sistemas fotovoltaicos podem ser um dos caminhos a serem seguidos na busca de soluções sustentáveis.Los pobladores de la región amazónicas sufren con la escasez de los servicios públicos, como educación, salud, saneamiento básico, suministro de agua potable y energía. Las fuentes de energía convencionales usadas son contaminadoras y la energía solar fotovoltaica representa una alternativa real de suministro. En 1998, ocurrió la inserción de una innovación tecnológica en cuatro comunidades aisladas pertenecientes al municipio de Benjamin Constant. Los procedimientos metodológicos fueron consolidados a partir de la elaboración de un instrumento que hace hincapié en la importancia del mantenimiento y operación del sistema. Los impactos sociales observados muestran que la disponibilidad de energía eléctrica incrementa los procesos organizativos, notadamente en las áreas de educación y salud. El efecto de la educación como vector multiplicador queda comprobado con el universo de comunidades atingidas, treinta y cinco en el total. La búsqueda por fuentes para suministro de energía eléctrica para comunidades aisladas es una necesidad y la experiencia ha mostrado que los sistemas fotovoltaicos pueden ser uno de los caminos a trillar en la búsqueda de soluciones sostenibles.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

Energização rural comunitária: experiências com sistemas fotovoltaicos

As populações amazônicas padecem com a carência de serviços públicos, como educação, saúde, saneamento, água e energia. As fontes de energia convencionais utilizadas são poluidoras e fontes, como a solar fotovoltaica, configuram-se como alternativas. Em 1998, houve a inserção de uma inovação tecnológica em quatro comunidades isoladas do município de Benjamin Constant. A estratégia metodológica consolidou-se a partir da elaboração de um instrumento ressaltando a importância da manutenção e operacionalização do sistema. Os impactos sociais observados mostram que a disponibilidade de energia elétrica potencializa os processos organizativos, notadamente nas áreas de educação e saúde. O papel da educação como agente multiplicador fica comprovado com o universo de comunidades atingidas, trinta e cinco no total. A busca por fontes para fornecimento de energia elétrica para comunidades isoladas é uma necessidade e a experiência mostrou que sistemas fotovoltaicos podem ser um dos caminhos a serem seguidos na busca de soluções sustentáveis.Los pobladores de la región amazónicas sufren con la escasez de los servicios públicos, como educación, salud, saneamiento básico, suministro de agua potable y energía. Las fuentes de energía convencionales usadas son contaminadoras y la energía solar fotovoltaica representa una alternativa real de suministro. En 1998, ocurrió la inserción de una innovación tecnológica en cuatro comunidades aisladas pertenecientes al municipio de Benjamin Constant. Los procedimientos metodológicos fueron consolidados a partir de la elaboración de un instrumento que hace hincapié en la importancia del mantenimiento y operación del sistema. Los impactos sociales observados muestran que la disponibilidad de energía eléctrica incrementa los procesos organizativos, notadamente en las áreas de educación y salud. El efecto de la educación como vector multiplicador queda comprobado con el universo de comunidades atingidas, treinta y cinco en el total. La búsqueda por fuentes para suministro de energía eléctrica para comunidades aisladas es una necesidad y la experiencia ha mostrado que los sistemas fotovoltaicos pueden ser uno de los caminos a trillar en la búsqueda de soluciones sostenibles.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES