A minimum-disturbing quantum state discriminator

We propose two experimental schemes for quantum state discrimination that achieve the optimal tradeoff between the probability of correct identification and the disturbance on the quantum state.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, OSID style. Submitted to the special issue of "Open Systems and Information Dynamics", Proceedings of the "38th Symposium on Mathematical Physics", Torun, Poland, June 200

Globalisation and automation as sources of labour-market competition, and support for European Union unemployment insurance

Societies and economies are experiencing deep and intertwined structural changes that may unsettle the perceptions European citizens have of their economic and employment security. Such labour-market perceptions are likely in turn to alter people’s political positions. For instance, those worried by labour-market competition may prefer greater social protection to compensate for the accrued risk, or might prefer more closed economies where external borders provide protection (or the illusion of protection). We test these expectations with a conjoint experiment in 13 European countries on European-level social policy, studying how citizens’ demands align with parties’ political supply. Results broadly corroborate our expectations on the moderating effects of different types of concerns about perceived sources of labour- market competition on the features of preferred European-level social policy

Information-Disturbance Tradeoff in Quantum State Discrimination

When discriminating between two pure quantum states, there exists a quantitative tradeoff between the information retrieved by the measurement and the disturbance caused on the unknown state. We derive the optimal tradeoff and provide the corresponding quantum measurement. Such an optimal measurement smoothly interpolates between the two limiting cases of maximal information extraction and no measurement at all.Comment: 5 pages, 2 (low-quality) figures. Eq. (20) corrected. Final published versio

An effective 6DoF motion model for 3D-6DoF Monte Carlo Localization

This paper deals with the probabilistic 6DoF motion model of a wheeled road vehicle. It allows to correctly model the error introduced by dead reckoning. Furthermore, to stress the importance of an appropriate motion model, i.e., that different models are not equally good, we show that another model, which was previously developed, does not allow a correct representation of the uncertainty, therefore misguiding 3D-6DoF Monte Carlo Localization. We also present some field experiments to demonstrate that our model allow a consistent determination of the 6DoF vehicle pose

Physical realizations of quantum operations

Quantum operations (QO) describe any state change allowed in quantum mechanics, such as the evolution of an open system or the state change due to a measurement. We address the problem of which unitary transformations and which observables can be used to achieve a QO with generally different input and output Hilbert spaces. We classify all unitary extensions of a QO, and give explicit realizations in terms of free-evolution direct-sum dilations and interacting tensor-product dilations. In terms of Hilbert space dimensionality the free-evolution dilations minimize the physical resources needed to realize the QO, and for this case we provide bounds for the dimension of the ancilla space versus the rank of the QO. The interacting dilations, on the other hand, correspond to the customary ancilla-system interaction realization, and for these we derive a majorization relation which selects the allowed unitary interactions between system and ancilla.Comment: 8 pages, no figures. Accepted for publication on Phys. Rev.

Sensory profile of P.D.O. Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Cheese

The aim of this work was to define the typical sensory profile of DOP Mozzarella di Bufala Campana cheese as related to the technological process (industrial or artisanal), the geographical area (Salerno or Caserta), the season (spring or summer) and to the chemical composition of both milk and cheese. The results obtained showed that the sensorial profile of Mozzarella DOP changed for each variable considered. In particular, Caserta samples were more salty, with a more intense butter odour, higher peelability and homogeneity surface than those from Salerno area; the industrial samples, compared to the artisanal ones, were more salty, hard and "chewable", and exhibited an external layer more difficult to remove and more homogeneous

Il processo di candidatura come percorso di cambiamento: The Practice of Opera Singing in Italy

The contribution traces the complex and longstanding history of the Candidacy of the Practice of Opera Singing in Italy, as it represents, to a certain degree, a useful ‘case study’. While this article is being written, the ‘Element’ stands as the 2023 national candidacy of Italy, without having yet received the UNESCO ratification of its inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. However, for the promoting Committee, the quantity and quality of acquisitions obtained throughtout many years of research, already represents a largely positive result of intellectual and institutional growth. Within the article, the path that led to the candidacy is retraced, starting from a description of the multifaceted community that drew up the dossier under the expert guidance of the technical-scientific coordination of the UNESCO Service II-Office of the General Secretariat of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Committee is composed by a mixed board of personalities and institutions of utter importance (such as the Teatro alla Scala, the Accademia di S. Cecilia, the Association of Lyric Symphony Foundations ANFOLS, the Association of Italian Traditional Theatres ATIT and Assolirica) that, for the first time in history, have been working together on strategies aimed at common goals. Hence, the article reviews the Committee main acquisitions of intellectual value, starting from a more coherent and scientific definition of the good and its immateriality, as well as Institutional achievements, such as the creation of a network that did not exist at the beginning of the process, and draft plan for performing, scientific, popular and pedagogical safeguarding actions

Groundwater mixing in a heterogeneous multilayer aquifer driven by geogenic CO2 fluxes: Evidence from chemical and isotopic composition of Ferrarelle waters (Riardo Plain, southern Italy)

The successful management of carbon in the Earth's crust is critical for mitigating the increase of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) requires an understanding of the behavior of carbon in the crust and the development of robust monitoring techniques to constrain the movement, mechanisms, and pathways for any potential CO2 leakage. Here, we examine an aquifer from the Riardo Plain (Campania Region, southern Italy), which serves as a suitable natural analogue for CO2 migration to the critical zone (i.e., shallow crust and aquifers) and as a case study to evaluate the geochemical processes that occur when CO2-saturated fluids mix with freshwater in shallow aquifers. We investigate the behavior of various geochemical constituents (major and trace elements, δ18O–H2O, δ13C-DIC, and Rn content). Water from this area has a high degree of mineralization (EC 2500–3000 μS/cm), high HCO3- (~2.5 g/L), is saturated with respect to CaCO3, and is enriched in alkali ions (e.g., Na+ + K+). The high degree of mineralization occurs in groundwater that discharges from the basal aquifer of the Roccamonfina volcanic edifice (~6 km NW), with vast CO2 inputs that promote host rock leaching. Superficial volcanic aquifers are recharged by fresh meteoric precipitation when groundwater flows from carbonates at the edge of the plain to aquifers hosted in the southeastern slope of the Roccamonfina volcano. The presence of normal faults in this area permits natural upwelling of CO2-rich groundwater, which locally mixes with shallow freshwater present within the upper volcanic succession. Significant (R > 0.8) linear correlations between conservative elements suggest that groundwater geochemistry is dominated by a mixture of two main endmembers: (i) deep/mineralized waters and (ii) shallow/diluted waters. The intrusion of freshwater to volcanic aquifers induces oxidation, leading to adsorption of select elements (e.g., As and Ba) onto Fe-oxyhydroxide precipitates within these aquifers. Geochemical modeling suggests that CO2 saturation approaches 3 g/L, which agrees with direct measurements of CO2 flux. We conclude that our conceptual geochemical model helps to constrain mixing of CO2 with freshwater and to diagnose the secondary geochemical processes that influence aqueous geochemistry within CO2-influenced groundwater

Light Emitting Molecular Devices Based on Transition Metals

Multicomponent systems have been designed, which are able to perform defined functions related to light emission and quenching. The desired function can be switched ON/OFF by the operator through a chemical input, either a change of pH or a variation of the redox potential. Transition metals (e.g. Ni(II), Cu(II)) are key constituents within the considered systems, playing a distinctive architectural role and favouring electron transfer processes

Hay or silage? How the forage preservation method changes the volatile compounds and sensory properties of Caciocavallo cheese.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the forage preservation method (silage vs. hay) on volatile compounds and sensory properties of a traditional Caciocavallo cheese during ripening. A brown-midrib sudangrass hybrid was cultivated on a 7-ha field and at harvesting it was half ensiled in plastic silo bags and half dried to hay. Forty-four lactating cows were equally allotted into 2 groups fed a isonitrogenous and isoenergetic total mixed ration containing as the sole forage either sorghum hay (H group) or sorghum silage (S group). Milk from the 2 groups was used to produce 3 batches/diet of Caciocavallo ripened for 30, 60, and 90 d. Milk yield and composition as well as cheese chemical and fatty acid composition were not markedly affected by the diet treatment and ripening time. By contrast, ripening induced increased levels of the appearance attribute "yellowness," along with the "overall flavor," the odor/flavor attributes "butter" and "hay," the "salty," "bitter," and "umami" tastes, and the texture attribute "oiliness," whereas the appearance attribute "uniformity" and the texture attribute "elasticity" were reduced. The silage-based diet induced higher perceived intensities of several attributes such as "yellowness"; "overall flavor"; "butter"; "grass" and "hay" odor/flavors; "salty," "bitter," and "umami" tastes; and "tenderness" and "oiliness" textures. In S cheese we also observed higher amounts of ketones and fatty acids. Conversely, H cheese showed the terpene α-pinene, which was not detected in S cheese, and a higher intensity of the appearance attribute "uniformity." These differences allowed the trained panel to discriminate the products, determined an increased consumer liking for 90-d ripened cheese, and tended to increase consumer liking for hay cheese