26,570 research outputs found
High resolution electron microscopy study of a high Cu variant of Weldalite (tm) 049 and a high strength Al-Cu-Ag-Mg-Zr alloy
Weldalite (trademark) 049 is an Al-Cu-Li-Ag-Mg alloy that is strengthened in artificially aged tempers primarily by very thin plate-like precipitates lying on the set of (111) matrix planes. This precipitate might be expected to be the T(sub 1) phase, Al2CuLi, which has been observed in Al-Cu-Li alloys. However, in several ways this precipitate is similar to the omega phase which also appears as the set of (111) planes plates and is found in Al-Cu-Ag-Mg alloys. The study was undertaken to identify the set of (111) planes precipitate or precipitates in Weldalite (trademark) 049 in the T8 (stretched and artificially aged) temper, and to determine whether T(sub 1), omega, or some other phase is primarily responsible for the high strength (i.e., 700 MPa tensile strength) in this Al-Cu-Li-Ag-Mg alloy
Comment on `Two-body random ensembles: from nuclear spectra to random polynomials
In PRL 85, 3773 (2000) it was suggested to use random polynomials to analyze
and understand the properties of two-body random ensembles. In this comment we
point out that for the vibron model the random polynomial is not quadratic, but
has a more general form. We make a comparison for the percentage of ground
states with L=0 in the vibron model with random interactions.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, Phys. Rev. Lett., in pres
Quantum Chi-Squared and Goodness of Fit Testing
The density matrix in quantum mechanics parameterizes the statistical
properties of the system under observation, just like a classical probability
distribution does for classical systems. The expectation value of observables
cannot be measured directly, it can only be approximated by applying classical
statistical methods to the frequencies by which certain measurement outcomes
(clicks) are obtained. In this paper, we make a detailed study of the
statistical fluctuations obtained during an experiment in which a hypothesis is
tested, i.e. the hypothesis that a certain setup produces a given quantum
state. Although the classical and quantum problem are very much related to each
other, the quantum problem is much richer due to the additional optimization
over the measurement basis. Just as in the case of classical hypothesis
testing, the confidence in quantum hypothesis testing scales exponentially in
the number of copies. In this paper, we will argue 1) that the physically
relevant data of quantum experiments is only contained in the frequencies of
the measurement outcomes, and that the statistical fluctuations of the
experiment are essential, so that the correct formulation of the conclusions of
a quantum experiment should be given in terms of hypothesis tests, 2) that the
(classical) test for distinguishing two quantum states gives rise to
the quantum divergence when optimized over the measurement basis, 3)
present a max-min characterization for the optimal measurement basis for
quantum goodness of fit testing, find the quantum measurement which leads both
to the maximal Pitman and Bahadur efficiency, and determine the associated
divergence rates.Comment: 22 Pages, with a new section on parameter estimatio
Effect of annealing on the depth profile of hole concentration in (Ga,Mn)As
The effect of annealing at 250 C on the carrier depth profile, Mn
distribution, electrical conductivity, and Curie temperature of (Ga,Mn)As
layers with thicknesses > 200 nm, grown by molecular-beam epitaxy at low
temperatures, is studied by a variety of analytical methods. The vertical
gradient in hole concentration, revealed by electrochemical capacitance-voltage
profiling, is shown to play a key role in the understanding of conductivity and
magnetization data. The gradient, basically already present in as-grown
samples, is strongly influenced by post-growth annealing. From secondary ion
mass spectroscopy it can be concluded that, at least in thick layers, the
change in carrier depth profile and thus in conductivity is not primarily due
to out-diffusion of Mn interstitials during annealing. Two alternative possible
models are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Nothing but Relativity, Redux
Here we show how spacetime transformations consistent with the principle of
relativity can be derived without an explicit assumption of the constancy of
the speed of light, without gedanken experiments involving light rays, and
without an assumption of differentiability, or even continuity, for the
spacetime mapping. Hence, these historic results could have been derived
centuries ago, even before the advent of calculus. This raises an interesting
question: Could Galileo have derived Einsteinian relativity
Are there optical differences between storm-time substorms and isolated substorms?
We have performed an extensive analysis of auroral optical events
(substorms) that occurred during the development of the main phase of
magnetic storms. Using images from the Earth Camera on the Polar spacecraft
(Frank et al., 1995), we compared the optical emission features of substorms
occurring during 16 expansion phases of magnetic storms with the features of
isolated substorms occurring during non-storm times. The comparison used two
techniques, visual inspection and statistical comparisons. The comparisons
were based on the common characteristics seen in isolated substorms that
were initially identified by Akasofu (1964) and quantified by Gjerloev et
al. (2008). We find that when auroral activity does occur during main phase
development the characteristics of the aurora are very dissimilar to those
of the classical isolated substorm. The primary differences include the lack
of a surge/bulge, lack of bifurcation of the aurora, much shorter expansion
phases, and greater intensities.
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Since a surge/bulge and bifurcation of the aurora are characteristics of the
existence of a substorm current wedge, a key component of the
magnetosphere-ionosphere current system during substorms, the lack of this
component would indicate that the classical substorm model does not apply to
the storm time magnetosphere-ionosphere current system. Rather several of
the analyses suggest that the storm-time substorms are associated more
closely with the auroral oval, at least spatially, and, therefore, probably
with the plasma sheet dynamics during the main phase development. These
results then must call into question the widely held assumption that there
is no intrinsic difference between storm-time substorms and classical
isolated substorms
A Laboratory Investigation of Supersonic Clumpy Flows: Experimental Design and Theoretical Analysis
We present a design for high energy density laboratory experiments studying
the interaction of hypersonic shocks with a large number of inhomogeneities.
These ``clumpy'' flows are relevant to a wide variety of astrophysical
environments including the evolution of molecular clouds, outflows from young
stars, Planetary Nebulae and Active Galactic Nuclei. The experiment consists of
a strong shock (driven by a pulsed power machine or a high intensity laser)
impinging on a region of randomly placed plastic rods. We discuss the goals of
the specific design and how they are met by specific choices of target
components. An adaptive mesh refinement hydrodynamic code is used to analyze
the design and establish a predictive baseline for the experiments. The
simulations confirm the effectiveness of the design in terms of articulating
the differences between shocks propagating through smooth and clumpy
environments. In particular, we find significant differences between the shock
propagation speeds in a clumpy medium compared to a smooth one with the same
average density. The simulation results are of general interest for foams in
both inertial confinement fusion and laboratory astrophysics studies. Our
results highlight the danger of using average properties of inhomogeneous
astrophysical environments when comparing timescales for critical processes
such as shock crossing and gravitational collapse times.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal. For
additional information, including simulation animations and the pdf and ps
files of the paper with embedded high-quality images, see
http://pas.rochester.edu/~wm
Temporal Interferometry: A Mechanism for Controlling Qubit Transitions During Twisted Rapid Passage with Possible Application to Quantum Computing
In an adiabatic rapid passage experiment, the Bloch vector of a two-level
system (qubit) is inverted by slowly inverting an external field to which it is
coupled, and along which it is initially aligned. In twisted rapid passage, the
external field is allowed to twist around its initial direction with azimuthal
angle at the same time that it is inverted. For polynomial twist:
. We show that for , multiple avoided crossings
can occur during the inversion of the external field, and that these crossings
give rise to strong interference effects in the qubit transition probability.
The transition probability is found to be a function of the twist strength ,
which can be used to control the time-separation of the avoided crossings, and
hence the character of the interference. Constructive and destructive
interference are possible. The interference effects are a consequence of the
temporal phase coherence of the wavefunction. The ability to vary this
coherence by varying the temporal separation of the avoided crossings renders
twisted rapid passage with adjustable twist strength into a temporal
interferometer through which qubit transitions can be greatly enhanced or
suppressed. Possible application of this interference mechanism to construction
of fast fault-tolerant quantum CNOT and NOT gates is discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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