Communication theory for the free space optical channel Interim technical report

Quantum detectors, noise mechanisms, and application to optical communication theor

Global analysis of muon decay measurements

We have performed a global analysis of muon decay measurements to establish model-independent limits on the space-time structure of the muon decay matrix element. We find limits on the scalar, vector and tensor coupling of right- and left-handed muons to right- and left-handed electrons. The limits on those terms that involve the decay of right-handed muons to left-handed electrons are more restrictive than in previous global analyses, while the limits on the other non-standard model interactions are comparable. The value of the Michel parameter eta found in the global analysis is -0.0036 \pm 0.0069, slightly more precise than the value found in a more restrictive analysis of a recent measurement. This has implications for the Fermi coupling constant G_F.Comment: 5 pages, 3 table

Refractive effects in the scattering of loosely bound nuclei

A study of the interaction of loosely bound nuclei 6,7Li at 9 and 19 AMeV with light targets has been undertaken. With the determination of unambiguous optical potentials in mind, elastic data for four projectile-target combinations and one neutron transfer reaction 13C(7Li,8Li)12C have been measured on a large angular range. The kinematical regime encompasses a region where the mean field (optical potential) has a marked variation with mass and energy, but turns out to be sufficiently surface transparent to allow strong refractive effects to be manifested in elastic scattering data at intermediate angles. The identified exotic feature, a "plateau" in the angular distributions at intermediate angles, is fully confirmed in four reaction channels and interpreted as a pre-rainbow oscillation resulting from the interference of the barrier and internal barrier farside scattering subamplitudes.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables to submit to Phys. Rev.

Analytic Gradients for Complete Active Space Pair-Density Functional Theory

Analytic gradient routines are a desirable feature for quantum mechanical methods, allowing for efficient determination of equilibrium and transition state structures and several other molecular properties. In this work, we present analytical gradients for multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) when used with a state-specific complete active space self-consistent field reference wave function. Our approach constructs a Lagrangian that is variational in all wave function parameters. We find that MC-PDFT locates equilibrium geometries for several small- to medium-sized organic molecules that are similar to those located by complete active space second-order perturbation theory but that are obtained with decreased computational cost

TuST: from Raw Data to Vehicular Traffic Simulation in Turin

Traffic simulations are becoming a standard way to study urban mobility patterns, to evaluate new traffic policies and to test modern vehicular technologies. For this reason, in recent years, mobility projects pushed towards an increase in the demand of traffic simulators and towards an extension of their area of investigation, aiming at covering a whole city and its suburbs. In this paper we describe the methodology we followed in the creation of a large-scale traffic simulation of a 400-Km^2 area around the Municipality of Turin. Our preliminary results demonstrate that a complete modeling of such a wide tool is possible at the expense of minor simplifications

Policy Cycle of the Urban Agenda for EU and its Effects on Territorial Cohesion

This chapter aims to analyse how, in the European Union’s public policy set, policies directed to cities and urban matters have become more relevant. The importance of these policies in the European agenda is seen in Cohesion Policy, but also in the Union’s other policies, with other thematic and sector focuses. The intention is also to analyse to what extent the transversal, trans-sector, multi-scale and transpolicy character – which urban questions have acquired in European policies – are contributing to the development of a new generation of public, national and regional policies, and to achieving higher levels of territorial cohesion. The pertinence of this research is reinforced by the creation of the Urban Agenda for EU, created in 2016 by the European Union, which aims to systematize and reorganize the different Union policies directed to cities and revalue their role in the process of European integration

Parent and self-report health-related quality of life measures in young patients with Tourette syndrome

Tourette syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics and comorbid behavioral problems. This study compared child- and parent-reported quality of life and everyday functioning. We assessed 75 children with Tourette syndrome, of which 42 (56%) had comorbid conditions (obsessive-compulsive disorder = 25; attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder = 6; both comorbidities = 4). All patients completed psychometric instruments, including the Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome-Quality of Life Scale for Children and Adolescents (child report) and the Child Tourette's Syndrome Impairment Scale (parent report). Data were compared for patients with pure Tourette syndrome, Tourette syndrome + obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome + attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Tourette syndrome + both comorbidities. There were no group differences in quality of life. However, there were differences for total, school, and home activities impairment scores. Children and parents may not share similar views about the impact of Tourette syndrome on functioning. The measurement of health-related quality of life in Tourette syndrome is more complex in children than adults

Deployment challenges and developments in wireless sensor networks clustering

Clustering techniques for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been extensively studied and proven to improve the network lifetime, a primary metric, used for performance evaluation of sensor networks. Although introduction of clustering techniques has the potential to reduce energy consumption and extend the lifetime of the network by decreasing the contention through either power control or node scheduling, scalability remains an issue. Therefore, the optimality of the cluster size still needs to be thoroughly investigated. In this paper, a single cluster head (CH) queuing model is presented. Using an event based simulation tool (Castalia), key issues that affect the practical deployment of clustering techniques in wireless sensor networks are analysed. These include identifying the bottlenecks in terms of cluster scalability and predicting the nature of data packets arrival distribution at the CH. Results presented show that this analysis can be used to specify the size of a cluster, when a specific flow of data is expected from the sensing nodes based on a particular application and also the distribution of the inter-arrival times of data packets at the CH follows exponential distribution

MIMO free-space optical communication employing subcarrier intensity modulation in atmospheric turbulence channels

In this paper, we analyse the error performance of transmitter/receiver array free-space optical (FSO) communication system employing binary phase shift keying (BPSK) subcarrier intensity modulation (SIM) in clear but turbulent atmospheric channel. Subcarrier modulation is employed to eliminate the need for adaptive threshold detector. Direct detection is employed at the receiver and each subcarrier is subsequently demodulated coherently. The effect of irradiance fading is mitigated with an array of lasers and photodetectors. The received signals are linearly combined using the optimal maximum ratio combining (MRC), the equal gain combining (EGC) and the selection combining (SelC). The bit error rate (BER) equations are derived considering additive white Gaussian noise and log normal intensity fluctuations. This work is part of the EU COST actions and EU projects