999 research outputs found
Experimental feedback control of quantum systems using weak measurements
A goal of the emerging field of quantum control is to develop methods for
quantum technologies to function robustly in the presence of noise. Central
issues are the fundamental limitations on the available information about
quantum systems and the disturbance they suffer in the process of measurement.
In the context of a simple quantum control scenario--the stabilization of
non-orthogonal states of a qubit against dephasing--we experimentally explore
the use of weak measurements in feedback control. We find that, despite the
intrinsic difficultly of implementing them, weak measurements allow us to
control the qubit better in practice than is even theoretically possible
without them. Our work shows that these more general quantum measurements can
play an important role for feedback control of quantum systems.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. v2 Added extra citation, journal reference and
DOI. Minor typographic correction
Truth-telling to the patient, family, and the sexual partner: a rights approach to the role of healthcare providers in adult HIV disclosure in China.
Patients' rights are central in today's legislation and social policies related to health care, including HIV care, in not only Western countries but around the world. However, given obvious socio-cultural differences it is often asked how or to what extent patients' rights should be respected in non-Western societies such as China. In this paper, it is argued that the patients' rights framework is compatible with Chinese culture, and that from the perspective of contemporary patient rights healthcare providers have a duty to disclose truthfully the diagnosis and prognosis to their patients, that the Chinese cultural practice of involving families in care should - with consent from the patient - be promoted out of respect for patients' rights and well-being, and that healthcare providers should be prepared to address the issue of disclosing a patient's HIV status to sexual partner(s). Legally, the provider should be permitted to disclose without consent from the patient but not obliged to in all cases. The decision to do this should be taken with trained sensitivity to a range of ethically relevant considerations. Post-disclosure counseling or psychological support should be in place to address the concerns of potentially adverse consequences of provider-initiated disclosure and to maximize the psychosocial and medical benefits of the disclosure. There is an urgent need for healthcare providers to receive training in ethics and disclosure skills. This paper concludes also with some suggestions for improving the centerpiece Chinese legislation, State Council's "Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Control" (2006), to further safeguard the rights and well-being of HIV patients
Thirty Meter Telescope Site Testing I: Overview
As part of the conceptual and preliminary design processes of the Thirty
Meter Telescope (TMT), the TMT site testing team has spent the last five years
measuring the atmospheric properties of five candidate mountains in North and
South America with an unprecedented array of instrumentation. The site testing
period was preceded by several years of analyses selecting the five candidates,
Cerros Tolar, Armazones and Tolonchar in northern Chile; San Pedro Martir in
Baja California, Mexico and the 13 North (13N) site on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Site
testing was concluded by the selection of two remaining sites for further
consideration, Armazones and Mauna Kea 13N. It showed that all five candidates
are excellent sites for an extremely large astronomical observatory and that
none of the sites stands out as the obvious and only logical choice based on
its combined properties. This is the first article in a series discussing the
TMT site testing project.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASP, April 2009 issu
IMAPS Observations of Interstellar Neutral Argon and the Implications for Partially Ionized Gas
We use the absorption features from neutral argon at 1048 and 1066 A to
determine interstellar abundances or their lower limits toward nine early-type
stars. These features were observed with the Interstellar Medium Absorption
Profile Spectrograph (IMAPS) along sight lines with low reddening and low
fractional abundances of molecular hydrogen. We find that the interstellar Ar I
is below its solar and B-star abundance with respect to hydrogen toward zeta
Pup, gamma2 Vel and beta Cen A with (logarithmic) reduction factors
-0.37+/-0.09, -0.18+/-0.10, and -0.61+/-0.12 dex, respectively.
While Ar can condense onto the surfaces of dust grains in the interiors of
dense clouds, it is unlikely that argon atoms are depleted by this process in
the low-density lines of sight considered in this study. Instead, we propose
that the relatively large photoionization cross section of Ar makes it much
easier to hide in its ionized form than H. In regions that are about half
ionized, this effect can lower Ar I/H I by -0.11 to -0.96 dex, depending on the
energy of the photoionizing radiation and its intensity divided by the local
electron density. We apply this interpretation for the condition of the gas in
front of beta Cen A, which shows the largest deficiency of Ar. Also, we
determine the expected magnitudes of the differential ionizations for He, N, O,
Ne and Ar in the partly ionized, warm gas in the local cloud around our solar
system. For the local cloud and others that can be probed by UV studies, the
observed Ar I to H I ratio may be a good discriminant between two possible
alternatives, collisional ionization or photoionization, for explaining the
existence of partly ionized regions.Comment: 36 pages, 3 figure
Modeling the climate impact of Southern Hemisphere ozone depletion:the importance of the ozone dataset
The ozone hole is an important driver of recent Southern Hemisphere (SH) climate change, and capturing these changes is a goal of climate modeling. Most climate models are driven by off-line ozone data sets. Previous studies have shown that there is a substantial range in estimates of SH ozone depletion, but the implications of this range have not been examined systematically. We use a climate model to evaluate the difference between using the ozone forcing (Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC)) used by many Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) models and one at the upper end of the observed depletion estimates (Binary Database of Profiles (BDBP)). In the stratosphere, we find that austral spring/summer polar cap cooling, geopotential height decreases, and zonal wind increases in the BDBP simulations are all doubled compared to the SPARC simulations, while tropospheric responses are 20–100% larger. These results are important for studies attempting to diagnose the climate fingerprints of ozone depletion
The optical/infrared counterpart(s) of IRAS 18333-2357
Observations of the potential optical counterparts of the unusual source IRAS 18333-2357 show that this source is associated with an extraordinary planetary nebula system in the galactic globular cluster M22. Three distinct optical objects were found within 2" of the IRAS 18333-2357 position as determined by precisely locating the 20 μm infrared source. One object is a red star with m_v ≈ 14.7 mag, which appears to be an unrelated background field star that is possibly significantly reddened beyond the line-of-sight reddening to M22. The second stellar object is a very blue star with m_v ≈ 14.3 mag located about 1~3 south of the red star. Absorption lines of He 11 and possibly H are present in 4000-5000 A spectra of the stellar pair, similar to spectra of planetary nebula nuclei. The third member of this optical triple is an extended emission line nebulosity approximately 10" x 7" in size, centered about 1" east and south of the red star. The ionized gas in this nebulosity is extraordinarily oxygen-rich and neon-rich relative to both hydrogen and helium compared to the atmospheres of M22 red giants and is substantially oxygen-rich and neon-rich relative to hydrogen in comparison with typical planetary nebulae. This nebulosity is almost certainly in M22. The blue star is also very likely to be a member of M22, the source of ionizing photons for the nebulosity and probably the luminosity source for IRAS 18333-2357. We suggest that the dust responsible for the strong infrared emission of IRAS 18333-2357 is physically associated with the M22 nebulosity. In this case the total nebular mass, comprised of 3-10 x 10^(-4) M_☉ of ionized gas plus > 6 x 10^(-4) M_☉ of silicate or carbon-based grains, is possibly dominated by the dust component. The 0, Mg, Si abundances in the case of silicate grains, or carbon in the case of carbon-based grains, may be enhanced relative to hydrogen by at least a factor of 1000 compared to solar abundances. The relative abundances and mass of the M22 nebula are very unusual among known planetary nebulae. It is speculated that this system in M22 may be the result of the interaction within a close binary system containing at least one 0-Ne white dwarf component, or perhaps related to planetary nebulae like A30 and A78
UBVJHKLM photometry and modeling of R Coronae Borealis
We present the results of UBVJHKLM photometry of R CrB spanning the period
from 1976 to 2001. Studies of the optical light curve have shown no evidence of
any stable harmonics in the variations of the stellar emission. In the L band
we found semi-regular oscillations with the two main periods of ~3.3 yr and
11.9 yr and the full amplitude of ~0.8 mag and ~0.6 mag, respectively. The
colors of the warm dust shell (resolved by Ohnaka et al. 2001) are found to be
remarkably stable in contrast to its brightness. This indicates that the inner
radius is a constant, time-independent characteristic of the dust shell. The
observed behavior of the IR light curve is mainly caused by the variation of
the optical thickness of the dust shell within the interval \tau(V)= 0.2-0.4.
Anticorrelated changes of the optical brightness (in particular with P ~ 3.3
yr) have not been found. Their absence suggests that the stellar wind of R CrB
deviates from spherical symmetry. The light curves suggest that the stellar
wind is variable. The variability of the stellar wind and the creation of dust
clouds may be caused by some kind of activity on the stellar surface. With some
time lag, periods of increased mass-loss cause an increase in the dust
formation rate at the inner boundary of the extended dust shell and an increase
in its IR brightness. We have derived the following parameters of the dust
shell (at mean brightness) by radiative transfer modeling: inner dust shell
radius r_in ~ 110 R_*, temperature T_dust(r_in) ~ 860 K, dust density
\rho_dust(r_in) ~ 1.1x10^{-20} g cm^-3, optical depth \tau(V) ~ 0.32 at 0.55
micron, mean dust formation rate [dM/dt]_dust ~ 3.1x10^-9 M_sun / yr, mass-loss
rate [dM/dt]_gas ~ 2.1x10^-7 M_sun / yr, size of the amorphous carbon grains
<(~) 0.01 micron, and B-V ~ -0.28.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Optical properties of BaFeCoAs
We present detailed temperature dependent optical data on
BaFeCoAs (BCFA), with x = 0.14, between 4 meV and 6.5 eV.
We analyze our spectra to determine the main optical parameters and show that
in this material the interband conductivity already starts around 10 meV. We
determine the superfluid density to be 2.2 10^{7}\Delta_{1}\pm\Delta_{2}\pm$ 2 meV.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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