The quantum free electron laser

The quantum regime of the free-electron laser (FEL) interaction, where the recoil associated with photon emission plays a significant role, is discussed. The role of quantum effects and their relation to electron beam coherence are considered. An outline derivation of a 1D quantum high-gain FEL model and some of its predictions for the behaviour of a quantum FEL in the linear and non-linear regimes are presented. The effect of slippage and, consequently, the quantum regime of self-amplified spontaneous emission are discussed. Suggestions on how to realise a quantum FEL are presented and some recent related work is summarized

Evolution of virulence: triggering host inflammation allows invading pathogens to exclude competitors.

Virulence is generally considered to benefit parasites by enhancing resource-transfer from host to pathogen. Here, we offer an alternative framework where virulent immune-provoking behaviours and enhanced immune resistance are joint tactics of invading pathogens to eliminate resident competitors (transferring resources from resident to invading pathogen). The pathogen wins by creating a novel immunological challenge to which it is already adapted. We analyse a general ecological model of 'proactive invasion' where invaders not adapted to a local environment can succeed by changing it to one where they are better adapted than residents. However, the two-trait nature of the 'proactive' strategy (provocation of, and adaptation to environmental change) presents an evolutionary conundrum, as neither trait alone is favoured in a homogenous host population. We show that this conundrum can be resolved by allowing for host heterogeneity. We relate our model to emerging empirical findings on immunological mediation of parasite competition

Solving non-uniqueness in agglomerative hierarchical clustering using multidendrograms

In agglomerative hierarchical clustering, pair-group methods suffer from a problem of non-uniqueness when two or more distances between different clusters coincide during the amalgamation process. The traditional approach for solving this drawback has been to take any arbitrary criterion in order to break ties between distances, which results in different hierarchical classifications depending on the criterion followed. In this article we propose a variable-group algorithm that consists in grouping more than two clusters at the same time when ties occur. We give a tree representation for the results of the algorithm, which we call a multidendrogram, as well as a generalization of the Lance and Williams' formula which enables the implementation of the algorithm in a recursive way.Comment: Free Software for Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering using Multidendrograms available at http://deim.urv.cat/~sgomez/multidendrograms.ph

Modeling driver control behavior in both routine and near-accident driving

Building on ideas from contemporary neuroscience, a framework is proposed in which drivers’ steering and pedal behavior is modeled as a series of individual control adjustments, triggered after accumulation of sensory evidence for the need of an adjustment, or evidence that a previous or ongoing adjustment is not achieving the intended results. Example simulations are provided. Specifically, it is shown that evidence accumulation can account for previously unexplained variance in looming detection thresholds and brake onset timing. It is argued that the proposed framework resolves a discrepancy in the current driver modeling literature, by explaining not only the short-latency, well-tuned, closed-loop type of control of routine driving, but also the degradation into long-latency, ill-tuned open-loop control in more rare, unexpected, and urgent situations such as near-accidents

New minimal weight representations for left-to-right window methods

Abstract. For an integer w ≥ 2, a radix 2 representation is called a width-w nonadjacent form (w-NAF, for short) if each nonzero digit is an odd integer with absolute value less than 2 w−1, and of any w consecutive digits, at most one is nonzero. In elliptic curve cryptography, the w-NAF window method is used to efficiently compute nP where n is an integer and P is an elliptic curve point. We introduce a new family of radix 2 representations which use the same digits as the w-NAF but have the advantage that they result in a window method which uses less memory. This memory savings results from the fact that these new representations can be deduced using a very simple left-to-right algorithm. Further, we show that like the w-NAF, these new representations have a minimal number of nonzero digits. 1 Window Methods An operation fundamental to elliptic curve cryptography is scalar multiplication; that is, computing nP for an integer, n, and an elliptic curve point, P. A number of different algorithms have been proposed to perform this operation efficiently (see Ch. 3 of [4] for a recent survey). A variety of these algorithms, known as window methods, use the approach described in Algorithm 1.1. For example, suppose D = {0, 1, 3, 5, 7}. Using this digit set, Algorithm 1.1 first computes and stores P, 3P, 5P and 7P. After a D-radix 2 representation of n is computed its digits are read from left to right by the “for ” loop and nP is computed using doubling and addition operations (and no subtractions). One way to compute a D-radix 2 representation of n is to slide a 3-digit window from right to left across the {0, 1}-radix 2 representation of n (see Section 4). Using negative digits takes advantage of the fact that subtracting an elliptic curve point can be done just as efficiently as adding it. Suppose now that D

Does the extended Glasgow Outcome Scale add value to the conventional Glasgow Outcome Scale?

The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) is firmly established as the primary outcome measure for use in Phase III trials of interventions in traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the GOS has been criticized for its lack of sensitivity to detect small but clinically relevant changes in outcome. The Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) potentially addresses this criticism, and in this study we estimate the efficiency gain associated with using the GOSE in place of the GOS in ordinal analysis of 6-month outcome. The study uses both simulation and the reanalysis of existing data from two completed TBI studies, one an observational cohort study and the other a randomized controlled trial. As expected, the results show that using an ordinal technique to analyze the GOS gives a substantial gain in efficiency relative to the conventional analysis, which collapses the GOS onto a binary scale (favorable versus unfavorable outcome). We also found that using the GOSE gave a modest but consistent increase in efficiency relative to the GOS in both studies, corresponding to a reduction in the required sample size of the order of 3–5%. We recommend that the GOSE be used in place of the GOS as the primary outcome measure in trials of TBI, with an appropriate ordinal approach being taken to the statistical analysis

Low temperature transport in AC-driven Quantum Dots in the Kondo regime

We present a fully nonequilibrium calculation of the low temperature transport properties of a quantum dot in the Kondo regime when an AC potential is applied to the gate voltage. We solve a time dependent Anderson model with finite on-site Coulomb interaction. The interaction self-energy is calculated up to second order in perturbation theory in the on-site interaction, in the context of the Keldysh non-equilibrium technique, and the effect of the AC voltage is taken into account exactly for all ranges of AC frequencies and AC intensities. The obtained linear conductance and time-averaged density of states of the quantum dot evolve in a non trivial way as a function of the AC frequency and AC intensity of the harmonic modulation.Comment: 30 pages,7 figure

Nonequilibrium Transport through a Kondo Dot in a Magnetic Field: Perturbation Theory

Using nonequilibrium perturbation theory, we investigate the nonlinear transport through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime in the presence of a magnetic field. We calculate the leading logarithmic corrections to the local magnetization and the differential conductance, which are characteristic of the Kondo effect out of equilibrium. By solving a quantum Boltzmann equation, we determine the nonequilibrium magnetization on the dot and show that the application of both a finite bias voltage and a magnetic field induces a novel structure of logarithmic corrections not present in equilibrium. These corrections lead to more pronounced features in the conductance, and their form calls for a modification of the perturbative renormalization group.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Work function changes in the double layered manganite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7

We have investigated the behaviour of the work function of La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 as a function of temperature by means of photoemission. We found a decrease of 55 +/- 10 meV in going from 60 K to just above the Curie temperature (125 K) of the sample. Above T_C the work function appears to be roughly constant. Our results are exactly opposite to the work function changes calculated from the double-exchange model by Furukawa, but are consistent with other measurements. The disagreement with double-exchange can be explained using a general thermodynamic relation valid for second order transitions and including the extra processes involved in the manganites besides double-exchange interaction.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures included in tex

Relativistic corrections in magnetic systems

We present a weak-relativistic limit comparison between the Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation and its approximate form containing the exchange coupling, which is used in almost all relativistic codes of density-functional theory. For these two descriptions, an exact expression of the Dirac Green's function in terms of the non-relativistic Green's function is first derived and then used to calculate the effective Hamiltonian, i.e., Pauli Hamiltonian, and effective velocity operator in the weak-relativistic limit. We point out that, besides neglecting orbital magnetism effects, the approximate Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation also gives relativistic corrections which differ from those of the exact Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation. These differences have quite serious consequences: in particular, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of an uniaxial ferromagnet and the anisotropic magnetoresistance of a cubic ferromagnet are found from the approximate Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation to be of order $1/c^2$, whereas the correct results obtained from the exact Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation are of order $1/c^4$ . We give a qualitative estimate of the order of magnitude of these spurious terms