Decoherence by a chaotic many-spin bath

We numerically investigate decoherence of a two-spin system (central system) by a bath of many spins 1/2. By carefully adjusting parameters, the dynamical regime of the bath has been varied from quantum chaos to regular, while all other dynamical characteristics have been kept practically intact. We explicitly demonstrate that for a many-body quantum bath, the onset of quantum chaos leads to significantly faster and stronger decoherence compared to an equivalent non-chaotic bath. Moreover, the non-diagonal elements of the system's density matrix decay differently for chaotic and non-chaotic baths. Therefore, knowledge of the basic parameters of the bath (strength of the system-bath interaction, bath's spectral density of states) is not always sufficient, and much finer details of the bath's dynamics can strongly affect the decoherence process.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 5 eps figure

Constraining the Distribution of L- & T-Dwarfs in the Galaxy

We estimate the thin disk scale height of the Galactic population of L- & T-dwarfs based on star counts from 15 deep parallel fields from the Hubble Space Telescope. From these observations, we have identified 28 candidate L- & T- dwarfs based on their (i'-z') color and morphology. By comparing these star counts to a simple Galactic model, we estimate the scale height to be 350+-50 pc that is consistent with the increase in vertical scale with decreasing stellar mass and is independent of reddening, color-magnitude limits, and other Galactic parameters. With this refined measure, we predict that less than 10^9 M_{sol} of the Milky Way can be in the form L- & T- dwarfs, and confirm that high-latitude, z~6 galaxy surveys which use the i'-band dropout technique are 97-100% free of L- & T- dwarf interlopers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted to ApJ

Electromagnetic force density in dissipative isotropic media

We derive an expression for the macroscopic force density that a narrow-band electromagnetic field imposes on a dissipative isotropic medium. The result is obtained by averaging the microscopic form for Lorentz force density. The derived expression allows us to calculate realistic electromagnetic forces in a wide range of materials that are described by complex-valued electric permittivity and magnetic permeability. The three-dimensional energy-momentum tensor in our expression reduces for lossless media to the so-called Helmholtz tensor that has not been contradicted in any experiment so far. The momentum density of the field does not coincide with any well-known expression, but for non-magnetic materials it matches the Abraham expression

The effect of carrier density gradients on magnetotransport data measured in Hall bar geometry

We have measured magnetotransport of the two-dimensional electron gas in a Hall bar geometry in the presence of small carrier density gradients. We find that the longitudinal resistances measured at both sides of the Hall bar interchange by reversing the polarity of the magnetic field. We offer a simple explanation for this effect and discuss implications for extracting conductivity flow diagrams of the integer quantum Hall effect.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Where two fractals meet: the scaling of a self-avoiding walk on a percolation cluster

The scaling properties of self-avoiding walks on a d-dimensional diluted lattice at the percolation threshold are analyzed by a field-theoretical renormalization group approach. To this end we reconsider the model of Y. Meir and A. B. Harris (Phys. Rev. Lett. 63:2819 (1989)) and argue that via renormalization its multifractal properties are directly accessible. While the former first order perturbation did not agree with the results of other methods, we find that the asymptotic behavior of a self-avoiding walk on the percolation cluster is governed by the exponent nu_p=1/2 + epsilon/42 + 110epsilon^2/21^3, epsilon=6-d. This analytic result gives an accurate numeric description of the available MC and exact enumeration data in a wide range of dimensions 2<=d<=6.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Deforming the Maxwell-Sim Algebra

The Maxwell alegbra is a non-central extension of the Poincar\'e algebra, in which the momentum generators no longer commute, but satisfy $[P_\mu,P_\nu]=Z_{\mu\nu}$. The charges $Z_{\mu\nu}$ commute with the momenta, and transform tensorially under the action of the angular momentum generators. If one constructs an action for a massive particle, invariant under these symmetries, one finds that it satisfies the equations of motion of a charged particle interacting with a constant electromagnetic field via the Lorentz force. In this paper, we explore the analogous constructions where one starts instead with the ISim subalgebra of Poincar\'e, this being the symmetry algebra of Very Special Relativity. It admits an analogous non-central extension, and we find that a particle action invariant under this Maxwell-Sim algebra again describes a particle subject to the ordinary Lorentz force. One can also deform the ISim algebra to DISim$_b$, where $b$ is a non-trivial dimensionless parameter. We find that the motion described by an action invariant under the corresponding Maxwell-DISim algebra is that of a particle interacting via a Finslerian modification of the Lorentz force.Comment: Appendix on Lifshitz and Schrodinger algebras adde

Herbert Simon's decision-making approach: Investigation of cognitive processes in experts

This is a post print version of the article. The official published can be obtained from the links below - PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.Herbert Simon's research endeavor aimed to understand the processes that participate in human decision making. However, despite his effort to investigate this question, his work did not have the impact in the “decision making” community that it had in other fields. His rejection of the assumption of perfect rationality, made in mainstream economics, led him to develop the concept of bounded rationality. Simon's approach also emphasized the limitations of the cognitive system, the change of processes due to expertise, and the direct empirical study of cognitive processes involved in decision making. In this article, we argue that his subsequent research program in problem solving and expertise offered critical tools for studying decision-making processes that took into account his original notion of bounded rationality. Unfortunately, these tools were ignored by the main research paradigms in decision making, such as Tversky and Kahneman's biased rationality approach (also known as the heuristics and biases approach) and the ecological approach advanced by Gigerenzer and others. We make a proposal of how to integrate Simon's approach with the main current approaches to decision making. We argue that this would lead to better models of decision making that are more generalizable, have higher ecological validity, include specification of cognitive processes, and provide a better understanding of the interaction between the characteristics of the cognitive system and the contingencies of the environment

Low-lying GT(+) strength in Co-64 studied via the Ni-64(d,He-2)Co-64 reaction

The Ni-64(d,He-2)Co-64 reaction was studied at the AGOR cyclotron of KVI, Groningen, with the Big-Bite Spectrometer and the EuroSuperNova detector using a 171-MeV deuteron beam. An energy resolution of about 110 keV was achieved. In addition to the J(pi) = 1(+) ground state, several other 1(+) states could be identified in Co-64 and the strengths of the corresponding Gamow-Teller transitions were determined. The obtained strength distribution was compared with theoretical predictions and former (n,p) experimental results and displayed a good agreement. Due to the good energy resolution, detailed spectroscopic information was obtained, which supplements the data base needed for network calculations for supernova scenarios

Typical properties of optimal growth in the Von Neumann expanding model for large random economies

We calculate the optimal solutions of the fully heterogeneous Von Neumann expansion problem with $N$ processes and $P$ goods in the limit $N\to\infty$. This model provides an elementary description of the growth of a production economy in the long run. The system turns from a contracting to an expanding phase as $N$ increases beyond $P$. The solution is characterized by a universal behavior, independent of the parameters of the disorder statistics. Associating technological innovation to an increase of $N$, we find that while such an increase has a large positive impact on long term growth when $N\ll P$, its effect on technologically advanced economies ($N\gg P$) is very weak.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Quantum site percolation on amenable graphs

We consider the quantum site percolation model on graphs with an amenable group action. It consists of a random family of Hamiltonians. Basic spectral properties of these operators are derived: non-randomness of the spectrum and its components, existence of an self-averaging integrated density of states and an associated trace-formula.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX 2e, to appear in "Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computing", Brijuni, June 23-27, 2003. by Kluwer publisher