2,402 research outputs found
Optical alignment and spinning of laser-trapped microscopic particles
Light-induced rotation of absorbing microscopic particles by transfer of
angular momentum from light to the material raises the possibility of optically
driven micromachines. The phenomenon has been observed using elliptically
polarized laser beams or beams with helical phase structure. But it is
difficult to develop high power in such experiments because of overheating and
unwanted axial forces, limiting the achievable rotation rates to a few hertz.
This problem can in principle be overcome by using transparent particles,
transferring angular momentum by a mechanism first observed by Beth in 1936,
when he reported a tiny torque developed in a quartz waveplate due to the
change in polarization of transmitted light. Here we show that an optical
torque can be induced on microscopic birefringent particles of calcite held by
optical tweezers. Depending on the polarization of the incident beam, the
particles either become aligned with the plane of polarization (and thus can be
rotated through specified angles) or spin with constant rotation frequency.
Because these microscopic particles are transparent, they can be held in
three-dimensional optical traps at very high power without heating. We have
observed rotation rates in excess of 350 Hz.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Hidden evidence of non-exponential nuclear decay
The framework to describe natural phenomena at their basics being quantum
mechanics, there exist a large number of common global phenomena occurring in
different branches of natural sciences. One such global phenomenon is
spontaneous quantum decay. However, its long time behaviour is experimentally
poorly known. Here we show, that by combining two genuine quantum mechanical
results, it is possible to infer on this large time behaviour, directly from
data. Specifically, we find evidence for non-exponential behaviour of alpha
decay of 8Be at large times from experiments.Comment: 12 pages LaTex, 3 figure
Pauli Exchange Errors in Quantum Computation
In many physically realistic models of quantum computation, Pauli exchange
interactions cause a subset of two-qubit errors to occur as a first order
effect of couplings within the computer, even in the absence of interactions
with the computer's environment. We give an explicit 9-qubit code that corrects
both Pauli exchange errors and all one-qubit errors.Comment: Final version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Early infant feeding and adiposity risk: from infancy to adulthood
Introduction: Systematic reviews suggest that a longer duration of breast-feeding is associated with a reduction in the risk of later overweight and obesity. Most studies examining breast-feeding in relation to adiposity have not used longitudinal analysis. In our study, we aimed to examine early infant feeding and adiposity risk in a longitudinal cohort from birth to young adulthood using new as well as published data.
Methods: Data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study in Perth, W.A., Australia, were used to examine associations between breast-feeding and measures of adiposity at 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 14, 17, and 20 years.
Results: Breast-feeding was measured in a number of ways. Longer breast-feeding (in months) was associated with reductions in weight z-scores between birth and 1 year (β = -0.027; p \u3c 0.001) in the adjusted analysis. At 3 years, breast-feeding for \u3c4 months increased the odds of infants experiencing early rapid growth (OR 2.05; 95% CI 1.43-2.94; p \u3c 0.001). From 1 to 8 years, children breast-fed for ≤4 months compared to ≥12 months had a significantly greater probability of exceeding the 95th percentile of weight. The age at which breast-feeding was stopped and a milk other than breast milk was introduced (introduction of formula milk) played a significant role in the trajectory of the BMI from birth to 14 years; the 4-month cutoff point was consistently associated with a higher BMI trajectory. Introduction of a milk other than breast milk before 6 months compared to at 6 months or later was a risk factor for being overweight or obese at 20 years of age (OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.12-1.93; p = 0.005).
Discussion: Breast-feeding until 6 months of age and beyond should be encouraged and is recommended for protection against increased adiposity in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Adverse long-term effects of early growth acceleration are fundamental in later overweight and obesity. Formula feeding stimulates a higher postnatal growth velocity, whereas breast-feeding promotes slower growth and a reduced likelihood of overweight and obesity. Biological mechanisms underlying the protective effect of breast-feeding against obesity are based on the unique composition and metabolic and physiological responses to human milk
Stabilizing distinguishable qubits against spontaneous decay by detected-jump correcting quantum codes
A new class of error-correcting quantum codes is introduced capable of
stabilizing qubits against spontaneous decay arising from couplings to
statistically independent reservoirs. These quantum codes are based on the idea
of using an embedded quantum code and exploiting the classical information
available about which qubit has been affected by the environment. They are
immediately relevant for quantum computation and information processing using
arrays of trapped ions or nuclear spins. Interesting relations between these
quantum codes and basic notions of design theory are established
Reaction-controlled diffusion: Monte Carlo simulations
We study the coupled two-species non-equilibrium reaction-controlled
diffusion model introduced by Trimper et al. [Phys. Rev. E 62, 6071 (2000)] by
means of detailed Monte Carlo simulations in one and two dimensions. Particles
of type A may independently hop to an adjacent lattice site provided it is
occupied by at least one B particle. The B particle species undergoes
diffusion-limited reactions. In an active state with nonzero, essentially
homogeneous B particle saturation density, the A species displays normal
diffusion. In an inactive, absorbing phase with exponentially decaying B
density, the A particles become localized. In situations with algebraic decay
rho_B(t) ~ t^{-alpha_B}, as occuring either at a non-equilibrium continuous
phase transition separating active and absorbing states, or in a power-law
inactive phase, the A particles propagate subdiffusively with mean-square
displacement ~ t^{1-alpha_A}. We find that within the accuracy of
our simulation data, \alpha_A = \alpha_B as predicted by a simple mean-field
approach. This remains true even in the presence of strong spatio-temporal
fluctuations of the B density. However, in contrast with the mean-field
results, our data yield a distinctly non-Gaussian A particle displacement
distribution n_A(x,t) that obeys dynamic scaling and looks remarkably similar
for the different processes investigated here. Fluctuations of effective
diffusion rates cause a marked enhancement of n_A(x,t) at low displacements
|x|, indicating a considerable fraction of practically localized A particles,
as well as at large traversed distances.Comment: Revtex, 19 pages, 27 eps figures include
A One-Dimensional Model for Many-Electron Atoms in Extremely Strong Magnetic Fields: Maximum Negative Ionization
We consider a one-dimensional model for many-electron atoms in strong
magnetic fields in which the Coulomb potential and interactions are replaced by
one-dimensional regularizations associated with the lowest Landau level. For
this model we show that the maximum number of electrons is bounded above by
2Z+1 + c sqrt{B}.
We follow Lieb's strategy in which convexity plays a critical role. For the
case of two electrons and fractional nuclear charge, we also discuss the
critical value at which the nuclear charge becomes too weak to bind two
electrons.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures. J. Phys. A: Math and General (in press) 199
Resonant continuum in the Hartree-Fock+BCS approximation
A method for incorporating the effect of the resonant continuum into
Hartree-Fock+BCS equations is proposed. The method is applied for the case of
a neutron-rich nucleus calculated with a Skyrme-type force plus a zero-range
pairing interaction and the results are compared with
Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations. It is shown that the widths of resonant
states have an important effect on the pairing properties of nuclei close to
the drip line.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, comparison with HFB adde
X-Ray Emission from Early-Type Galaxies: A Complete Sample Observed by ROSAT
To test the cooling flow model of early-type galaxies, we obtained a complete
magnitude-limited sample of 34 early-type galaxies, observed with the PSPC and
HRI on ROSAT. The X-ray to optical distribution of galaxies implies a lower
envelope that is consistent with the stellar emission inferred from Cen A. When
this stellar component is removed, the gaseous emission is related to the
optical luminosity by Lx proportional to L_B^m, where m = 3.0-3.5,
significantly steeper than the standard theory (m = 1.7). The dispersion about
the correlation is large, with a full range of 30-100 in Lx for a fixed L_B.
The X-ray temperature is related to the velocity dispersion temperature as Tx
proportional to Tsigma^n, where n = 1.43 +/- 0.21, although for several
galaxies, Tx is about twice Tsigma. The excessively hot galaxies are generally
the most luminous and are associated with the richest environments. We suggest
a model whereby environment influences the X-ray behavior of these galaxies:
early-type galaxies attempt to drive partial or total galactic winds, which can
be stifled by the pressure of their environment. Stifled winds should lead to
hotter and higher luminosity systems, which would occur most commonly in the
richest environments, as observed.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. 11 pages AASTeX + 2 figures
+ 1 table; added more processing info, brief comparison to ASCA data, added
reference
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