17,051 research outputs found
A path integral for classical dynamics, entanglement, and Jaynes-Cummings model at the quantum-classical divide
The Liouville equation differs from the von Neumann equation 'only' by a
characteristic superoperator. We demonstrate this for Hamiltonian dynamics, in
general, and for the Jaynes-Cummings model, in particular. -- Employing
superspace (instead of Hilbert space), we describe time evolution of density
matrices in terms of path integrals which are formally identical for quantum
and classical mechanics. They only differ by the interaction contributing to
the action. This allows to import tools developed for Feynman path integrals,
in order to deal with superoperators instead of quantum mechanical commutators
in real time evolution. Perturbation theory is derived. Besides applications in
classical statistical physics, the "classical path integral" and the parallel
study of classical and quantum evolution indicate new aspects of (dynamically
assisted) entanglement (generation). Our findings suggest to distinguish
'intra'- from 'inter-space' entanglement.Comment: 22 pages; based on invited talk at Quantum 2010 - Advances in
Foundations of Quantum mechanics and Quantum Information with Atoms and
Photons (Torino, May 2010). To appear in Int. J. Qu. Inf
The effects of donepezil in Alzheimer's disease - Results from a multinational trial
Donepezil has been shown to be well tolerated and to improve cognition and global function in patients with mild to moderately severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). The current trial was undertaken to investigate further the efficacy and safety of donepezil, in a multinational setting, in patients with mild to moderately severe AD. This 30-week, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study consisted of a 24-week, double-blind treatment phase followed by a 6-week, single-blind, placebo washout. Eight hundred and eighteen patients with mild to moderately severe AD were randomly allocated to treatment with single, daily doses of 5 or 10 mg donepezil, or placebo. The two primary efficacy measures were: a cognitive performance test, the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) and a global evaluation, the Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change with caregiver input (CIBIC plus). Secondary outcome measures included the Sum of the Boxes of the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR-SB), a modified Interview for Deterioration in Daily living activities in Dementia (IDDD) and a patient-rated quality of life assessment. Statistically significant improvements in cognitive and global function were observed, as evaluated by ADAS-cog and CIBIC plus, respectively, in both the 5 and 10 mg/day donepezil groups, compared with placebo. Treatment-associated changes were also observed in functional skills, as shown by improved scores on the CDR-SB and the complex-tasks component of the IDDD. A dose-response effect was evident, with the 10 mg/day donepezil group demonstrating greater benefits in all outcome measures than the 5 mg/day group. Donepezil was well tolerated by this patient population and did not produce any clinically significant laboratory test abnormalities. The results of this study confirm that donepezil is effective and well tolerated in treating the symptoms of mild to moderately severe AD
The Attractor and the Quantum States
The dissipative dynamics anticipated in the proof of 't Hooft's existence
theorem -- "For any quantum system there exists at least one deterministic
model that reproduces all its dynamics after prequantization" -- is constructed
here explicitly. We propose a generalization of Liouville's classical phase
space equation, incorporating dissipation and diffusion, and demonstrate that
it describes the emergence of quantum states and their dynamics in the
Schroedinger picture. Asymptotically, there is a stable ground state and two
decoupled sets of degrees of freedom, which transform into each other under the
energy-parity symmetry of Kaplan and Sundrum. They recover the familiar Hilbert
space and its dual. Expectations of observables are shown to agree with the
Born rule, which is not imposed a priori. This attractor mechanism is
applicable in the presence of interactions, to few-body or field theories in
particular.Comment: 14 pages; based on invited talk at 4th Workshop ad memoriam of Carlo
Novero "Advances in Foundations of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Information
with Atoms and Photons", Torino, May 2008; submitted to Int J Qu Inf
Non-thermal nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing using hyperpolarized Xenon
Current experiments in liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance quantum
computing are limited by low initial polarization. To address this problem, we
have investigated the use of optical pumping techniques to enhance the
polarization of a 2-qubit NMR quantum computer (13C and 1H in 13CHCl3). To
efficiently use the increased polarization, we have generalized the procedure
for effective pure state preparation. With this new, more flexible scheme, an
effective pure state was prepared with polarization-enhancement of a factor of
10 compared to the thermal state. An implementation of Grover's quantum search
algorithm was demonstrated using this new technique.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Submitted for publicatio
Resonant tunneling in a schematic model
Tunneling of an harmonically bound two-body system through an external
Gaussian barrier is studied in a schematic model which allows for a better
understanding of intricate quantum phenomena. The role of finite size and
internal structure is investigated in a consistent treatment. The excitation of
internal degrees of freedom gives rise to a peaked structure in the penetration
factor. The model results indicate that for soft systems the adiabatic limit is
not necessarily reached although often assumed in fusion of nuclei and in
electron screening effects at astrophysical energies.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Fluid Dynamics of Relativistic Quantum Dust
The microscopic transport equations for free fields are solved using the
Schwinger function. Thus, for general initial conditions, the evolution of the
energy-momentum tensor is obtained, incorporating the quantum effects exactly.
The result for relativistic fermions differs from classical hydrodynamics,
which is illustrated for Landau and Bjorken type initial conditions in this
model of exploding primordial matter. Free fermions behave like classical dust
concerning hydrodynamic observables. However, quantum effects which are present
in the initial state are preserved.Comment: 5 pages; LaTe
Transport on exploding percolation clusters
We propose a simple generalization of the explosive percolation process
[Achlioptas et al., Science 323, 1453 (2009)], and investigate its structural
and transport properties. In this model, at each step, a set of q unoccupied
bonds is randomly chosen. Each of these bonds is then associated with a weight
given by the product of the cluster sizes that they would potentially connect,
and only that bond among the q-set which has the smallest weight becomes
occupied. Our results indicate that, at criticality, all finite-size scaling
exponents for the spanning cluster, the conducting backbone, the cutting bonds,
and the global conductance of the system, change continuously and significantly
with q. Surprisingly, we also observe that systems with intermediate values of
q display the worst conductive performance. This is explained by the strong
inhibition of loops in the spanning cluster, resulting in a substantially
smaller associated conducting backbone.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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