15,456 research outputs found
Wave packet dynamics of potassium dimers attached to helium nanodroplets
The dynamics of vibrational wave packets excited in K dimers attached to
superfluid helium nanodroplets is investigated by means of femtosecond
pump-probe spectroscopy. The employed resonant three-photon-ionization scheme
is studied in a wide wavelength range and different pathways leading to
K-formation are identified. While the wave packet dynamics of the
electronic ground state is not influenced by the helium environment,
perturbations of the electronically excited states are observed. The latter
reveal a strong time dependence on the timescale 3-8 ps which directly reflects
the dynamics of desorption of K off the helium droplets
Entanglement-enhanced measurement of a completely unknown phase
The high-precision interferometric measurement of an unknown phase is the
basis for metrology in many areas of science and technology. Quantum
entanglement provides an increase in sensitivity, but present techniques have
only surpassed the limits of classical interferometry for the measurement of
small variations about a known phase. Here we introduce a technique that
combines entangled states with an adaptive algorithm to precisely estimate a
completely unspecified phase, obtaining more information per photon that is
possible classically. We use the technique to make the first ab initio
entanglement-enhanced optical phase measurement. This approach will enable
rapid, precise determination of unknown phase shifts using interferometry.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Adaptive Measurements in the Optical Quantum Information Laboratory
Adaptive techniques make practical many quantum measurements that would
otherwise be beyond current laboratory capabilities. For example: they allow
discrimination of nonorthogonal states with a probability of error equal to the
Helstrom bound; they allow measurement of the phase of a quantum oscillator
with accuracy approaching (or in some cases attaining) the Heisenberg limit;
and they allow estimation of phase in interferometry with a variance scaling at
the Heisenberg limit, using only single qubit measurement and control. Each of
these examples has close links with quantum information, in particular
experimental optical quantum information: the first is a basic quantum
communication protocol; the second has potential application in linear optical
quantum computing; the third uses an adaptive protocol inspired by the quantum
phase estimation algorithm. We discuss each of these examples, and their
implementation in the laboratory, but concentrate upon the last, which was
published most recently [Higgins {\em et al.}, Nature vol. 450, p. 393, 2007].Comment: 12 pages, invited paper to be published in IEEE Journal of Selected
Topics in Quantum Electronics: Quantum Communications and Information Scienc
PERFORMANCE OF THE EXACT AND CHI-SQUARE TESTS ON SPARSE CONTINGENCY TABLES
A cross-sectional observational study design was used to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 in wild deer feces. Samples were voluntarily submitted at a number of different locations. In order to determine if the proportions of E. coli 0157: H7 positive samples submitted were equal for each of the 26 locations, a 26 by 2 contingency table was analyzed. There were only four E. coli 0157:H7 positive samples, which resulted in a sparse table. It is possible to obtain statistically significant results in sparse tables using Fisher\u27s exact test, whereas the chi-square test is generally unreliable in such situations. Thus, Fisher\u27s exact test should be considered when small expected cell counts bring into question the validity of the chi-square test. However, the statistical conclusions based on either the exact test or an asymptotic chi-square test are shown to vary drastically by slight alterations in the distribution of non-empty cells. Therefore, a different statistical conclusion very easily could have been reached if a volunteer had submitted a sample at a different location. In addition, we show that the computational times for exact tests in SAS® can be an applicational limitation
Using weak values to experimentally determine "negative probabilities" in a two-photon state with Bell correlations
Bipartite quantum entangled systems can exhibit measurement correlations that
violate Bell inequalities, revealing the profoundly counter-intuitive nature of
the physical universe. These correlations reflect the impossibility of
constructing a joint probability distribution for all values of all the
different properties observed in Bell inequality tests. Physically, the
impossibility of measuring such a distribution experimentally, as a set of
relative frequencies, is due to the quantum back-action of projective
measurements. Weakly coupling to a quantum probe, however, produces minimal
back-action, and so enables a weak measurement of the projector of one
observable, followed by a projective measurement of a non-commuting observable.
By this technique it is possible to empirically measure weak-valued
probabilities for all of the values of the observables relevant to a Bell test.
The marginals of this joint distribution, which we experimentally determine,
reproduces all of the observable quantum statistics including a violation of
the Bell inequality, which we independently measure. This is possible because
our distribution, like the weak values for projectors on which it is built, is
not constrained to the interval [0, 1]. It was first pointed out by Feynman
that, for explaining singlet-state correlations within "a [local] hidden
variable view of nature ... everything works fine if we permit negative
probabilities". However, there are infinitely many such theories. Our method,
involving "weak-valued probabilities", singles out a unique set of
probabilities, and moreover does so empirically.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Steep sharp-crested gravity waves on deep water
A new type of steady steep two-dimensional irrotational symmetric periodic
gravity waves on inviscid incompressible fluid of infinite depth is revealed.
We demonstrate that these waves have sharper crests in comparison with the
Stokes waves of the same wavelength and steepness. The speed of a fluid
particle at the crest of new waves is greater than their phase speed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Dynamic Creation and Annihilation of Metastable Vortex Phase as a Source of Excess Noise
The large increase in voltage noise, commonly observed in the vicinity of the
peak-effect in superconductors, is ascribed to a novel noise mechanism. A
strongly pinned metastable disordered vortex phase, which is randomly generated
at the edges and annealed into ordered phase in the bulk, causes large
fluctuations in the integrated critical current of the sample. The excess noise
due to this dynamic admixture of two distinct phases is found to display
pronounced reentrant behavior. In the Corbino geometry the injection of the
metastable phase is prevented and, accordingly, the excess noise disappearsComment: 5 pages 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Europhysics letter
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF FIELD WHEAT VARIETAL PERFORMANCE TRIALS
The purpose of this research was to formulate statistical models and assumptions to apply to the problem of comparing wheat varieties for yielding ability among locations within seasons and over seasons. The methodology could just as well be applied to field testing of other crops for yield or other characteristics of interest (test weight, protein level, etc.)
The methodology approaches the problem of comparing varieties by comparing how well each measures up when matched against some common checks. For each variety, the basic data are differences in yield between the variety and the average yield of the checks at different testing locations within a season and over seasons. The differences are assumed to be nature-randomized sample values from a population of differences created by different environments within seasons and over seasons.
The methodology is illustrated by application to hard red spring wheat varieties in the U. S. N orthem Plains. Results showing varieties in descending order by differential yielding ability, together with standard errors and probabilities when testing null hypotheses, provide a consolidated summary of elite varieties in testing programs
Superabsorption of light via quantum engineering
Almost 60 years ago Dicke introduced the term superradiance to describe a
signature quantum effect: N atoms can collectively emit light at a rate
proportional to N^2. Even for moderate N this represents a significant increase
over the prediction of classical physics, and the effect has found applications
ranging from probing exciton delocalisation in biological systems, to
developing a new class of laser, and even in astrophysics. Structures that
super-radiate must also have enhanced absorption, but the former always
dominates in natural systems. Here we show that modern quantum control
techniques can overcome this restriction. Our theory establishes that
superabsorption can be achieved and sustained in certain simple nanostructures,
by trapping the system in a highly excited state while extracting energy into a
non-radiative channel. The effect offers the prospect of a new class of quantum
nanotechnology, capable of absorbing light many times faster than is currently
possible; potential applications of this effect include light harvesting and
photon detection. An array of quantum dots or a porphyrin ring could provide an
implementation to demonstrate this effect
Stick-slip instability for viscous fingering in a gel
The growth dynamics of an air finger injected in a visco-elastic gel (a
PVA/borax aqueous solution) is studied in a linear Hele-Shaw cell. Besides the
standard Saffmann-Taylor instability, we observe - with increasing finger
velocities - the existence of two new regimes: (a) a stick-slip regime for
which the finger tip velocity oscillates between 2 different values, producing
local pinching of the finger at regular intervals, (b) a ``tadpole'' regime
where a fracture-type propagation is observed. A scaling argument is proposed
to interpret the dependence of the stick-slip frequency with the measured
rheological properties of the gel.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Europhysics Letter
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