12,621 research outputs found
A scale-model room as a practical teaching experiment
A practical experiment is described which was used to help university students increase their understanding of the effect of construction methods and window design on passive solar heating and electrical heating. A number of one tenth scale model rooms were constructed by students and sited out-of-doors in the late autumn. The models were fabricated to mimic available commercial construction techniques with careful consideration being given to window size and placement for solar access. Each model had a thermostatically controlled electric heating element. The temperatures and electricity use of the models were recorded using data-loggers over a two week period. The performances of the models based on energy consumption and internal temperature were compared with each other and with predictions based upon thermal mass and R-values. Examples of questions used by students to facilitate this process are included. The effect of scaling on thermal properties was analysed using Buckingham’s p-theorem.<br /
Vector coherent state representations, induced representations, and geometric quantization: II. Vector coherent state representations
It is shown here and in the preceeding paper (quant-ph/0201129) that vector
coherent state theory, the theory of induced representations, and geometric
quantization provide alternative but equivalent quantizations of an algebraic
model. The relationships are useful because some constructions are simpler and
more natural from one perspective than another. More importantly, each approach
suggests ways of generalizing its counterparts. In this paper, we focus on the
construction of quantum models for algebraic systems with intrinsic degrees of
freedom. Semi-classical partial quantizations, for which only the intrinsic
degrees of freedom are quantized, arise naturally out of this construction. The
quantization of the SU(3) and rigid rotor models are considered as examples.Comment: 31 pages, part 2 of two papers, published versio
An exactly solvable model of a superconducting to rotational phase transition
We consider a many-fermion model which exhibits a transition from a
superconducting to a rotational phase with variation of a parameter in its
Hamiltonian. The model has analytical solutions in its two limits due to the
presence of dynamical symmetries. However, the symmetries are basically
incompatible with one another; no simple solution exists in intermediate
situations. Exact (numerical) solutions are possible and enable one to study
the behavior of competing but incompatible symmetries and the phase transitions
that result in a semirealistic situation. The results are remarkably simple and
shed light on the nature of phase transitions.Comment: 11 pages including 1 figur
Measurement of outflow facility using iPerfusion
Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the predominant risk factor for glaucoma, and reducing IOP is the only successful strategy to prevent further glaucomatous vision loss. IOP is determined by the balance between the rates of aqueous humour secretion and outflow, and a pathological reduction in the hydraulic conductance of outflow, known as outflow facility, is responsible for IOP elevation in glaucoma. Mouse models are often used to investigate the mechanisms controlling outflow facility, but the diminutive size of the mouse eye makes measurement of outflow technically challenging. In this study, we present a new approach to measure and analyse outflow facility using iPerfusion™, which incorporates an actuated pressure reservoir, thermal flow sensor, differential pressure measurement and an automated computerised interface. In enucleated eyes from C57BL/6J mice, the flow-pressure relationship is highly non-linear and is well represented by an empirical power law model that describes the pressure dependence of outflow facility. At zero pressure, the measured flow is indistinguishable from zero, confirming the absence of any significant pressure independent flow in enucleated eyes. Comparison with the commonly used 2-parameter linear outflow model reveals that inappropriate application of a linear fit to a non-linear flow-pressure relationship introduces considerable errors in the estimation of outflow facility and leads to the false impression of pressure-independent outflow. Data from a population of enucleated eyes from C57BL/6J mice show that outflow facility is best described by a lognormal distribution, with 6-fold variability between individuals, but with relatively tight correlation of facility between fellow eyes. iPerfusion represents a platform technology to accurately and robustly characterise the flow-pressure relationship in enucleated mouse eyes for the purpose of glaucoma research and with minor modifications, may be applied in vivo to mice, as well as to eyes from other species or different biofluidic systems
Fast and robust two-qubit gates for scalable ion trap quantum computing
We propose a new concept for a two-qubit gate operating on a pair of trapped
ions based on laser coherent control techniques. The gate is insensitive to the
temperature of the ions, works also outside the Lamb-Dicke regime, requires no
individual addressing by lasers, and can be orders of magnitude faster than the
trap period
Representations of the Weyl group and Wigner functions for SU(3)
Bases for SU(3) irreps are constructed on a space of three-particle tensor
products of two-dimensional harmonic oscillator wave functions. The Weyl group
is represented as the symmetric group of permutations of the particle
coordinates of these space. Wigner functions for SU(3) are expressed as
products of SU(2) Wigner functions and matrix elements of Weyl transformations.
The constructions make explicit use of dual reductive pairs which are shown to
be particularly relevant to problems in optics and quantum interferometry.Comment: : RevTex file, 11 pages with 2 figure
Weak Gravitational Flexion
Flexion is the significant third-order weak gravitational lensing effect
responsible for the weakly skewed and arc-like appearance of lensed galaxies.
Here we demonstrate how flexion measurements can be used to measure galaxy halo
density profiles and large-scale structure on non-linear scales, via
galaxy-galaxy lensing, dark matter mapping and cosmic flexion correlation
functions. We describe the origin of gravitational flexion, and discuss its
four components, two of which are first described here. We also introduce an
efficient complex formalism for all orders of lensing distortion. We proceed to
examine the flexion predictions for galaxy-galaxy lensing, examining isothermal
sphere and Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) profiles and both circularly symmetric
and elliptical cases. We show that in combination with shear we can precisely
measure galaxy masses and NFW halo concentrations. We also show how flexion
measurements can be used to reconstruct mass maps in 2-D projection on the sky,
and in 3-D in combination with redshift data. Finally, we examine the
predictions for cosmic flexion, including convergence-flexion
cross-correlations, and find that the signal is an effective probe of structure
on non-linear scales.Comment: 17 pages, including 12 figures, submitted to MNRA
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