1,429 research outputs found
The merger of vertically offset quasi-geostrophic vortices
We examine the critical merging distance between two equal-volume, equal-potential-vorticity quasi-geostrophic vortices. We focus on how this distance depends on the vertical offset between the two vortices, each having a unit mean height-to-width aspect ratio. The vertical direction is special in the quasi-geostrophic model (used to capture the leading-order dynamical features of stably stratified and rapidly rotating geophysical flows) since vertical advection is absent. Nevertheless vortex merger may still occur by horizontal advection. In this paper, we first investigate the equilibrium states for the two vortices as a function of their vertical and horizontal separation. We examine their basic properties together with their linear stability. These findings are next compared to numerical simulations of the nonlinear evolution of two spheres of potential vorticity. Three different regimes of interaction are identified, depending on the vertical offset. For a small offset, the interaction differs little from the case when the two vortices are horizontally aligned. On the other hand, when the vertical offset is comparable to the mean vortex radius, strong interaction occurs for greater horizontal gaps than in the horizontally aligned case, and therefore at significantly greater full separation distances. This perhaps surprising result is consistent with the linear stability analysis and appears to be a consequence of the anisotropy of the quasi-geostrophic equations. Finally, for large vertical offsets, vortex merger results in the formation of a metastable tilted dumbbell vortex.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
At a cost: the real effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations
Unilateral adoption of transfer pricing regulations may have a negative impact on real investment by multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper uses a quasi-experimental research design, exploiting unique panel data on domestic and multinational companies in 27 countries during 2006-2014, to find that MNC affliates reduce their investment by over 11 percent following the introduction of transfer pricing regulations. There is no significant reduction in total investment by the MNC group, suggesting that these investments are most likely shifted to affliates in other countries. The impact of transfer pricing regulations corresponds to an increase in the "TPR-adjusted" corporate tax rate by almost one quarter
Correlated electron states and transport in triangular arrays
We study correlated electron states in frustrated geometry of a triangular
lattice. The interplay of long range interactions and finite residual entropy
of a classical system gives rise to unusual effects in equilibrium ordering as
well as in transport. A novel correlated fluid phase is identified in a wide
range of densities and temperatures above freezing into commensurate solid
phases. The charge dynamics in the correlated phase is described in terms of a
height field, its fluctuations, and topological defects. We demonstrate that
the height field fluctuations give rise to a ``free'' charge flow and finite dc
conductivity. We show that freezing into the solid phase, controlled by the
long range interactions, manifests itself in singularities of transport
properties.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure
Quantum state transfer in arrays of flux qubits
In this work, we describe a possible experimental realization of Bose's idea
to use spin chains for short distance quantum communication [S. Bose, {\it
Phys. Rev. Lett.} {\bf 91} 207901]. Josephson arrays have been proposed and
analyzed as transmission channels for systems of superconducting charge qubits.
Here, we consider a chain of persistent current qubits, that is appropriate for
state transfer with high fidelity in systems containing flux qubits. We
calculate the fidelity of state transfer for this system. In general, the
Hamiltonian of this system is not of XXZ-type, and we analyze the magnitude and
the effect of the terms that don't conserve the z-component of the total spin.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Selective darkening of degenerate transitions for implementing quantum controlled-NOT gates
We present a theoretical analysis of the selective darkening method for
implementing quantum controlled-NOT (CNOT) gates. This method, which we
recently proposed and demonstrated, consists of driving two
transversely-coupled quantum bits (qubits) with a driving field that is
resonant with one of the two qubits. For specific relative amplitudes and
phases of the driving field felt by the two qubits, one of the two transitions
in the degenerate pair is darkened, or in other words, becomes forbidden by
effective selection rules. At these driving conditions, the evolution of the
two-qubit state realizes a CNOT gate. The gate speed is found to be limited
only by the coupling energy J, which is the fundamental speed limit for any
entangling gate. Numerical simulations show that at gate speeds corresponding
to 0.48J and 0.07J, the gate fidelity is 99% and 99.99%, respectively, and
increases further for lower gate speeds. In addition, the effect of
higher-lying energy levels and weak anharmonicity is studied, as well as the
scalability of the method to systems of multiple qubits. We conclude that in
all these respects this method is competitive with existing schemes for
creating entanglement, with the added advantages of being applicable for qubits
operating at fixed frequencies (either by design or for exploitation of
coherence sweet-spots) and having the simplicity of microwave-only operation.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure
An Experimentally Realizable Weiss Model for Disorder-Free Glassiness
We summarize recent work on a frustrated periodic long-range Josephson array
in a parameter regime where its dynamical behavior is identical to that of the
disordered spherical model. We also discuss the physical requirements
imposed by the theory on the experimental realization of this superconducting
network.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, 2 Postscript figure
Detection of water absorption in the day side atmosphere of HD 189733 b using ground-based high-resolution spectroscopy at 3.2 microns
We report a 4.8 sigma detection of water absorption features in the day side
spectrum of the hot Jupiter HD 189733 b. We used high-resolution (R~100,000)
spectra taken at 3.2 microns with CRIRES on the VLT to trace the
radial-velocity shift of the water features in the planet's day side atmosphere
during 5 h of its 2.2 d orbit as it approached secondary eclipse. Despite
considerable telluric contamination in this wavelength regime, we detect the
signal within our uncertainties at the expected combination of systemic
velocity (Vsys=-3 +5-6 km/s) and planet orbital velocity (Kp=154 +14-10 km/s),
and determine a H2O line contrast ratio of (1.3+/-0.2)x10^-3 with respect to
the stellar continuum. We find no evidence of significant absorption or
emission from other carbon-bearing molecules, such as methane, although we do
note a marginal increase in the significance of our detection to 5.1 sigma with
the inclusion of carbon dioxide in our template spectrum. This result
demonstrates that ground-based, high-resolution spectroscopy is suited to
finding not just simple molecules like CO, but also to more complex molecules
like H2O even in highly telluric contaminated regions of the Earth's
transmission spectrum. It is a powerful tool that can be used for conducting an
immediate census of the carbon- and oxygen-bearing molecules in the atmospheres
of giant planets, and will potentially allow the formation and migration
history of these planets to be constrained by the measurement of their
atmospheric C/O ratios.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
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