461 research outputs found
Some Practical Applications of Dark Matter Research
Two practical spin-offs from the development of cryogenic dark matter
detectors are presented. One in materials research, the other in biology.Comment: 8 pages,4 figure
Simulation of some quantum gates, with decoherence
Methods and results for numerical simulations of one and two interacting
rf-Squid systems suitable for adiabatic quantum gates are presented. These are
based on high accuracy numerical solutions to the static and time dependent
Schroedinger equation for the full Squid Hamiltonian in one and two variables.
Among the points examined in the static analysis is the range of validity of
the effective two-state or ``spin 1/2'' picture. A range of parameters is
determined where the picture holds to good accuracy as the energy levels
undergo gate manipulations. Some general points are presented concerning the
relations between device parameters and ``good'' quantum mechanical state
spaces.
The time dependent simulations allow the examination of suitable conditions
for adiabatic behavior, and permits the introduction of a random noise to
simulate the effects of decoherence. A formula is derived and tested relating
the random noise to the decoherence rate. Sensitivity to device and operating
parameters for the logical gates NOT and CNOT are examined, with particular
attention to values of the tunnel parameter beta slightly above one. It appears
that with values of beta close to one, a quantum CNOT gate is possible even
with rather short decoherence times.
Many of the methods and results will apply to coupled double-potential well
systems in general.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, Some clarification added on decoherence
treatment, many small errors corrected, symbols on some figures enlarged,
refs added. No change in conten
On the Significance of the Quantity "A Squared"
We consider the gauge potential A and argue that the minimum value of the
volume integral of A squared (in Euclidean space) may have physical meaning,
particularly in connection with the existence of topological structures. A
lattice simulation comparing compact and non-compact ``photodynamics'' shows a
jump in this quantity at the phase transition, supporting this idea.Comment: 6 pages, one figur
Parity-Violating Interaction Effects in the np System
We investigate parity-violating observables in the np system, including the
longitudinal asymmetry and neutron-spin rotation in np elastic scattering, the
photon asymmetry in np radiative capture, and the asymmetries in deuteron
photo-disintegration d(gamma,n)p in the threshold region and
electro-disintegration d(e,e`)np in quasi-elastic kinematics. To have an
estimate of the model dependence for the various predictions, a number of
different, latest-generation strong-interaction potentials--Argonne v18, Bonn
2000, and Nijmegen I--are used in combination with a weak-interaction potential
consisting of pi-, rho-, and omega-meson exchanges--the model known as DDH. The
complete bound and scattering problems in the presence of parity-conserving,
including electromagnetic, and parity-violating potentials is solved in both
configuration and momentum space. The issue of electromagnetic current
conservation is examined carefully. We find large cancellations between the
asymmetries induced by the parity-violating interactions and those arising from
the associated pion-exchange currents. In the np capture, the model dependence
is nevertheless quite small, because of constraints arising through the Siegert
evaluation of the relevant E1 matrix elements. In quasi-elastic electron
scattering these processes are found to be insignificant compared to the
asymmetry produced by gamma-Z interference on individual nucleons.Comment: 65 pages, 26 figures, submitted to PR
The -cleus experiment: A gram-scale fiducial-volume cryogenic detector for the first detection of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering
We discuss a small-scale experiment, called -cleus, for the first
detection of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering by probing nuclear-recoil
energies down to the 10 eV-regime. The detector consists of low-threshold
CaWO and AlO calorimeter arrays with a total mass of about 10 g and
several cryogenic veto detectors operated at millikelvin temperatures.
Realizing a fiducial volume and a multi-element target, the detector enables
active discrimination of , neutron and surface backgrounds. A first
prototype AlO device, operated above ground in a setup without
shielding, has achieved an energy threshold of eV and further
improvements are in reach. A sensitivity study for the detection of coherent
neutrino scattering at nuclear power plants shows a unique discovery potential
(5) within a measuring time of weeks. Furthermore, a site
at a thermal research reactor and the use of a radioactive neutrino source are
investigated. With this technology, real-time monitoring of nuclear power
plants is feasible.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figure
Statistics and noise in a quantum measurement process
The quantum measurement process by a single-electron transistor or a quantum
point contact coupled to a quantum bit is studied. We find a unified
description of the statistics of the monitored quantity, the current, in the
regime of strong measurement and expect this description to apply for a wide
class of quantum measurements. We derive the probability distributions for the
current and charge in different stages of the process. In the parameter regime
of the strong measurement the current develops a telegraph-noise behavior which
can be detected in the noise spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Comment on "Gravitationally Induced Neutrino-Oscillation Phases"
We critically examine the recent claim (gr-qc/9603008) of a ``new effect'' of
gravitationally induced quantum mechanical phases in neutrino oscillations. A
straightforward exercise in the Schwarzschild coordinates appropriate to a
spherically symmetric non-rotating star shows that, although there is a general
relativistic effect of the star's gravity on neutrino oscillations, it is not
of the form claimed, and is too small to be measured.Comment: Plain LaTeX, 7 pages, no figure
Life-Cycle Energy Savings Potential from Aluminum-Intensive Vehicles
The life-cycle energy and fuel-use impacts of US-produced aluminum-intensive passenger cars and passenger trucks are assessed. The energy analysis includes vehicle fuel consumption, material production energy, and recycling energy. A model that stimulates market dynamics was used to project aluminum-intensive vehicle market shares and national energy savings potential for the period between 2005 and 2030. We conclude that there is a net energy savings with the use of aluminum-intensive vehicles. Manufacturing costs must be reduced to achieve significant market penetration of aluminum-intensive vehicles. The petroleum energy saved from improved fuel efficiency offsets the additional energy needed to manufacture aluminum compared to steel. The energy needed to make aluminum can be reduced further if wrought aluminum is recycled back to wrought aluminum. We find that oil use is displaced by additional use of natural gas and nonfossil energy, but use of coal is lower. Many of the results are not necessarily applicable to vehicles built outside of the United States, but others could be used with caution
Continuous weak measurement of quantum coherent oscillations
We consider the problem of continuous quantum measurement of coherent
oscillations between two quantum states of an individual two-state system. It
is shown that the interplay between the information acquisition and the
backaction dephasing of the oscillations by the detector imposes a fundamental
limit, equal to 4, on the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurement. The limit
is universal, e.g., independent of the coupling strength between the detector
and system, and results from the tendency of quantum measurement to localize
the system in one of the measured eigenstates
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