Universal decoherence induced by an environmental quantum phase transition

Decoherence induced by coupling a system with an environment may display universal features. Here we demostrate that when the coupling to the system drives a quantum phase transition in the environment, the temporal decay of quantum coherences in the system is Gaussian with a width independent of the system-environment coupling strength. The existence of this effect opens the way for a new type of quantum simulation algorithm, where a single qubit is used to detect a quantum phase transition. We discuss possible implementations of such algorithm and we relate our results to available data on universal decoherence in NMR echo experiments

Comparing the Overhead of Topological and Concatenated Quantum Error Correction

This work compares the overhead of quantum error correction with concatenated and topological quantum error-correcting codes. To perform a numerical analysis, we use the Quantum Resource Estimator Toolbox (QuRE) that we recently developed. We use QuRE to estimate the number of qubits, quantum gates, and amount of time needed to factor a 1024-bit number on several candidate quantum technologies that differ in their clock speed and reliability. We make several interesting observations. First, topological quantum error correction requires fewer resources when physical gate error rates are high, white concatenated codes have smaller overhead for physical gate error rates below approximately 10E-7. Consequently, we show that different error-correcting codes should be chosen for two of the studied physical quantum technologies - ion traps and superconducting qubits. Second, we observe that the composition of the elementary gate types occurring in a typical logical circuit, a fault-tolerant circuit protected by the surface code, and a fault-tolerant circuit protected by a concatenated code all differ. This also suggests that choosing the most appropriate error correction technique depends on the ability of the future technology to perform specific gates efficiently

Comparison and Assessment of Two Emission inventories for the Madrid Region

Emission inventories are databases that aim to describe the polluting activities that occur across a certain geographic domain. According to the spatial scale, the availability of information will vary as well as the applied assumptions, which will strongly influence its quality, accuracy and representativeness. This study compared and contrasted two emission inventories describing the Greater Madrid Region (GMR) under an air quality simulation approach. The chosen inventories were the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) and the Regional Emissions Inventory of the Greater Madrid Region (REI). Both of them were used to feed air quality simulations with the CMAQ modelling system, and the results were compared with observations from the air quality monitoring network in the modelled domain. Through the application of statistical tools, the analysis of emissions at cell level and cell – expansion procedures, it was observed that the National Inventory showed better results for describing on – road traffic activities and agriculture, SNAP07 and SNAP10. The accurate description of activities, the good characterization of the vehicle fleet and the correct use of traffic emission factors were the main causes of such a good correlation. On the other hand, the Regional Inventory showed better descriptions for non – industrial combustion (SNAP02) and industrial activities (SNAP03). It incorporated realistic emission factors, a reasonable fuel mix and it drew upon local information sources to describe these activities, while NEI relied on surrogation and national datasets which leaded to a poorer representation. Off – road transportation (SNAP08) was similarly described by both inventories, while the rest of the SNAP activities showed a marginal contribution to the overall emissions

Feeding Biology of Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris Melanotos (Birds: Scolopacidae) In the Floodplain of the Paraná River, Argentina

This study focuses upon the nourishing biology of the Pectoral Sandpiper at the floodplain of the Paraná river during  spring and summer. Trophic spectrum, feeding selectivity and efficiency, extent of the trophic niche, circadian rhythm of feeding activity, size of preys and habitat preference were evaluated. Twenty eight stomachs were analyzed Containing twenty-seven taxonomic entities: 12 were vegetal 15 animal. The highest index’s values of relative importance were for seeds and coleoptera; showing this a generalist diet. The amplitude of the trophic niche remined constant along the studied periodFeeding was more active during early morning hours. The more frequent prey size were between 1.5 and 5 mm .The habitat preference index was registered only for the beach (Pi=0.7). This work constitutes the first contribution to knowledge of this species feeding ecology in this region.Fil: Bagnarol, Mónica. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias; ArgentinaFil: Beltzer, Adolfo Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Quiroga, Martin Anibal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Ducommun, Maria de la Paz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Ronchi Virgolini, Ana Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; Argentin

PAssive Thermal Coating Observatory Operating in Low Earth Orbit (PATCOOL)

The PATCOOL is a NASA sponsored, University of Florida developed 3U CubeSat meant to investigate the feasibility of using a cryogenic selective surface coating as a new, more efficient way of passively cooling components in space. Initial tests on the ground demonstrate that this coating should provide a much higher reflectance of the Sun's irradiant power than any existing coating, while still providing far-infrared power emission. The ultimate validation of this technology requires on-orbit testing. PATCOOL hosts a 4-sample housing, with the samples shaped as thin cylinders (coin-like). Two samples are coated with state-of-the-art material, while the other pair uses the new coating to be evaluated. The temperatures of all samples during the mission (minimum 72 hours of data collection) are measured via thermistors. The samples are connected via thin Kevlar strings to the housing, to minimize heat transfer. The housing is designed to shield the samples from Earth's thermal radiation, and the CubeSat is attitude stabilized and controlled via a gravity gradient boom, magnetorquers and a reaction wheel set. Thermal Desktop simulations show PATCOOL's ability to thermally isolate the samples from heat exchanges other than with Sun and deep space, thanks to its thermal design and the chosen attitude profil

Passive Thermal Coating Observatory Operating in Low-Earth Orbit (PATCOOL) Cubesat Design to Test Passive Thermal Coatings in Space

The PATCOOL is a NASA sponsored, University of Florida developed 3U Cu-beSat meant to investigate the feasibility of using a cryogenic selective surface coating as a new, more efficient way of passively cooling components in space. Initial tests on the ground demonstrate that this coating should provide a much higher reflectance of the Suns irradiant power than any existing coating, while still providing far-infrared power emission. The ultimate validation of this tech-nology requires on-orbit testing. PATCOOL hosts a 4-sample housing, with the samples shaped as thin cylinders (coin-like). Two samples are coated with state-of-the-art material, while the other pair uses the new coating to be evaluated. The temperatures of all samples during the mission (minimum 72 hours of data col-lection) are measured via thermistors. The samples are connected via thin Kevlar strings to the housing, to minimize heat transfer. The housing is designed to shield the samples from Earths thermal radiation, and the CubeSat is attitude stabilized and controlled via a gravity gradient boom, magnetorquers and a reaction wheel set. Thermal Desktop simulations show PATCOOLs ability to thermally isolate the samples from heat exchanges other than with Sun and deep space, thanks to its thermal design and the chosen attitude profile

Descontentamento na Europa em tempos de austeridade : da açao coletiva a participaçao individual no protesto social'

Background of INCASI Project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015 GA 691004. WP1: CompilationEste artigo centra se no exame do novo ciclo de protesto social na Europa em resposta à austeridade neoliberal, considerando dois níveis de análise: o nívelmacro da ação coletiva, identificando algumas das condições, motivações e características das iniciativas dos novíssimos movimentos sociais e das iniciativas dos sindicatos, explorando as suas diferenças e complementaridades e potencialde articulação; e o nível micro da participação individual, considerando as condições e motivações da participação dos indivíduos nas manifestações de protesto, com base no Inquérito Social Europeu de 2012, com destaque para as características sociodemográficas, incluindo os níveis educacionais e inserçãolaboral; o descontentamento com a democracia e a economia e a desconfiança nas instituições democráticas; a filiação sindical e participação nas eleições nacionais; e as reivindicações de justiça social nomeadamente quanto à redução da pobreza e desigualdade de rendimentos. No final do artigo explora se em que medida as condições e motivações da participação individual correspondem em maior ou menor grau às condições e motivações da ação coletiva, isto é, dos protestos de iniciativa dos novíssimos movimentos sociais e/ou dos protestos de iniciativa sindical.This article analyses the new cycle of social protest in Europe in response to neoliberal austerity on two levels: firstly, on the macro level of collective action, it identifies some of the characteristics, conditions and motives underlying the initiatives by the newest social movements and trade unions, and explores their differences, complementarities and potential connections; secondly, on the micro level of individual participation, it considers the conditions and motives for individual involvement in protests on the basis of the 2012 European Social Survey, with a particular emphasis on sociodemographic characteristics (including levels of education and employment), discontent with democracy and the economy, lack of confidence in democratic institutions, trade union membership, involvement in national elections, and demands for social justice, specifically with regard to reducing poverty and income inequality. It also explores the extent to which the conditions and reasons for individual participation correspond to the conditions and reasons for collective action, i.e. the protests organised by the newest social movements and/or the trade unions.L'article se penche sur le nouveau cycle de protestation sociale en Europe en réponse à l'austérité néolibérale, en tenant compte de deux niveaux d'analyse: le niveau macro, celui de l'action collective, en identifiant quelques­‑unes des conditions, motivations et caractéristiques des initiatives des très récents mouvements sociaux et des syndicats, tout en étudiant leurs différences et leurs complémentarités, ainsi que le potentiel d'articulation; et le niveau micro, celui de la participation individuelle, en tenant compte des conditions et des motivations des personnes ayant adhéré aux manifestations de protestation. Ceci ayant pour base l'Enquête Sociale Européenne de 2012, en soulignant tout particulièrement les caractéristiques sociodémographiques, comprenant les niveaux d'instruction et l'insertion dans la monde du travail; le mécontentement à l'égard de la démocratie et de l'économie et la méfiance envers les institutions démocratiques; l'appartenance syndicale et la participation aux élections nationales; les revendications de justice sociale, notamment quant à la diminution de la pauvreté et de l'inégalité des revenus. Nous chercherons aussi à savoir dans quelle mesure les conditions et les motivations individuelles correspondent aux conditions et motivations de l'action collective, c'est à dire, des protestations partant de l'initiative des très récents mouvements sociaux et/ou de celles partant de l'initiative syndicale

Coupled path and motion planning for a rover-manipulator system

This paper introduces a motion planning strategy aimed at the coordination of a rover and manipulator. The main purpose is to fetch samples of scientific interest that could be placed on difficult locations, requiring to maximize the workspace of the combined system. In order to validate this strategy, a simulation environment has been built, based on the VORTEX Studio platform. A virtual model of the ExoTer rover prototype, owned by the European Space Agency, has been used together with the same robot control software. Finally, we show in this paper the benefits of validating the proposed strategy on simulation, prior to its future use on the real experimental rover.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

The fate of spiral galaxies in clusters: The star formation history of the anemic Virgo cluster galaxy NGC 4569

We present a new method for studying the star formation history of late-type cluster galaxies undergoing gas starvation or a ram pressure stripping event by combining bidimensional multifrequency observations with multizone models of galactic chemical and spectrophotometric evolution. This method is applied to the Virgo Cluster anemic galaxy NGC 4569. We extract radial profiles from recently obtained UV GALEX images at 1530 and 2310 Å, from visible and near-IR narrow (Hα) and broadband images at different wavelengths (u, B, g, V, r, i, z, J, H, and K), from Spitzer IRAC and MIPS images, and from atomic and molecular gas maps. The model in the absence of interaction (characterized by its rotation velocity and spin parameter) is constrained by the unperturbed H-band light profile and by the Hα rotation curve. We can reconstruct the observed total gas radial density profile and the light surface brightness profiles at all wavelengths in a ram pressure stripping scenario by making simple assumptions about the gas removal process and the orbit of NGC 4569 inside the cluster. The observed profiles cannot be reproduced by simply stopping gas infall, thus mimicking starvation. Gas removal is required, which is more efficient in the outer disk, inducing radial quenching in the star formation activity, as observed and reproduced by the model. This observational result, consistent with theoretical predictions that a galaxy cluster-IGM interaction is able to modify structural disk parameters without gravitational perturbations, is discussed in the framework of the origin of lenticular galaxies in cluster