311 research outputs found
Embeddings into outer models
We explore the possibilities for elementary embeddings , where
and are models of ZFC with the same ordinals, , and
has access to large pieces of . We construct commuting systems of such maps
between countable transitive models that are isomorphic to various canonical
linear and partial orders, including the real line
The Role of Learning in Olfactory Sensitivity
INTRODUCTION: In recent years the psychological literature has reflected an increasing interest in the role of learning in perception. On the theoretical level, this interest is expressed principally by the considerable attention given to two current attempts to account for perceptual learning (Gibson & Gibson, 1955a: Postman, 1955). On the empirical level, the problems of industry and the military have generated a multitude of investigations in this area. These problems range in diversity from the training of military personnel in the identification of aircraft to the training of tasters in the food industry.
The remainder of this chapter will be devoted to a critical analysis of the theoretical formulation of perceptual learning and to a review of the empirical findings relevant to the present experiment
Pair Events in Superluminal Optics
When an object moves faster than emissions it creates, it may appear at two
positions simultaneously. The appearance or disappearance of this bifurcation
is referred to as a pair event. Inherently convolved with superluminal motion,
pair events have no subluminal counterparts. Common examples of superluminal
motions that exhibit pair events include Cherenkov radiation, sonic booms,
illumination fronts from variable light sources, and rotating beams. The
minimally simple case of pair events from a single massive object is explored
here: uniform linear motion. A pair event is perceived when the radial
component of the object's speed toward the observer drops from superluminal to
subluminal. Emission from the pair creation event will reach the observer
before emission from either of the two images created. Potentially observable
image pair events are described for sonic booms and Cherenkov light. To date,
no detection of discrete images following a projectile pair event have ever
been reported, and so the pair event nature of sonic booms and Cherenkov
radiation, for example, remains unconfirmed. Recent advances in modern
technology have made such pair event tracking feasible. If measured, pair
events could provide important information about object distance and history.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. in press: Annalen der Physi
Are Causality Violations Undesirable?
Causality violations are typically seen as unrealistic and undesirable
features of a physical model. The following points out three reasons why
causality violations, which Bonnor and Steadman identified even in solutions to
the Einstein equation referring to ordinary laboratory situations, are not
necessarily undesirable. First, a space-time in which every causal curve can be
extended into a closed causal curve is singularity free--a necessary property
of a globally applicable physical theory. Second, a causality-violating
space-time exhibits a nontrivial topology--no closed timelike curve (CTC) can
be homotopic among CTCs to a point, or that point would not be causally well
behaved--and nontrivial topology has been explored as a model of particles.
Finally, if every causal curve in a given space-time passes through an event
horizon, a property which can be called "causal censorship", then that
space-time with event horizons excised would still be causally well behaved.Comment: Accepted in October 2008 by Foundations of Physics. Latex2e, 6 pages,
no figures. Presented at a seminar at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de
Mexico. Version 2 was co-winner of the QMUL CTC Essay Priz
Nonlocality of a free atomic wave packet
A simple model allows us to study the nonclassical behavior of slowly moving
atoms interacting with a quantized field. Atom and field become entangled and
their joint state can be identified as a mesoscopic "Schroedinger-cat". By
introducing appropriate observables for atom and field and by analyzing
correlations between them based on a Bell-type inequality we can show the
corresponding nonclassical behavior.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Physics Letters
Quantum effects after decoherence in a quenched phase transition
We study a quantum mechanical toy model that mimics some features of a
quenched phase transition. Both by virtue of a time-dependent Hamiltonian or by
changing the temperature of the bath we are able to show that even after
classicalization has been reached, the system may display quantum behaviour
again. We explain this behaviour in terms of simple non-linear analysis and
estimate relevant time scales that match the results of numerical simulations
of the master-equation. This opens new possibilities both in the study of
quantum effects in non-equilibrium phase transitions and in general
time-dependent problems where quantum effects may be relevant even after
decoherence has been completed.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, revtex, important revisions made. To be published
in Phys. Rev.
Topologically protected quantum bits from Josephson junction arrays
All physical implementations of quantum bits (qubits), carrying the
information and computation in a putative quantum computer, have to meet the
conflicting requirements of environmental decoupling while remaining
manipulable through designed external signals. Proposals based on quantum
optics naturally emphasize the aspect of optimal isolation, while those
following the solid state route exploit the variability and scalability of
modern nanoscale fabrication techniques. Recently, various designs using
superconducting structures have been successfully tested for quantum coherent
operation, however, the ultimate goal of reaching coherent evolution over
thousands of elementary operations remains a formidable task. Protecting qubits
from decoherence by exploiting topological stability, a qualitatively new
proposal due to Kitaev, holds the promise for long decoherence times, but its
practical physical implementation has remained unclear so far. Here, we show
how strongly correlated systems developing an isolated two-fold degenerate
quantum dimer liquid groundstate can be used in the construction of
topologically stable qubits and discuss their implementation using Josephson
junction arrays.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Schrodinger cat states prepared by Bloch oscillation in a spin-dependent optical lattice
We propose to use Bloch oscillation of ultra-cold atoms in a spin-dependent
optical lattice to prepare schrodinger cat states. Depending on its internal
state, an atom feels different periodic potentials and thus has different
energy band structures for its center-of-mass motion. Consequently, under the
same gravity force, the wave packets associated with different internal states
perform Bloch oscillation of different amplitudes in space and in particular
they can be macroscopically displaced with respect to each other. In this way,
a cat state can be prepared.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; slightly modifie
Generation of entangled states of two atoms inside a leaky cavity
An in-depth theoretical study is carried out to examine the
quasi-deterministic entanglement of two atoms inside a leaky cavity. Two
-type three-level atoms, initially in their ground states, may become
maximally entangled through the interaction with a single photon. By working
out an exact analytic solution, we show that the probability of success depends
crucially on the spectral function of the injected photon. With a cavity
photon, one can generate a maximally entangled state with a certain probability
that is always less than 50%. However, for an injected photon with a narrower
spectral width, this probability can be significantly increased. In particular,
we discover situations in which entanglement can be achieved in a single trial
with an almost unit probability
- …