1,141 research outputs found
Phase-locking transition in a chirped superconducting Josephson resonator
By coupling a harmonic oscillator to a quantum system it is possible to
perform a dispersive measurement that is quantum non-demolition (QND), with
minimal backaction. A non-linear oscillator has the advantage of measurement
gain, but what is the backaction? Experiments on superconducting quantum bits
(qubits) coupled to a non-linear Josephson oscillator have thus far utilized
the switching of the oscillator near a dynamical bifurcation for sensitivity,
and have demonstrated partial QND measurement. The detailed backaction
associated with the switching process is complex, and may ultimately limit the
degree to which such a measurement can be QND. Here we demonstrate a new
dynamical effect in Josephson oscillators by which the bifurcation can be
accessed without switching. When energized with a frequency chirped drive with
an amplitude close to a sharp, phase-locking threshold, the oscillator evolves
smoothly in one of two diverging trajectories - a pointer for the state of a
qubit. The observed critical behavior agrees well with theory and suggests a
new modality for quantum state measurement.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Quantum versus classical phase-locking transition in a driven-chirped oscillator
Classical and quantum-mechanical phase locking transition in a nonlinear
oscillator driven by a chirped frequency perturbation is discussed. Different
limits are analyzed in terms of the dimensionless parameters and
( and being the driving amplitude,
the frequency chirp rate, the nonlinearity parameter and the linear frequency
of the oscillator). It is shown that for , the passage
through the linear resonance for above a threshold yields classical
autoresonance (AR) in the system, even when starting in a quantum ground state.
In contrast, for , the transition involves
quantum-mechanical energy ladder climbing (LC). The threshold for the
phase-locking transition and its width in in both AR and LC limits are
calculated. The theoretical results are tested by solving the Schrodinger
equation in the energy basis and illustrated via the Wigner function in phase
space
Posterior cricoid region fluoroscopic findings: the posterior cricoid plication.
The region posterior to the cricoid cartilage is challenging to assess fluoroscopically. The purpose of this investigation is to critically evaluate the posterior cricoid (PC) region on fluoroscopy and describe patterns of common findings. This was a case control study. All fluoroscopic swallowing studies performed between June 16, 2009, and February 9, 2010, were reviewed for features seen in the PC region. These findings were categorized into distinct patterns and compared to fluoroscopic studies performed in a cohort of normal volunteers. Two hundred patient studies and 149 healthy volunteer studies were reviewed. The mean age of the referred patient cohort and the volunteer cohort was 57 years (±19) and 61 years (±16), respectively (p > 0.05). The patient cohort was 53% male and the control cohort was 56% female (p > 0.05). Four groups were identified. Pharyngoesophageal webs were seen in 7% (10/149) of controls and 14% (28/200) of patients (p = 0.03). A PC arch impression was seen in 16% of patients (32/200) and controls (24/149) (p = 1). A PC plication was demonstrated in 23% (34/149) of controls and 30% (60/200) of patients (p = 0.13). No distinctive PC region findings were seen in 54% (81/149) of controls and 42% (84/200) of referred patients (p = 0.02). Four patients (2%) had both a web and a PC plication. Four categories of PC region findings were identified (unremarkable PC region, web, PC arch impression, and PC plication). Both patients referred for swallowing studies and healthy volunteers demonstrated esophageal webs, PC arch impressions, and PC plications. Only webs were more common in patients than in control subjects (p = 0.03). The PC impression and PC plication are likely to represent normal variants that may be identified on fluoroscopic swallow studies
Quantum Fluctuations in the Chirped Pendulum
An anharmonic oscillator when driven with a fast, frequency chirped voltage
pulse can oscillate with either small or large amplitude depending on whether
the drive voltage is below or above a critical value-a well studied classical
phenomenon known as autoresonance. Using a 6 GHz superconducting resonator
embedded with a Josephson tunnel junction, we have studied for the first time
the role of noise in this non-equilibrium system and find that the width of the
threshold for capture into autoresonance decreases as the square root of T, and
saturates below 150 mK due to zero point motion of the oscillator. This unique
scaling results from the non-equilibrium excitation where fluctuations, both
quantum and classical, only determine the initial oscillator motion and not its
subsequent dynamics. We have investigated this paradigm in an electrical
circuit but our findings are applicable to all out of equilibrium nonlinear
oscillators.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Population studies of sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy and dementia: a systematic review.
BACKGROUND: Deposition of amyloid-beta (Abeta) in vessel walls of the brain as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) could be a major factor in the pathogenesis of dementia. Here we investigate the relationship between dementia and the prevalence of CAA in older populations. We searched the literature for prospective population-based epidemiological clinicopathological studies, free of the biases of other sampling techniques, which were used as a comparison. METHODS: To identify population-based studies assessing CAA and dementia, a previous systematic review of population-based clinicopathological studies of ageing and dementia was employed. To identify selected-sample studies, PsychInfo (1806-April Week 3 2008), OVID MEDLINE (1950-April Week 2 2008) and Pubmed (searched 21 April 2008) databases were searched using the term "amyloid angiopathy". These databases were also employed to search for any population-based studies not included in the previous systematic review. Studies were included if they reported the prevalence of CAA relative to a dementia classification (clinical or neuropathological). RESULTS: Four population-based studies were identified. They showed that on average 55-59% of those with dementia displayed CAA (of any severity) compared to 28-38% of the non-demented. 37-43% of the demented displayed severe CAA in contrast to 7-24% of the non-demented. There was no overlap in the range of these averages and they were less variable and lower than those reported in 38 selected sample studies (demented v non-demented: 32-100 v 0-77% regardless of severity; 0-50 v 0-11% for severe only). CONCLUSION: CAA prevalence in populations is consistently higher in the demented as compared to the non-demented. This supports a significant role for CAA in the pathogenesis of dementia
Dynamical Mordell-Lang conjecture for birational polynomial morphisms on
We prove the dynamical Mordell-Lang conjecture for birational polynomial
morphisms on
On the Evolution of the Neutrino State inside the Sun
We reexamine the conventional physical description of the neutrino evolution
inside the Sun. We point out that the traditional resonance condition has
physical meaning only in the limit of small values of the neutrino mixing
angle, theta<<1. For large values of theta, the resonance condition specifies
neither the point of the maximal violation of adiabaticity in the nonadiabatic
case, nor the point where the flavor conversion occurs at the maximal rate in
the adiabatic case. The corresponding correct conditions, valid for all values
of theta including theta>pi/4, are presented. An adiabaticity condition valid
for all values of theta is also described. The results of accurate numerical
computations of the level jumping probability in the Sun are presented. These
calculations cover a wide range of Delta m^2, from the vacuum oscillation
region to the region where the standard exponential approximation is good. A
convenient empirical parametrization of these results in terms of elementary
functions is given. The matter effects in the so-called "quasi-vacuum
oscillation regime" are discussed. Finally, it is shown how the known
analytical results for the exponential, 1/x, and linear matter distributions
can be simply obtained from the formula for the hyperbolic tangent profile. An
explicit formula for the jumping probability for the distribution N_e ~
(coth(x/l) +- 1) is obtained.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figure
Sequential cavity method for computing free energy and surface pressure
We propose a new method for the problems of computing free energy and surface
pressure for various statistical mechanics models on a lattice . Our
method is based on representing the free energy and surface pressure in terms
of certain marginal probabilities in a suitably modified sublattice of .
Then recent deterministic algorithms for computing marginal probabilities are
used to obtain numerical estimates of the quantities of interest. The method
works under the assumption of Strong Spatial Mixing (SSP), which is a form of a
correlation decay.
We illustrate our method for the hard-core and monomer-dimer models, and
improve several earlier estimates. For example we show that the exponent of the
monomer-dimer coverings of belongs to the interval ,
improving best previously known estimate of (approximately)
obtained in \cite{FriedlandPeled},\cite{FriedlandKropLundowMarkstrom}.
Moreover, we show that given a target additive error , the
computational effort of our method for these two models is
\emph{both} for free energy and surface pressure. In
contrast, prior methods, such as transfer matrix method, require
computation effort.Comment: 33 pages, 4 figure
Temperature Dependence of Magnetophonon Resistance Oscillations in GaAs/AlAs Heterostructures at High Filling Factors
The temperature dependence of phonon-induced resistance oscillations has been
investigated in two-dimensional electron system with moderate mobility at large
filling factors at temperature range T = 7.4 - 25.4 K. The amplitude of
phonon-induced oscillations has been found to be governed by quantum relaxation
time which is determined by electron-electron interaction effects. This is in
agreement with results recently obtained in ultra-high mobility two-dimensional
electron system with low electron density [A. T. Hatke et al., Phys. Rev. Lett.
102, 086808 (2009)]. The shift of the main maximum of the magnetophonon
resistance oscillations to higher magnetic fields with increasing temperature
is observed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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