1,040 research outputs found
Polarization and frequency disentanglement of photons via stochastic polarization mode dispersion
We investigate the quantum decoherence of frequency and polarization
variables of photons via polarization mode dispersion in optical fibers. By
observing the analogy between the propagation equation of the field and the
Schr\"odinger equation, we develop a master equation under Markovian
approximation and analytically solve for the field density matrix. We identify
distinct decay behaviors for the polarization and frequency variables for
single-photon and two-photon states. For the single photon case, purity
functions indicate that complete decoherence for each variable is possible only
for infinite fiber length. For entangled two-photon states passing through
separate fibers, entanglement associated with each variable can be completely
destroyed after characteristic finite propagation distances. In particular, we
show that frequency disentanglement is independent of the initial polarization
status. For propagation of two photons in a common fiber, the evolution of a
polarization singlet state is addressed. We show that while complete
polarization disentanglement occurs at a finite propagation distance, frequency
entanglement could survive at any finite distance for gaussian states.Comment: 2 figure
Half-Scale Dress Form as a Design and Fit Tool for Young Designers
For a young designer creating a look for a runway show can be an exciting and challenging process. Working with a model and achieving good fit and balance is often a time consuming and frustrating endeavor for a student with limited experience. Working with seven freshman enrolled in a draping class who had only one previous studio design class, we offered them the opportunity to have a custom half-scale dress form made of their model, allowing them to drape on the actual body they would be fitting
Half Scale, Full Engagement: Uniting Art, History and Technology to Teach Patternmaking
We present a project designed to engage freshman students in a beginning patternmaking class using art deco and pochoir fashion art of the late teens and early 1920s, from Gazette du Bon Ton and Vogue. Students used half scale forms to drape silhouettes depicted in these graphic images. Dress forms were custom-made for the project from a 3D body scan. Students learned about the period and patternmaking techniques by examining garments from the period, looking at patternmaking books and Sears catalogs from the period, and lecture/discussion about world history and fashion history. Students created patterns and display models, pinning to the form. Results were positive, with student improvement in judging proportions, understanding body/garment interactions, and learning alternate patternmaking techniques. Students also gained confidence in patternmaking. Use of the half scale forms was successful overall, though students generally found the increased precision needed when working in half scale more difficult
Thomas Coram: the life and times of a research unit at the Institute of Education (London)
For nearly 50 years, the Thomas Coram Research Unit (TCRU) has been integral to the IOE (Institute of Education), UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society (University College London, UK). This article is written from the perspectives of four researchers who have served in the TCRU’s formative years and over its lifetime. It chronicles the TCRU’s history and meaning, situating these reflections within the wider and much changed context of academia, politics and society. It begins with an overview of the TCRU’s origins as a dedicated government-funded research unit in 1973, the rationale and aims of its founder and first director, Jack Tizard, and the TCRU’s subsequent evolution, and its work in the fields of childhood, families and children’s services. This is followed by a consideration of some important features of the TCRU, which have created its distinct identity, for example multidisciplinarity, working with mixed methods, international collaborations, a convivial and collegiate environment and a continuing capacity to generate new ideas and directions for research. The article also reflects on some of the challenges faced by the TCRU and how it has responded to them. The article concludes by considering whether there is still a place today for a dedicated, university-based social research unit with a long-term and strategic orientation
Atom-photon entanglement generation and distribution
We extend an earlier model by Law {\it et al.} \cite{law} for a cavity QED
based single-photon-gun to atom-photon entanglement generation and
distribution. We illuminate the importance of a small critical atom number on
the fidelity of the proposed operation in the strong coupling limit. Our result
points to a promisingly high purity and efficiency using currently available
cavity QED parameters, and sheds new light on constructing quantum computing
and communication devices with trapped atoms and high Q optical cavities.Comment: 7 fig
Burst avalanches in solvable models of fibrous materials
We review limiting models for fracture in bundles of fibers, with
statistically distributed thresholds for breakdown of individual fibers. During
the breakdown process, avalanches consisting of simultaneous rupture of several
fibers occur, and the distribution of the magnitude of
such avalanches is the central characteristics in our analysis. For a bundle of
parallel fibers two limiting models of load sharing are studied and contrasted:
the global model in which the load carried by a bursting fiber is equally
distributed among the surviving members, and the local model in which the
nearest surviving neighbors take up the load. For the global model we
investigate in particular the conditions on the threshold distribution which
would lead to anomalous behavior, i.e. deviations from the asymptotics
, known to be the generic behavior. For the local
model no universal power-law asymptotics exists, but we show for a particular
threshold distribution how the avalanche distribution can nevertheless be
explicitly calculated in the large-bundle limit.Comment: 28 pages, RevTeX, 3 Postscript figure
Security against eavesdropping in quantum cryptography
In this article we deal with the security of the BB84 quantum cryptography
protocol over noisy channels using generalized privacy amplification. For this
we estimate the fraction of bits needed to be discarded during the privacy
amplification step. This estimate is given for two scenarios, both of which
assume the eavesdropper to access each of the signals independently and take
error correction into account. One scenario does not allow a delay of the
eavesdropper's measurement of a measurement probe until he receives additional
classical information. In this scenario we achieve a sharp bound. The other
scenario allows a measurement delay, so that the general attack of an
eavesdropper on individual signals is covered. This bound is not sharp but
allows a practical implementation of the protocol.Comment: 11 pages including 3 figures, contains new results not contained in
my Phys. Rev. A pape
Micro-channel–based high specific power lithium target
A micro-channel–based heat sink has been produced and tested. The device has been developed to be used as a Lithium target for the LENOS (Legnaro Neutron Source) facility and for the production of radioisotope. Nevertheless, applications of such device can span on many areas: cooling of electronic devices, diode laser array, automotive applications etc. The target has been tested using a proton beam of 2.8MeV energy and delivering total power shots from 100W to 1500W with beam spots varying from 5mm2 to 19mm2. Since the target has been designed to be used with a thin deposit of lithium and since lithium is a low-melting-point material, we have measured that, for such application, a specific power of about 3kW/cm2 can be delivered to the target, keeping the maximum surface temperature not exceeding 150◦C
Identification of Novel Tumor Antigens With Patient-Derived Immune-Selected Antibodies
The identification of tumor antigens capable of eliciting an immune response in vivo may be an effective method to identify therapeutic cancer targets. We have developed a method to identify such antigens using frozen tumor-draining lymph node samples from breast cancer patients. Immune responses in tumor-draining lymph nodes were identified by immunostaining lymph node sections for B-cell markers (CD20&CD23) and Ki67 which revealed cell proliferation in germinal center zones. Antigen-dependent somatic hypermutation (SH) and clonal expansion (CE) were present in heavy chain variable (VH) domain cDNA clones obtained from these germinal centers, but not from Ki67 negative germinal centers. Recombinant VH single-domain antibodies were used to screen tumor proteins and affinity select potential tumor antigens. Neuroplastin (NPTN) was identified as a candidate breast tumor antigen using proteomic identification of affinity selected tumor proteins with a recombinant VH single chain antibody. NPTN was found to be highly expressed in approximately 20% of invasive breast carcinomas and 50% of breast carcinomas with distal metastasis using a breast cancer tissue array. Additionally, NPTN over-expression in a breast cancer cell line resulted in a significant increase in tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo which was related to increased VEGF production in the transfected cells. These results validate NPTN as a tumor-associated antigen which could promote breast tumor growth and metastasis if aberrantly expressed. These studies also demonstrate that humoral immune responses in tumor-draining lymph nodes can provide antibody reagents useful in identifying tumor antigens with applications for biomarker screening, diagnostics and therapeutic interventions
Reliability Considerations for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels on Spacecraft
Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) are used to store gases under high pressure onboard spacecraft. These are used for a variety of purposes such as propelling liquid fuel etc, Kevlar, glass, Carbon and other more recent fibers have all been in use to overwrap the vessels. COPVs usually have a thin metallic liner with the primary purpose of containing the gases and prevent any leakage. The liner is overwrapped with filament wound composite such as Kevlar, Carbon or Glass fiber. Although the liner is required to perform in the leak before break mode making the failure a relatively benign mode, the overwrap can fail catastrophically under sustained load due to stress rupture. It is this failure mode that is of major concern as the stored energy of such vessels is often great enough ta cause loss of crew and vehicle. The present paper addresses some of the reliability concerns associated specifically with Kevlar Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels. The primary focus of the paper is on how reliability of COPV's are established for the purpose of deciding in general their flight worthiness and continued use. Analytical models based on existing design data will be presented showing how to achieve the required reliability metric to the end of a specific period of performance. Uncertainties in the design parameters and how they affect reliability and confidence intervals will be addressed as well. Some trade studies showing how reliability changes with time during a program period will be presented
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