58 research outputs found

    Algebras of extendible unbounded operators

    Get PDF

    Canadian University Early Admission Policies for Gifted and Talented Students

    Get PDF
    Early entrance/admission to university (i.e., between two and four years before the usual age of admission) can provide multiple benefits for gifted and talented secondary school students. For these students, early university entrance/admission may be a key way to extend their intellectual capacities, capacities that they would not be able to achieve otherwise (Gross & van Vliet, 2005). Many researchers have argued that gifted and talented students not only show exceptional uniqueness in their extended intellectual and cognitive potential (Noble & Childers, 2008), but also, they demonstrate enhanced creativity and curiosity (Noble et al., 2007). Therefore, the primary problem that some gifted and talented secondary school students face is the option of obtaining early entrance/admission to Canadian universities. The question arises whether Canadian universities have implemented early entrance/admission policies and procedures to respond to such needs. This study was conducted in two phases. Phase One investigated what early entrance/admission options are currently offered by Canadian universities. To determine these options, the researcher examined all Canadian Universities’ websites and invited Registrars of all Canadian universities (N=98) to participate in the study. The researcher received 27 responses either accepting the invitation to participate in the research (n=16), or declining it (n=11). The research revealed that most universities have not implemented early admission policies and procedures for gifted and talented students who would be interested in early admission. Decisions about early admissions are made on a “case-by-case” basis which seems a satisfactory solution due to low numbers of applicants. On the other hand, universities willingly accept such applications, and the age of applicants is not a decisive factor as long as other standards requirements are met. In Phase Two, the researcher undertook a single-case study of Paolo (student’s pseudonym), a young male, who, at the age of 16, was admitted to the Honours History Program at the University of Toronto from where he graduated at the age of 19. The case study, like other larger-scale studies of gifted and talented individuals, revealed that students such as Paolo may be very successful and benefit not only academically or intellectually from university early entrance/admission, but also, socially and emotionally. Such multifaceted developmental benefits of early entrance/admission are also supported in the literature and presented in this thesis

    Separable approximations of density matrices of composite quantum systems

    Get PDF
    We investigate optimal separable approximations (decompositions) of states rho of bipartite quantum systems A and B of arbitrary dimensions MxN following the lines of Ref. [M. Lewenstein and A. Sanpera, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 2261 (1998)]. Such approximations allow to represent in an optimal way any density operator as a sum of a separable state and an entangled state of a certain form. For two qubit systems (M=N=2) the best separable approximation has a form of a mixture of a separable state and a projector onto a pure entangled state. We formulate a necessary condition that the pure state in the best separable approximation is not maximally entangled. We demonstrate that the weight of the entangled state in the best separable approximation in arbitrary dimensions provides a good entanglement measure. We prove in general for arbitrary M and N that the best separable approximation corresponds to a mixture of a separable and an entangled state which are both unique. We develop also a theory of optimal separable approximations for states with positive partial transpose (PPT states). Such approximations allow to decompose any density operator with positive partial transpose as a sum of a separable state and an entangled PPT state. We discuss procedures of constructing such decompositions.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

    A Minimal Model for Quantum Gravity

    Full text link
    We argue that the model of a quantum computer with N qubits on a quantum space background, which is a fuzzy sphere with n=2^N elementary cells, can be viewed as the minimal model for Quantum Gravity. In fact, it is discrete, has no free parameters, is Lorentz invariant, naturally realizes the Holographic Principle, and defines a subset of punctures of spin networks' edges of Loop Quantum Gravity labelled by spins j=2^(N-1)-1/2. In this model, the discrete area spectrum of the cells, which is not equally spaced, is given in units of the minimal area of Loop Quantum Gravity (for j=1/2), and provides a discrete emission spectrum for quantum black holes. When the black hole emits one string of N bits encoded in one of the n cells, its horizon area decreases of an amount equal to the area of one cell.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, Contributed paper at DICE 2004, 1-4 September 2004, Piombino, Italy minor changes, misprints correcte

    The Biology and Economics of Coral Growth

    Get PDF
    To protect natural coral reefs, it is of utmost importance to understand how the growth of the main reef-building organisms—the zooxanthellate scleractinian corals—is controlled. Understanding coral growth is also relevant for coral aquaculture, which is a rapidly developing business. This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of factors that can influence the growth of zooxanthellate scleractinian corals, with particular emphasis on interactions between these factors. Furthermore, the kinetic principles underlying coral growth are discussed. The reviewed information is put into an economic perspective by making an estimation of the costs of coral aquaculture
    • …
    corecore