6,352 research outputs found
Studying Parallel Evolutionary Algorithms: The cellular Programming Case
Parallel evolutionary algorithms, studied to some extent over the past few years, have proven empirically worthwhileâthough there seems to be lacking a better understanding of their workings. In this paper we concentrate on cellular (fine-grained) models, presenting a number of statistical measures, both at the genotypic and phenotypic levels. We demonstrate the application and utility of these measures on a specific example, that of the cellular programming evolutionary algorithm, when used to evolve solutions to a hard problem in the cellular-automata domain, known as synchronization
Signatures of non-locality in the first-order coherence of the scattered light
The spatial coherence of an atomic wavepacket can be detected in the
scattered photons, even when the center-of-mass motion is in the quantum
coherent superposition of two distant, non-overlapping wave packets. Spatial
coherence manifests itself in the power spectrum of the emitted photons, whose
spectral components can exhibit interference fringes as a function of the
emission angle. The contrast and the phase of this interference pattern provide
information about the quantum state of the center of mass of the scattering
atom.Comment: 5 pages, one figure, submitted to Laser Physics, special issue in
memory of Herbert Walthe
A Method for Modeling Decoherence on a Quantum Information Processor
We develop and implement a method for modeling decoherence processes on an
N-dimensional quantum system that requires only an -dimensional quantum
environment and random classical fields. This model offers the advantage that
it may be implemented on small quantum information processors in order to
explore the intermediate regime between semiclassical and fully quantum models.
We consider in particular system-environment couplings which
induce coherence (phase) damping, though the model is directly extendable to
other coupling Hamiltonians. Effective, irreversible phase-damping of the
system is obtained by applying an additional stochastic Hamiltonian on the
environment alone, periodically redressing it and thereby irreversibliy
randomizing the system phase information that has leaked into the environment
as a result of the coupling. This model is exactly solvable in the case of
phase-damping, and we use this solution to describe the model's behavior in
some limiting cases. In the limit of small stochastic phase kicks the system's
coherence decays exponentially at a rate which increases linearly with the kick
frequency. In the case of strong kicks we observe an effective decoupling of
the system from the environment. We present a detailed implementation of the
method on an nuclear magnetic resonance quantum information processor.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
Decoherence via Dynamical Casimir Effect
We derive a master equation for a mirror interacting with the vacuum field
via radiation pressure. The dynamical Casimir effect leads to decoherence of a
'Schroedinger cat' state in a time scale that depends on the degree of
'macroscopicity' of the state components, and which may be much shorter than
the relaxation time scale. Coherent states are selected by the interaction as
pointer states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Decoherence, Chaos, and the Second Law
We investigate implications of decoherence for quantum systems which are
classically chaotic. We show that, in open systems, the rate of von Neumann
entropy production quickly reaches an asymptotic value which is: (i)
independent of the system-environment coupling, (ii) dictated by the dynamics
of the system, and (iii) dominated by the largest Lyapunov exponent. These
results shed a new light on the correspondence between quantum and classical
dynamics as well as on the origins of the ``arrow of time.''Comment: 13 Pages, 2 Figures available upon request, Preprint LA-UR-93-, The
new version contains the text, the previous one had only the Macros: sorry
Subleading Jet Functions in Inclusive B Decays
The contribution of subleading jet functions to inclusive decay distributions
of mesons are derived from a systematic two-step matching of QCD current
correlators onto soft collinear and heavy quark effective theory. Focusing on
the tree level matching of QCD onto soft collinear effective theory, the
subleading jet functions are defined to all orders in (with
) and are calculated explicitly at first
order in . We present explicit expressions for the decay rates
of and the contribution to , where the subleading jet functions are multiplied by a tree level
hard function and appear in a convolution with the leading order shape
function. Together with the recent two loop calculation of the leading order
hard function for , this paper will allow for a more
precise description of inclusive B decays in the end point region.Comment: Minor changes: reference added, typos corrected, journal versio
Radiation Pressure as a Source of Decoherence
We consider the interaction of an harmonic oscillator with the quantum field
via radiation pressure. We show that a `Schrodinger cat' state decoheres in a
time scale that depends on the degree of `classicality' of the state
components, and which may be much shorter than the relaxation time scale
associated to the dynamical Casimir effect. We also show that decoherence is a
consequence of the entanglement between the quantum states of the oscillator
and field two-photon states. With the help of the fluctuation-dissipation
theorem, we derive a relation between decoherence and damping rates valid for
arbitrary values of the temperature of the field. Coherent states are selected
by the interaction as pointer states.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, RevTex fil
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the dwarf galaxy IC 10
Infrared observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope archive are used to
study the dust component of the interstellar medium in the IC~10 irregular
galaxy. Dust distribution in the galaxy is compared to the distributions of
H and [SII] emission, neutral hydrogen and CO clouds, and ionizing
radiation sources. The distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
in the galaxy is shown to be highly non-uniform with the mass fraction of these
particles in the total dust mass reaching 4%. PAHs tend to avoid bright HII
regions and correlate well with atomic and molecular gas. This pattern suggests
that PAHs form in the dense interstellar gas. We propose that the significant
decrease of the PAH abundance at low metallicity is observed not only globally
(at the level of entire galaxies), but also locally (at least, at the level of
individual HII regions). We compare the distribution of the PAH mass fraction
to the distribution of high-velocity features, that we have detected earlier in
wings of H and SII lines, over the entire available galaxy area. No
conclusive evidence for shock destruction of PAHs in the IC~10 galaxy could be
found.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy Report
âClinics arenât meant for menâ: Sexual health care access and seeking behaviours among men in Gauteng province, South Africa
Men may be key players in the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STI), and it is important that STI/HIV health services reach men. The objective of this study was to explore sexual health care access and seeking behaviours in men. This study used focus groups to examine sexual health care access and seeking behaviours in men 5 years after implementation of free antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the South African public sector. Six focus groups (N=58) were conducted with men â„18 years in an urban area of Gauteng province. Men were recruited from various locations throughout the community. Men reported several barriers and facilitators to the use of public and private clinics for sexual health services including HIV testing, and many men reported seeking care from traditional healers. Men often viewed public clinics as a place for women and reported experiences with some female nurses who were rude or judgmental of the men. Additionally, some men reported that they sought sexual health care services at public clinics; however, they were not given physical examinations by health care providers to diagnose their STI syndrome. Most men lacked knowledge about ART and avoided HIV testing because of fear of death or being abandoned by their families or friends. Study findings suggest that men still require better access to high-quality, non-judgmental sexual health care services. Future research is needed to determine the most effective method to increase menâs access to sexual health care services.Keywords: sexual health care access, men.Les hommes peuvent ĂȘtre des responsables dans la transmission des infections sexuellement transmissibles (IST), et il est important que les services de santĂ© des IST/VIH les sensibilisent (les hommes). Les objectifs de cette Ă©tude Ă©taient dâexaminer lâaccĂšs aux soins de santĂ© et les comportements sexuels des hommes pendant 5 ans aprĂšs la mise en oeuvre de la thĂ©rapie antirĂ©trovirale (ART) gratuite dans le secteur public Sud-Africain. Six groups dâhommes ĂągĂ©s â„18 ans (N=58) ont menĂ©s des discussions dans la zone urbaine de la province de Gauteng. Ces hommes sont recrutĂ©s dans divers endroits dans toute la communautĂ©. Ils ont dĂ©clarĂ©s rencontrĂ©s des obstacles et facilitateurs Ă lâaccĂšs des cliniques publiques et privĂ©es des services de santĂ© sexuelle, y compris le test du VIH, et beaucoup dâhommes dĂ©clarent ĂȘtre Ă la recherche de soins vers des guĂ©risseurs traditionnels. Les hommes ont souvent vu les cliniques publiques comme des endroits pour les femmes et se sont souvent plaint des expĂ©riences quâils ont eues par rapport aux infirmiĂšres qui ont un mauvais jugement sur eux. Certains dâentre eux ont dĂ©clarĂ© quâils cherchaient des soins de santĂ© dans les cliniques publiques, mais quâils nâĂ©taient pas soumis Ă des examens physiques pour diagnostiquer leurs syndrome dâIST. La plupart dâentre eux nâavaient pas de connaissances de lâART et Ă©vitent le test du VIH parce quâils ont peur de la mort ou dâĂȘtre abandonnĂ© par leurs familles ou leurs amis. Cette Ă©tude suggĂšre que les hommes doivent exiger de meilleures qualitĂ©s de soins, un non-jugement des services de santĂ© sexuelle. Les recherches futures sont nĂ©cessaires pour dĂ©terminer la mĂ©thode la plus efficace dâaccroitre lâaccĂšs des hommes aux services de santĂ© sexuelle
Star formation in the nearby universe: the ultraviolet and infrared points of view
This work presents the main ultraviolet (UV) and far-infrared (FIR)
properties of two samples of nearby galaxies selected from the GALEX (\AA, hereafter NUV) and IRAS (m) surveys respectively.
They are built in order to get detection at both wavelengths for most of the
galaxies. Star formation rate (SFR) estimators based on the UV and FIR
emissions are compared. Systematic differences are found between the SFR
estimators for individual galaxies based on the NUV fluxes corrected for dust
attenuation and on the total IR luminosity. A combined estimator based on NUV
and IR luminosities seems to be the best proxy over the whole range of values
of SFR. Although both samples present similar average values of the birthrate
parameter b, their star-formation-related properties are substantially
different: NUV-selected galaxies tend to show larger values of for lower
masses, SFRs and dust attenuations, supporting previous scenarios for the star
formation history (SFH). Conversely, about 20% of the FIR-selected galaxies
show high values of , SFR and NUV attenuation. These galaxies, most of them
being LIRGs and ULIRGs, break down the downsizing picture for the SFH, however
their relative contribution per unit volume is small in the local Universe.
Finally, the cosmic SFR density of the local Universe is estimated in a
consistent way from the NUV and IR luminosities.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journal Supplement Serie
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