9,127 research outputs found
Numerical analysis of a dual-phase-lag model involving two temperatures
In this paper, we numerically analyse a phase-lag model with two temperatures which arises in the heat conduction theory. The model is written as a linear partial differential equation of third order in time. The variational formulation, written in terms of the thermal acceleration, leads to a linear variational equation, for which we recall an existence and uniqueness result and an energy decay property. Then, using the finite element method to approximate the spatial variable and the implicit Euler scheme to discretize the time derivatives, fully discrete approximations are introduced. A discrete stability property is proved, and a priori error estimates are obtained, from which the linear convergence of the approximation is derived. Finally, some one-dimensional numerical simulations are described to demonstrate the accuracy of the approximation and the behaviour of the solution.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Space-by-time manifold representation of dynamic facial expressions for emotion categorization
Visual categorization is the brain computation that reduces high-dimensional information in the visual environment into a smaller set of meaningful categories. An important problem in visual neuroscience is to identify the visual information that the brain must represent and then use to categorize visual inputs. Here we introduce a new mathematical formalismâtermed space-by-time manifold decompositionâthat describes this information as a low-dimensional manifold separable in space and time. We use this decomposition to characterize the representations used by observers to categorize the six classic facial expressions of emotion (happy, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, and sad). By means of a Generative Face Grammar, we presented random dynamic facial movements on each experimental trial and used subjective human perception to identify the facial movements that correlate with each emotion category. When the random movements projected onto the categorization manifold region corresponding to one of the emotion categories, observers categorized the stimulus accordingly; otherwise they selected âother.â Using this information, we determined both the Action Unit and temporal components whose linear combinations lead to reliable categorization of each emotion. In a validation experiment, we confirmed the psychological validity of the resulting space-by-time manifold representation. Finally, we demonstrated the importance of temporal sequencing for accurate emotion categorization and identified the temporal dynamics of Action Unit components that cause typical confusions between specific emotions (e.g., fear and surprise) as well as those resolving these confusions
Experimental demonstration of a BDCZ quantum repeater node
Quantum communication is a method that offers efficient and secure ways for
the exchange of information in a network. Large-scale quantum communication (of
the order of 100 km) has been achieved; however, serious problems occur beyond
this distance scale, mainly due to inevitable photon loss in the transmission
channel. Quantum communication eventually fails when the probability of a dark
count in the photon detectors becomes comparable to the probability that a
photon is correctly detected. To overcome this problem, Briegel, D\"{u}r, Cirac
and Zoller (BDCZ) introduced the concept of quantum repeaters, combining
entanglement swapping and quantum memory to efficiently extend the achievable
distances. Although entanglement swapping has been experimentally demonstrated,
the implementation of BDCZ quantum repeaters has proved challenging owing to
the difficulty of integrating a quantum memory. Here we realize entanglement
swapping with storage and retrieval of light, a building block of the BDCZ
quantum repeater. We follow a scheme that incorporates the strategy of BDCZ
with atomic quantum memories. Two atomic ensembles, each originally entangled
with a single emitted photon, are projected into an entangled state by
performing a joint Bell state measurement on the two single photons after they
have passed through a 300-m fibre-based communication channel. The entanglement
is stored in the atomic ensembles and later verified by converting the atomic
excitations into photons. Our method is intrinsically phase insensitive and
establishes the essential element needed to realize quantum repeaters with
stationary atomic qubits as quantum memories and flying photonic qubits as
quantum messengers.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Building SO(10) models from F-theory
We revisit local F-theory SO(10) and SU(5) GUTs and analyze their properties
within the framework of the maximal underlying E_8 symmetry in the elliptic
fibration. We consider the symmetry enhancements along the intersections of
seven-branes with the GUT surface and study in detail the embedding of the
abelian factors undergoing monodromies in the covering gauge groups. We combine
flux data from the successive breaking of SO(10) to SU(5) gauge symmetry and
subsequently to the Standard Model one, and further constrain the parameters
determining the models' particle spectra. In order to eliminate dangerous
baryon number violating operators we propose ways to construct matter parity
like symmetries from intrinsic geometric origin. We study implementations of
the resulting constrained scenario in specific examples obtained for a variety
of monodromies.Comment: 53 page
Experimental demonstration of a hyper-entangled ten-qubit Schr\"odinger cat state
Coherent manipulation of an increasing number of qubits for the generation of
entangled states has been an important goal and benchmark in the emerging field
of quantum information science. The multiparticle entangled states serve as
physical resources for measurement-based quantum computing and high-precision
quantum metrology. However, their experimental preparation has proved extremely
challenging. To date, entangled states up to six, eight atoms, or six photonic
qubits have been demonstrated. Here, by exploiting both the photons'
polarization and momentum degrees of freedom, we report the creation of
hyper-entangled six-, eight-, and ten-qubit Schr\"odinger cat states. We
characterize the cat states by evaluating their fidelities and detecting the
presence of genuine multi-partite entanglement. Small modifications of the
experimental setup will allow the generation of various graph states up to ten
qubits. Our method provides a shortcut to expand the effective Hilbert space,
opening up interesting applications such as quantum-enhanced super-resolving
phase measurement, graph-state generation for anyonic simulation and
topological error correction, and novel tests of nonlocality with
hyper-entanglement.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, comments welcom
Positive approximations of the inverse of fractional powers of SPD M-matrices
This study is motivated by the recent development in the fractional calculus
and its applications. During last few years, several different techniques are
proposed to localize the nonlocal fractional diffusion operator. They are based
on transformation of the original problem to a local elliptic or
pseudoparabolic problem, or to an integral representation of the solution, thus
increasing the dimension of the computational domain. More recently, an
alternative approach aimed at reducing the computational complexity was
developed. The linear algebraic system , is considered, where is a properly normalized (scalded) symmetric
and positive definite matrix obtained from finite element or finite difference
approximation of second order elliptic problems in ,
. The method is based on best uniform rational approximations (BURA)
of the function for and natural .
The maximum principles are among the major qualitative properties of linear
elliptic operators/PDEs. In many studies and applications, it is important that
such properties are preserved by the selected numerical solution method. In
this paper we present and analyze the properties of positive approximations of
obtained by the BURA technique. Sufficient conditions for
positiveness are proven, complemented by sharp error estimates. The theoretical
results are supported by representative numerical tests
Transport Through Andreev Bound States in a Graphene Quantum Dot
Andreev reflection-where an electron in a normal metal backscatters off a
superconductor into a hole-forms the basis of low energy transport through
superconducting junctions. Andreev reflection in confined regions gives rise to
discrete Andreev bound states (ABS), which can carry a supercurrent and have
recently been proposed as the basis of qubits [1-3]. Although signatures of
Andreev reflection and bound states in conductance have been widely reported
[4], it has been difficult to directly probe individual ABS. Here, we report
transport measurements of sharp, gate-tunable ABS formed in a
superconductor-quantum dot (QD)-normal system, which incorporates graphene. The
QD exists in the graphene under the superconducting contact, due to a
work-function mismatch [5, 6]. The ABS form when the discrete QD levels are
proximity coupled to the superconducting contact. Due to the low density of
states of graphene and the sensitivity of the QD levels to an applied gate
voltage, the ABS spectra are narrow, can be tuned to zero energy via gate
voltage, and show a striking pattern in transport measurements.Comment: 25 Pages, included SO
Modulation of human macrophage responses to mycobacterium tuberculosis by silver nanoparticles of different size and surface modification
Exposure to silver nanoparticles (AgNP) used in consumer products carries potential health risks including increased susceptibility to infectious pathogens. Systematic assessments of antimicrobial macrophage immune responses in the context of AgNP exposure are important because uptake of AgNP by macrophages may lead to alterations of innate immune cell functions. In this study we examined the effects of exposure to AgNP with different particle sizes (20 and 110 nm diameters) and surface chemistry (citrate or polyvinlypyrrolidone capping) on cellular toxicity and innate immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) by human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). Exposures of MDM to AgNP significantly reduced cellular viability, increased IL8 and decreased IL10 mRNA expression. Exposure of M.tb-infected MDM to AgNP suppressed M.tb-induced expression of IL1B, IL10, and TNFA mRNA. Furthermore, M.tb-induced IL-1ÎČ, a cytokine critical for host resistance to M.tb, was inhibited by AgNP but not by carbon black particles indicating that the observed immunosuppressive effects of AgNP are particle specific. Suppressive effects of AgNP on the M.tb-induced host immune responses were in part due to AgNP-mediated interferences with the TLR signaling pathways that culminate in the activation of the transcription factor NF-ÎșB. AgNP exposure suppressed M.tb-induced expression of a subset of NF-ÎșB mediated genes (CSF2, CSF3, IFNG, IL1A, IL1B, IL6, IL10, TNFA, NFKB1A). In addition, AgNP exposure increased the expression of HSPA1A mRNA and the corresponding stress-induced Hsp72 protein. Up-regulation of Hsp72 by AgNP can suppress M.tb-induced NF-ÎșB activation and host immune responses. The observed ability of AgNP to modulate infectious pathogen-induced immune responses has important public health implications
Displacements analysis of self-excited vibrations in turning
The actual research deals with determining by a new protocol the necessary
parameters considering a three-dimensional model to simulate in a realistic way
the turning process on machine tool. This paper is dedicated to the
experimental displacements analysis of the block tool / block workpiece with
self-excited vibrations. In connexion with turning process, the self-excited
vibrations domain is obtained starting from spectra of two accelerometers. The
existence of a displacements plane attached to the tool edge point is revealed.
This plane proves to be inclined compared to the machines tool axes. We
establish that the tool tip point describes an ellipse. This ellipse is very
small and can be considered as a small straight line segment for the stable
cutting process (without vibrations). In unstable mode (with vibrations) the
ellipse of displacements is really more visible. A difference in phase occurs
between the tool tip displacements on the radial direction and on the cutting
one. The feed motion direction and the cutting one are almost in phase. The
values of the long and small ellipse axes (and their ratio) shows that these
sizes are increasing with the feed rate value. The axis that goes through the
stiffness center and the tool tip represents the maximum stiffness direction.
The maximum (resp. minimum) stiffness axis of the tool is perpendicular to the
large (resp. small) ellipse displacements axis. FFT analysis of the
accelerometers signals allows to reach several important parameters and
establish coherent correlations between tool tip displacements and the static -
elastic characteristics of the machine tool components tested
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