989 research outputs found
Benchmarking quantum control methods on a 12-qubit system
In this letter, we present an experimental benchmark of operational control
methods in quantum information processors extended up to 12 qubits. We
implement universal control of this large Hilbert space using two complementary
approaches and discuss their accuracy and scalability. Despite decoherence, we
were able to reach a 12-coherence state (or 12-qubits pseudo-pure cat state),
and decode it into an 11 qubit plus one qutrit labeled observable pseudo-pure
state using liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance quantum information
processors.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PR
Retrospective analysis of the impact of respiratory motion in treatment margins for frameless lung SBRT based on respiratory-correlated CBCT data-sets.
To investigate the impact of respiratory motion in the treatment margins for lung SBRT frameless treatments and to validate our treatment margins using 4D CBCT data analysis.
Two hundred and twenty nine fractions with early stage NSCLC were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were treated in frameless and free breathing conditions. The treatment margins were calculated according to van Herk equation in Mid-Ventilation. For each fraction, three 4D CBCT scans, pre- and postcorrection, and posttreatment, were acquired to assess target baseline shift, target localization accuracy and intra-fraction motion errors. A bootstrap analysis was performed to assess the minimum number of patients required to define treatment margins.
The retrospectively calculated target-baseline shift, target localization accuracy and intra-fraction motion errors agreed with the literature. The best tailored margins to our cohort of patients were retrospectively computed and resulted in agreement with already published data. The bootstrap analysis showed that fifteen patients were enough to assess treatment margins.
The treatment margins applied to our patient's cohort resulted in good agreement with the retrospectively calculated margins based on 4D CBCT data. Moreover, the bootstrap analysis revealed to be a promising method to verify the reliability of the applied treatment margins for safe lung SBRT delivery
Canonical formulation of self-gravitating spinning-object systems
Based on the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) canonical formulation of general
relativity, a canonical formulation of gravitationally interacting classical
spinning-object systems is given to linear order in spin. The constructed
position, linear momentum and spin variables fulfill standard Poisson bracket
relations. A spatially symmetric time gauge for the tetrad field is introduced.
The achieved formulation is of fully reduced form without unresolved
constraints, supplementary, gauge, or coordinate conditions. The canonical
field momentum is not related to the extrinsic curvature of spacelike
hypersurfaces in standard ADM form. A new reduction of the tetrad degrees of
freedom to the Einstein form of the metric field is suggested.Comment: 6 pages. v2: extended version; identical to the published one. v3:
corrected misprints in (24) and (39); improved notation; added note regarding
a further reference
Optical monitoring of the gravitationally lensed quasar Q2237+0305 from APO between June 1995 and January 1998
We present a data set of images of the gravitationally lensed quasar
Q2237+0305, that was obtained at the Apache Point Observatory (APO) between
June 1995 and January 1998. Although the images were taken under variable,
often poor seeing conditions and with coarse pixel sampling, photometry is
possible for the two brighter quasar images A and B with the help of exact
quasar image positions from HST observations. We obtain a light curve with 73
data points for each of the images A and B. There is evidence for a long (>~
100 day) brightness peak in image A in 1996 with an amplitude of about 0.4 to
0.5 mag (relative to 1995), which indicates that microlensing has been taking
place in the lensing galaxy. Image B does not vary much over the course of the
observation period. The long, smooth variation of the light curve is similar to
the results from the OGLE monitoring of the system (Wozniak et al. 2000a).Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in A&
Dark energy with gravitational lens time delays
Strong lensing gravitational time delays are a powerful and cost effective
probe of dark energy. Recent studies have shown that a single lens can provide
a distance measurement with 6-7 % accuracy (including random and systematic
uncertainties), provided sufficient data are available to determine the time
delay and reconstruct the gravitational potential of the deflector.
Gravitational-time delays are a low redshift (z~0-2) probe and thus allow one
to break degeneracies in the interpretation of data from higher-redshift probes
like the cosmic microwave background in terms of the dark energy equation of
state. Current studies are limited by the size of the sample of known lensed
quasars, but this situation is about to change. Even in this decade, wide field
imaging surveys are likely to discover thousands of lensed quasars, enabling
the targeted study of ~100 of these systems and resulting in substantial gains
in the dark energy figure of merit. In the next decade, a further order of
magnitude improvement will be possible with the 10000 systems expected to be
detected and measured with LSST and Euclid. To fully exploit these gains, we
identify three priorities. First, support for the development of software
required for the analysis of the data. Second, in this decade, small robotic
telescopes (1-4m in diameter) dedicated to monitoring of lensed quasars will
transform the field by delivering accurate time delays for ~100 systems. Third,
in the 2020's, LSST will deliver 1000's of time delays; the bottleneck will
instead be the aquisition and analysis of high resolution imaging follow-up.
Thus, the top priority for the next decade is to support fast high resolution
imaging capabilities, such as those enabled by the James Webb Space Telescope
and next generation adaptive optics systems on large ground based telescopes.Comment: White paper submitted to SNOWMASS201
Revisiting Date and Party Hubs: Novel Approaches to Role Assignment in Protein Interaction Networks
The idea of 'date' and 'party' hubs has been influential in the study of
protein-protein interaction networks. Date hubs display low co-expression with
their partners, whilst party hubs have high co-expression. It was proposed that
party hubs are local coordinators whereas date hubs are global connectors. Here
we show that the reported importance of date hubs to network connectivity can
in fact be attributed to a tiny subset of them. Crucially, these few, extremely
central, hubs do not display particularly low expression correlation,
undermining the idea of a link between this quantity and hub function. The
date/party distinction was originally motivated by an approximately bimodal
distribution of hub co-expression; we show that this feature is not always
robust to methodological changes. Additionally, topological properties of hubs
do not in general correlate with co-expression. Thus, we suggest that a
date/party dichotomy is not meaningful and it might be more useful to conceive
of roles for protein-protein interactions rather than individual proteins. We
find significant correlations between interaction centrality and the functional
similarity of the interacting proteins.Comment: 27 pages, 5 main figures, 4 supplementary figure
The spiral structure of the Galaxy revealed by CS sources and evidence for the 4:1 resonance
We present a map of the spiral structure of the Galaxy, as traced by
molecular CS emission associated with IRAS sources which are believed to be
compact HII regions. The CS line velocities are used to determine the kinematic
distances of the sources, in order to investigate their distribution in the
galactic plane. This allows us to use 870 objects to trace the arms, a number
larger than that of previous studies based on classical HII regions. The
distance ambiguity of the kinematic distances, when it exists, is solved by
different procedures, including the latitude distribution and an analysis of
the longitude-velocity diagram. The well defined spiral arms are seen to be
confined inside the co-rotation radius, as is often the case in spiral
galaxies. We identify a square-shaped sub-structure in the CS map with that
predicted by stellar orbits at the 4:1 resonance (4 epicycle oscillations in
one turn around the galactic center). The sub-structure is found at the
expected radius, based on the known pattern rotation speed and epicycle
frequency curve. An inner arm presents an end with strong inward curvature and
intense star formation that we tentatively associate with the region where this
arm surrounds the extremity of the bar, as seen in many barred galaxies.
Finally, a new arm with concave curvature is found in the Sagitta to Cepheus
region of the sky
Neuroethics and fMRI: Mapping a Fledgling Relationship
Human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) informs the understanding of the neural basis of mental function and is a key domain of ethical enquiry. It raises questions about the practice and implications of research, and reflexively informs ethics through the empirical investigation of moral judgments. It is at the centre of debate surrounding the importance of neuroscience findings for concepts such as personhood and free will, and the extent of their practical consequences. Here, we map the landscape of fMRI and neuroethics, using citation analysis to uncover salient topics. We find that this landscape is sparsely populated: despite previous calls for debate, there are few articles that discuss both fMRI and ethical, legal, or social implications (ELSI), and even fewer direct citations between the two literatures. Recognizing that practical barriers exist to integrating ELSI discussion into the research literature, we argue nonetheless that the ethical challenges of fMRI, and controversy over its conceptual and practical implications, make this essential
Disagreements with implications: diverging discourses on the ethics of non-medical use of methylphenidate for performance enhancement
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is substantial evidence that methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin), is being used by healthy university students for non-medical motives such as the improvement of concentration, alertness, and academic performance. The scope and potential consequences of the non-medical use of MPH upon healthcare and society bring about many points of view.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To gain insight into key ethical and social issues on the non-medical use of MPH, we examined discourses in the print media, bioethics literature, and public health literature.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our study identified three diverging paradigms with varying perspectives on the nature of performance enhancement. The beneficial effects of MPH on normal cognition were generally portrayed enthusiastically in the print media and bioethics discourses but supported by scant information on associated risks. Overall, we found a variety of perspectives regarding ethical, legal and social issues related to the non-medical use of MPH for performance enhancement and its impact upon social practices and institutions. The exception to this was public health discourse which took a strong stance against the non-medical use of MPH typically viewed as a form of prescription abuse or misuse. Wide-ranging recommendations for prevention of further non-medical use of MPH included legislation and increased public education.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Some positive portrayals of the non-medical use of MPH for performance enhancement in the print media and bioethics discourses could entice further uses. Medicine and society need to prepare for more prevalent non-medical uses of neuropharmaceuticals by fostering better informed public debates.</p
The interactions of winds from massive young stellar objects: X-ray emission, dynamics, and cavity evolution
2D axis-symmetric hydrodynamical simulations are presented which explore the
interaction of stellar and disk winds with surrounding infalling cloud
material. The star, and its accompanying disk, blow winds inside a cavity
cleared out by an earlier jet. The collision of the winds with their
surroundings generates shock heated plasma which reaches temperatures up to
~10^8 K. Attenuated X-ray spectra are calculated from solving the equation of
radiative transfer along lines-of-sight. This process is repeated at various
epochs throughout the simulations to examine the evolution of the intrinsic and
attenuated flux. We find that the dynamic nature of the wind-cavity interaction
fuels intrinsic variability in the observed emission on timescales of several
hundred years. This is principally due to variations in the position of the
reverse shock which is influenced by changes in the shape of the cavity wall.
The collision of the winds with the cavity wall can cause clumps of cloud
material to be stripped away. Mixing of these clumps into the winds mass-loads
the flow and enhances the X-ray emission measure. The position and shape of the
reverse shock plays a key role in determining the strength and hardness of the
X-ray emission. In some models the reverse shock is oblique to much of the
stellar and disk outflows, whereas in others it is closely normal over a wide
range of polar angles. For reasonable stellar and disk wind parameters the
integrated count rate and spatial extent of the intensity peak for X-ray
emission agree with \textit{Chandra} observations of the deeply embedded MYSOs
S106 IRS4, Mon R2 IRS3 A, and AFGL 2591.(abridged)Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
- …