Estimating the spectrum of a density operator

Given N quantum systems prepared according to the same density operator \rho, we propose a measurement on the N-fold system which approximately yields the spectrum of \rho. The projections of the proposed observable decompose the Hilbert space according to the irreducible representations of the permutations on N points, and are labeled by Young frames, whose relative row lengths estimate the eigenvalues of \rho in decreasing order. We show convergence of these estimates in the limit N\to\infty, and that the probability for errors decreases exponentially with a rate we compute explicitly.Comment: 4 Pages, RevTeX, one figur

Enhanced Quantum Estimation via Purification

We analyze the estimation of a finite ensemble of quantum bits which have been sent through a depolarizing channel. Instead of using the depolarized qubits directly, we first apply a purification step and show that this improves the fidelity of subsequent quantum estimation. Even though we lose some qubits of our finite ensemble the information is concentrated in the remaining purified ones.Comment: 6 pages, including 3 figure

Masonry infill performance during the Northridge earthquake

The response of masonry infills during the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake is described in terms of three categories: (1) lowrise and midrise structures experiencing large near field seismic excitations, (2) lowrise and midrise structures experiencing moderate far field excitation, and (3) highrise structures experiencing moderate far field excitation. In general, the infills provided a positive beneficial effect on the performance of the buildings, even those experiencing large peak accelerations near the epicenter. Varying types of masonry infills, structural frames, design conditions, and construction deficiencies were observed and their performance during the earthquake indicated. A summary of observations of the performance of infills in other recent earthquakes is given. Comparison with the Northridge earthquake is made and expected response of infill structures in lower seismic regions of the central and eastern United States is discussed