Note on clock synchronization and Edwards transformations

Edwards transformations relating inertial frames with arbitrary clock synchronization are reminded and put in more general setting. Their group theoretical context is described.Comment: 11 pages, no figures; final version, to appear in Foundations of Physics Letter

Sideband cooling while preserving coherences in the nuclear spin state in group-II-like atoms

We propose a method for laser cooling group-II-like atoms without changing the quantum state of their nuclear spins, thus preserving coherences that are usually destroyed by optical pumping. As group-II-like atoms have a $^1S_0$ closed-shell ground state, nuclear spin and electronic degrees of freedom are decoupled, allowing for independent manipulation. The hyperfine interaction that couples these degrees of freedom in excited states can be suppressed through the application of external magnetic fields. Our protocol employs resolved-sideband cooling on the forbidden clock transition, $^1S_0 \to {}^3P_0$, with quenching via coupling to the rapidly decaying $^1P_1$ state, deep in the Paschen-Back regime. This makes it possible to laser cool neutral atomic qubits without destroying the quantum information stored in their nuclear spins, as shown in two examples, $^{171}$Yb and $^{87}$Sr.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures v4: minor changes in text, changes in the references, published versio

Noise and Correlations in a Spatial Population Model with Cyclic Competition

Noise and spatial degrees of freedom characterize most ecosystems. Some aspects of their influence on the coevolution of populations with cyclic interspecies competition have been demonstrated in recent experiments [e.g. B. Kerr et al., Nature {\bf 418}, 171 (2002)]. To reach a better theoretical understanding of these phenomena, we consider a paradigmatic spatial model where three species exhibit cyclic dominance. Using an individual-based description, as well as stochastic partial differential and deterministic reaction-diffusion equations, we account for stochastic fluctuations and spatial diffusion at different levels, and show how fascinating patterns of entangled spirals emerge. We rationalize our analysis by computing the spatio-temporal correlation functions and provide analytical expressions for the front velocity and the wavelength of the propagating spiral waves.Comment: 4 pages of main text, 3 color figures + 2 pages of supplementary material (EPAPS Document). Final version for Physical Review Letter

Tratamento de sementes no controle de fitopatógenos e pragas.

A associação de patógenos e pragas com sementes é um dos principais fatores que causam danos aos cultivos agrícolas e aos agrossistemas. Além de causar danos diretos nas lavouras, esta relação é capaz de provocar prejuízos de outras formas, inviabilizando quase sempre a continuidade da exploração agrícola em áreas onde estes agentes ocorrem. O tratamento químico das sementes contempla avanços mais expressivos sobre ingredientes ativos, formulações e equipamentos utilizados, visando ao controle das doenças e pragas relacionadas com as sementes

Effects and Propositions

The quantum logical and quantum information-theoretic traditions have exerted an especially powerful influence on Bub's thinking about the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics. This paper discusses both the quantum logical and information-theoretic traditions from the point of view of their representational frameworks. I argue that it is at this level, at the level of its framework, that the quantum logical tradition has retained its centrality to Bub's thought. It is further argued that there is implicit in the quantum information-theoretic tradition a set of ideas that mark a genuinely new alternative to the framework of quantum logic. These ideas are of considerable interest for the philosophy of quantum mechanics, a claim which I defend with an extended discussion of their application to our understanding of the philosophical significance of the no hidden variable theorem of Kochen and Specker.Comment: Presented to the 2007 conference, New Directions in the Foundations of Physic

Investigation and hazard assessment of the 2003 and 2007 Staircase Falls rock falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

International audienceSince 1857 more than 600 rock falls, rock slides, debris slides, and debris flows have been documented in Yosemite National Park, with rock falls in Yosemite Valley representing the majority of the events. On 26 December 2003, a rock fall originating from west of Glacier Point sent approximately 200 m3 of rock debris down a series of joint-controlled ledges to the floor of Yosemite Valley. The debris impacted talus near the base of Staircase Falls, producing fragments of flying rock that struck occupied cabins in Curry Village. Several years later on 9 June 2007, and again on 26 July 2007, smaller rock falls originated from the same source area. The 26 December 2003 event coincided with a severe winter storm and was likely triggered by precipitation and/or frost wedging, but the 9 June and 26 July 2007 events lack recognizable triggering mechanisms. We investigated the geologic and hydrologic factors contributing to the Staircase Falls rock falls, including bedrock lithology, weathering, joint spacing and orientations, and hydrologic processes affecting slope stability. We improved upon previous geomorphic assessment of rock-fall hazards, based on a shadow angle approach, by using STONE, a three-dimensional rock-fall simulation computer program. STONE produced simulated rock-fall runout patterns similar to the mapped extent of the 2003 and 2007 events, allowing us to simulate potential future rock falls from the Staircase Falls detachment area. Observations of recent rock falls, mapping of rock debris, and simulations of rock fall runouts beneath the Staircase Falls detachment area suggest that rock-fall hazard zones extend farther downslope than the extent previously defined by mapped surface talus deposits

Coexistence versus extinction in the stochastic cyclic Lotka-Volterra model

Cyclic dominance of species has been identified as a potential mechanism to maintain biodiversity, see e.g. B. Kerr, M. A. Riley, M. W. Feldman and B. J. M. Bohannan [Nature {\bf 418}, 171 (2002)] and B. Kirkup and M. A. Riley [Nature {\bf 428}, 412 (2004)]. Through analytical methods supported by numerical simulations, we address this issue by studying the properties of a paradigmatic non-spatial three-species stochastic system, namely the `rock-paper-scissors' or cyclic Lotka-Volterra model. While the deterministic approach (rate equations) predicts the coexistence of the species resulting in regular (yet neutrally stable) oscillations of the population densities, we demonstrate that fluctuations arising in the system with a \emph{finite number of agents} drastically alter this picture and are responsible for extinction: After long enough time, two of the three species die out. As main findings we provide analytic estimates and numerical computation of the extinction probability at a given time. We also discuss the implications of our results for a broad class of competing population systems.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, minor correction

Quantum Preferred Frame: Does It Really Exist?

The idea of the preferred frame as a remedy for difficulties of the relativistic quantum mechanics in description of the non-local quantum phenomena was undertaken by such physicists as J. S. Bell and D. Bohm. The possibility of the existence of preferred frame was also seriously treated by P. A. M. Dirac. In this paper, we propose an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-type experiment for testing the possible existence of a quantum preferred frame. Our analysis suggests that to verify whether a preferred frame of reference in the quantum world exists it is enough to perform an EPR type experiment with pair of observers staying in the same inertial frame and with use of the massive EPR pair of spin one-half or spin one particles.Comment: 5 pp., 6 fig

Pauli problem for a spin of arbitrary length: A simple method to determine its wave function

The problem of determining a pure state vector from measurements is investigated for a quantum spin of arbitrary length. Generically, only a finite number of wave functions is compatible with the intensities of the spin components in two different spatial directions, measured by a Stern-Gerlach apparatus. The remaining ambiguity can be resolved by one additional well-defined measurement. This method combines efficiency with simplicity: only a small number of quantities have to be measured and the experimental setup is elementary. Other approaches to determine state vectors from measurements, also known as the ‘‘Pauli problem,’’ are reviewed for both spin and particle systems

How to determine a quantum state by measurements: The Pauli problem for a particle with arbitrary potential

The problem of reconstructing a pure quantum state ¿¿> from measurable quantities is considered for a particle moving in a one-dimensional potential V(x). Suppose that the position probability distribution ¿¿(x,t)¿2 has been measured at time t, and let it have M nodes. It is shown that after measuring the time evolved distribution at a short-time interval ¿t later, ¿¿(x,t+¿t)¿2, the set of wave functions compatible with these distributions is given by a smooth manifold M in Hilbert space. The manifold M is isomorphic to an M-dimensional torus, TM. Finally, M additional expectation values of appropriately chosen nonlocal operators fix the quantum state uniquely. The method used here is the analog of an approach that has been applied successfully to the corresponding problem for a spin system