Opposite Thermodynamic Arrows of Time

A model in which two weakly coupled systems maintain opposite running thermodynamic arrows of time is exhibited. Each experiences its own retarded electromagnetic interaction and can be seen by the other. The possibility of opposite-arrow systems at stellar distances is explored and a relation to dark matter suggested.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Comment on “Surface Plasmons and Nonlocality: A Simple Model”

In the Comment [1], Schaich calculated the mode dispersion of surface plasmons supported by a planar metal-dielectric-metal (MIM) structure, and concluded that our model [2] fails to mimic the effect of nonlocality at high frequencies. Here, we shall clarify the difference between our calculations and that in Schaich’s Comment, and highlight the validity of our model for a general class of plasmonic structures.Published versio

Comparison of Stochastic Methods for the Variability Assessment of Technology Parameters

This paper provides and compares two alternative solutions for the simulation of cables and interconnects with the inclusion of the effects of parameter uncertainties, namely the Polynomial Chaos (PC) method and the Response Surface Modeling (RSM). The problem formulation applies to the telegraphers equations with stochastic coefficients. According to PC, the solution requires an expansion of the unknown parameters in terms of orthogonal polynomials of random variables. On the contrary, RSM is based on a least-square polynomial fitting of the system response. The proposed methods offer accuracy and improved efficiency in computing the parameter variability effects on system responses with respect to the conventional Monte Carlo approach. These approaches are validated by means of the application to the stochastic analysis of a commercial multiconductor flat cable. This analysis allows us to highlight the respective advantages and disadvantages of the presented method

Quantum noise and stochastic reduction

In standard nonrelativistic quantum mechanics the expectation of the energy is a conserved quantity. It is possible to extend the dynamical law associated with the evolution of a quantum state consistently to include a nonlinear stochastic component, while respecting the conservation law. According to the dynamics thus obtained, referred to as the energy-based stochastic Schrodinger equation, an arbitrary initial state collapses spontaneously to one of the energy eigenstates, thus describing the phenomenon of quantum state reduction. In this article, two such models are investigated: one that achieves state reduction in infinite time, and the other in finite time. The properties of the associated energy expectation process and the energy variance process are worked out in detail. By use of a novel application of a nonlinear filtering method, closed-form solutions--algebraic in character and involving no integration--are obtained for both these models. In each case, the solution is expressed in terms of a random variable representing the terminal energy of the system, and an independent noise process. With these solutions at hand it is possible to simulate explicitly the dynamics of the quantum states of complicated physical systems.Comment: 50 page

Transformation-optics description of nonlocal effects in plasmonic nanostructures

We develop an insightful transformation-optics approach to investigate the impact that nonlocality has on the optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures. The light-harvesting performance of a dimer of touching nanowires is studied by using the hydrodynamical Drude model, which reveals nonlocal resonances not predicted by previous local calculations. Our method clarifies the interplay between radiative and nonlocal effects in this nanoparticle configuration, which enables us to elucidate the optimum size that maximizes its absorption and field enhancement capabilitiesThis work was supported by the ESF plasmonbionanosense program, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Educating professionals to support self-management in people with asthma or diabetes: protocol for a systematic review and scoping exercise

This report is independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (Programme Development Grants, Implementing supported asthma self-management in routine clinical care: designing, refining, piloting and evaluating a whole systems implementation within an MRC Phase IV programme of research, RP-DG-1213-10008). The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health. This work is sponsored by the University of Edinburgh. The funder and sponsor have not had any role in developing the protocol

Controlled Synchronization of One Class of Nonlinear Systems under Information Constraints

Output feedback controlled synchronization problems for a class of nonlinear unstable systems under information constraints imposed by limited capacity of the communication channel are analyzed. A binary time-varying coder-decoder scheme is described and a theoretical analysis for multi-dimensional master-slave systems represented in Lurie form (linear part plus nonlinearity depending only on measurable outputs) is provided. An output feedback control law is proposed based on the Passification Theorem. It is shown that the synchronization error exponentially tends to zero for sufficiantly high transmission rate (channel capacity). The results obtained for synchronization problem can be extended to tracking problems in a straightforward manner, if the reference signal is described by an {external} ({exogenious}) state space model. The results are applied to controlled synchronization of two chaotic Chua systems via a communication channel with limited capacity.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure