51,257 research outputs found
Study to investigate and evaluate means of optimizing the Ku-band communication function for the space shuttle
The forward link of the overall Ku-band communication system consists of the ground- TDRS-orbiter communication path. Because the last segment of the link is directed towards a relatively low orbiting shuttle, a PN code is used to reduce the spectral density. A method is presented for incorporating code acquisition and tracking functions into the orbiter's Ku-band receiver. Optimization of a three channel multiplexing technique is described. The importance of Costas loop parameters to provide false lock immunity for the receiver, and the advantage of using a sinusoidal subcarrier waveform, rather than square wave, are discussed
Divergence-free approach for obtaining decompositions of quantum-optical processes
Operator-sum representations of quantum channels can be obtained by applying
the channel to one subsystem of a maximally entangled state and deploying the
channel-state isomorphism. However, for continuous-variable systems, such
schemes contain natural divergences since the maximally entangled state is
ill-defined. We introduce a method that avoids such divergences by utilizing
finitely entangled (squeezed) states and then taking the limit of arbitrary
large squeezing. Using this method we derive an operator-sum representation for
all single-mode bosonic Gaussian channels where a unique feature is that both
quantum-limited and noisy channels are treated on an equal footing. This
technique facilitates a proof that the rank-one Kraus decomposition for
Gaussian channels at its respective entanglement-breaking thresholds, obtained
in the overcomplete coherent state basis, is unique. The methods could have
applications to simulation of continuous-variable channels.Comment: 18 pages (8 + appendices), 4 figs. V2: close to published version,
dropped Sec.VI of v1 to be expanded elsewher
Metal-insulator transition in an aperiodic ladder network: an exact result
We show, in a completely analytical way, that a tight binding ladder network
composed of atomic sites with on-site potentials distributed according to the
quasiperiodic Aubry model can exhibit a metal-insulator transition at multiple
values of the Fermi energy. For specific values of the first and second
neighbor electron hopping, the result is obtained exactly. With a more general
model, we calculate the two-terminal conductance numerically. The numerical
results corroborate the analytical findings and yield a richer variety of
spectrum showing multiple mobility edges.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
What do gas-rich galaxies actually tell us about modified Newtonian dynamics?
It has recently been claimed that measurements of the baryonic Tully-Fisher
relation (BTFR), a power-law relationship between the observed baryonic masses
and outer rotation velocities of galaxies, support the predictions of modified
Newtonian dynamics for the slope and scatter in the relation, while challenging
the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm. We investigate these claims, and find
that: 1) the scatter in the data used to determine the BTFR is in conflict with
observational uncertainties on the data; 2) these data do not make strong
distinctions regarding the best-fit BTFR parameters; 3) the literature contains
a wide variety of measurements of the BTFR, many of which are discrepant with
the recent results; and 4) the claimed CDM "prediction" for the BTFR is a gross
oversimplification of the complex galaxy-scale physics involved. We conclude
that the BTFR is currently untrustworthy as a test of CDM.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; minor revisions to match published versio
A non-pulsating neutron star in the supernova remnant HESS J1731-347 / G353.6-0.7 with a carbon atmosphere
Context: The CCO candidate in the center of the supernova remnant shell HESS
J1731-347 / G353.6-0.7 shows no pulsations and exhibits a blackbody-like X-ray
spectrum. If the absence of pulsations is interpreted as evidence for the
emitting surface area being the entire neutron star surface, the assumption of
the measured flux being due to a blackbody emission translates into a source
distance that is inconsistent with current estimates of the remnant's distance.
Aims: With the best available observational data, we extended the pulse period
search down to a sub-millisecond time scale and used a carbon atmosphere model
to describe the X-ray spectrum of the CCO and to estimate geometrical
parameters of the neutron star. Methods: To search for pulsations we used data
of an observation of the source with XMM-Newton performed in timing mode. For
the spectral analysis, we used earlier XMM-Newton observations performed in
imaging mode, which permits a more accurate treatment of the background. The
carbon atmosphere models used to fit the CCO spectrum are computed assuming
hydrostatic and radiative equilibria and take into account pressure ionization
and the presence of spectral lines. Results: Our timing analysis did not reveal
any pulsations with a pulsed fraction above ~8% down to 0.2 ms. This finding
further supports the hypothesis that the emitting surface area is the entire
neutron star surface. The carbon atmosphere model provides a good fit to the
CCO spectrum and leads to a normalization consistent with the available
distance estimates of the remnant. The derived constraints on the mass and
radius of the source are consistent with reasonable values of the neutron star
mass and radius. After the CCO in Cas A, the CCO in HESS J1731-347 / G353.6-0.7
is the second object of this class for which a carbon atmosphere model provides
a consistent description of X-ray emission.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in
Astronomy&Astrophysic
Hamilton's Turns for the Lorentz Group
Hamilton in the course of his studies on quaternions came up with an elegant
geometric picture for the group SU(2). In this picture the group elements are
represented by ``turns'', which are equivalence classes of directed great
circle arcs on the unit sphere , in such a manner that the rule for
composition of group elements takes the form of the familiar parallelogram law
for the Euclidean translation group. It is only recently that this construction
has been generalized to the simplest noncompact group , the double cover of SO(2,1). The present work develops a theory of
turns for , the double and universal cover of SO(3,1) and ,
rendering a geometric representation in the spirit of Hamilton available for
all low dimensional semisimple Lie groups of interest in physics. The geometric
construction is illustrated through application to polar decomposition, and to
the composition of Lorentz boosts and the resulting Wigner or Thomas rotation.Comment: 13 pages, Late
High threshold distributed quantum computing with three-qubit nodes
In the distributed quantum computing paradigm, well-controlled few-qubit
`nodes' are networked together by connections which are relatively noisy and
failure prone. A practical scheme must offer high tolerance to errors while
requiring only simple (i.e. few-qubit) nodes. Here we show that relatively
modest, three-qubit nodes can support advanced purification techniques and so
offer robust scalability: the infidelity in the entanglement channel may be
permitted to approach 10% if the infidelity in local operations is of order
0.1%. Our tolerance of network noise is therefore a order of magnitude beyond
prior schemes, and our architecture remains robust even in the presence of
considerable decoherence rates (memory errors). We compare the performance with
that of schemes involving nodes of lower and higher complexity. Ion traps, and
NV- centres in diamond, are two highly relevant emerging technologies.Comment: 5 figures, 12 pages in single column format. Revision has more
detailed comparison with prior scheme
Quantum Algorithm for the Collision Problem
In this note, we give a quantum algorithm that finds collisions in arbitrary
r-to-one functions after only O((N/r)^(1/3)) expected evaluations of the
function. Assuming the function is given by a black box, this is more efficient
than the best possible classical algorithm, even allowing probabilism. We also
give a similar algorithm for finding claws in pairs of functions. Furthermore,
we exhibit a space-time tradeoff for our technique. Our approach uses Grover's
quantum searching algorithm in a novel way.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX2
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