7,014 research outputs found
Quaternionic potentials in non-relativistic quantum mechanics
We discuss the Schrodinger equation in presence of quaternionic potentials.
The study is performed analytically as long as it proves possible, when not, we
resort to numerical calculations. The results obtained could be useful to
investigate an underlying quaternionic quantum dynamics in particle physics.
Experimental tests and proposals to observe quaternionic quantum effects by
neutron interferometry are briefly reviewed.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures (ps), AMS-Te
Questions of quality in repositories of open educational resources: a literature review
Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials which are freely available and openly licensed. Repositories of OER (ROER) are platforms that host and facilitate access to these resources. ROER should not just be designed to store this content â in keeping with the aims of the OER movement, they should support educators in embracing open educational practices (OEP) such as searching for and retrieving content that they will reuse, adapt or modify as needed, without economic barriers or copyright restrictions. This paper reviews key literature on OER and ROER, in order to understand the roles ROER are said or supposed to fulfil in relation to furthering the aims of the OER movement. Four themes which should shape repository design are identified, and the following 10 quality indicators (QI) for ROER effectiveness are discussed: featured resources; user evaluation tools; peer review; authorship of the resources; keywords of the resources; use of standardised metadata; multilingualism of the repositories; inclusion of social media tools; specification of the creative commons license; availability of the source code or original files. These QI form the basis of a method for the evaluation of ROER initiatives which, in concert with considerations of achievability and long-term sustainability, should assist in enhancement and development.
Keywords: open educational resources; open access; open educational practice; repositories; quality assuranc
Continuous approximation of binomial lattices
A systematic analysis of a continuous version of a binomial lattice,
containing a real parameter and covering the Toda field equation as
, is carried out in the framework of group theory. The
symmetry algebra of the equation is derived. Reductions by one-dimensional and
two-dimensional subalgebras of the symmetry algebra and their corresponding
subgroups, yield notable field equations in lower dimensions whose solutions
allow to find exact solutions to the original equation. Some reduced equations
turn out to be related to potentials of physical interest, such as the
Fermi-Pasta-Ulam and the Killingbeck potentials, and others. An instanton-like
approximate solution is also obtained which reproduces the Eguchi-Hanson
instanton configuration for . Furthermore, the equation under
consideration is extended to --dimensions. A spherically symmetric form
of this equation, studied by means of the symmetry approach, provides
conformally invariant classes of field equations comprising remarkable special
cases. One of these enables us to establish a connection with the
Euclidean Yang-Mills equations, another appears in the context of Differential
Geometry in relation to the socalled Yamabe problem. All the properties of the
reduced equations are shared by the spherically symmetric generalized field
equation.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, no figures. Submitted to Annals of Physic
Soybean, 1962-1966
Cover title."University of Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Dept. Agriculture.
Quantum noise and mixedness of a pumped dissipative non-linear oscillator
Evolutions of quantum noise, characterized by quadrature squeezing parameter
and Fano factor, and of mixedness, quantified by quantum von Neumann and linear
entropies, of a pumped dissipative non-linear oscillator are studied. The model
can describe a signal mode interacting with a thermal reservoir in a
parametrically pumped cavity with a Kerr non-linearity. It is discussed that
the initial pure states, including coherent states, Fock states, and finite
superpositions of coherent states evolve into the same steady mixed state as
verified by the quantum relative entropy and the Bures metric. It is shown
analytically and verified numerically that the steady state can be well
approximated by a nonclassical Gaussian state exhibiting quadrature squeezing
and sub-Poissonian statistics for the cold thermal reservoir. A rapid increase
is found in the mixedness, especially for the initial Fock states and
superpositions of coherent states, during a very short time interval, and then
for longer evolution times a decrease in the mixedness to the same, for all the
initial states, and relatively low value of the nonclassical Gaussian state.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
Independent ferroelectric contributions and rare-earth-induced polarization reversal in multiferroic TbMn2O5
Three independent contributions to the magnetically induced spontaneous
polarization of multiferroic TbMn2O5 are uniquely separated by optical second
harmonic generation and an analysis in terms of Landau theory. Two of them are
related to the magnetic Mn3+/4+ order and are independent of applied fields of
up to 7 T. The third contribution is related to the long-range
antiferromagnetic Tb3+ order. It shows a drastic decrease upon the application
of a magnetic field and mediates the change of sign of the spontaneous electric
polarization in TbMn2O5. The close relationship between the rare-earth
long-range order and the non-linear optical properties points to isotropic
Tb-Tb exchange and oxygen spin polarization as mechanism for this rare-earth
induced ferroelectricity.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Protein-responsive ribozyme switches in eukaryotic cells
Genetic devices that directly detect and respond to intracellular concentrations of proteins are important synthetic biology tools, supporting the design of biological systems that target, respond to or alter specific cellular states. Here, we develop ribozyme-based devices that respond to protein ligands in two eukaryotic hosts, yeast and mammalian cells, to regulate the expression of a gene of interest. Our devices allow for both gene-ON and gene-OFF response upon sensing the protein ligand. As part of our design process, we describe an in vitro characterization pipeline for prescreening device designs to identify promising candidates for in vivo testing. The in vivo gene-regulatory activities in the two types of eukaryotic cells correlate with in vitro cleavage activities determined at different physiologically relevant magnesium concentrations. Finally, localization studies with the ligand demonstrate that ribozyme switches respond to ligands present in the nucleus and/or cytoplasm, providing new insight into their mechanism of action. By extending the sensing capabilities of this important class of gene-regulatory device, our work supports the implementation of ribozyme-based devices in applications requiring the detection of protein biomarkers
Second harmonic generation on incommensurate structures: The case of multiferroic MnWO4
A comprehensive analysis of optical second harmonic generation (SHG) on an
incommensurate (IC) magnetically ordered state is presented using multiferroic
MnWO4 as model compound. Two fundamentally different SHG contributions coupling
to the primary IC magnetic order or to secondary commensurate projections of
the IC state, respectively, are distinguished. Whereas the latter can be
described within the formalism of the 122 commensurate magnetic point groups
the former involves a breakdown of the conventional macroscopic symmetry
analysis because of its sensitivity to the lower symmetry of the local
environment in a crystal lattice. Our analysis thus foreshadows the fusion of
the hitherto disjunct fields of nonlinear optics and IC order in
condensed-matter systems
Investigation of the quasifission process by theoretical analysis of experimental data of fissionlike reaction products
The fusion excitation function is the important quantity in planning
experiments for the synthesis of superheavy elements. Its values seem to be
determined by the experimental study of the hindrance to complete fusion by the
observation of mass, angular and energy distributions of the fissionlike
fragments. There is ambiguity in establishment of the reaction mechanism
leading to the observed binary fissionlike fragments. The fissionlike fragments
can be produced in the quasifission, fast fission, and fusion-fission processes
which have overlapping in the mass (angular, kinetic energy) distributions of
fragments. The branching ratio between quasifission and complete fusion
strongly depends on the characteristics of the entrance channel. In this paper
we consider a wide set of reactions (with different mass asymmetry and mass
symmetry parameters) with the aim to explain the role played by many quantities
on the reaction mechanisms. We also present the results of study of the
Ca+Bk reaction used to synthesize superheavy nuclei with Z = 117
by the determination of the evaporation residue cross sections and the
effective fission barriers of excited nuclei formed along the
de-excitation cascade of the compound nucleus.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, 2 table
Timelapse
We discuss the existence in an arbitrary frame of a finite time for the
transformation of an initial quantum state into another e.g. in a decay.
This leads to the introduction of a timelapse in analogy with
the lifetime of a particle. An argument based upon the Heisenberg uncertainty
principle suggests the value of . Consequences for the
exponential decay formula and the modifications that introduces
into the Breit-Wigner mass formula are described.Comment: 5 pages [2 figs], ReV-Te
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