6,259 research outputs found
An Experimental Microarchitecture for a Superconducting Quantum Processor
Quantum computers promise to solve certain problems that are intractable for
classical computers, such as factoring large numbers and simulating quantum
systems. To date, research in quantum computer engineering has focused
primarily at opposite ends of the required system stack: devising high-level
programming languages and compilers to describe and optimize quantum
algorithms, and building reliable low-level quantum hardware. Relatively little
attention has been given to using the compiler output to fully control the
operations on experimental quantum processors. Bridging this gap, we propose
and build a prototype of a flexible control microarchitecture supporting
quantum-classical mixed code for a superconducting quantum processor. The
microarchitecture is based on three core elements: (i) a codeword-based event
control scheme, (ii) queue-based precise event timing control, and (iii) a
flexible multilevel instruction decoding mechanism for control. We design a set
of quantum microinstructions that allows flexible control of quantum operations
with precise timing. We demonstrate the microarchitecture and microinstruction
set by performing a standard gate-characterization experiment on a transmon
qubit.Comment: 13 pages including reference. 9 figure
Doppler Boosting, Superluminal Motion, and the Kinematics of AGN Jets
We discuss results from a decade long program to study the fine-scale
structure and the kinematics of relativistic AGN jets with the aim of better
understanding the acceleration and collimation of the relativistic plasma
forming AGN jets. From the observed distribution of brightness temperature,
apparent velocity, flux density, time variability, and apparent luminosity, the
intrinsic properties of the jets including Lorentz factor, luminosity,
orientation, and brightness temperature are discussed. Special attention is
given to the jet in M87, which has been studied over a wide range of
wavelengths and which, due to its proximity, is observed with excellent spatial
resolution.
Most radio jets appear quite linear, but we also observe curved non-linear
jets and non-radial motions. Sometimes, different features in a given jet
appear to follow the same curved path but there is evidence for ballistic
trajectories as well. The data are best fit with a distribution of Lorentz
factors extending up to gamma ~30 and intrinsic luminosity up to ~10^26 W/Hz.
In general, gamma-ray quasars may have somewhat larger Lorentz factors than non
gamma-ray quasars. Initially the observed brightness temperature near the base
of the jet extend up to ~5x10^13 K which is well in excess of the inverse
Compton limit and corresponds to a large excess of particle energy over
magnetic energy. However, more typically, the observed brightness temperatures
are ~2x10^11 K, i.e., closer to equipartition.Comment: 10 pages, 12 color figures; proceedings of the 5th Stromlo Symposium:
Disks, Winds, and Jets - from Planets to Quasars; accepted in Astrophysics &
Space Scienc
MOJAVE: monitoring of jets in active galactic nuclei with VLBA experiments. V. Multi-epoch VLBA images
We present images from a long-term program (MOJAVE: Monitoring of Jets in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with VLBA Experiments) to survey the structure and evolution of parsec-scale jet phenomena associated with bright radio-loud active galaxies in the northern sky. The observations consist of 2424 15 GHz Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) images of a complete flux-density-limited sample of 135 AGNs above declination –20°, spanning the period 1994 August to 2007 September. These data were acquired as part of the MOJAVE and 2 cm Survey programs, and from the VLBA archive. The sample-selection criteria are based on multi-epoch parsec-scale (VLBA) flux density, and heavily favor highly variable and compact blazars. The sample includes nearly all the most prominent blazars in the northern sky, and is well suited for statistical analysis and comparison with studies at other wavelengths. Our multi-epoch and stacked-epoch images show 94% of the sample to have apparent one-sided jet morphologies, most likely due to the effects of relativistic beaming. Of the remaining sources, five have two-sided parsec-scale jets, and three are effectively unresolved by the VLBA at 15 GHz, with essentially all of the flux density contained within a few tenths of a milliarcsecond
TransCom N2O model inter-comparison - Part 2:Atmospheric inversion estimates of N2O emissions
This study examines N2O emission estimates from five different atmospheric inversion frameworks based on chemistry transport models (CTMs). The five frameworks differ in the choice of CTM, meteorological data, prior uncertainties and inversion method but use the same prior emissions and observation data set. The posterior modelled atmospheric N2O mole fractions are compared to observations to assess the performance of the inversions and to help diagnose problems in the modelled transport. Additionally, the mean emissions for 2006 to 2008 are compared in terms of the spatial distribution and seasonality. Overall, there is a good agreement among the inversions for the mean global total emission, which ranges from 16.1 to 18.7 TgN yr(-1) and is consistent with previous estimates. Ocean emissions represent between 31 and 38% of the global total compared to widely varying previous estimates of 24 to 38%. Emissions from the northern mid- to high latitudes are likely to be more important, with a consistent shift in emissions from the tropics and subtropics to the mid- to high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere; the emission ratio for 0-30A degrees N to 30-90A degrees N ranges from 1.5 to 1.9 compared with 2.9 to 3.0 in previous estimates. The largest discrepancies across inversions are seen for the regions of South and East Asia and for tropical and South America owing to the poor observational constraint for these areas and to considerable differences in the modelled transport, especially inter-hemispheric exchange rates and tropical convective mixing. Estimates of the seasonal cycle in N2O emissions are also sensitive to errors in modelled stratosphere-to-troposphere transport in the tropics and southern extratropics. Overall, the results show a convergence in the global and regional emissions compared to previous independent studies
Heating of gas inside radio sources to mildly relativistic temperatures via induced Compton scattering
Measured values of the brightness temperature of low-frequency synchrotron
radiation emitted by powerful extragalactic sources reach 10^11--10^12 K. If
some amount of nonrelativistic ionized gas is present within such sources, it
should be heated as a result of induced Compton scattering of the radiation. If
this heating is counteracted by cooling due to inverse Compton scattering of
the same radio radiation, then the plasma can be heated up to mildly
relativistic temperatures kT~10--100 keV. The stationary electron velocity
distribution can be either relativistic Maxwellian or quasi-Maxwellian (with
the high-velocity tail suppressed), depending on the efficiency of Coulomb
collisions and other relaxation processes. We derive several easy-to-use
approximate expressions for the induced Compton heating rate of mildly
relativistic electrons in an isotropic radiation field, as well as for the
stationary distribution function and temperature of electrons. We also give
analytic expressions for the kernel of the integral kinetic equation (one as a
function of the scattering angle and another for the case of an isotropic
radiation field), which describes the redistribution of photons in frequency
caused by induced Compton scattering in thermal plasma. These expressions can
be used in the parameter range hnu<< kT<~ 0.1mc^2 (the formulae earlier
published in Sazonov, Sunyaev, 2000 are less accurate).Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Astronomy Letter
Sources of Relativistic Jets in the Galaxy
Black holes of stellar mass and neutron stars in binary systems are first
detected as hard X-ray sources using high-energy space telescopes. Relativistic
jets in some of these compact sources are found by means of multiwavelength
observations with ground-based telescopes. The X-ray emission probes the inner
accretion disk and immediate surroundings of the compact object, whereas the
synchrotron emission from the jets is observed in the radio and infrared bands,
and in the future could be detected at even shorter wavelengths. Black-hole
X-ray binaries with relativistic jets mimic, on a much smaller scale, many of
the phenomena seen in quasars and are thus called microquasars. Because of
their proximity, their study opens the way for a better understanding of the
relativistic jets seen elsewhere in the Universe. From the observation of
two-sided moving jets it is inferred that the ejecta in microquasars move with
relativistic speeds similar to those believed to be present in quasars. The
simultaneous multiwavelength approach to microquasars reveals in short
timescales the close connection between instabilities in the accretion disk
seen in the X-rays, and the ejection of relativistic clouds of plasma observed
as synchrotron emission at longer wavelengths. Besides contributing to a deeper
comprehension of accretion disks and jets, microquasars may serve in the future
to determine the distances of jet sources using constraints from special
relativity, and the spin of black holes using general relativity.Comment: 39 pages, Tex, 8 figures, to appear in vol. 37 (1999) of Annual
Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysic
Structure and Magnetic Fields in the Precessing Jet System SS 433 I. Multi-Frequency Imaging from 1998
The Very Large Array has been used at five frequencies to study the structure
and linear polarization of SS433 on scales as small as ~0.1" ~ 500 AU. Each jet
consists of a sharp, curving ridge-line at the leading edge, plus significant
trailing off-jet emission, showing that they are enveloped by diffuse
relativistic plasma. No kinematic model with constant jet speed fits our images
on all scales, but they are consistent with variations in jet speed of around
10% around the optical value. Our images show continuous jets with bright
components occurring simultaneously in the two jets roughly every 35 days. When
corrected for projection effects and Doppler boosting, the intensities of the
two jets are intrinsically very similar. Fractional linear polarization up to
20% is present along the ridge-lines, while the core is essentially
unpolarized. The rotation measures are consistent with a foreground screen with
RM ~ +110 radians per meter squared, plus a larger, asymmetrical contribution
close to the core. The apparent magnetic fields in the jets are roughly aligned
with the ridge-lines in most but not all of each jet. The jet is more highly
polarized between the components than in the components themselves, suggesting
that the mechanism that creates them compresses a tangled part of the magnetic
field into a partially-ordered transverse layer. The off-jet emission is
remarkably highly polarized, with m ~ 50% in places, suggesting large-scale
order of the magnetic field surrounding the jets. This polarized signal may
confuse the determination of magnetic field orientations in the jets
themselves. However, the images are consistent with a jet magnetic field that
is everywhere parallel to the helices.Comment: To appear in Ap.J. (27 pages, 12 figures
Breast adenocarcinoma liver metastases, in contrast to colorectal cancer liver metastases, display a non-angiogenic growth pattern that preserves the stroma and lacks hypoxia
Although angiogenesis is a prerequisite for the growth of most human solid tumours, alternative mechanisms of vascularisation can be adopted. We have previously described a non-angiogenic growth pattern in liver metastases of colorectal adenocarcinomas (CRC) in which tumour cells replace hepatocytes at the tumour-liver interface, preserving the liver architecture and co-opting the sinusoidal blood vessels. The aim of this study was to determine whether this replacement pattern occurs during liver metastasis of breast adenocarcinomas (BC) and whether the lack of an angiogenic switch in such metastases is due to the absence of hypoxia and subsequent vascular fibrinogen leakage. The growth pattern of 45 BC liver metastases and 28 CRC liver metastases (73 consecutive patients) was assessed on haematoxylin- and eosin-stained tissue sections. The majority of the BC liver metastases had a replacement growth pattern (96%), in contrast to only 32% of the CRC metastases (P<0.0001). The median carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9) expression (M75 antibody), as a marker of hypoxia, (intensity x % of stained tumour cells) was 0 in the BC metastases and 53 in the CRC metastases (P<0.0001). There was CA9 expression at the tumour-liver interface in only 16% of the BC liver metastases vs 54% of the CRC metastases (P=0.002). There was fibrin (T2G1 antibody) at the tumour-liver interface in only 21% of the BC metastases vs 56% of the CRC metastases (P=0.04). The median macrophage count (Chalkley morphometry; KP-1 anti-CD68 antibody) at the interface was 4.3 and 7.5, respectively (P<0.0001). Carbonic anhydrase 9 score and macrophage count were positively correlated (r=0.42; P=0.002) in all metastases. Glandular differentiation was less in the BC liver metastases: 80% had less than 10% gland formation vs only 7% of the CRC metastases (P<0.0001). The liver is a densely vascularised organ and can host metastases that exploit this environment by replacing the hepatocytes and co-opting the vasculature. Our findings confirm that a non-angiogenic pattern of liver metastasis indeed occurs in BC, that this pattern of replacement growth is even more prevalent than in CRC, and that the process induces neither hypoxia nor vascular leakage
Sub-milliarcsecond Imaging of Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei. IV. Fine Scale Structure
We have used VLBA fringe visibility data obtained at 15 GHz to examine the
compact structure in 250 extragalactic radio sources. For 171 sources in our
sample, more than half of the total flux density seen by the VLBA remains
unresolved on the longest baselines. There are 163 sources in our list with a
median correlated flux density at 15 GHz in excess of 0.5 Jy on the longest
baselines. For about 60% of the sources, we have at least one observation in
which the core component appears unresolved (generally smaller than 0.05 mas)
in one direction, usually transverse to the direction into which the jet
extends. BL Lacs are on average more compact than quasars, while active
galaxies are on average less compact. Also, in an active galaxy the
sub-milliarcsecond core component tends to be less dominant. IDV sources
typically have a more compact, more core-dominated structure on
sub-milliarcsecond scales than non-IDV sources, and sources with a greater
amplitude of intra-day variations tend to have a greater unresolved VLBA flux
density. The objects known to be GeV gamma-ray loud appear to have a more
compact VLBA structure than the other sources in our sample. This suggests that
the mechanisms for the production of gamma-ray emission and for the generation
of compact radio synchrotron emitting features are related. The brightness
temperature estimates and lower limits for the cores in our sample typically
range between 10^11 and 10^13 K, but they extend up to 5x10^13 K, apparently in
excess of the equipartition brightness temperature, or the inverse Compton
limit for stationary synchrotron sources. The largest component speeds are
observed in radio sources with high observed brightness temperatures, as would
be expected from relativistic beaming (abridged).Comment: 31 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journal; minor changes to the text are mad
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