97,647 research outputs found
Sequential nonideal measurements of quantum oscillators: Statistical characterization with and without environmental coupling
A one-dimensional quantum oscillator is monitored by taking repeated position
measurements. As a first con- tribution, it is shown that, under a quantum
nondemolition measurement scheme applied to a system initially at the ground
state, (i) the observed sequence of measurements (quantum tracks) corresponding
to a single experiment converges to a limit point, and that (ii) the limit
point is random over the ensemble of the experiments, being distributed as a
zero-mean Gaussian random variable with a variance at most equal to the
ground-state variance. As a second contribution, the richer scenario where the
oscillator is coupled with a frozen (i.e., at the ground state) ensemble of
independent quantum oscillators is considered. A sharply different behavior
emerges: under the same measurement scheme, here we observe that the
measurement sequences are essentially divergent. Such a rigorous statistical
analysis of the sequential measurement process might be useful for
characterizing the main quantities that are currently used for inference,
manipulation, and monitoring of many quantum systems. Several interesting
properties of the quantum tracks evolution, as well as of the associated
(quantum) threshold crossing times, are discussed and the dependence upon the
main system parameters (e.g., the choice of the measurement sampling time, the
degree of interaction with the environment, the measurement device accuracy) is
elucidated. At a more fundamental level, it is seen that, as an application of
basic quantum mechanics principles, a sharp difference exists between the
intrinsic randomness unavoidably present in any quantum system, and the
extrinsic randomness arising from the environmental coupling, i.e., the
randomness induced by an external source of disturbance.Comment: pages 16 Figures
Phenomenology of SIDIS unpolarized cross sections and azimuthal asymmetries
I review the phenomenology of unpolarized cross sections and azimuthal
asymmetries in semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scattering (SIDIS). The general
theoretical framework is presented and the validity of the Gaussian model is
discussed. A brief account of the existing analyses is provided.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, invited talk at "Transversity 2011", Veli
Losinj, Croati
A revised model of fluid transport optimization in Physarum polycephalum
Optimization of fluid transport in the slime mold Physarum polycephalum has
been the subject of several modeling efforts in recent literature. Existing
models assume that the tube adaptation mechanism in P. polycephalum's tubular
network is controlled by the sheer amount of fluid flow through the tubes. We
put forward the hypothesis that the controlling variable may instead be the
flow's pressure gradient along the tube. We carry out the stability analysis of
such a revised mathematical model for a parallel-edge network, proving that the
revised model supports the global flow-optimizing behavior of the slime mold
for a substantially wider class of response functions compared to previous
models. Simulations also suggest that the same conclusion may be valid for
arbitrary network topologies.Comment: To appear in Journal of Mathematical Biolog
Multiple solutions for a fractional -Laplacian equation with sign-changing potential
We use a variant of the fountain Theorem to prove the existence of infinitely
many weak solutions for the following fractional p-Laplace equation
(-\Delta)^{s}_{p}u+V(x)|u|^{p-2}u=f(x,u) in R^N, where ,,, is the fractional -Laplace operator, the
nonlinearity f is -superlinear at infinity and the potential V(x) is allowed
to be sign-changing
Disintegration Through Law?
This is certainly not the most propitious time to publish a Journal on "Law and Integration". It is
disintegration, not integration, that seems to be the dominant motive behind the contemporary events in Europe;
it is the panacea offered to soothe the fears raised by the multiple crises which hold the present state of Europe in
a tight grip; it is the invisible thread keeping together the anxieties which underlie the scholarly discussions about
its future. It is not our task to determine the multifarious factors, of a social, political or cultural nature, which led
to the current state of things. But the analysis of law as a possible disintegration factor would clearly be part of our
brief. In all its aspects, the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016 on the large influx of migrants and asylum
seekers in Greece seems to be exploiting the potentialities offered by international law as an alternative decision-
making procedure within the EU legal system. This is not a completely unexplored road. The Brexit agreement,
adopted by the Member States, acting within the European Council on 18 and 19 February 2016 equally seems to
subvert the very mission of the founding treaties: to create an ever closer Union. Even with respect to this
precedent, however, the EU-Turkey Statement seems to go one step further as it represents a visible example of
the creeping modifications of the EU legal and political system, which almost inadvertently happens with the
abdicant consent of the other political EU Institutions. This use of international instruments has the effect of
disregarding the European institutional balance upon which the acquis européen has developed and which, with
all its limits, constitutes the legacy of the first phase of the European integration. It may shift the centre of gravity
to the Member States, the unmoved movers of the European legal universe. It may subdue the institutional
pluralism, which has represented the hallmark of the political experience of the European integration, and create,
instead, an institutional desert, where the political power is concentrated in the hand of the States acting through
the European Council. It may mark the return to a Europe of sovereign States and the definite disappearance of
the notion of a European public interest, of which we are in desperate need
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