598 research outputs found
Report on the Stanford/Ames direct-link space suit prehensor
Researchers at the Center for Design Research at Stanford University, in collaboration with NASA Ames at Moffet Field, California, are developing hand-powered mechanical prehensors to replace gloves for EVA spacesuits. The design and functional properties of the first version Direct Link Prehensor (DLP) is discussed. It has a total of six degrees-of-freedom and is the most elaborate of three prehensors being developed for the project. The DLP has a robust design and utilizes only linkages and revolute joints for the drive system. With its anthropomorphic configuration of two fingers and a thumb, it is easy to control and is capable of all of the basic prehension patterns such as cylindrical or lateral pinch grasps. Kinematic analysis reveals that, assuming point contacts, a grasped object can be manipulated with three degrees-of-freedom. Yet, in practice more degrees-of-freedom are possible
The non-Abelian state-dependent gauge field in optics
The covariant formulation of the quantum dynamics in CP(1) should lead to the
observable geometrodynamical effects for the local dynamical variable of the
light polarization states.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, LaTe
Logical Pre- and Post-Selection Paradoxes, Measurement-Disturbance and Contextuality
Many seemingly paradoxical effects are known in the predictions for outcomes of measurements made on pre- and post-selected quantum systems. A class of such effects, which we call “logical pre- and post-selection paradoxes”, bear a striking resemblance to proofs of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem, which suggests that they demonstrate the contextuality of quantum mechanics. Despite the apparent similarity, we show that such effects can occur in noncontextual hidden variable theories, provided measurements are allowed to disturb the values of the hidden variables
Pre- and Post-selection paradoxes and contextuality in quantum mechanics
Many seemingly paradoxical effects are known in the predictions for outcomes
of intermediate measurements made on pre- and post-selected quantum systems.
Despite appearances, these effects do not demonstrate the impossibility of a
noncontextual hidden variable theory, since an explanation in terms of
measurement-disturbance is possible. Nonetheless, we show that for every
paradoxical effect wherein all the pre- and post- selected probabilities are 0
or 1 and the pre- and post-selected states are nonorthogonal, there is an
associated proof of contextuality. This proof is obtained by considering all
the measurements involved in the paradoxical effect -- the pre-selection, the
post-selection, and the alternative possible intermediate measurements -- as
alternative possible measurements at a single time.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. v2.0 revised in the
light of referee comments, results unchange
Optimal simulation of two-qubit Hamiltonians using general local operations
We consider the simulation of the dynamics of one nonlocal Hamiltonian by
another, allowing arbitrary local resources but no entanglement nor classical
communication. We characterize notions of simulation, and proceed to focus on
deterministic simulation involving one copy of the system. More specifically,
two otherwise isolated systems and interact by a nonlocal Hamiltonian
. We consider the achievable space of Hamiltonians such
that the evolution can be simulated by the interaction
interspersed with local operations. For any dimensions of and , and any
nonlocal Hamiltonians and , there exists a scale factor such that
for all times the evolution can be simulated by acting for
time interspersed with local operations. For 2-qubit Hamiltonians and
, we calculate the optimal and give protocols achieving it. The optimal
protocols do not require local ancillas, and can be understood geometrically in
terms of a polyhedron defined by a partial order on the set of 2-qubit
Hamiltonians.Comment: (1) References to related work, (2) protocol to simulate one
two-qudit Hamiltonian with another, and (3) other related results added. Some
proofs are simplifie
A generalized no-broadcasting theorem
We prove a generalized version of the no-broadcasting theorem, applicable to
essentially \emph{any} nonclassical finite-dimensional probabilistic model
satisfying a no-signaling criterion, including ones with ``super-quantum''
correlations. A strengthened version of the quantum no-broadcasting theorem
follows, and its proof is significantly simpler than existing proofs of the
no-broadcasting theorem.Comment: 4 page
Olfactory learning alters navigation strategies and behavioral variability in C. elegans
Animals adjust their behavioral response to sensory input adaptively
depending on past experiences. The flexible brain computation is crucial for
survival and is of great interest in neuroscience. The nematode C. elegans
modulates its navigation behavior depending on the association of odor butanone
with food (appetitive training) or starvation (aversive training), and will
then climb up the butanone gradient or ignore it, respectively. However, the
exact change in navigation strategy in response to learning is still unknown.
Here we study the learned odor navigation in worms by combining precise
experimental measurement and a novel descriptive model of navigation. Our model
consists of two known navigation strategies in worms: biased random walk and
weathervaning. We infer weights on these strategies by applying the model to
worm navigation trajectories and the exact odor concentration it experiences.
Compared to naive worms, appetitive trained worms up-regulate the biased random
walk strategy, and aversive trained worms down-regulate the weathervaning
strategy. The statistical model provides prediction with accuracy of
the past training condition given navigation data, which outperforms the
classical chemotaxis metric. We find that the behavioral variability is altered
by learning, such that worms are less variable after training compared to naive
ones. The model further predicts the learning-dependent response and
variability under optogenetic perturbation of the olfactory neuron
AWC. Lastly, we investigate neural circuits downstream from
AWC that are differentially recruited for learned odor-guided
navigation. Together, we provide a new paradigm to quantify flexible navigation
algorithms and pinpoint the underlying neural substrates
Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory
Quantum interference phenomena are widely viewed as posing a challenge to the
classical worldview. Feynman even went so far as to proclaim that they are the
only mystery and the basic peculiarity of quantum mechanics. Many have also
argued that such phenomena force us to accept a number of radical
interpretational conclusions, including: that a photon is neither a particle
nor a wave but rather a Jekyll-and-Hyde sort of entity that toggles between the
two possibilities, that reality is observer-dependent, and that systems either
do not have properties prior to measurements or else have properties that are
subject to nonlocal or backwards-in-time causal influences. In this work, we
show that such conclusions are not, in fact, forced on us by the phenomena. We
do so by describing an alternative to quantum theory, a statistical theory of a
classical discrete field (the `toy field theory') that reproduces the relevant
phenomenology of quantum interference while rejecting these radical
interpretational claims. It also reproduces a number of related interference
experiments that are thought to support these interpretational claims, such as
the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb tester, Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment, and the
quantum eraser experiment. The systems in the toy field theory are field modes,
each of which possesses, at all times, both a particle-like property (a
discrete occupation number) and a wave-like property (a discrete phase).
Although these two properties are jointly possessed, the theory stipulates that
they cannot be jointly known. The phenomenology that is generally cited in
favour of nonlocal or backwards-in-time causal influences ends up being
explained in terms of inferences about distant or past systems, and all that is
observer-dependent is the observer's knowledge of reality, not reality itself.Comment: In this updated version we have added appendices elaborating on a few
points. Primarily, we discuss how one can describe our toy field theory in
terms of spatially localized modes, in a manner analogous to a cellular
automaton. Comments welcome. 47 pages, 11 figure
- …