2,750 research outputs found
A progressive diagonalization scheme for the Rabi Hamiltonian
A diagonalization scheme for the Rabi Hamiltonian, which describes a qubit
interacting with a single-mode radiation field via a dipole interaction, is
proposed. It is shown that the Rabi Hamiltonian can be solved almost exactly
using a progressive scheme that involves a finite set of one variable
polynomial equations. The scheme is especially efficient for lower part of the
spectrum. Some low-lying energy levels of the model with several sets of
parameters are calculated and compared to those provided by the recently
proposed generalized rotating-wave approximation and full matrix
diagonalization.Comment: 8pages, 1 figure, LaTeX. Accepted for publication in J. Phys. B: At.
Mol. Opt. Phy
Decoherence in an exactly solvable qubit model with initial qubit-environment correlations
We study a model of dephasing (decoherence) in a two-state quantum system
(qubit) coupled to a bath of harmonic oscillators. An exact analytic solution
for the reduced dynamics of a two-state system in this model has been obtained
previously for factorizing initial states of the combined system. We show that
the model admits exact solutions for a large class of correlated initial states
which are typical in the theory of quantum measurements. We derive exact
expressions for the off-diagonal elements of the qubit density matrix, which
hold for an arbitrary strength of coupling between the qubit and the bath. The
influence of initial correlations on decoherence is considered for different
bath spectral densities. Time behavior of the qubit entropy in the decoherence
process is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Plasma instability and amplification of electromagnetic waves in low-dimensional electron systems
A general electrodynamic theory of a grating coupled two dimensional electron
system (2DES) is developed. The 2DES is treated quantum mechanically, the
grating is considered as a periodic system of thin metal strips or as an array
of quantum wires, and the interaction of collective (plasma) excitations in the
system with electromagnetic field is treated within the classical
electrodynamics. It is assumed that a dc current flows in the 2DES. We consider
a propagation of an electromagnetic wave through the structure, and obtain
analytic dependencies of the transmission, reflection, absorption and emission
coefficients on the frequency of light, drift velocity of 2D electrons, and
other physical and geometrical parameters of the system. If the drift velocity
of 2D electrons exceeds a threshold value, a current-driven plasma instability
is developed in the system, and an incident far infrared radiation is
amplified. We show that in the structure with a quantum wire grating the
threshold velocity of the amplification can be essentially reduced, as compared
to the commonly employed metal grating, down to experimentally achievable
values. Physically this is due to a considerable enhancement of the grating
coupler efficiency because of the resonant interaction of plasma modes in the
2DES and in the grating. We show that tunable far infrared emitters, amplifiers
and generators can thus be created at realistic parameters of modern
semiconductor heterostructures.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Non-adiabatic Josephson Dynamics in Junctions with in-Gap Quasiparticles
Conventional models of Josephson junction dynamics rely on the absence of low
energy quasiparticle states due to a large superconducting gap. With this
assumption the quasiparticle degrees of freedom become "frozen out" and the
phase difference becomes the only free variable, acting as a fictitious
particle in a local in time Josephson potential related to the adiabatic and
non-dissipative supercurrent across the junction. In this article we develop a
general framework to incorporate the effects of low energy quasiparticles
interacting non-adiabatically with the phase degree of freedom. Such
quasiparticle states exist generically in constriction type junctions with high
transparency channels or resonant states, as well as in junctions of
unconventional superconductors. Furthermore, recent experiments have revealed
the existence of spurious low energy in-gap states in tunnel junctions of
conventional superconductors - a system for which the adiabatic assumption
typically is assumed to hold. We show that the resonant interaction with such
low energy states rather than the Josephson potential defines nonlinear
Josephson dynamics at small amplitudes.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur
Primary Defects in β-Cell Function Further Exacerbated by Worsening of Insulin Resistance Mark the Development of Impaired Glucose Tolerance in Obese Adolescents
OBJECTIVE—Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is a pre-diabetic state of increasing prevalence among obese adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the natural history of progression from normal glucose tolerance (NGT) to IGT in obese adolescents
Sporting embodiment: sports studies and the (continuing) promise of phenomenology
Whilst in recent years sports studies have addressed the calls ‘to bring the body back in’ to theorisations of sport and physical activity, the ‘promise of phenomenology’ remains largely under-realised with regard to sporting embodiment. Relatively few accounts are grounded in the ‘flesh’ of the lived sporting body, and phenomenology offers a powerful framework for such analysis. A wide-ranging, multi-stranded, and interpretatively contested perspective, phenomenology in general has been taken up and utilised in very different ways within different disciplinary fields. The purpose of this article is to consider some selected phenomenological threads, key qualities of the phenomenological method, and the potential for existentialist phenomenology in particular to contribute fresh perspectives to the sociological study of embodiment in sport and exercise. It offers one way to convey the ‘essences’, corporeal immediacy and textured sensuosity of the lived sporting body. The use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is also critically addressed.
Key words: phenomenology; existentialist phenomenology; interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA); sporting embodiment; the lived-body; Merleau-Pont
Risky bodies, risky spaces, maternal ‘instincts’: swimming and motherhood
Swimming and aquatic activity are fields in which gendered, embodied identities are brought to the fore, and the co-presence of other bodies can have a significant impact upon lived experiences. To date, however, there has been little research on sport and physical cultures that investigates how meanings associated with space impact upon women’s embodied experiences of participating in swimming, specifically in the presence of their young children. Using semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations, this qualitative study employed a Foucauldian-feminist framework to explore self-perceptions and embodied experiences of aquatic activity amongst 20 women, who were swimming with children aged under 4. Results highlight that through ‘felt’ maternal responsibilities, the co-presence of babies’ and children’s bodies shifted women’s intentionality away from the self towards their child. Mothers’ embodied experiences were grounded in perceptions of space-specific ‘maternal instincts’ and focused upon disciplining their children’s bodies in the lived-space of the swimming pool. Key findings cohere around mothers’ felt concerns about hygiene, water temperature and safety, and elements of intercorporeality and ‘somatic empathy’
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