2,124 research outputs found
Positronium collisions with rare-gas atoms
We calculate elastic scattering of positronium (Ps) by the Xe atom using the
recently developed pseudopotential method [I. I. Fabrikant and G. F. Gribakin,
Phys. Rev. A 90, 052717 (2014)] and review general features of Ps scattering
from heavier rare-gas atoms: Ar, Kr, and Xe. The total scattering cross section
is dominated by two contributions: elastic scattering and Ps ionization
(breakup). To calculate the Ps ionization cross sections we use the
binary-encounter method for Ps collisions with an atomic target. Our results
for the ionization cross section agree well with previous calculations carried
out in the impulse approximation. Our total Ps-Xe cross section, when plotted
as a function of the projectile velocity, exhibits similarity with the
electron-Xe cross section for the collision velocities higher than 0.8 a.u.,
and agrees very well with the measurements at Ps velocities above 0.5 a.u.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Phys.
Behavioural compensation by drivers of a simulator when using a vision enhancement system
Technological progress is suggesting dramatic changes to the tasks of the driver, with the general aim of making driving environment safer. Before any of these technologies are implemented, empirical research is required to establish if these devices do, in fact, bring about the anticipated improvements. Initially, at least, simulated driving environments offer a means of conducting this research. The study reported here concentrates on the application of a vision enhancement (VE) system within the risk homeostasis paradigm. It was anticipated, in line with risk homeostasis theory, that drivers would compensate for the reduction in risk by increasing speed. The results support the hypothesis although, after a simulated failure of the VE system, drivers did reduce their speed due to reduced confidence in the reliability of the system
The Phase Transition to a Square Vortex Lattice in Type-II Superconductors with Fourfold Anisotropy
We investigate the stability of the square vortex lattice which has been
recently observed in experiments on the borocarbide family of superconductors.
Taking into account the tetragonal symmetry of these systems, we add fourfold
symmetric fourth-derivative terms to the Ginzburg-Landau(GL) free energy. At
these terms may be treated perturbatively to lowest order to locate
the transition from a distorted hexagonal to a square vortex lattice. We also
solve for this phase boundary numerically in the strongly type-II limit,
finding large corrections to the lowest-order perturbative results. We
calculate the relative fourfold anisotropy for field in the plane
to be 4.5% at the temperature, , where the transition occurs at
for field along the axis. This is to be compared to the 3.6%
obtained in the perturbative calculation. Furthermore, we find that the phase
boundary in the phase diagram has positive slope near .Comment: 15 pages including 2 figures, LaTe
Point Contact Spectroscopy of Superconducting Gap Anisotropy in Nickel Borocarbide Compound LuNi2B2C
Point contacts are used to investigate the anisotropy of the superconducting
energy gap in LuNi2B2C in the ab plane and along the c axis. It is shown that
the experimental curves should be described assuming that the superconducting
gap is non-uniformly distributed over the Fermi surface. The largest and the
smallest gaps have been estimated by two-gap fitting models. It is found that
the largest contribution to the point-contact conductivity in the c direction
is made by a smaller gap and, in the ab plane by a larger gap. The deviation
from the one-gap BCS model is pronounced in the temperature dependence of the
gap in both directions. The temperature range, where the deviation occurs, is
for the c direction approximately 1.5 times more than in the ab plane. The
\Gamma parameter, allowing quantitatively estimate the gap anisotropy by
one-gap fitting, in c direction is also about 1.5 times greater than in the ab
plane. Since it is impossible to describe satisfactorily such gap distribution
either by the one- or two-gap models, a continuous, dual-maxima model of gap
distribution over the Fermi surface should be used to describe
superconductivity in this material.Comment: 10 pages, 14 Figs, accepted in PR
The quantum dynamic capacity formula of a quantum channel
The dynamic capacity theorem characterizes the reliable communication rates
of a quantum channel when combined with the noiseless resources of classical
communication, quantum communication, and entanglement. In prior work, we
proved the converse part of this theorem by making contact with many previous
results in the quantum Shannon theory literature. In this work, we prove the
theorem with an "ab initio" approach, using only the most basic tools in the
quantum information theorist's toolkit: the Alicki-Fannes' inequality, the
chain rule for quantum mutual information, elementary properties of quantum
entropy, and the quantum data processing inequality. The result is a simplified
proof of the theorem that should be more accessible to those unfamiliar with
the quantum Shannon theory literature. We also demonstrate that the "quantum
dynamic capacity formula" characterizes the Pareto optimal trade-off surface
for the full dynamic capacity region. Additivity of this formula simplifies the
computation of the trade-off surface, and we prove that its additivity holds
for the quantum Hadamard channels and the quantum erasure channel. We then
determine exact expressions for and plot the dynamic capacity region of the
quantum dephasing channel, an example from the Hadamard class, and the quantum
erasure channel.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures; v2 has improved structure and minor corrections;
v3 has correction regarding the optimizatio
Effect of transport-induced charge inhomogeneity on point-contact Andreev reflection spectra at ferromagnet-superconductor interfaces
We investigate the transport properties of a ferromagnet-superconductor
interface within the framework of a modified three-dimensional
Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk formalism. In particular, we propose that charge
inhomogeneity forms via two unique transport mechanisms, namely, evanescent
Andreev reflection and evanescent quasiparticle transmission. Furthermore, we
take into account the influence of charge inhomogeneity on the interfacial
barrier potential and calculate the conductance as a function of bias voltage.
Point-contact Andreev reflection (PCAR) spectra often show dip structures,
large zero-bias conductance enhancement, and additional zero-bias conductance
peak. Our results indicate that transport-induced charge inhomogeneity could be
a source of all these anomalous characteristics of the PCAR spectra.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Determination of the Coherence Length and the Cooper-Pair Size in Unconventional Superconductors by Tunnelling Spectroscopy
The main purpose of the paper is to discuss a possibility of the
determination of the values of the coherence length and the Cooper-pair size in
unconventional superconductors by using tunnelling spectroscopy. In the mixed
state of type-II superconductors, an applied magnetic field penetrates the
superconductor in the form of vortices which form a regular lattice. In
unconventional superconductors, the inner structure of a vortex core has a
complex structure which is determined by the order parameter of the
superconducting state and by the pairing wavefunction of the Cooper pairs. In
clean superconductors, the spatial variations of the order parameter and the
pairing wavefunction occur over the distances of the order of the coherence
length and the Cooper-pair size, respectively. Therefore, by performing
tunnelling spectroscopy along a line passing through a vortex core, one is
able, in principle, to estimate the values of the coherent length and the
Cooper-pair size.Comment: 13 pages, including 17 figure
Public and private communication with a quantum channel and a secret key
We consider using a secret key and a noisy quantum channel to generate
noiseless public communication and noiseless private communication. The optimal
protocol for this setting is the publicly-enhanced private father protocol.
This protocol exploits random coding techniques and "piggybacking" of public
information along with secret-key-assisted private codes. The publicly-enhanced
private father protocol is a generalization of the secret-key-assisted protocol
of Hsieh, Luo, and Brun and a generelization of a protocol for simultaneous
communication of public and private information suggested by Devetak and Shor.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure
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