2,939 research outputs found
Imprints of log-periodic self-similarity in the stock market
Detailed analysis of the log-periodic structures as precursors of the
financial crashes is presented. The study is mainly based on the German Stock
Index (DAX) variation over the 1998 period which includes both, a spectacular
boom and a large decline, in magnitude only comparable to the so-called Black
Monday of October 1987. The present example provides further arguments in
favour of a discrete scale-invariance governing the dynamics of the stock
market. A related clear log-periodic structure prior to the crash and
consistent with its onset extends over the period of a few months. Furthermore,
on smaller time-scales the data seems to indicate the appearance of analogous
log-periodic oscillations as precursors of the smaller, intermediate decreases.
Even the frequencies of such oscillations are similar on various levels of
resolution. The related value of preferred scaling ratios
is amazingly consistent with those found for a wide variety of other complex
systems. Similar analysis of the major American indices between September 1998
and February 1999 also provides some evidence supporting this concept but, at
the same time, illustrates a possible splitting of the dynamics that a large
market may experience.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX-REVTeX, 4 PS figures. Significantly extended version
to appear in The European Physical Journal
Complementarity in quantum walks
We study discrete-time quantum walks on -cycles with a position and
coin-dependent phase-shift. Such a model simulates a dynamics of a quantum
particle moving on a ring with an artificial gauge field. In our case the
amplitude of the phase-shift is governed by a single discrete parameter . We
solve the model analytically and observe that for prime there exists a
strong complementarity property between the eigenvectors of two quantum walk
evolution operators that act in the -dimensional Hilbert space. Namely, if
is prime the corresponding eigenvectors of the evolution operators obey
for and for all
and . We also discuss dynamical consequences of
this complementarity. Finally, we show that the complementarity is still
present in the continuous version of this model, which corresponds to a
one-dimensional Dirac particle.Comment: 5+7 pages, 2 figures, comments welcom
"Magnetoscan": A Modified Hall Probe Scanning Technique for the Detection of Inhomogeneities in Bulk High Temperature Superconductors
We present a novel technique for the investigation of local variations of the
critical current density in large bulk superconductors. In contrast to the
usual Hall probe scanning technique, the sample is not magnetized as a whole
before the scan, but locally by a small permanent magnet, which is fixed near
the Hall probe, during the scanning process. The resulting signal can be
interpreted as a qualitative measure of the local shielding currents flowing at
the surface.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Fermi-Edge Superfluorescence from a Quantum-Degenerate Electron-Hole Gas
We report on the observation of spontaneous bursts of coherent radiation from
a quantum-degenerate gas of nonequilibrium electron-hole pairs in semiconductor
quantum wells. Unlike typical spontaneous emission from semiconductors, which
occurs at the band edge, the observed emission occurs at the quasi-Fermi edge
of the carrier distribution. As the carriers are consumed by recombination, the
quasi-Fermi energy goes down toward the band edge, and we observe a
continuously red-shifting streak. We interpret this emission as cooperative
spontaneous recombination of electron-hole pairs, or superfluorescence, which
is enhanced by Coulomb interactions near the Fermi edge. This novel many-body
enhancement allows the magnitude of the spontaneously developed macroscopic
polarization to exceed the maximum value for ordinary superfluorescence, making
electron-hole superfluorescence even more "super" than atomic
superfluorescence.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
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