Thermodynamic arrow of time of quantum projective measurements

We investigate a thermodynamic arrow associated with quantum projective measurements in terms of the Jensen-Shannon divergence between the probability distribution of energy change caused by the measurements and its time reversal counterpart. Two physical quantities appear to govern the asymptotic values of the time asymmetry. For an initial equilibrium ensemble prepared at a high temperature, the energy fluctuations determine the convergence of the time asymmetry approaching zero. At low temperatures, finite survival probability of the ground state limits the time asymmetry to be less than $\ln 2$. We illustrate our results for a concrete system and discuss the fixed point of the time asymmetry in the limit of infinitely repeated projections.Comment: 6 pages in two columns, 1 figure, to appear in EP

Fractality of profit landscapes and validation of time series models for stock prices

We apply a simple trading strategy for various time series of real and artificial stock prices to understand the origin of fractality observed in the resulting profit landscapes. The strategy contains only two parameters $p$ and $q$, and the sell (buy) decision is made when the log return is larger (smaller) than $p$ ($-q$). We discretize the unit square $(p, q) \in [0, 1] \times [0, 1]$ into the $N \times N$ square grid and the profit $\Pi (p, q)$ is calculated at the center of each cell. We confirm the previous finding that local maxima in profit landscapes are scattered in a fractal-like fashion: The number M of local maxima follows the power-law form $M \sim N^{a}$, but the scaling exponent $a$ is found to differ for different time series. From comparisons of real and artificial stock prices, we find that the fat-tailed return distribution is closely related to the exponent $a \approx 1.6$ observed for real stock markets. We suggest that the fractality of profit landscape characterized by $a \approx 1.6$ can be a useful measure to validate time series model for stock prices.Comment: 10pages, 6figure

Comment on "Phase transition in a one-dimensional Ising ferromagnet at zero temperature using Glauber dynamics with a synchronous updating mode"

Sznajd-Weron in [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 82}, 031120 (2010)] suggested that the one-dimensional Ising model subject to the zero temperature synchronous Glauber dynamics exhibits a discontinuous phase transition. We show here instead that the phase transition is of a continuous nature and identify critical exponents: $\beta \approx 0$, $\nu \approx 1$, and $z \approx 2$, via a systematic finite-size scaling analysis.Comment: 2 pages 2 figure

Origin of High-Temperature Superconductivity in Compressed LaH10_{10}

Room-temperature superconductivity has been one of the most challenging subjects in modern physics. Recent experiments reported that lanthanum hydride LaH$_{10{\pm}x}$ ($x$$<$1) raises a superconducting transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$ up to ${\sim}$260 (or 215) K at high pressures around 190 (150) GPa. Here, based on first-principles calculations, we reveal the existence of topological Dirac-nodal-line (DNL) states in compressed LaH$_{10}$. Remarkably, the DNLs protected by the combined inversion and time-reversal symmetry and the rotation symmetry create a van Hove singularity (vHs) near the Fermi energy, giving rise to large electronic density of states. Contrasting with other La hydrides containing cationic La and anionic H atoms, LaH$_{10}$ shows a peculiar characteristic of electrical charges with anionic La and both cationic and anionic H species, caused by a strong hybridization of the La $f$ and H $s$ orbitals. We find that a large number of electronic states at the vHs are strongly coupled to the H-derived high-frequency phonon modes that are induced via the unusual, intricate bonding network of LaH$_{10}$, thereby yielding a high $T_{\rm c}$. Our findings not only elucidate the microscopic origin of the observed high-$T_{\rm c}$ BCS-type superconductivity in LaH$_{10}$, but also pave the route for achieving room-temperature topological superconductors in compressed hydrogen-rich compounds.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure