Transmission coefficient and two-fold degenerate discrete spectrum of spin-1 bosons in a double-step potential

The scattering of spin-1 bosons in a nonminimal vector double-step potential is described in terms of eigenstates of the helicity operator and it is shown that the transmission coefficient is insensitive to the choice of the polarization of the incident beam. Poles of the transmission amplitude reveal the existence of a two-fold degenerate spectrum. The results are interpreted in terms of solutions of two coupled effective Schr\"{o}dinger equations for a finite square well with additional $\delta$-functions situated at the borders.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1203.119

The Penna model for biological ageing on a lattice: spatial consequences of child-care

We introduce a square lattice into the Penna bit-string model for biological ageing and study the evolution of the spatial distribution of the population considering different strategies of child-care. Two of the strategies are related to the movements of a whole family on the lattice: in one case the mother cannot move if she has any child younger than a given age, and in the other case if she moves, she brings these young children with her. A stronger condition has also been added to the second case, considering that young children die with a higher probability if their mothers die, this probability decreasing with age. We show that a highly non uniform occupation can be obtained when child-care is considered, even for an uniform initial occupation per site. We also compare the standard survival rate of the model with that obtained when the spacial lattice is considered (without any kind of child-care).Comment: 8 pages, 6 Postscript figure

Applications and Sexual Version of a Simple Model for Biological Ageing

We use a simple model for biological ageing to study the mortality of the population, obtaining a good agreement with the Gompertz law. We also simulate the same model on a square lattice, considering different strategies of parental care. The results are in agreement with those obtained earlier with the more complicated Penna model for biological ageing. Finally, we present the sexual version of this simple model.Comment: For Int.J.Mod.Phys.C Dec. 2001; 11 pages including 6 fig

An alternative theoretical approach to describe planetary systems through a Schrodinger-type diffusion equation

In the present work we show that planetary mean distances can be calculated with the help of a Schrodinger-type diffusion equation. The obtained results are shown to agree with the observed orbits of all the planets and of the asteroid belt in the solar system, with only three empty states. Furthermore, the equation solutions predict a fundamental orbit at 0.05 AU from solar-type stars, a result confirmed by recent discoveries. In contrast to other similar approaches previously presented in the literature, we take into account the flatness of the solar system, by considering the flat solutions of the Schrodinger-type equation. The model has just one input parameter, given by the mean distance of Mercury.Comment: 6 pages. Version accepted for publication in Chaos, Solitons & Fractal

Nonviolation of Bell's Inequality in Translation Invariant Systems

The nature of quantum correlations in strongly correlated systems has been a subject of intense research. In particular, it has been realized that entanglement and quantum discord are present at quantum phase transitions and able to characterize it. Surprisingly, it has been shown for a number of different systems that qubit pairwise states, even when highly entangled, do not violate Bell's inequalities, being in this sense local. Here we show that such a local character of quantum correlations is in fact general for translation invariant systems and has its origins in the monogamy trade-off obeyed by tripartite Bell correlations. We illustrate this result in a quantum spin chain with a soft breaking of translation symmetry. In addition, we extend the monogamy inequality to the $N$-qubit scenario, showing that the bound increases with $N$ and providing examples of its saturation through uniformly generated random pure states.Comment: Published erratum added at the en

Generation of Superposition States and Charge-Qubit Relaxation Probing in a Circuit

We demonstrate how a superposition of coherent states can be generated for a microwave field inside a coplanar transmission line coupled to a single superconducting charge qubit, with the addition of a single classical magnetic pulse for chirping of the qubit transition frequency. We show how the qubit dephasing induces decoherence on the field superposition state, and how it can be probed by the qubit charge detection. The character of the charge qubit relaxation process itself is imprinted in the field state decoherence profile.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Simulations of a mortality plateau in the sexual Penna model for biological ageing

The Penna model is a strategy to simulate the genetic dynamics of age-structured populations, in which the individuals genomes are represented by bit-strings. It provides a simple metaphor for the evolutionary process in terms of the mutation accumulation theory. In its original version, an individual dies due to inherited diseases when its current number of accumulated mutations, n, reaches a threshold value, T. Since the number of accumulated diseases increases with age, the probability to die is zero for very young ages (n = T). Here, instead of using a step function to determine the genetic death age, we test several other functions that may or may not slightly increase the death probability at young ages (n < T), but that decreases this probability at old ones. Our purpose is to study the oldest old effect, that is, a plateau in the mortality curves at advanced ages. Imposing certain conditions, it has been possible to obtain a clear plateau using the Penna model. However, a more realistic one appears when a modified version, that keeps the population size fixed without fluctuations, is used. We also find a relation between the birth rate, the age-structure of the population and the death probability.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.