158 research outputs found
Visualisation analysis for exploring prerequisite relations in textbooks
Building automatic strategies for organising knowledge contained in textbooks has a tremendous potential to enhance meaningful learning. Automatic identification of prerequisite relation (PR) between concepts in a textbook is a well-known way for knowledge structuring, yet it is still an open issue. Our research contributes for better understanding and exploring the phenomenon of PR in textbooks, by providing a collection of visualisation techniques for PR exploration and analysis, that we used for the design of and then the refinement of our algorithm for PR extraction
PRET: Prerequisite-enriched terminology. A case study on educational texts
In this paper we present PRET, a gold dataset annotated for prerequisite relations between educational concepts extracted from a computer science textbook, and we describe the language and domain independent approach for the creation of the resource. Additionally, we have created an annotation tool to support, validate and analyze the annotation
Coherent Population Trapping of Electron Spins in a Semiconductor
In high-purity n-type GaAs under strong magnetic field, we are able to
isolate a lambda system composed of two Zeeman states of neutral-donor bound
electrons and the lowest Zeeman state of bound excitons. When the two-photon
detuning of this system is zero, we observe a pronounced dip in the
excited-state photoluminescence indicating the creation of the coherent
population-trapped state. Our data are consistent with a steady-state
three-level density-matrix model. The observation of coherent population
trapping in GaAs indicates that this and similar semiconductor systems could be
used for various EIT-type experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures replaced 6/25/2007 with PRL versio
Green balance in urban areas as an indicator for policy support: a multi-level application
Green spaces are increasingly recognised as key elements in enhancing urban resilience as they provide several ecosystem services. Therefore, their implementation and monitoring in cities are crucial to meet sustainability targets. In this paper, we provide a methodology to compute an indicator that assesses changes in vegetation cover within Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI). Such an indicator is adopted as one of the indicators for reporting on the key area “nature and biodiversity” in the Green City Accord (GCA). In the first section, the key steps to derive the indicator are described and a script, which computes the trends in vegetation cover using Google Earth Engine (GEE), is provided. The second section describes the application of the indicator in a multi-scale, policy-orientated perspective. The analysis has been carried out in 696 European Functional Urban Areas (FUAs), considering changes in vegetation cover inside UGI between 1996 and 2018. Results were analysed for the EU and the United Kingdom. The Municipality of Padua (Italy) is used as a case study to illustrate the results at the local level. Over the last 22 years, a slight upward trend characterised the vegetation growth within UGI in European FUAs. Within core cities and densily built-upcommuting zones, the trend was stable; in non-densely built-up areas, an upward trend was recorded. Vegetation cover in UGI has been relatively stable in European cities. However, a negative balance between abrupt changes in greening and browning has been recorded, affecting most parts of European cities (75% of core cities and 77% of commuting zones in densely built-up areas). This still indicates ongoing land take with no compensation of green spaces that are lost to artificial areas. Focusing on the FUA of Padua, a downward trend was observed in 33.3% and 12.9% of UGI in densely built-up and not-densely built-up areas, respectively. Within the FUA of Padua, most municipalities are characterised by a negative balance between abrupt greening and browning, both in non-densely built-up and densely built-up areas. This approach complements traditional metrics, such as the extent of UGI or tree canopy cover, by providing a valuable measure of condition of urban ecosystems and an instrument to monitor the impact of land take
Experimental implementation of a four-level N-type scheme for the observation of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency
A nondegenerate four-level N-type scheme was experimentally implemented to
observe electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) at the Rb D
line. Radiations of two independent external-cavity semiconductor lasers were
used in the experiment, the current of one of them being modulated at a
frequency equal to the hyperfine-splitting frequency of the excited 5P
level. In this case, apart from the main EIT dip corresponding to the
two-photon Raman resonance in a three-level -scheme, additional dips
detuned from the main dip by a frequency equal to the frequency of the HF
generator were observed in the absorption spectrum. These dips were due to an
increase in the medium transparency at frequencies corresponding to the
three-photon Raman resonances in four-level N-type schemes. The resonance
shapes are analyzed as functions of generator frequency and magnetic field.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure
Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. Urban ecosystems
Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 requires member states to Map and Assess the state of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). This report provides guidance for mapping and assessment
of urban ecosystems. The MAES urban pilot is a collaboration between the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, volunteering Member States and cities, and stakeholders. Its ultimate
goal is to deliver a knowledge base for policy and management of urban ecosystems by analysing urban green infrastructure, condition of urban ecosystems and ecosystem services. This report presents guidance for mapping urban ecosystems and includes an indicator framework to assess the condition of urban ecosystems and urban ecosystem services. The scientific framework of mapping and assessment is designed to support in particular urban planning policy and policy on green infrastructure at urban, metropolitan and regional scales. The results are based on the following different sources of information: a literature survey of 54 scientific articles, an online-survey (on urban ecosystems, related policies and planning instruments and with participation of 42 cities), ten case studies (Portugal: Cascais, Oeiras, Lisbon; Italy: Padua, Trento, Rome; The Netherlands: Utrecht; Poland: Poznań; Spain: Barcelona; Norway: Oslo), and a two-day expert workshop. The case studies constituted the core of the MAES urban pilot. They provided real examples and applications of how mapping and assessment can be organized to support policy; on top, they provided the necessary expertise to select a set of final indicators for condition and ecosystem services. Urban ecosystems or cities are defined here as socio-ecological systems which are composed of green infrastructure and built infrastructure. Urban green infrastructure (GI) is understood in this report as the multi-functional network of urban green spaces situated within the boundary of the urban ecosystem. Urban green spaces are the structural components of urban GI.
This study has shown that there is a large scope for urban ecosystem assessments. Firstly, urban policies increasingly use urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in their planning process. Secondly, an increasing amount of data at multiple spatial scales is becoming available to support these policies, to provide a baseline, and to compare or benchmark cities with respect to the extent and management of the urban ecosystem. Concrete examples are given on how to delineate urban ecosystems, how to choose an appropriate spatial scale, and how to map urban ecosystems based on a combination of national or European datasets (including Urban Atlas) and locally collected information (e.g., location of trees). Also examples of typologies for urban green spaces are presented.
This report presents an indicator framework which is composed of indicators to assess for urban ecosystem condition and for urban ecosystem services. These are the result of a rigorous selection
process and ensure consistent mapping and assessment across Europe. The MAES urban pilot will continue with work on the interface between research and policy. The framework presented in this report needs to be tested and validated across Europe, e.g. on its applicability at city scale, on how far the methodology for measuring ecosystem condition and ecosystem service delivery in urban areas can be used to assess urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions
Ground state laser cooling using electromagnetically induced transparency
A laser cooling method for trapped atoms is described which achieves ground
state cooling by exploiting quantum interference in a driven Lambda-shaped
arrangement of atomic levels. The scheme is technically simpler than existing
methods of sideband cooling, yet it can be significantly more efficient, in
particular when several motional modes are involved, and it does not impose
restrictions on the transition linewidth. We study the full quantum mechanical
model of the cooling process for one motional degree of freedom and show that a
rate equation provides a good approximation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor modifications to abstract, text and
figure captions; v3: few references added and rearranged; v4: One part
significantly changed, 1 figure removed, new equations; v5: typos corrected,
to appear in PR
Quantum coherence in a degenerate two-level atomic ensemble: for a transition
For a transition driven by a linearly polarized
light and probed by a circularly light, quantum coherence effects are
investigated. Due to the coherence between the drive Rabi frequency and Zeeman
splitting, electromagnetically induced transparency, electromagnetically
induced absorption, and the transition from positive to negative dispersion are
obtained, as well as the populations coherently oscillating in a wide spectral
region. At the zero pump-probe detuning, the subluminal and superluminal light
propagation is predicted. Finally, coherent population trapping states are not
highly sensitive to the refraction and absorption in such ensemble.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Quantum Coherence in a Single Ion due to strong Excitation of a metastable Transition
We consider pump-probe spectroscopy of a single ion with a highly metastable
(probe) clock transition which is monitored by using the quantum jump
technique. For a weak clock laser we obtain the well known Autler-Townes
splitting. For stronger powers of the clock laser we demonstrate the transition
to a new regime. The two regimes are distinguished by the transition of two
complex eigenvalues to purely imaginary ones which can be very different in
magnitude. The transition is controlled by the power of the clock laser. For
pump on resonance we present simple analytical expressions for various
linewidths and line positions.Comment: 6 figures. accepted for publication in PR
High contrast D line electromagnetically induced transparency in nanometric-thin rubidium vapor cell
Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) on atomic D line of
rubidium is studied using a nanometric-thin cell with atomic vapor column
length in the range of L= 400 - 800 nm. It is shown that the reduction of the
cell thickness by 4 orders as compared with an ordinary cm-size cell still
allows to form an EIT resonance for ( nm) with the
contrast of up to 40%. Remarkable distinctions of EIT formation in
nanometric-thin and ordinary cells are demonstrated. Despite the Dicke effect
of strong spectral narrowing and increase of the absorption for , EIT resonance is observed both in the absorption and the fluorescence
spectra for relatively low intensity of the coupling laser. Well resolved
splitting of the EIT resonance in moderate magnetic field for
can be used for magnetometry with nanometric spatial resolution. The presented
theoretical model well describes the observed results.Comment: Submitted to Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, 9 pages, 10
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