Antibunching of distorted optical wave packets at a beam splitter

Interference of single-photon wave packets at a beam splitter usually leads to an anticorrelation of the light intensity in the two output ports of the beam splitter. The effect may be regarded as ``bunching'' of the photons at the beam splitter and has widely been interpreted as a result of quantum mechanical interference between the probability amplitudes of indistinguishable bosonic particles. Here we show that when the wave packets are sufficiently distorted, then the opposite behaviour is observed, i.e., simultaneous clicks of the photodetectors in the two output ports are favoured, which may be regarded as ``antibunching'' of the photons at the beam splitter.Comment: 16 pages, LaTex, 6 figure

Effects of Socio-Economic and Behavioural Characteristics in Explaining Central Obesity – A Study on Adult Asian Indians in Calcutta, India

The present cross-sectional study on adult Asian Indians in Calcutta, India was undertaken to look into the effects of socio-economic and behavioural characteristics in explaining waist-hip ratio (WHR). A total of 500 apparently healthy individuals (300 men and 200 women) were subjects in the study. A random sampling procedure using local voter’s registration list was followed to select the subjects. Only one adult (_30 years) from each household was considered as participant. A total of 24 items, 14 socio-economic and 10 behavioural characters were considered. For socio-economic characters, a number of items namely employment status, types of occupation, education status, nature of housing and marital status were taken into consideration. Smoking status, physical exercise by means of outdoor activity, drinking habits and diets on the other hand were considered as behavioural characters. Information on socio-economic and behavioural characteristics was collected using an open-ended schedule specifically designed in this regard. Anthropometric measures namely height, weight and circumference of waist and hip were obtained from participants using standard techniques. The median WHR for men and women was 0.94 and 0.90 respectively. Analysis of variance revealed significant sex difference for all anthropometric measures. It was observed that more women were leading sedentary (outdoor activity not housework was considered) life than men (85.4% vs. 75.4%). Furthermore, women were predominantly nonsmokers (98.8%) whereas 40.2% men were smokers as against 51.4% ex-smokers (those who have quitted smoking during past two years). Multiple regression analysis (adjusted for age and sex) of WHR by socio-economic and behavioural characters revealed that occupation, housing, marital status, smoking condition, physical exercise, drinking habits and diets pattern cumulatively explains 75% (R2=0.75) of total variation of WHR in the study populatio

Fear and Desire in Database Creation

Organizations need quality information for control and coordination of their operations. Yet, despite the resources expended on data production, data often proves to be unreliable or inadequate when used in practice. To understand this puzzle, I conducted an ethnographic study of the production of a database system within one organization. Database systems provide the scaffolding to hold the data that are to be produced and consumed on a regular basis. I find that the creation of a database is a laborious exercise fraught with tensions and entailing both fears and desires. I examine these fears and desires from three separate lenses reflecting the various purposes that people imagine for the database – efficiency (rational lens), accountability (control lens), and comparability (standardization lens). As these purposes interact in the activities of database production, the fears and desires heighten to eventually produce an oversized database system with standardized, simplified, and abstracted data that undermines its stated purpose and generates significant difficulties for its users

Religion-based ‘Personal’ Law, Legal Pluralism and Secularity: A Field View of Adjudication of Muslim Personal Law in India

In this paper, we show how this plural legal landscape is negotiated by litigants, especially women, and thereby illustrate the procedural interplay between civil and religious courts through this adjudication process. The ethnography of adjudication at the Darul-Qaza situated in a large Muslim neighbourhood in Kanpur and the institution’s intersections with the societal (We mean the tribunals that function at the neighbourhood or community level) secular courts show how Muslim personal law functions. In this paper, we identify both the links between the Darul-Qaza and civil courts, and the processes of evidence making and legal reasoning that are integral to this interlegality. We argue that the issue of personal law should be understood within the post-colonial legal structure of India and with a good understanding of the processes through which disputes in the delicate area of family, affect and kinship are addressed and resolved. The above case shows how resolution occurs in a family dispute when plural institutional mechanisms are at work. This paper explores the adjudication process at a Darul-Qaza to understand how religion-based family laws get constituted as litigants seek both religious counsel and civil authority

Observation of Droplet Size Oscillations in a Two-Phase Fluid under Shear Flow

Experimental observations of droplet size sustained oscillations are reported in a two-phase flow between a lamellar and a sponge phase. Under shear flow, this system presents two different steady states made of monodisperse multilamellar droplets, separated by a shear-thinning transition. At low and high shear rates, the droplet size results from a balance between surface tension and viscous stress whereas for intermediate shear rates, it becomes a periodic function of time. A possible mechanism for such kind of oscillations is discussed

Cost of Conservation of Agrobiodiversity

The cost of conservation of germplasm stored in gene banks i.e., ex-situ collections has been studied in other parts of the world to estimate direct and indirect contributions by various actors involved in conservation. This is the first study of its kind in India done in collaboration with National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi. This was part of a sponsored research by Centre for Development Research, Germany. The limitations of this study are also listed so that future research in this regard can be pursued better. One of the costs not included is the cost of sharing data with local communities for enabling them to access germplasm in times of need. This is an important component of conservation and would require translation of gene bank and associated database in local language, making them available through public kiosks. This cost has not been included in any study on the subject so far. Separately, studies are underway to look at the conservation of germplasm under in-situ conditions.

Correlation functions for the Z-invariant Ising model

The correlation functions of the Z-invariant Ising model are calculated explicitly using the Vertex Operators language developed by the Kyoto school.Comment: Latex Document, minor change and new Reference adde