Modular categories as representations of the 3-dimensional bordism 2-category

We show that once-extended anomalous 3-dimensional topological quantum field theories valued in the 2-category of k-linear categories are in canonical bijection with modular tensor categories equipped with a square root of the global dimension in each factor.Comment: 71 page

Shaded tangles for the design and verification of quantum circuits

We give a scheme for interpreting shaded tangles as quantum circuits, with the property that if two shaded tangles are ambient isotopic, their corresponding computational effects are identical. We analyze 11 known quantum procedures in this way -- including entanglement manipulation, error correction and teleportation -- and in each case present a fully-topological formal verification, yielding generalized procedures in some cases. We also use our methods to identify 2 new procedures, for topological state transfer and quantum error correction. Our formalism yields in some cases significant new insight into how the procedures work, including a description of quantum entanglement arising from topological entanglement of strands, and a description of quantum error correction where errors are `trapped by bubbles' and removed from the shaded tangle.Comment: 35 pages. A short version of this paper can be found at arXiv:1701.03309. Final versio

An interim note on machining super high tensile steel

A series of tests have been carried out to determine the machinability characteristics of Ultra High Tensile Steels in the 120 tons sq. ins. T/S range with hardness values of 550 to 600 V.P.N. Tool geometry and cutting conditions for end and face milling, drilling and tapping were investigated. A basic approach to tapping tests and tap design was developed. Short descriptions of the tests and a graphical presentation of the results are included. These show optimum conditions and the very critical nature of the variables on tool efficiency for the processes of drilling and end and face milling, under finishing condition

Completeness of dagger-categories and the complex numbers

The complex numbers are an important part of quantum theory, but are difficult to motivate from a theoretical perspective. We describe a simple formal framework for theories of physics, and show that if a theory of physics presented in this manner satisfies certain completeness properties, then it necessarily includes the complex numbers as a mathematical ingredient. Central to our approach are the techniques of category theory, and we introduce a new category-theoretical tool, called the dagger-limit, which governs the way in which systems can be combined to form larger systems. These dagger-limits can be used to characterize the dagger-functor on the category of finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, and so can be used as an equivalent definition of the inner product. One of our main results is that in a nontrivial monoidal dagger-category with all finite dagger-limits and a simple tensor unit, the semiring of scalars embeds into an involutive field of characteristic 0 and orderable fixed field.Comment: 39 pages. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Mathematical Physic

Extended 3-dimensional bordism as the theory of modular objects

A modular object in a symmetric monoidal bicategory is a Frobenius algebra object whose product and coproduct are biadjoint, equipped with a braided structure and a compatible twist, satisfying rigidity, ribbon, pivotality, and modularity conditions. We prove that the oriented 3-dimensional bordism bicategory of 1-, 2-, and 3-manifolds is the free symmetric monoidal bicategory on a single anomaly-free modular object.Comment: 64 page

High-speed AFM with a light touch

No abstract available

Multidimensional collaboration; reflections on action research in a clinical context

This paper reflects on the challenges and benefits of multidimensional collaboration in an action research study to evaluate and improve preoperative education for patients awaiting colorectal surgery. Three cycles of planning, acting,observing and reflecting were designed to evaluate practice and implement change in this interactive setting, calling for specific and distinct collaborations. Data collection includes: observing educational interactions; administering patient evaluation questionnaires; interviewing healthcare staff, patients and carers; patient and carer focus groups; and examining written and audiovisual educational materials. The study revolves around and depends on multi-dimensional collaborations. Reflecting on these collaborations highlights the diversity of perspectives held by all those engaged in the study and enhances the action research lessons. Successfully maintaining the collaborations recognises the need for negotiation, inclusivity, comprehension, brokerage,and problem-solving. Managing the potential tensions is crucial to the successful implementation of changes introduced to practice and thus has important implications for patients’ well-being. This paper describes the experiences from an action research project involving new and specific collaborations, focusing on a particular healthcare setting. It exemplifies the challenges of the collaborative action research process and examines how both researchers and practitioners might reflect on the translation of theory into educational practices within a hospital colorectal department. Despite its context-specific features, the reflections on the types of challenges faced and lessons learned provide implications for action researchers in diverse healthcare settings across the world

Motivations and incentives: exploring assistive technology service delivery from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders

Knowledge and ideas about disability and Assistive Technology (AT) shape society’s construction, funding and delivery of AT services. Concepts such as individualism and objectivity have supported the progression of AT device design and the measurement of AT outcomes. Dominant ideas, however, may suppress other conceptions that offer alternative approaches to, and therefore outcomes of AT service delivery. This paper analyses AT service delivery from the perspectives of key stakeholders, utilizing reflective strategies informed by situational analysis and a pluralistic approach. The complexity of AT service delivery is de-constructed by describing experiences and validating the perceptions of AT users, practitioners and funding schemes, and then identifying the implicit and explicit influences on their actions. It explores the multiple and differing ideas about disability and AT, and discusses these in the context of current policies and systems. It challenges readers to recognize the dominant ideas shaping practice, and consider alternative approaches in an attempt to refine AT service delivery

Picturing classical and quantum Bayesian inference

We introduce a graphical framework for Bayesian inference that is sufficiently general to accommodate not just the standard case but also recent proposals for a theory of quantum Bayesian inference wherein one considers density operators rather than probability distributions as representative of degrees of belief. The diagrammatic framework is stated in the graphical language of symmetric monoidal categories and of compact structures and Frobenius structures therein, in which Bayesian inversion boils down to transposition with respect to an appropriate compact structure. We characterize classical Bayesian inference in terms of a graphical property and demonstrate that our approach eliminates some purely conventional elements that appear in common representations thereof, such as whether degrees of belief are represented by probabilities or entropic quantities. We also introduce a quantum-like calculus wherein the Frobenius structure is noncommutative and show that it can accommodate Leifer's calculus of `conditional density operators'. The notion of conditional independence is also generalized to our graphical setting and we make some preliminary connections to the theory of Bayesian networks. Finally, we demonstrate how to construct a graphical Bayesian calculus within any dagger compact category.Comment: 38 pages, lots of picture