Modelling human-computer interaction

Human-computer interaction (HCI) can effectively be understood as a continuous process of cyclic interaction between the user and the environment. The action the user takes leads to changes to the system or the environment. These are evaluated by the user, and then this evaluation results in changes to goals, and then the user takes another action based on the changes to goals. In order to effectively describe the continuous process of cyclic interaction, a notation that a user interface designer could reason about the interactivity is needed. This paper claims that a cyclic notation is able to account for the intimate connection between goal, action and the environment, allowing a user interface designer to make explicit what a process achieves, as well as what triggers that process. It is thus possible for designers to build interactive versions of the designs so as to assess the assumptions made or being made regarding the interaction between the user and the system

Quality assessment technique for ubiquitous software and middleware

The new paradigm of computing or information systems is ubiquitous computing systems. The technology-oriented issues of ubiquitous computing systems have made researchers pay much attention to the feasibility study of the technologies rather than building quality assurance indices or guidelines. In this context, measuring quality is the key to developing high-quality ubiquitous computing products. For this reason, various quality models have been defined, adopted and enhanced over the years, for example, the need for one recognised standard quality model (ISO/IEC 9126) is the result of a consensus for a software quality model on three levels: characteristics, sub-characteristics, and metrics. However, it is very much unlikely that this scheme will be directly applicable to ubiquitous computing environments which are considerably different to conventional software, trailing a big concern which is being given to reformulate existing methods, and especially to elaborate new assessment techniques for ubiquitous computing environments. This paper selects appropriate quality characteristics for the ubiquitous computing environment, which can be used as the quality target for both ubiquitous computing product evaluation processes ad development processes. Further, each of the quality characteristics has been expanded with evaluation questions and metrics, in some cases with measures. In addition, this quality model has been applied to the industrial setting of the ubiquitous computing environment. These have revealed that while the approach was sound, there are some parts to be more developed in the future

Neutron Stars with Bose-Einstein Condensation of Antikaons as MIT Bags

We investigate the properties of an antikaon in medium, regarding itas a MIT bag. We first construct the MIT bag model for a kaon with$\sigma^*$ and $\phi$ in order to describe the interaction of$s$-quarks in hyperonic matter in the framework of the modifiedquark-meson coupling model. The coupling constant $g'^{B_K}_\sigma$in the density-dependent bag constant $B(\sigma)$ is treated as afree parameter to reproduce the optical potential of a kaon in asymmetric matter and all other couplings are determined by usingSU(6) symmetry and the quark counting rule. With various values ofthe kaon potential, we calculate the effective mass of a kaon inmedium to compare it with that of a point-like kaon. We thencalculate the population of octet baryons, leptons and $K^-$ and theequation of state for neutron star matter. The results show thatkaon condensation in hyperonic matter is sensitive to the $s$-quarkinteraction and also to the way of treating the kaon. The mass andthe radius of a neutron star are obtained by solving theTolmann-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation.Comment: 14 figure

Holographic classification of Topological Insulators and its 8-fold periodicity

Using generic properties of Clifford algebras in any spatial dimension, we explicitly classify Dirac hamiltonians with zero modes protected by the discrete symmetries of time-reversal, particle-hole symmetry, and chirality. Assuming the boundary states of topological insulators are Dirac fermions, we thereby holographically reproduce the Periodic Table of topological insulators found by Kitaev and Ryu. et. al, without using topological invariants nor K-theory. In addition we find candidate Z_2 topological insulators in classes AI, AII in dimensions 0,4 mod 8 and in classes C, D in dimensions 2,6 mod 8.Comment: 19 pages, 4 Table

Phonon emission and arrival times of electrons from a single-electron source

In recent charge-pump experiments, single electrons are injected into quantum Hall edge channels at energies significantly above the Fermi level. We consider here the relaxation of these hot edge-channel electrons through longitudinal-optical-phonon emission. Our results show that the probability for an electron in the outermost edge channel to emit one or more phonons en route to a detector some microns distant along the edge channel suffers a double-exponential suppression with increasing magnetic field. This explains recent experimental observations. We also describe how the shape of the arrival-time distribution of electrons at the detector reflects the velocities of the electronic states post phonon emission. We show how this can give rise to pronounced oscillations in the arrival-time-distribution width as a function of magnetic field or electron energy

On the role of a new type of correlated disorder in extended electronic states in the Thue-Morse lattice

A new type of correlated disorder is shown to be responsible for the appearance of extended electronic states in one-dimensional aperiodic systems like the Thue-Morse lattice. Our analysis leads to an understanding of the underlying reason for the extended states in this system, for which only numerical evidence is available in the literature so far. The present work also sheds light on the restrictive conditions under which the extended states are supported by this lattice.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX V2.09, 1 figure (available on request), to appear in Physical Review Letter

Picosecond coherent electron motion in a silicon single-electron source

Understanding ultrafast coherent electron dynamics is necessary for application of a single-electron source to metrological standards, quantum information processing, including electron quantum optics, and quantum sensing. While the dynamics of an electron emitted from the source has been extensively studied, there is as yet no study of the dynamics inside the source. This is because the speed of the internal dynamics is typically higher than 100 GHz, beyond state-of-the-art experimental bandwidth. Here, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that the internal dynamics in a silicon singleelectron source comprising a dynamic quantum dot can be detected, utilising a resonant level with which the dynamics is read out as gate-dependent current oscillations. Our experimental observation and simulation with realistic parameters show that an electron wave packet spatially oscillates quantum-coherently at $\sim$ 200 GHz inside the source. Our results will lead to a protocol for detecting such fast dynamics in a cavity and offer a means of engineering electron wave packets. This could allow high-accuracy current sources, high-resolution and high-speed electromagnetic-field sensing, and high-fidelity initialisation of flying qubits