7,614 research outputs found
Multiplpe Choice Minority Game With Different Publicly Known Histories
In the standard Minority Game, players use historical minority choices as the
sole public information to pick one out of the two alternatives. However,
publishing historical minority choices is not the only way to present global
system information to players when more than two alternatives are available.
Thus, it is instructive to study the dynamics and cooperative behaviors of this
extended game as a function of the global information provided. We numerically
find that although the system dynamics depends on the kind of public
information given to the players, the degree of cooperation follows the same
trend as that of the standard Minority Game. We also explain most of our
findings by the crowd-anticrowd theory.Comment: Extensively revised, to appear in New J Phys, 7 pages with 4 figure
A method to find quantum noiseless subsystems
We develop a structure theory for decoherence-free subspaces and noiseless
subsystems that applies to arbitrary (not necessarily unital) quantum
operations. The theory can be alternatively phrased in terms of the
superoperator perspective, or the algebraic noise commutant formalism. As an
application, we propose a method for finding all such subspaces and subsystems
for arbitrary quantum operations. We suggest that this work brings the
fundamental passive technique for error correction in quantum computing an
important step closer to practical realization.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in Physical Review Letter
Fiber-top atomic force microscope
We present the implementation of an atomic force microscope (AFM) based on fiber-top design. Our results demonstrate that the performances of fiber-top AFMs in contact mode are comparable to those of similar commercially available instruments. Our device thus represents an interesting\ud
alternative to existing AFMs, particularly for applications outside specialized research laboratories, where a compact, user-friendly, and versatile tool might often be preferred
Parametrical optimization of laser surface alloyed NiTi shape memory alloy with Co and Nb by the Taguchi method
Different high-purity metal powders were successfully alloyed on to a nickel titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) with a 3 kW carbon dioxide (CO2) laser system. In order to produce an alloyed layer with complete penetration and acceptable composition profile, the Taguchi approach was used as a statistical technique for optimizing selected laser processing parameters. A systematic study of laser power, scanning velocity, and pre-paste powder thickness was conducted. The signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) for each control factor were calculated in order to assess the deviation from the average response. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to understand the significance of process variables affecting the process effects. The Taguchi method was able to determine the laser process parameters for the laser surface alloying technique with high statistical accuracy and yield a laser surface alloying technique capable of achieving a desirable dilution ratio. Energy dispersive spectrometry consistently showed that the per cent by weight of Ni was reduced by 45 per cent as compared with untreated NiTi SMA when the Taguchi-determined laser processing parameters were employed, thus verifying the laser's processing parameters as optimum
A Tale of Two Tilings
What do you get when you cross a crystal with a quasicrystal? The surprising
answer stretches from Fibonacci to Kepler, who nearly 400 years ago showed how
the ancient tiles of Archimedes form periodic patterns.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figur
An Assessment of Risk of Iodine Deficiency Among Pregnant Women in Sarawak, Malaysia
Previous findings from a state-wide Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) study among pregnant women (PW) in Sarawak indicated that PW are at risk of IDD and further assessment is needed. This paper describes the methodology used in conducting this study for an assessment of risk of iodine deficiency among pregnant women in Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 30 maternal child health care clinics (MCHCs) were selected using probability proportional to population size (PPS) sampling technique. The PW sample size was calculated based on 95% confidence interval (CI), relative precision of 5%, design effect of 2, anticipated IDD prevalence of 65.0% and non-response rate of 20%. Thus, the total sample size required was 750 (25 respondents per selected MCHC). The WHO Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) surveys approach was used to randomly select the first respondent and subsequent respondents were chosen until the required number of PW was met. The required data were obtained through: face-to-face interviews (socio-demographic and food frequency questionnaire), clinical assessments (thyroid size, and hyper/hypothyroidism) and biochemical analysis (urine and blood serum). A total of 677 PW responded in the study with a response rate of 90.2%. Majority of the PW were at second gravida, aged 25-29 years old and of Malay ethnicity. The methodology used in this study was based on International guidelines which may provide state's estimates. All the necessary steps were taken into consideration to ensure valid and reliable findings on current iodine status among PW
Entanglement control in one-dimensional random XY spin chain
The entanglement in one-dimensional random XY spin systems where the
impurities of exchange couplings and the external magnetic fields are
considered as random variables is investigated by solving the different
spin-spin correlation functions and the average magnetization per spin. The
entanglement dynamics near particular locations of the system is also studied
when the exchange couplings (or the external magnetic fields) satisfy three
different distributions(the Gaussian distribution, double-Gaussian
distribution, and bimodal distribution). We find that the entanglement can be
controlled by varying the strength of external magnetic field and the different
distributions of impurities. Moreover, the entanglement of some
nearest-neighboring qubits can be increased for certain parameter values of the
three different distributions.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
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