7,060 research outputs found
Foundations of Quantum Discord
This paper summarizes the basics of the notion of quantum discord and how it
relates to other types of correlations in quantum physics. We take the
fundamental information theoretic approach and illustrate our exposition with a
number of simple examples.Comment: 3 pages, special issue edited by Diogo de Oliveira Soares Pinto et a
Incomplete quantum process tomography and principle of maximal entropy
The main goal of this paper is to extend and apply the principle of maximum
entropy (MaxEnt) to incomplete quantum process estimation tasks. We will define
a so-called process entropy function being the von Neumann entropy of the state
associated with the quantum process via Choi-Jamiolkowski isomorphism. It will
be shown that an arbitrary process estimation experiment can be reformulated in
a unified framework and MaxEnt principle can be consistently exploited. We will
argue that the suggested choice for the process entropy satisfies natural list
of properties and it reduces to the state MaxEnt principle, if applied to
preparator devices.Comment: 8 pages, comments welcome, references adde
MODELLING STOCK DYNAMICS IN THE SOUTHERN BENGUELA ECOSYSTEM FOR THE PERIOD 1978–2002
An ecosystem model of the southern Benguela was fitted to available time-series data for the period 1978–2002, to explore how changes in target fish populations in this ecosystem can be attributed to feeding interaction terms and population control patterns, the impact of fishing, and environmental forcing. Fishing patterns were estimated to explain only 2–3% of the variability in the time-series, whereas an estimated productivity forcing pattern applied to phytoplankton explained 4–12% of the variance represented by the sum of squares. Model settings describing prey vulnerability to their predators could explain around 40% of the variability in the time-series. Modelled stock dynamics in the southern Benguela ecosystem more closely represent observed timeseries when wasp-waist control by small pelagic fish is simulated. Overall, model simulations suggest that almost half the variance in the time-series can be explained based on a combination of fishing, vulnerability settings and productivity patterns. Variation in mortalities and prey preferences over time, as well as model fits in relation to available effort series, are discussed. The study advances a model with improved parameterization and credibility to assist with an ecosystem approach to South African fisheries management. Afr. J. mar. Sci. 26: 179–19
A Classical Bound on Quantum Entropy
A classical upper bound for quantum entropy is identified and illustrated,
, involving the variance
in phase space of the classical limit distribution of a given system. A
fortiori, this further bounds the corresponding information-theoretical
generalizations of the quantum entropy proposed by Renyi.Comment: Latex2e, 7 pages, publication versio
On the surface drift of the Southern Ocean
Drift rates of the sea surface have been calculated for the South Atlantic and South Indian Ocean sectors of the Southern Ocean using drift cards and FGGE buoys. Drift patterns and drift rates, based on results from 40,000 plastic drift cards placed from 1978 to 1981, indicate significant equatorward surface exchange between the Southern Ocean and subtropical ocean gyres. Card drift rates increase with latitude up to the 40-45S zone. Average zonal drift rates lie between 10.3 cm/s and 16.4 cm/s. Zonally averaged drift rates of FGGE buoys are also at a maximum between 40 and 45S but are 15% higher; lowest rates are 12.2 cm/s. Significant differences in the drift rates between sectors of the same zone reflect the influence of bottom topography
Classical, quantum and total correlations
We discuss the problem of separating consistently the total correlations in a
bipartite quantum state into a quantum and a purely classical part. A measure
of classical correlations is proposed and its properties are explored.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Studies of alpha-radioactivity in the marine environment
This dissertation deals with the alpha-radioactivity in the marine environment around South Africa, and the published literature relating to alpha-emitting nuclides in sea water and in marine organisms is surveyed in Chapter 1. As a first step in the investigation, the total alpha-activity of some 400 samples of marine life was determined using the thick-source alpha-particle detection technique. The relative contributions of the thorium series nuclides and "excess" unsupported polonium-210 were determined by using the "thorium pairs" technique and by studying the variation of the total alpha count-rate with time. This is considered in Chapter 2. The 'second phase of the investigation was to investigate the alpha-spectrum of marine life. This was done for several plankton samples using a large capacity ion-chamber. As expected several disequilibria were found to exist and the findings are discussed in Chapter 3. Unsupported polonium-210 accounted for the major proportion of the total alpha-activity in several marine groups, while radium-226 and daughters accounted for most of the long-lived radioactivity. Thorium series elements were also present. Using the ion-chamber data together with total alpha-counting data, an estimate of the radium-226 content of plankton was made
Average velocities of some ocean currents as deduced from the recovery of plastic drift cards
Twenty-four drift cards, released in 1964 through 1966 in the vicinity of Cape Town and at various locations in the Atlantic Ocean, have been recovered on the coasts of: North and South America, three islands in the South Atlantic, England, France, Nigeria, and Australia. The travel times indicated by 19 of these cards have been used to estimate the mean velocities of the presumed current systems involved. The rate of card recovery and the long distances traveled by the cards have proved conclusively that the solid polythene drift card is durable
High-pressure synthesis of rock salt LiMeO2-ZnO (Me = Fe3+, Ti3+) solid solutions
Metastable LiMeO2-ZnO (Me = Fe3+, Ti3+) solid solutions with rock salt
crystal structure have been synthesized by solid state reaction of ZnO with
LiMeO2 complex oxides at 7.7 GPa and 1350-1450 K. Structure, phase composition,
thermal stability and thermal expansion of the recovered samples have been
studied by X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation. At ambient pressure
rock salt LiMeO2-ZnO solid solutions are kinetically stable up to 670-800 K
depending on the composition.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
H-theorem for classical matter around a black hole
We propose a classical solution for the kinetic description of matter falling
into a black hole, which permits to evaluate both the kinetic entropy and the
entropy production rate of classical infalling matter at the event horizon. The
formulation is based on a relativistic kinetic description for classical
particles in the presence of an event horizon. An H-theorem is established
which holds for arbitrary models of black holes and is valid also in the
presence of contracting event horizons
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