9,517 research outputs found
Superoscillations and tunneling times
It is proposed that superoscillations play an important role in the
interferences which give rise to superluminal effects. To exemplify that, we
consider a toy model which allows for a wave packet to travel, in zero time and
negligible distortion a distance arbitrarily larger than the width of the wave
packet. The peak is shown to result from a superoscillatory superposition at
the tail. Similar reasoning applies to the dwell time.Comment: 12 page
Can a falling tree make a noise in two forests at the same time?
It is a commonplace to claim that quantum mechanics supports the old idea
that a tree falling in a forest makes no sound unless there is a listener
present. In fact, this conclusion is far from obvious. Furthermore, if a
tunnelling particle is observed in the barrier region, it collapses to a state
in which it is no longer tunnelling. Does this imply that while tunnelling, the
particle can not have any physical effects? I argue that this is not the case,
and moreover, speculate that it may be possible for a particle to have effects
on two spacelike separate apparatuses simultaneously. I discuss the measurable
consequences of such a feat, and speculate about possible statistical tests
which could distinguish this view of quantum mechanics from a ``corpuscular''
one. Brief remarks are made about an experiment underway at Toronto to
investigate these issues.Comment: 9 pp, Latex, 3 figs, to appear in Proc. Obsc. Unr. Conf.; Fig 2
postscript repaired on 26.10.9
The rhizosphere: a playground and battlefield for soilborne pathogens and beneficial microorganisms
The rhizosphere is a hot spot of microbial interactions as exudates released by plant roots are a main food source for microorganisms and a driving force of their population density and activities. The rhizosphere harbors many organisms that have a neutral effect on the plant, but also attracts organisms that exert deleterious or beneficial effects on the plant. Microorganisms that adversely affect plant growth and health are the pathogenic fungi, oomycetes, bacteria and nematodes. Most of the soilborne pathogens are adapted to grow and survive in the bulk soil, but the rhizosphere is the playground and infection court where the pathogen establishes a parasitic relationship with the plant. The rhizosphere is also a battlefield where the complex rhizosphere community, both microflora and microfauna, interact with pathogens and influence the outcome of pathogen infection. A wide range of microorganisms are beneficial to the plant and include nitrogen-fixing bacteria, endo- and ectomycorrhizal fungi, and plant growth-promoting bacteria and fungi. This review focuses on the population dynamics and activity of soilborne pathogens and beneficial microorganisms. Specific attention is given to mechanisms involved in the tripartite interactions between beneficial microorganisms, pathogens and the plant. We also discuss how agricultural practices affect pathogen and antagonist populations and how these practices can be adopted to promote plant growth and health
Quantum Nonlocality in Two-Photon Experiments at Berkeley
We review some of our experiments performed over the past few years on
two-photon interference. These include a test of Bell's inequalities, a study
of the complementarity principle, an application of EPR correlations for
dispersion-free time-measurements, and an experiment to demonstrate the
superluminal nature of the tunneling process. The nonlocal character of the
quantum world is brought out clearly by these experiments. As we explain,
however, quantum nonlocality is not inconsistent with Einstein causality.Comment: 16 pages including 24 figure
Conditional probabilities in quantum theory, and the tunneling time controversy
It is argued that there is a sensible way to define conditional probabilities
in quantum mechanics, assuming only Bayes's theorem and standard quantum
theory. These probabilities are equivalent to the ``weak measurement''
predictions due to Aharonov {\it et al.}, and hence describe the outcomes of
real measurements made on subensembles. In particular, this approach is used to
address the question of the history of a particle which has tunnelled across a
barrier. A {\it gedankenexperiment} is presented to demonstrate the physically
testable implications of the results of these calculations, along with graphs
of the time-evolution of the conditional probability distribution for a
tunneling particle and for one undergoing allowed transmission. Numerical
results are also presented for the effects of loss in a bandgap medium on
transmission and on reflection, as a function of the position of the lossy
region; such loss should provide a feasible, though indirect, test of the
present conclusions. It is argued that the effects of loss on the pulse {\it
delay time} are related to the imaginary value of the momentum of a tunneling
particle, and it is suggested that this might help explain a small discrepancy
in an earlier experiment.Comment: 11 pages, latex, 4 postscript figures separate (one w/ 3 parts
Comment on "A linear optics implementation of weak values in Hardy's paradox"
A recent experimental proposal by Ahnert and Payne [S.E. Ahnert and M.C.
Payne, Phys. Rev. A 70, 042102 (2004)] outlines a method to measure the weak
value predictions of Aharonov in Hardy's paradox. This proposal contains flaws
such as the state preparation method and the procedure for carrying out the
requisite weak measurements. We identify previously published solutions to some
of the flaws.Comment: To be published in Physical Review
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