1,721,011 research outputs found
Sequential nonideal measurements of quantum oscillators: Statistical characterization with and without environmental coupling
No full textA one-dimensional quantum oscillator is monitored by taking repeated position measurements. As a first contribution, it is shown that, under a quantum nondemolition measurement scheme applied to a system initially at the ground state, (i) the observed sequence of measurements (quantum tracks) corresponding to a single experiment converges to a limit point, and that (ii) the limit point is random over the ensemble of the experiments, being distributed as a zero-mean Gaussian random variable with a variance at most equal to the ground-state variance. As a second contribution, the richer scenario where the oscillator is coupled with a frozen (i.e., at the ground state) ensemble of independent quantum oscillators is considered. A sharply different behavior emerges: under the same measurement scheme, here we observe that the measurement sequences are essentially divergent. Such a rigorous statistical analysis of the sequential measurement process might be useful for characterizing the main quantities that are currently used for inference, manipulation, and monitoring of many quantum systems. Several interesting properties of the quantum tracks evolution, as well as of the associated (quantum) threshold crossing times, are discussed and the dependence upon the main system parameters (e.g., the choice of the measurement sampling time, the degree of interaction with the environment, the measurement device accuracy) is elucidated. At a more fundamental level, it is seen that, as an application of basic quantum mechanics principles, a sharp difference exists between the intrinsic randomness unavoidably present in any quantum system, and the extrinsic randomness arising from the environmental coupling, i.e., the randomness induced by an external source of disturbance
Interplay between detection strategies and stochastic resonance properties
Get PDFWe discuss how to exploit stochastic resonance with the methods of statistical theory of decisions. To do so, we evaluate two detection strategies: escape time analysis and strobing. For a standard quartic bistable system with a periodic drive and disturbed by noise, we show that the detection strategies and the physics of the double well are connected, inasmuch as one (the strobing strategy) is based on synchronization, while the other (escape time analysis) is determined by the possibility to accumulate energy in the oscillations. The analysis of the escape times best performs at the frequency of the geometric resonance, while strobing shows a peak of the performances at a special noise level predicted by the stochastic resonance theory. We surmise that the detection properties of the quartic potential are generic for overdamped and underdamped systems, in that the physical nature of resonance decides the competition (in terms of performances) between different detection strategies
Josephson-based Threshold Detector for Lévy-Distributed Current Fluctuations
No full textWe propose a threshold detector for Levy-distributed fluctuations based on a Josephson junction. The Levy-noise current added to a linearly ramped bias current results in clear changes in the distribution of switching currents out of the zero-voltage state of the junction. We observe that the analysis of the cumulative distribution function of the switching currents supplies information on both the characteristics' shape parameter alpha of the Levy statistics. Moreover, we discuss a theoretical model, which allows characteristic features of the Levy fluctuations to be extracted from a measured distribution of switching currents. In view of these results, this system can effectively find an application as a detector for a Levy signal embedded in a noisy background
Switching times in Fabry-Perot measurements
No full textWe show how to analyze the motion of very low dissipation suspended mirrors in a Fabry-Perot. The very precise measurements of the mirrors motion can be determined, also in the presence of a disturbing noise, by means of the sudden reflectivity changes in special points of the mirrors positions. When the mirrors cross such positions, the effective optomechanical potential that arises in the device is (roughly) at a maximum. We show that the motion cross such potential maxima is not only confused by the presence of noise, but also favoured by noise itself that induces hoppings. Thus, the measurements of the times at which the crossings occur can be exploited to identify the properties of the applied signal. We also show how to circumvent the difficulty of the extremely long transient that occur in the system analyzing the escape average time with two different methods: a direct sample average and the indirect estimate from the tail distribution. Numerical simulations and physical insight suggest that the indirect estimate, through the analysis of the distribution tails with an appropriated cut off is robust against the disturbances that arise from the presence of transient dynamics
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Voltage drop across Josephson junctions for Lévy noise detection
Get PDFWe propose to characterize Lévy-distributed stochastic fluctuations through the measurement of the average voltage drop across a current-biased Josephson junction.We show that the noise induced switching process in the Josephson washboard potential can be exploited to reveal and characterize Lévy fluctuations, also if embedded in a thermal noisy background. The measurement of the average voltage drop as a function of the noise intensity allows to infer the value of the stability index that characterizes Lévy-distributed fluctuations. An analytical estimate of the average velocity in the case of a Lévy-driven escape process from a metastable state well agrees with the numerical calculation of the average voltage drop across the junction. The best performances are reached at small bias currents and low temperatures, i.e., when both thermally activated and quantum tunneling switching processes can be neglected. The effects discussed in this work pave the way toward an effective and reliable method to characterize Lévy components eventually present in an unknown noisy signal
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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