The Renewed Role of Sweep Functions in Noisy Shortcuts to Adiabaticity

We study the robustness of different sweep protocols for accelerated adiabaticity following in the presence of static errors and of dissipative and dephasing phenomena. While in the noise-free case, counterdiabatic driving is, by definition, insensitive to the form of the original sweep function, this property may be lost when the quantum system is open. We indeed observe that, according to the decay and dephasing channels investigated here, the performance of the system becomes highly dependent on the sweep function. Our findings are relevant for the experimental implementation of robust shortcuts-to-adiabaticity techniques for the control of quantum systems.     

Dynamics and non-equilibrium steady state in a system of coupled harmonic oscillators

A system of two coupled oscillators, each of them coupled to an independent reservoir, is analysed. The analytical solution of the non-rotating wave master equation is obtained in the high-temperature and weak coupling limits. No thermal entanglement is found in the high-temperature limit. In the weak coupling limit the system converges to an entangled non-equilibrium steady state. A critical temperature for the appearance of quantum correlations is found.     

A Large Deviation Perspective on Ratio Observables in Reset Processes: Robustness of Rate Functions

Journal of Statistical Physics - We study large deviations of a ratio observable in discrete-time reset processes. The ratio takes the form of a current divided by the number of reset steps and as...     

Shakedown analysis of limited-ductility structures

Summary The paper deals with the shakedown analysis problem of discrete elastoplastic structures, subjected to variable and repeated quasi-static loads, account being given to the limited structural ductility by imposing a-priori limit values to some relevant parameters of plastic deformation. The key-concept of limited-ductility load amplifier is assessed and the problem is given a unified formulation as a nonlinear mathematical programming problem, where ductility constraints — of generalized character — are obtained by using a so-called perturbation method which leads to a-priori upper bounds of the relevant plastic deformation measures. Lower bounds to the load amplifier are so obtained and three different computationals stratagies are herein outlined: the linear parametric programming one is applied to three case-study structures.

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Sommario La memoria affronta lo studio del problema di adattamento elastoplastico di strutture discrete, sottoposte a carichi comunque variabili in modo quasi-statico, tenendo conto di un comportamento a limitata duttilità della struttura, il quale richiede che uno o più parametri della deformazione plastica risultino non superiori di assegnati valori. Del problema di analisi posto, utilizzando il concetto di moltiplicatore dei carichi per l'adattamento con limitata duttilità, viene data una formulazione unitaria come problema di programmazione matematica non lineare, i cui vincoli di duttilità sono ottenuti con tecniche perturbative di maggiorazione a-priori delle deformazioni plastiche. Il metodo conduce a limiti inferiori del moltiplicatore dei carichi dipendenti dal livello assegnato alla deformazione plastica. Tre differenti strategie computazionali vengono delineate per la soluzione del problema, una delle quali di tipo programmazione lineare parametrica viene applicata a tre esempi.

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Ricerca finanziata dal CNR e dal MPI.     

A convolutional neural network approach to calibrating the rotation axis for X‐ray computed tomography

This paper presents an algorithm to calibrate the center‐of‐rotation for X‐ray tomography by using a machine learning approach, the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The algorithm shows excellent accuracy from the evaluation of synthetic data with various noise ratios. It is further validated with experimental data of four different shale samples measured at the Advanced Photon Source and at the Swiss Light Source. The results are as good as those determined by visual inspection and show better robustness than conventional methods. CNN has also great potential for reducing or removing other artifacts caused by instrument instability, detector non‐linearity, etc. An open‐source toolbox, which integrates the CNN methods described in this paper, is freely available through GitHub at tomography/xlearn and can be easily integrated into existing computational pipelines available at various synchrotron facilities. Source code, documentation and information on how to contribute are also provided.     

Characterization of bronze Roman coins of the fifth century called <Emphasis Type=Italic>nummi</Emphasis> through different analytical techniques

Mixing of different organic charge-transfer-complexes (CT-complexes) might allow the adjustment of the optical and morphological properties of the resulting material system. In this work, a study of two CT-complexes, mixed by thermal coevaporation at different concentrations by substituting only the acceptor molecules, is presented. Electron diffraction patterns, which were collected on samples of the ternary system of the prototypical CT-complexes DBTTF-TCNQ and DBTTF-F₄TCNQ do not show any indication of a mixed crystalline phase or novel crystalline order. X-ray diffraction measurements additionally confirm the phase separation in the ternary system. However, upon mixing of the complexes, the degree of crystallinity of the individual phases is reduced. This effect correlates with the mixing ratio of the CT-complexes in the ternary compound. Furthermore, we do not observe a shift or the appearance of new peaks in the infrared spectra of (DBTTF-TCNQ) _x :(DBTTF-F₄TCNQ)_1?x . Hence, there is no indication for a pronounced or novel chemical interaction between the individual CT-complexes in the mixed compound.     

Electrochemical characterization of core@shell CoFe2O4/Au composite

Quantum dots (QDs) have received considerable attention due to their unique optical and electrical properties. Although substantial research has focused on the potential applications and toxicological impacts of QDs, far less effort has been directed toward understanding their fate and transport in the environment. In this work, the effect of four coatings, polyethylene glycol functionalized polymer (PEGP), carboxyl derivatized polymer (COOHP), linoleic acid (LA), and polyacrylic acid-octylamine (PAA-OA), on the transport and retention of QDs in porous media were evaluated under environmentally relevant conditions. Aqueous QD suspensions (ca. 10 nM) were introduced into water-saturated columns packed with 40–50 mesh Ottawa sand at a pore-water velocity of 7.6 m/day. At an ionic strength (IS) of 3 mM and pH of 7, PEGP-coated QDs were completely retained within the column, while more than 60 % of COOHP-coated QDs were transported through a column run under identical conditions. When PAA-OA and LA were used as coatings, effluent QD recoveries increased to more than 65 and 89 % of the injected mass, respectively. Additionally, a decrease in pH from 9.5 to 5.0, or an increase of IS from 0 to 30 mM reduced the eluted mass of PAA-OA-coated QDs by more than 2 and 15 times, respectively. The relative mobility of coated QDs (LA > PAA-OA > COOHP > PEGP) was consistent with total interaction energy profiles between QDs and sand surfaces calculated based on Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory. At an IS of 3 mM (NaCl) and pH 7, a linear correlation was obtained between the fraction of eluted QDs and the magnitude of the primary interaction energy barrier. These findings demonstrate the strong dependence of QD transport on coating type and indicate that interaction energies based on DLVO theory can be used to predict the relative mobility of QDs in porous media.     

Liquid-liquid phase separation of a surfactant-solubilized membrane protein

Solubilization of membrane proteins requires surfactants, whose structural properties play a crucial role in determining the protein phase behavior. We show that ionization of a pH-sensitive surfactant, lauryldymethylamino-N-oxide, bound to the bacterial photosynthetic Reaction Center, induces protein phase segregation in micrometric "droplets." Liquid-liquid phase separation takes place in a narrow pH range, is promoted by increasing temperature, and vanishes by adding salt. After a fast initial droplet growth, the nearly arrested kinetics at a later stage leaves the system in a finely divided, long-lasting emulsified state.     

Non-invasive characterisation of SIX Japanese hand-guards (tsuba)

In this work we present a systematic study of Japanese sword hand-guards (tsuba) carried out by means of non-invasive techniques using neutrons. Several tsuba from different periods, belonging to the Japanese Section of the Stibbert Museum, were analysed using an innovative approach to characterise the bulk of the samples, coupling two neutron techniques, namely Time of Flight Neutron Diffraction (ToF-ND) and Nuclear Resonance Capture Analysis (NRCA). The measurements were carried out on the same instrument: the INES beam-line at the ISIS spallation pulsed neutron source (UK). NRCA analysis allows identifying the elements present in the sample gauge volume, while neutron diffraction is exploited to quantify the phase distribution and other micro-structural parameters of the metal specimen. The results show that all samples are made of high-quality metal, either steel or copper alloy, with noticeable changes in composition and working techniques, depending on the place and time of manufacturing.